GIFTED ATHLETE, AD/HD. We believe in Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, so a recent sports story was of interest to us. It's about a New York Mets baseball player who played in the minor leagues for decade before accepting a diagnosis of AD/HD and beginning to take AD/HD medications. After that, he blossomed and made it back to the majors. Read more.

PARENTING  MATTERS -- especially if the kid has a short allele of gene 5-HTTLPR,  a gene associated with a predisposition to depression. Dutch researchers have found that as far as parenting quality was concerned, “If the environment is bad, these children have worse outcomes, but if it is good, they have much better outcomes.” They called these susceptible kids "orchids" because they need a good environment to flourish, as opposed to weeds that will flourish anywhere. Read more.

PARENTING RESOURCE. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a site called HealthyChildren.org. Included on the site is a feature called "Sound Advice on Mental Health," a collection of audios by pediatricians on behavior, mental health, and emotions. Sample audio topics: adolescent mental health; how to recognize anxiety and depression; and AD/HD in children and adolescents. The site also offers transcripts of the audios for those who read faster than they listen. Find the site.

ABOUT.COM has a page called "Understanding Learning Differences" that's based on a presentation by Jonathan Mooney. Find out what he said.

AUTISM SPEAKS has issued its "Top 10 Science Autism Research Achievements of 2011." Find them.

SAYING THANK YOU is the topics of WrightsLaw's Special Ed Advocate this month. The organization offers to "learn how and why to say thank you to those who have helped your child succeed." Read more.

AT SENG. The organization Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted has posted an article by Melissa Sornik, a contributor to 2e Newsletter. The article is a primer on twice-exceptionalilty and is titled "Gifted and Underachieving: The Twice-Exceptional Learner." Find this and other SENG resources.

WE WISH YOU the best of the holiday season as you raise, educate, or counsel the twice-exceptional children in your life.

From the Publishers of 2e Newsletter

ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION in their children are very common concerns among parents in the 2e community. The Wall Street Journal ran an article about mental health issues in college students and how educators should accommodate them. According to the article, a rising number of students are registering psychological problems with college disability offices. Read the article.

LDs, THE ADA, AND COLLEGE. A woman student was dismissed in 2003 from George Washington University Medical School after repeated warnings that she was not meeting academic standards. Shortly before the dismissal, she sought to establish that her academic performance was related to learning disabilities, undergoing evaluation and receiving a diagnosis of dyslexia and a mild processing speed disorder. She contended the dismissal violated her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Recently, as U.S. district court ruled in the the university's favor, deciding that the student had failed to demonstrate that her difficulties were from her LD as opposed to study habits and a heavy schedule of extracurricular activities. Read the article.

DOPAMINE, AD/HD, AND MOTIVATION. Scientific American reviewed a study where researchers established a positive correlation between positive dopamine function in the brain and motivation trait scores on a personality test. They also showed a correlation between the CAARS AD/HD symptom test and the motivation score (i.e, fewer symptoms, more  motivation. The conclusion: a disrupted dopamine pathway is associated with lower motivation and with AD/HD. The review does not mention that there are several types of AD/HD, but insofar as the study applies to at least one type it might be of interest to parents, educators, and clinicians who deal with AD/HD children. Find the article.

AN ASPIE'S MEMORY helps him connect with other people now that he's in his teens, according to an essay in the Washington Post. At first it was remembering birthdays... then addresses... then movie release dates... and then being able to connect names, birthdates, and movie releases to amaze family and friends.  Read more. 

THAT'S IT! More next week...

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

ON IQ. Today we found three items concerning IQ, a topic of some interest to those who raise and educate gifted kids with learning challenges.  1. A UK study found links between higher IQ at ages 5 and 10 with higher-than-typical drug use at ages 16 and 20. Researchers' conjecture? Boredom or feeling different, "either of which could conceivably increase vulnerability to using drugs as an avoidant coping strategy," Read more.  2. The American Heart Association says that in men, a higher late-adolescence IQ score correlates with a lower waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in middle age. A high WHR is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Read more.  3. Finally, a European study of breastfeeding and IQ indicates that preschoolers who had been breastfed longer had higher IQs. The conjecture: "It is the physical and psychological bonding and interaction between infant and mother during breast-feeding that nurtures development of an infant's cognitive abilities," noting that breastfeeding is not just a meal but "a dynamic, bidirectional, biological dialogue." Find out more.

SENG VINE. SENG's November newsletter is posted at Constant Contact. The issue's featured article is on parenting the gifted; it's by a woman who, as a girl, was featured in the movie Spellbound, about the National Spelling Bee.

