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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Adult ADHD Research Breakthrough using MCT
Let's begin with a brief explanation about Meta-cognitive Therapy (MCT): Meta-cognitive therapy is a therapy based on the principle that anxiety, worry and circular ruminations are universal processes that can lead to an emotional disorder.
These processes are linked to common but erroneous beliefs about thinking and unhelpful coping or self-regulation strategies. These are things we do to address the problem but they can be responsible for keeping it going.
Metacognitive therapy recognises this negative change in thinking patterns and believes it is very important. It gives it a name: the Cognitive-Attentional Syndrome (CAS).
Affected persons can suffer from repeated patterns of thinking that consist of worry, rumination, a fixation of attention on a threat, and they can develop coping behaviours that the person believes are helpful but in many cases they keep the emotional problems going.
So, successful use of meta-cognitive therapy can allow people to escape from, or break out of repetitive thinking patterns and therefroe the behavours that lead to prolonged psychological distress.
In this blog we will look at one team's research into it's effectiveness and use in addressing the needs of adults who suffer from ADHD - Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder.
Research
Mount Sinai researchers have learned that meta-cognitive therapy (MCT), a method of skills teaching by use of cognitive-behavioural principles, yielded significantly greater improvements in symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults than those that participate in supportive therapy.
The study, titled "Meta-Cognitive Therapy," is now published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Mary Solanto, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Director of the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Center at The Mount Sinai Medical Center examined the effectiveness of a 12-week meta-cognitive therapy group. The intervention was intended to enhance time management, organisational, and planning skills/abilities in adults with ADHD.
"We observed adults with ADHD who were assigned randomly to receive either meta-cognitive therapy or a support group," said Dr. Solanto. "This is the first time we have demonstrated efficacy of a non-medication treatment for adult ADHD in a study that compared the active treatment against a control group that was equivalent in therapist time, attention, and support."
The study observed 88 adults with rigorously diagnosed ADHD, who were selected following structured diagnostic interviews and standardised questionnaires. Participants were randomly assigned to receive meta-cognitive therapy or supportive psychotherapy in a group setting. Groups were equated for ADHD medication use.
Participants were evaluated by an independent (blind) clinician using a standardised interview assessment of core inattentive symptoms and a subset of symptoms related to time-management and organisation.
After 12 weeks, the MCT group members were significantly more improved than those in the support group. The MCT group was also more improved on self-ratings and observer ratings of these symptoms.
Meta-cognitive therapy uses cognitive-behavioural principles and methods to teach skills and strategies in time management, organisation, and planning. Also targeted were depressed and anxious thoughts and ideas that undermine effective self-management.
The supportive therapy group matched the MCT group with respect to the nonspecific aspects of treatment, such as providing support for the participants, while avoiding discussion of time management, organization, and planning strategies.
In addition to Dr. Solanto, the research team included David Marks, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and Jeanette Wasserstein, Ph.D., Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
If you would like to know more about MCT - Meta-cognitive Therapy, you can click on the link to go to the MCT Institute website.
NB: I have not examined this site at great length and see it only as a possible source of further information for the reader.
National Literacy Trust: State of the Nation (UK) Downlaod Report
Literacy is the combination of reading, writing, speaking and listening skills we all need to fulfil our potential. These life skills are essential to the happiness, health and wealth of individuals and society.
Literacy: State of the Nation provides a coherent picture of literacy in the UK today.
Literacy: State of the Nation reveals that:
Literacy: State of the Nation provides a coherent picture of literacy in the UK today.
Literacy: State of the Nation reveals that:
- One in six people in the UK struggle with literacy. This means their literacy is below the level expected of an eleven year old
- A quarter of young people do not recognise a link between reading and success
- Men and women with poor literacy are least likely to be in full-time employment at the age of thirty
- 73% of parents and carers say their child often reads
- The number of children achieving the expected levels for reading at age eleven increased from 78% in 1999 to 86% in 2009
- The number of children achieving the expected levels for writing at age eleven increased from 54% to 67% in 2006, but this figure plateaued and remained the same (67%) three years later in 2009
17% of UK Adults have lowered Literacy Rate
One in six adults has lower literacy than the level expected of an 11-year-old, new research shows today.It finds that only half of children enjoy reading, and that a quarter do not recognise any link between reading and success.
The report, Literacy: State of the Nation is the first coherent, national picture of reading and writing abilities, according to the National Literacy Trust.
It conducted a study of more than 17,000 pupils from 112 schools. Most read e-mails, blogs and websites more frequently than books, the survey suggests. However children who engage in technology are more likely to enjoy writing than their classmates.
While literacy levels have risen among 11-year-olds in the past decade, they have plateaued in writing. Yet three-quarters of parents said their child often read for pleasure.
The report also analysed reading and writing in the workplace, and found widespread concerns.
Almost seven in ten retail firms and half of manufacturing companies reported problems with literacy among staff.
