Does stuttering stop children from doing more than just speaking?

Dr Lisa Iverach and Professor Ron Rapee AM from the Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, are investigating the social and emotional impact of childhood stuttering.

Stuttering is a disorder that affects approximately 5% of Australians, and usually develops in early childhood when children are first learning to create sentences.

"While some children recover naturally from stuttering, the disorder can persist for others. Not only does it inhibit effective communication, it can be the source of bullying, teasing, social isolation and rejection," says Dr Iverach.

Previous research by Dr Iverach and the Australian Stuttering Research Centre, University of Sydney, has shown adults who stutter report increased social phobia, however virtually nothing is known about the presence of social phobia among children who stutter.

"We need to know whether school-age children who stutter experience the same psychological difficulties as adults, and at what age these difficulties begin to emerge," says Dr Iverach.

This is the first Australian study to assess anxiety disorders in children who stutter, and will be conducted in collaboration with researchers from Macquarie University, the University of Sydney, and the University of Newcastle.

Results of this research will help psychologists and speech pathologists gain a clearer picture of the social and emotional experiences of school-age children, and will contribute to the development of more effective treatments for children who stutter in the future.

The research team are seeking children aged 7-11 years, both those who stutter and those who don't, to participate in this research.

"We really want the community to become involved. Not just the families who have experienced stuttering in their children but also those who haven't, they can all play a part in helping us understand childhood stuttering," says Dr Iverach.

Supporting orphaned children in Africa: Stop AIDS Now

I was fortunate enough this week to stumble across a most remarkable event whilst walking through the streets of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is many things to many people but to me it is a constant source of surprise and amazement, mainly because of it's window on the raw humanity of our world and also to the shear creativeness of our species.

I was walking towards Amsterdam's Nieuwmarkt, the open market space that spreads out in front of one of the ancient gates known as De Waag, which was once the Gestapo HQ for the German Occupying forces during WWII,

On most weekends this square, or 'plein,' can be occupied by street traders, rowdy tourists and the odd street performer but on this occasion it was occupied by strings of large cardboard dolls house.

Each one had been printed as a large cardboard 'cutout', in the manner of a children's toy and had been folded and constructed into the form of a doll's house. Individually they stood 5' tall.

This in itself was a creative and amazing piece of art but in addition to this the organisors, Stop AIDS Now (Holland), had arranged this assemblage of, possibly 100+ dolls' houses, into the form of a crossed ribbon. Almost filling the entire square with them.

The positioning of each doll's house was precisely placed as was the location of the event because not more than a stones-throw away is Amsterdam's Red light district.

To advertise the event the organisers had arranged for some Dutch celebrities to act as ambassadors, Angela Groothuizen en Nicolette Kluijver, to pose for photographs and to be interviewed by Dutch TV channels. An excellent event, well publicised.

I took the liberty, for you my readers, to climb the official photographer's platform to capture a few photographs, to better record the event and to experience the layout in it's entirety.

The organiser's representatives were too busy speaking to the TV crews and celebrities to be able to discuss the event with me, at this point. So, I continued on my way and returned later when things were quieter.

I was told that Stop AIDS Now had devised this campaign to highlight the plight of children in Africa who had become orphaned by AIDS, and that these children were now struggling to raise their siblings, unaided, acting as a substitute parent.

They very kindly gave me a small version of the cardboard cutout doll's house, which acts as a collection box. This is shown below.

These small cardboard versions are available from Stop Aids Now's Dutch website but feel free to print out the picture below and construct it from cardboard. Any money you collect will be put to good use.

I hope, when you look at it, it will remind you of the children in this world who have been denied a full and enjoyable childhood by circumstances beyond their control and of the blight that AIDS has brought to all humanity.

Does Genetic Testing Stop People Having Children?

Some of mankind's most devastating inherited diseases appear to be declining, and a few have nearly disappeared, because more people are using genetic testing to decide whether to have children.

Births of babies with cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs and other less familiar disorders seem to have dropped since testing came into wider use, The Associated Press found from interviews with numerous geneticists and other experts and a review of the limited research available.

Many of these diseases are little known and few statistics are kept. But their effects — ranging from blood disorders to muscle decline — can be disabling and often fatal during childhood.

Now, more women are being tested as part of routine prenatal care, and many end pregnancies when diseases are found. One study in California found that prenatal screening reduced by half the number of babies born with the severest form of cystic fibrosis because many parents chose abortion.

More couples with no family history of inherited diseases are getting tested before starting families to see if they carry mutations that put a baby at risk. And a growing number are screening embryos and using only those without problem genes.

The cost of testing is falling, and the number of companies offering it is rising. A 2008 federal law banning gene-based discrimination by insurers and employers has eased fears.

Genetic testing pushes hot-button issues: abortion, embryo destruction and worries about eugenics — selective breeding to rid a population of unwanted traits. Yet it is touching a growing number of people.