From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

TO MEDICATE OR NOT -- that's often an issue in a family with 2e children, and an Indiana news outlet takes a look, citing scary stories as well as successes. One success was a young man with behavior issues, who, with the right meds, went from getting Ds and Fs to As and Bs. The report also notes a shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists. Find the report. 

BROCK EIDE ON NPR. The co-author of The Dyslexic Advantage was a guest on NPR's Diane Rehm Show on February 15 for a discussion of "The Dyslexic Brain." Also on the show, Jeffrey Gilger, whose work has been featured in 2e Newsletter. Find the show.

"YES I CAN" AWARD. A young man in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, has won a self-advocacy award in CEC's "Yes I Can" recognition. Eleven-year-old Cade Gardner has LDs and was born with a cleft palate, but speaks to groups about overcoming obstacles, according to news reports. Find out more.

CEC, THE PREZ, AND EDUCATION. The Council for Exceptional Children has released a statement in response to President Obama's education budget request for fiscal year 2013. The president gets praise for a couple things and disappointment for a couple. CEC charts out the request for FY 2012 compared to 2012; in the chart, we see that funding for the category "Gifted and Talented" is... still... zero. Find the statement.

A.T. BOOK ON SALE. In the January/February issue of 2e Newsletter we profiled Joan Green, author of the Prufrock book The Ultimate Guide to Assistive Technology in Special Education. Prufrock has put the book on sale for 40 percent off for the remainder of this month. Find out more.

DSM DISCUSSION. Following the discussion over the upcoming DSM-5? A University of Michigan psychiatrist has weighed in with his opinions, prefaced by the statement "Almost no one likes the DSM, but no one knows what to do about it." Read more.

DC-AREA EVENT. Don't forget the third annual "Diamonds in the Rough" event in Shady Grove, Maryland, on Sunday, March 16. Early-bird registration -- $25 -- ends February 29. Find out more.

HORMEL G-T ED SYMPOSIUM. Registration is now open fo the 4th Annual Hormel Foundation Gifted and Talented Education Symposium, scheduled for June 11-14, 2012, in Austin, Minnesota. Readers of 2e Newsletter will be familiar with some of the presenters. (Austin is also home to the SPAM Museum, a tour of which is one of the optional events at the symposium.) Find out more.

SENG. The SENG Vine Newsletter for February is out, including news that registration is now open for the summer SENG conference in Milwaukee. Find the newsletter.

ANTI-BULLYING. The entertainer known as Lady Gaga is establishing a foundation focusing on anti-bullying and self-esteem for youth. The organization, Born This Way Foundation, is to be officially launched with an event at Harvard University on February 29th. Guests at the launch will include Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra, US Secretary of Heath and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and Professor Charles Ogletree. Find the pre-launch website for the foundation at http://www.bornthiswayfoundation.org/.

AND FINALLY, THIS. The US Census Bureau reminds us that February is the anniversary of America's first public school. The Boston Latin School opened in 1635, presumably in Boston, Massachusetts.

LD SCIENTIST. A young woman in Chicago was featured in the Chicago Tribune for overcoming LDs and difficulties in her family life to achieve success in the field of science. She is now applying to PhD programs to study microbiology, having established her talents and determination doing research at a lab at the University of Chicago. Read the article. 

AD/HD MEDS. This week the Child Mind Institute published an article on the side effects of AD/HD stimulant medication, including sleep problems, eating problems, the rebound effect, and cardiac risks. Find the article.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEACHER? Diane Rehm and four guests discussed that question in an NPR show on February 9th. Find the show.

THE GIFTED DEVELOPMENT CENTER has released its February newsletter. In it, GDC announces that it has been asked to validate extended norms on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence IV. GDC is looking for children 2.6 to 7.6 to test for this validation in a number of cities across the U.S. Find out  more in the newsletter.

THE LD ONLINE NEWSLETTER for February is out, featuring the topic of improving comprehension for kids with LDs. Find it.

ATTENTION RESEARCH UPDATE. David Rabiner has posted this most recent issue of his newsletter. In it, Rabiner discusses a review of neurofeedback treatment for AD/HD. While Rabiner suggests that the review indicates that there may be beneficial effects to neurofeedback for AD/HD, apparently limitations on the studies reviewed allow the effects of neurofeedback to be classified as only "probably efficacious" rather than "efficacious" or "efficacious and specific." Read Attention Research Update.