RESOURCE. Education Week has announced that November 16-20 is an "open house" at its website, much of which is usually for subscribers only. Find the Education Week homepage.

THE SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE just concluded its annual meeting. A synopsis of some of the research presented at the conference is available at ScienceDaily; the synopsis features studies involving depression and schizophrenia. Another synopsis at ScienceDaily dealt with studies on ASD, Fragile X, and bipolar disorder.

AND FINALLY, THIS -- ON PARENTING. The New  York Times obituary section (we often learn interesting things there) noted the death of a Czech-born little person, 93, who had acted as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. According to the obit, his father tried "witch doctor" treatments to make him grow, but then, when the child was 9, sold him to a traveling show. For his stint in Oz, he earned $50 a week, supposedly less than Toto was paid. Read a longer AP version of the obit.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

COLLEGE ON THE SPECTRUM is the title of a presentation by a recent graduate of Seton Hall University. In an article in the Orlando Sentinel, the graduate described some of his tactics for getting through college, such as distributing cards to professors on the first days of class explaining he has autism. The article highlights some of the challenges to ASD college students -- but also gives hints of how to overcome those challenges. At the end of the article the Seton Hall graduate is quoted: "Autism doesn't define me — I define autism." Read the article.

HEALTH CARE PRIVACY AND YOUR CHILD. An article in Monday's New York Times covers some of the trickiness involved in balancing an adolescent's privacy rights with parental concern, or even with concerns of other adults (such as college professors) who become involved in a student's emotional or mental health issues. If you've got a child in that nether zone, check out the article -- because you're likely to be affected as the child receives mental or physical health care for those other exceptionalities.

DEPRESSION. Also in The New York Times, a piece on what is apparently a recent public discussion about the effectiveness of antidepressants. We point out this article because we know that parents of 2e children are very interested in depression (along with anxiety) that may stem from the challenges those kids face. The article is authored by a clinical professor of psychiatry who is concerned about recent "debunking" of antidepressants. Find it.

SECONDHAND SMOKE may be linked to an increased incidence of AD/HD or other disorders, according to a new study. According to CNN Health, the study "found that children exposed to secondhand smoke in the home had a 50% increased risk of developing two or more childhood neurobehavioral disorders compared with children who were not exposed at home." Read more.

AUTISM CAUSES, DIAGNOSIS. A recent news item covered a study on "birth factors" as they relate to autism -- factors such as birth weight, fetal distress, etc. One conclusion: parents should not worry about the occurrence of any single factor, but that some factors in combination with genetics might cause ASD. Find the article. In another study, researchers at the University of Cambridge say that siblings of people with autism show a similar pattern of brain activity to that seen in people with autism when looking at emotional facial expressions. The researchers identified the reduced activity in a part of the brain associated with empathy and argue it may be a ‘biomarker’ for a familial risk of autism. Read University's the press release.

GIFTED EDUCATION IN VICTORIA. An item in Jo Freitag's Gifted Resources newsletter pointed us to an inquiry being held by the Australian state of Victoria into the education of gifted students. The committee on Education and Training has solicited input from the gifted community, and much of what has been submitted is on the site of the Victoria Parliament -- responses from educators, parents, and gifted organizations, more than 100 posted at this time. A quick look didn't reveal any 2e-related postings; we'll keep looking. Find the inquiry.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY BLOG. A gifted young man who has dyslexia has established a blog to inform others about technology which may assist in reading and writing. Included are reviews of hardware and software. Begun last week, the blog already has 18 informative posts. Check it out. 

EXERCISE AND ADDERALL -- those are the two things that 674 people at CureTogether say are most popular and most effective as treatments. Apparently least effective for this group: Strattera and Wellbutrin. Find the report. CureTogether is a site where patients with any of 500 conditions may share with others information on their particular condition and treatment.

2e RESOURCES. The Lang School has posted on Facebook a list of resources for those in the 2e community. Check it out to see if they offer resources you might find useful.(Thanks, Micaela!)

SHOULD YOU SCREEN YOUR TODDLER FOR AUTISM? A new report suggests a couple downsides to early screening. The tests might not  be that accurate, for starters. And they apparently may lead to false positives up to 25 percent of the time, leading parents to believe their child has autism when that's not the case. Read more.

BOOKS AND BOYS. Reading is good for boys, in the sense that it can help develop reading skills, an area where boys may lag girls. But reading may not be perceived as "cool," according to an article in the Chicago Tribune, and may compete poorly with other activities more favored by boys, especially during the summer. The article offers ways to encourage summertime reading by boys. Find the article.

