From the Publishers of 2e Newsletter

NEW BLOG ABOUT 2e LEARNERS. Pat Sciortino, educational director at the Quad Manhattan, has started a blog called "Out of the 2e Classroom." Her first posting is about developing social thinking in 2e learners by using improvisational play. Check out the blog.

MIND INSTITUTE LECTURE. The UC Davis Mind Institute is offering a free lecture about AD/HD on March 14, 4:30-6pm, in Sacramento, California. Titled "AD/HD Causes and Mechanisms," the lecture, part of the Institute's Distinguished Lecturer Series, will be presented by Joel. T. Nigg, of the Oregon Health and Sciences University. From an announcement of the event: "Over the past decade, the view of ADHD as the outcome of a single dysfunction shared by everyone who has the diagnosis is migrating to a new perspective that highlights a wide variety of causes -- a theory known as causal heterogeneity -- and recognizes diverse symptom clusters. The implications and challenges of this change in thinking are potentially profound, and this presentation will consider evidence in support of the importance of the heterogeneity problem in ADHD while also considering the potential role of genetic factors." Find out more. (The lecture will later be available online, as previous lectures are.) 

GIFTED AT 3? A blogger at Education Week reacted to the Maryland State Board of Education's adoption of regulations to implement differentiated services to gifted students as young as pre-K. Anti-labeling groups oppose the measures. Read more. 

OVEREXCITABILITIES. NAGC's Parenting for High Potential has published a chat summary on the topic of overexcitabilities and positive disintegration  highlighted by Kazimierz Dabrowski. The summary includes a table characterizing the five kinds of overexcitabilities. Find out more. 

AD/HD RESOURCE. David Rabiner pointed us to a free report on alternative treatment options for AD/HD from Additude Magazine. The options include behavior therapy, neurofeedback, exercise, green time, and brain-building computer games. Get a copy. Separately, a study reported by HealthDay indicates that boys and girls born in December are 30 to 70 percent more likely to be diagnosed with AD/HD than kids born in January. Read about the study.

SLEEP-DISORDERED BREATHING in children may lead to behavior problems such as hyperactivity and aggressiveness, according to a new study. Sleep disorders include snoring, mouth breathing, and apnea. Read more. 

AND FINALLY, THIS. It's Sleep Awareness Week in the U.S. Not by coincidence, daylight savings time begins this coming Sunday. Sleep specialists at the University of Loyola Health System are offering tips on making the transition in an article titled "Daylight Savings Can Be Hazardous to Your Health." Find out what you can do to make it easier on  you and your kids.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

PORTLAND SCHOOL FOR BEHAVIORAL ISSUES. A school in Portland, Oregon, is often an interim stop for K-12 students who have behavioral problems that may include AD/HD or ODD. The school's goal is to reintegrate its clients with mainstream schools, but some students stay until graduation from high school. Some of the students at the school are at the AP and honors level academically. Read more. 

DYSLEXIA AND JAPANESE. Some students with dyslexia do much better writing in Japanese or Chinese than they do in their native English. In Japanese and Chinese, according to an article on the topic, "characters represent complete words or ideas," as opposed to languages like English, "which use separate letters and sounds to form words."  Evidently dyslexics use different parts of their brains when reading in Japanese than in English. Find out more.

WAS YOUR KID A LATE TALKER? No worries, according to a study published in Pediatrics. Even if issues were present at age 2, the children in the study appeared not to be at increased risk for AD/HD or other issues as they grew up. As many as 18 percent of children are apparently late talkers. Read more.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND AUTISM. A newly-published study indicates that some environmental factors might be at least as important as genetic factors in the development of autism. The twin-based study included kids with Asperger's as well as "classic" autism. Some of the environmental factors -- which were not specifically listed -- occur prenatally. Read about the study.

NEW GIFTED SCHOOL IN ARIZONA. Arizona State University will open an on-campus school for gifted students who have completed at least a sixth-grade curriculum. Herberger Academy will accept up to 40 students per year for "an accelerated, five-year program that is not for the faint of heart." Find out more.