Some reasons NOT to wear earphones

I have been educating my clients to avoid wearing earphones due to the problems they can cause with hearing.  This TED talk points out some other pitfalls of earphones and constantly listening to recorded sound which have interesting implications.  Please take the time to watch this very short video.  It is jam-packed with some helpful tips to save your hearing and help your overall health.

Newsletter - Visual Supports

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Bath time Social Story

I made this social story for one of the children I see.  Please download and use if you like.  It is meant to be printed out on one sheet of paper and folded in half.  I suggest using thicker paper like card stock.

Is this still a FREE country?

I have learned so much over the past two years about vaccines and immunity.  It is so aggravating when you hear false information being spread by the drive-by media.  They water down complex issues to a 15 second sound bite.  If you have young children, or you are thinking about having children in the near future, you NEED to educate yourself on this subject.  I am not saying I have all the answers, but I am a logical, intelligent person.  By exposing myself to a variety of information, I have come to my own conclusions about this subject.  I am not going to ram my opinions down your throat.  I AM going to link to alternative information that may make you start thinking in a different way.

This journey all started when I opened up my own office, and I started talking to a lot of parents about their children with developmental delays.  I kept hearing over and over again that they believed that vaccines had a role.  Because of this, I felt compelled to find out all I could about the subject.  I thank God that there is the internet where information can be gotten so easily.  You do need to take opinion with a grain of salt, but after you hear the same information from multiple, unrelated sources you start to make your own conclusions.

I strongly recommend you check out this video which gives you another perspective on the vaccine information touted in the media.  I will leave the conclusions up to you because I believe in the intelligence and common sense of the average person.

Video

Psychiatric disorders linked to the immune system.

This is some ground breaking new research which links an immune response to psychiatric disorders.  This is very encouraging, and it goes along with my feeling that we are very antiquated with diagnosing neuropsychologic disorders by behavioral means.  There are a few cutting edge scientists that are looking to more precise diagnostic imaging and treatments.  I am very encouraged that this kind of investigation is going on.  I believe this will lead to some very important treatments soon.

The article can be found here:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=10947928

Parent Survival Guide to Biomedical Interventions

Thank you so much Autism One for making this invaluable information available free on the web.  It is because of organizations like this and DAN! that I have learned so much about the medial issues that go along with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

You can find this video at Autism One's website: CLICK HERE

Clapping for development

I stumbled across this very interesting article.  It states that hand clapping songs and singing improve handwriting and spelling.  Why?  I believe this is a testament to whole brain development and balancing the use of both sides of the brain.  When I see children who have sensory processing problems, they tend to have difficulty singing or moving their body to music.  This is because the balance between the more artistic part of the brain (right hemisphere) and the logical, rote side of the brain (left hemisphere) is off.  When I see children in Early Intervention, one of the first tasks I have them do is reach for objects and have them cross midline.  The sense of midline is usually weak or absent when sensory processing difficulties or developmental delays are present.

When a child's brain is developing, they need a lot of movement to develop their visual and vestibular systems.  These systems will come into play when the child has to go to school.  Handwriting is a skill that shows a breakdown between the vestibular and visual system.  How many kids out there have handwriting problems?  A LOT!!!  How many of our children watch television before the age of two - A LOT!!!  Watching tv or working on a computer at such an early stage of brain development has been proven to be detrimental to development.  The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that children under two get NO television.

We do not know why this happens (there are many theories out there), but for some reason some children do not process sensory information in a typical way.  When this happens, the right side of the brain which should be in charge of sensory processing, emotions, and the present moment shuts down.  Then the child starts to process information from primarily the left hemisphere.  This is where slower, logical, facts, and the past and future reside.  I see two and three year olds who know their alphabet and can count to 10.  This is a red flag for me.  This shows me that they have flipped into processing information in an atypical way.  These children also tend to have other sensory issues, poor eye contact, and emotional outbursts.

Whole brain development is so important.  Take a cue from your grandmother's generation, and think about how they were raised:  playing outside, card and board games, helping with housework, gardening, walking the dog.  We have a very fast paced society, and we need to slow down.  Our brains can't handle it.  Take a breath, and smell the roses.

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