THE LEAD SAYS IT ALL: "Some 2 million Americans adolescents experienced a bout of major depression last year, but only about a third of them got any help in dealing with the sadness, irritability,  anxiety, guilt and loss of interest and energy that are the hallmarks of such episodes, a report says." If you have a teen at risk for depression, read the article.

SUMMERTIME BOREDOM can be an opportunity for creativity, says the author of a book on "dialed-down parenting" who recommends that a child's life be one-third busy time, one-third creative time, and one-third down-time. The author suggests that allowing a child to "dwell in the Land of What-to-Do" will soon result in self-generated, imaginative activity. Seems that this advice should surely apply to those gifted kids you know.  Read more.

EIDE BLOG POST REVISTED. A printout of an Eide Neurolearning Blog posting from January of 2009 somehow resurfaced on our desk, and it's titled in part "A Brain-based Framework for Understanding Twice Exceptional People." The post covers general characteristics of 2e students (intellectual strengths and deficits, along with social-emotional concerns), notes familial influences on the development of 2e traits, and points to research on asynchronous development (eg in prefrontal cortical thickness) in high-IQ youngsters. Read this blog post.

AND FINALLY, THIS. The U.S. government has released figures on the cost of raising a child from birth to age 18. A child born in 2010 to a middle-income family will cost $226,920 -- and that's without college. Expenses vary by geographic region, family type, and family income. And how might the child-rearing budget be different for families in the 2e community? Think "medications," "counseling," "private schools," and so forth; you know the affected household budget categories. Read more; if  you're interested in the details, find the government report.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

ANXIETY IN KIDS was the topic of two articles in the last few days. One article, from Australia, noted  how social networking sites supposedly cause anxiety in children as young as eight, which leads them into treatment by psychologists. According to one psychologist, "children [are] using social networking sites such as Facebook to determine their identity and form a view about what society thought of them." The other article, in The New York Times, profiled a child psychiatrist in New York City whose  mission is to remove the stigma of mental illness in children; he charges as much as $1000 per hour for  his services -- but seems to be much in demand.

DEPRESSION IN PRESCHOOLERS. Sadness and irritability in very young children can be a sign of depression, and researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have found that brain activity in young, depressed patients is similar to activity in adult depressives. Mentioned in the article is a longitudinal study of 600 families to try to identify early factors that influence chronic depression. Read more.

DR. RUSSELL BARKLEY is presenting on various aspects of AD/HD in two September workshops to be held in Shady Grove, Maryland. The workshops are sponsored by Alvord, Baker & Associates along with the Weinfeld Education Group. Find out more. 

AD/HD AROUND THE WORLD. Depending on where you are in the world, the diagnosis and treatment of AD/HD differs, according to a new study. Among the findings: "..although the prevalence of AD/HD varies across nations, largely due to disparate diagnostic practices and algorithms, far larger international variability exists with respect to treated prevalence and treatment procedures" Find out more. 

THE "AUSTISM ADVANTAGE" in prehistoric times is the topic of a scholarly paper. Researchers posit that certain autistic traits, including spatial skills, concentration, and memory, might have proved beneficial in a hunter/gatherer society. Read more.

AND FINALLY, THIS. Need more ammunition to clamp down on video gaming at  your house? Check out the message delivered at a recent presentation by child and adolescent psychiatrist Paul Weigle. He's a hard-liner when it comes to  the effect of gaming and violence on our sweet, innocent young children. Go there.

Lots of good items today...

STEPHEN HAWKING ON DISABILITY. Scientist/cosmologist Stephen Hawking was profiled and interviewed in Wednesday's New York Times. In the interview, Hawking, who has Lou Gehrig's disease and communicates using a computer-generated voice, covered his daily life, his condition, his works, and -- most interesting to us -- his advice on disability. He said, "My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with." Find the article.

2e-FRIENDLY SCHOOL IN CONNECTICUT? A member of the 2e community who is moving her family to Connecticut is looking for a 2e-friendly school there for her 6YO son. If you can help, please sign up at the 2e Newsletter Network on Ning.com (http://2enewsletter.ning.com/?xgi=5fRjVktrpoYhb5) and respond to her query in the Forum, or else contact us directly to relay your referral. Thanks!

MATT COHEN ONLINE. Special ed attorney Matt Cohen, who has contributed to 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter, offers a column of legal advice at LDOnline.org. In May's column he covers a number of issues of interest to parents of 2e kids, among them: how schools are required to use peer-reviewed, scientifically-based programs, when possible, to help students; whether a school can deny an IEP because of academic success; the assumption that colleges are required to comply with 504 plans; whether a school counselor may suggest medication; and the extent to which a school must accept an evaluation from an independent professional. Find the column.

