Judy Hanning's blog

One of men's best characterics is persistence. When a man is determined to find something that can make his life more meaningful, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. That is persistence! We are lucky that most of the scientists of our time are persistent in studying and looking for cures to all of men's ailments.

In the issue of journal neuron, Yale University researchers have found that a single molecule not only connects brain cells but also changes how we learn. They discovered ways on how to improve the memory and new therapies to correct neurological disorders.

"The junctions between brain cells over which nerve pulses pass -- called synapses -- are crucial for regulating learning and memory and how we think. Aberrations in the structure and function of synapses have been linked to mental retardation and autism, while synapses are lost in the aging brains of Alzheimer's patients."

The Yale scientist may have discovered the effects of the synapses but organizing is still a puzzle that needs to be solved. A molecule called SynCAM 1 that spans across synaptic junctions has been pinpointed as a critical piece to the puzzle.

"We hypothesized that this molecule might promote new synapses in the developing brain, but were surprised that it also impacts the maintenance and function of these structures," said Thomas Biederer, associate professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and senior author of the study. "We can now define how this molecule supports the brain's ability to wire itself."

Children with autism not only have to deal with their curriculum activities.  They also need to learn how to socialize with other people. According to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) that focusing and early intervention on the lack of social skills of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) helped in improving this skill.

"Although some research suggests that ASD may be reliably diagnosed earlier than the current average age of 3 years, few interventions have been tested in children younger than 3."

Children learned to interact with others by socializing with them. When the lack of measures in social communication, like initiation of joint attention, sharing of emotions and engaged imitation, can hinder the child's ability to engage and learn from interactions.

"This new report is encouraging, as the effects on social behavior appear to provide a scaffold for the development of skills beyond the research setting," said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, M.D. "We need better early interventions for the core deficits of autism."

These intervensions where formed to assist the children to learn how to interact or play with others.

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Targetting Core Social Deficits of Autism

I't not easy being a child, especially when the child has a disability. Just like any normal child, children with disabilities wants to be accepted, valued, loved and feel included particulary by their peers.

Dr. Nancy Spencer-Cavaliere, an adapted physical activity expert, in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta, interviewed children with a range of disabilities about their thoughts on what made them feel included or rejected during these activities.

"Children were asked to theorise about other fictional children who are like them, so they didn't have to pour their hearts out initially if they didn't want to. So I'd start by saying, 'Imagine if you were…"

Three themes emerged from the data: gaining entry to play; feeling like a legitimate participant, and having friends.

"So what's a teacher, coach, parent to do to help kids with disability feel included? "When in doubt, ask the child," says Spencer Cavaliere. "You get valuable information and it gives them a say."

Dr. Spencer-Cavalier emphasized that there is no specific solution because all children need to feel included by having legitimate choices they could choose from to experience inclusion.

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Inclusion: Children With Disabilities Reveal their concerns

Many college students are perplexed by their struggle with math. They know that they are good in reading and writing but have difficulty in passing math. What these students do not always realize is that it is possible to have a learning disability in math but not have one in reading and writing.

The disability is called dyscalculia, and it is similar to dyslexia except the problems arise in math. These students often have difficulties with anything related with math. Most of them have been striving with math a long time.

Good education starts at home but it is developed further in schools. How can children with dyscalculia progress in classrooms? Dyscalculia is a lesser-known disability related to dyslexia. It impairs one’s ability to comprehend anything that is mathematical in nature. Like dyslexia, it can indeed affect a person’s functioning in daily life severely. During the time that dyslexia was getting to be known as a learning difficulty with certain consequences, “numerical dyslexia” was still unfamiliar and misinterpreted. Dyscalculia can affect peoples’ ability to process simple mathematical calculations and read numbers correctly. While teachers still deny the fact of such disability, they have limited solving the problem with dyscalculics by giving remedial classes just to catch up. Today, there are “disability aids” are readily available to people with dyslexia and dyscalculia. Modern technology in the form of spell checkers, computer programs that “read” words to you, and calculators, can take much of the burden of not being able to read and spell, or do mathematics, away. The simplest way to help these children is to let them use the calculator when solving mathematical problems. The key to solving the problems encountered by pupils with these disabilities lies in accepting them and offering them the aids they need. The Equality Act 2010 gives disabled people the right to reasonable adjustments to help them function in any public setting. Let this right be implemented right in the classroom for pupils with dyscalculia and related disabilities!

Most people are not aware that having difficulties with mathematical solutions can be considered a disorder or disability. Dyscalculia is defined as a neurological problem specifically dealing with learning disabilities in the area of mathematics. Typically, folks with dyscalculia may have difficulties with time, measurement, and spatial reasoning.

Humans by nature are visual creatures. As a matter of fact, 75 to 90% of all that we learn comes to us through visual pathways. Knowing this, it’s important to identify children who may have weakened visual processing skills and give them a method to overcome these weaknesses. First, understand that 20/20 vision has very little to do with this. Second, you should have a general understanding of the anatomy of the eye. And finally, you will need some basic exercises to help the student overcome any of these problems.

Retraining the brain transforms lives. The children I have used these techniques with have improved significantly, not only academically, but socially, emotionally, and behaviorally as well. When the brain becomes balanced and wired correctly then kids can learn and succeed as nature intended. The techniques that I use are based on over thirty years of research on how the brain works. The foundational work in this area was done by two medical doctors, Glenn and Robert Doman, and an educator, Carl Delacoto.