AND FINALLY, THIS. Carla Crutsinger, founder of Brainworks, an organization in Texas that provides services to twice-exceptional children and families, recently lost her husband to cancer. In a personal edition of the Brainworks newsletter, she describes the family's travails over the past several years. Find the newsletter and then maybe send your best wishes.

From the Publishers of 2e Newsletter

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Presenting our first blog items of 2012...

ACCOMMODATIONS ON HIGH-STAKES TESTS. Many twice-exceptional students would benefit from accommodations on tests such as the SAT, whether the accommodation be extra time or help in receiving or expressing test-related content. USA Today says that the U.S. Justice Department isn't enforcing laws that allow these accommodations. Read more.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND. When your child's AD/HD demands medication to help blunt its effects, will you be able to get a proper supply of that med? Increasingly, the answer is "maybe," as a result of actions by the Drug Enforcement Administration trying to cut down on pill abuse and, possibly, by drug manufacturers trying to increase profits. If your gifted child has AD/HD, find out more about pricing and availability of AD/HD meds.

DYSLEXIA AND AUDITORY PROCESSING. French researchers have found abnormalities in the left auditory cortex in people with dyslexia which might interfere with verbal memory and speech. The cortex processed higher-frequency phonemes less efficiently. Read more.

HYPERSENSITIVITY AND OCD? A new study suggests that children who are hypersensitive may be more prone to develop OCD. The link? The development of "ritualistic behaviors to better cope with their environment," according to researchers. Find out more.

ALLERGY TESTING may not be completely accurate, contend two allergists published in the journal Pediatrics. Blood and skin tests may lead to over-diagnosis, according to the article, and may not be definitive in determining whether an allergy actually exists. Read more.

EDUCATOR'S RESOURCES. Edutopia has compiled its "Best of 2011: Our Favorite Educational Resources." The resources apply to areas such as differentiated instruction, engaging under-performing students, and project-based learning. Find the resources. 

RICHARD CASH is presenting a SENG webinar titled "Self-Regulation: Essential Skills for Adolescent Gifted Students" during the evening of January 19th. From the webinar announcement: "This session will offer suggestions as to how to develop self-regulated learners and ideas of how to encourage autonomous learning." Find out more.

From the Publishers of 2e Newsletter

DISABILITIES IN THE U.S. The U.S. Census Bureau has released an analysis of disabilities in school-age children. About 2.8 million children (5.2 percent) were categorized as having a disability as defined by IDEA. Of those, perhaps 4.5 percent were cognitive disabilities. Find out more.

BLOCKS AS A LEARNING TOOL. A New York Times article about blocks in the classroom contained an anecdote about a presumably 2e child. After an apple-picking field trip, the child, described as a struggling second-grader, "went to the block corner and built an incredibly complex structure, a tractor engine, and she was able to talk about how all the parts moved,” according to a teacher, who continued: “We need to be looking at this student in a very different way.” Read the article.

WRIGHTSLAW'S current edition of Special Ed Advocate contains articles that might clear up certain questions and issues about RTI and how schools implement it. Find the issue.

AD/HD'S AFFECT ON MOMS is the topic of a study reviewed by David Rabiner in his Attention Research Update newsletter. As you might guess (or know), parenting a child with AD/HD can lead to stress, and the study documents how and when stress levels might elevate by taking an "electronic diary" approach to tracking events and stress. Find the newsletter.

EDUCATOR OF 2e HONORED. Ben Shifrin, Head of Jemicy School in Owings Mills, Maryland, was recently inducted to the Hall of Fame of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Jemicy School provides a highly individualized, flexible, and challenging education for above-average to gifted college-bound students with dyslexia or other related language-based learning differences. According to the IDA, Jemicy's philosophy is based upon building the academic and higher order thinking skills of bright young people through applied research and time-tested multisensory learning. Jemicy serves the whole child, celebrating each student's strengths while exploring individualized skills and strategies that will build the foundation for success in school and in life. Find more information here or here.

WORRIED ABOUT PSYCHIATRIC MEDS FOR KIDS? A member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has written an article for parents on concerns in children's meds, including "polypharmacy," when a child is on multiple psychiatric meds at the same time. Find the article.

AND FINALLY, THIS. A study has indicated that more creative people are more likely to cheat, but that there is no link between intelligence and cheating. According to the study authors, "people who are creative or work in environments that promote creative thinking may be the most at risk when they face ethical dilemmas." Got a creative kid? Find out more.