WRIGHTSLAW. On the  topic of education law, in the current issue of Special Ed Advocate, the Wrights comment on Compton v. Addison, where a school allegedly failed to evaluate a student for disabilities and is being sued for negligence. They also cover the Child Find Mandate, meant to identify children who might need special ed services. Find the issue.

MOMS WITH AD/HD was the topic of a recent NPR program. NPR interviewed the writer and the subject of a recent Washington Post article on the topic. Read about the mom's discovery of AD/HD and what it means to her and her family (which includes an AD/HD son).

NCLB AND GIFTED CHILDREN. Education Next discussed the issue of whether gifted kids in the U.S. have been shortchanged by NCLB. Members of the discussion noted, among other things, that top-performing 17-year-olds in the U.S. perform no better now than 20 years ago, and that the U.S. is 41st out of 56 participating countries in one measure of advanced mathematical achievement. Find the discussion.

BIOMARKER FOR MAJOR DEPRESSION. A study by scientists at Wayne State University has revealed a new way to distinguish children with major depressive disorder (MDD) from not only normal children, but also from children with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).The study found different patterns of cortical thickness for patients with MDD versus OCD. Researchers call the results "an exciting new way to identify more objective markers of psychiatric illness in children." Read an abstract of the journal article announcing the study. Read an article based on the press release by Wayne State. Separately, an Oxford University study of depression finds that "overgeneral memory" -- where past events are recalled in an overly broad manner -- is linked to depression. Studies are underway to determine whether overgeneral memory in teens foretells later depression. Read about it.

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SCREEN. Parents of twice-exceptional children often notice that many kids are able to pay tremendous amounts of sustained attention to those glowing screens. A recent article on the topic explains a variety of views on why this might be so -- video games as self-medication; video as an ameliorative for poor social skills, etc. Read more.

THE BEST BOOKS MONEY CAN BUY. The American Coal Foundation got caught spreading its "clean" view of coal to school kids by paying Scholastic Corporation to write materials for 4th-graders called "United States of Energy." Three advocacy groups took note of how the materials seemed to fail to mention the negative effects of coal and are drawing attention to the collaboration between Scholastic and the foundation. The larger issue is, how many "educational" materials produced and distributed to students are similarly biased. Read more.

AND FINALLY, THIS. If your 16-year-old kid's only out-of-school activity is reading books, know that your child has a better than average chance of becoming a manager or professional later in life, according to an Oxford University study. No other studied activities had such a correlation. Reassuringly, however, the study also found that computer gaming did not decrease a child's chances for later managerial or professional status. Read about the study.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

CUSTOMIZED SCHOOLING is the title of a new book on education reform that looks at “how providers might use new tools to deliver or customize services that do not conform to conventional [school] policies or structures," according to its publisher, Harvard Education Press. EdNews.org's Michael Shaughnessey interviews one of the book's authors, who provides examples of what customized services and educational products can mean. The author makes the point several times that such an approach would focus on individual educational needs, and that it would help students with LDs. Find the interview.

WRIGHTSLAW pointed out to us a survey for parents in conjunction with the reauthorization of IDEA sometime in the next few years. According to Wrightslaw, the survey seeks to answer the question, "Are parents treated as equal partners in planning their children's education?" If you have had experience with IDEA or special ed for that gifted kid you raise, find out more about the survey.

ALLERGIES AND DEPRESSION may be linked. If your child has severe seasonal allergies, find out more about the linkages and effects.

FOOD DYES, PART III... or maybe VII, we lose track. If you're interested in reading yet another article on the relationship of food dyes to hyperactivity, the Los Angeles Times published one on April 11 that addressed questions such as "what's the evidence?" and "do food dyes have other risks?" and "how much food dye are we eating?" Find it. 

GIFTED LEFT BEHIND IN WYOMING. An article in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle notes how the state lags others in the percentage of kids identified as gifted, and how half of the state's districts identify no students as gifted. Read more about what Wyoming does -- and doesn't do -- for its gifted students.

AND FINALLY, THIS. What do we really need to teach kids in school? "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams suggests entrepreneurship, based on some of his life experiences, and offers sample lessons based on same:

• Combine skills
• Fail forward
• Find the action
• Attract luck
• And more...

Adams' thesis is that it's the "B" students who should be taught entrepreneurship, rather than the "A" students; he says, "The kids in [the] brainy group are the future professors, scientists, thinkers and engineers who will propel civilization forward." But we think all students could use lessons of the type he proposes. Let us know what you think. Find the article, called "How to Get a Real Education."