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Children With Autism Improve Key Thinking Skills Over Time
Tweet Share on Facebook September 17, 2010 Comment (8)Children with autism think differently, and that thinking changes over time—for the better. That first statement might not seem like news: Of course their brains are different, they have autism! But children with autism do improve their thinking skills over time, according to new research. That's encouraging, particularly because most research has focused on whether communication skills and behavior can change, rather than on cognitive skills.
[Autism and a Link to Brain Development]
Thinking problems typical of autism include difficulties predicting other people's behavior based on their thoughts and feelings (known as theory of mind), and in problem-solving and planning (executive function). Children with autism also are often better than children without autism at focusing on tiny details, like a pattern in a carpet, or small parts of Legos. Previous research hasn't found much change in these cognitive skills, even though children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) can show big improvements in behavior, especially with intensive behavioral therapies.
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Basketball Injuries: 5 Ways to Keep Kids Safe
Tweet Share on Facebook September 13, 2010 CommentBasketball is America's most popular team sport, but 375,000 children end up in emergency rooms each year after playing hoops, which is no fun at all. The number of traumatic brain injuries suffered by children playing basketball rose 70 percent from 1997 to 2007, according to a new study in Pediatrics, even though the total number of basketball injuries declined over that time.
[Concussions Pose a Long-Term Health Threat to Young Athletes]
Part of the increase in traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, is no doubt due to increased awareness that a concussion, which is a mild traumatic brain injury, can lead to permanent brain damage if an injured child continues to play a contact sport like basketball without having time to heal. But the authors of the new study, conducted at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio, speculate that the increase in concussions and other TBIs may also be due to rougher, more competitive play at ever-younger ages.
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3 Ways to Reduce the Health Risks of Nonstick Chemical PFOA
Tweet Share on Facebook September 7, 2010 Comment (3)Children exposed to a chemical used to make nonstick pans, anti-stain fabric coatings, and microwave popcorn bags have higher levels of bad cholesterol than kids who haven't been exposed, according to new research that casts further suspicion on these common products.
The fluorine-based nonstick chemical PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, was developed by the company DuPont more than 50 years ago and is what makes Teflon and other nonstick pans so slippery. But scientists have since become concerned that PFOA contributes to long-term health problems. A study published today in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that children and teenagers with PFOA in their blood serum had higher total cholesterol levels and higher levels of LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, than children who were not exposed. (The study wasn't designed to show causation, so it doesn't mean that PFOA is necessarily the culprit.)
[Concerned About Your Cholesterol? 10 Ways to Lower LDL and Raise HDL]
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Children, Sex, and the Media: 3 Ways for Parents to Gain Control
Tweet Share on Facebook September 1, 2010 Comment (2)Kids get more sex education from TV, music videos, and the Internet—let's make that Jersey Shore, 50 Cent, and XXX-rated websites—than they do from their parents and teachers, and that's not a good thing, according to the nation's pediatricians. They're calling on parents to step up and help children learn how to become responsible sexual human beings.
[Teens and Sex: How to Help Your Kids Dodge Pregnancy and STDs]
Clearly we parents aren't doing a very good job of that now. The United States boasts the highest rate of teen pregnancies in the developed world, and 25 percent of American teenagers have a sexually transmitted disease (STD). But we parents could really use some help. Many moms and dads shy away from talking about sex with their children. So instead, teenagers learn about sex from TV, where 70 percent of teen shows contain sexual content, and less than 10 percent of those shows give examples of responsible sexual behavior, such as delaying sexual activity or reducing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, according to a new report on teens, sex, and the media from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
On Parenting
Parenting may be an art, but there's a lot of science behind raising healthy, thriving children. Contributing Editor Nancy Shute explores the latest discoveries and developments affecting children's health and parenting. Send her your comments and questions at onparenting@usnews.com.
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