Nearly two-thirds of men and three-quarters of women with very low literacy skills had never received a promotion, it found.
Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, said the findings were “extremely worrying”.
“We believe this should be of great concern to all political parties as reading for pleasure helps to develop strong literacy skills and ultimately, supports academic and future success,” he said.
“The Treasury estimated the cider tax will bring in £30 million. For just a tenth of this money the Government could establish which adults are most in need of literacy support and run a year-long campaign to support children and adults who are struggling with literacy.
“It is estimated that poor literacy costs the economy £2.5bn a year.”
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Bamboo Fun a computer aid for Dyspraxia
Bamboo Fun - Go to the site and run the videoOverview
Bamboo Fun combines the benefits of Multi-Touch with the comfort and precision of Wacom's ergonomically-designed pen. The result: a powerful new way to work with your computer.
With Multi-Touch, you use simple hand gestures and finger taps on the tablet's surface. And because the active area is larger than traditional mobile devices and laptop trackpads, it's more comfortable and natural to use.Easily move around your desktop, scroll through documents, navigate the web, zoom in and out of photos, and rotate images.
Need precision? Pick up the pressure-sensitive pen to edit photos, create personal greetings, make sketches, and mark up documents in your own handwriting.Using Bamboo is easy—even if you're new to the touch experience. The included tutorial will teach you how to use simple hand gestures to move around your desktop, make selections, and complete other tasks on your computer.
You can even customise your Bamboo experience by assigning your own shortcuts to the four ExpressKeys™.
Bamboo works with your existing computer: desktop or laptop, PC or Mac. And, the distributor claims that it's incredible value with the included software: Adobe® Photoshop® Elements and Nik® Color Efex Pro™.Sleek and black, the tablet makes for a stylish addition to your workspace but is not an ornament, it's supposed to be a tool.
You can attach Bamboo to any PC, Laptop or Mac, via a standard USB port, set it comfortably by your keyboard, and let your intuition guide you.
We are not endorsing this product and have no connection with the producer of it, it is simply here for information and for you to decide if it is useful to you or not.
Friday, March 26, 2010
When will children disobey parents? It depends on the rule
When will children disobey parents? It depends on the rule
As all parents know, children often want to do exactly what their parents don't want them to do. In three areas that children often consider parts of their personal domain, clothing, friendship, and leisure activitiesc having a degree of choice over decisions is important for children's sense of identity and mental health.
A new study that considered connections between control over issues within children's personal domain, identity, and emotional well-being has found that children make important distinctions between different kinds of rules.
The study was carried out by researchers at the University of California, Davis, the University of Illinois, Chicago, and Brock University in Ontario, Canada. It is published in the March/April 2010 issue of the journal Child Development.
The researchers looked at the beliefs of 60 4- to 7-year-olds about how child characters in role-playing situations would act and feel when a parent forbids them from engaging in a desired activity. At times, the parent's rule intruded on the child's personal domain (as in, you shouldn't play with a particular friend, take part in a certain activity, or wear certain clothes), while in others, the parent's rule fell within the moral domain (as in, you shouldn't hit or steal).
From ages 4 to 7, children's predictions that the characters would comply with moral rules (such as prohibitions against stealing) and feel good about doing so rose significantly, suggesting that between these ages, children become increasingly aware of the limits to legitimate disobedience. In stark contrast, children of all ages predicted that the characters would frequently break parents' rules when those rules intruded on the personal domain and that this disobedience would feel good, particularly when the desired activities were described as essential to the character's sense of identity.
"The findings suggest that children make important distinctions between different kinds of rules when reasoning about decisions and emotions," notes Kristin Hansen Lagattuta, associate professor of psychology and the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis, who led the study. Previous research has shown that "although the particulars of what gets defined as the personal domain can vary across cultural settings, the establishment of a zone of personal choice and privacy appears to be culturally universal," she adds.
"These results have practical implications for parents and educators," Lagattuta suggests. "Foremost, they argue for balance in promoting morality in young children -- not only restricting actions that they shouldn't do, but helping them identify situations where they can assert personal control."
As all parents know, children often want to do exactly what their parents don't want them to do. In three areas that children often consider parts of their personal domain, clothing, friendship, and leisure activitiesc having a degree of choice over decisions is important for children's sense of identity and mental health.
A new study that considered connections between control over issues within children's personal domain, identity, and emotional well-being has found that children make important distinctions between different kinds of rules.
The study was carried out by researchers at the University of California, Davis, the University of Illinois, Chicago, and Brock University in Ontario, Canada. It is published in the March/April 2010 issue of the journal Child Development.
The researchers looked at the beliefs of 60 4- to 7-year-olds about how child characters in role-playing situations would act and feel when a parent forbids them from engaging in a desired activity. At times, the parent's rule intruded on the child's personal domain (as in, you shouldn't play with a particular friend, take part in a certain activity, or wear certain clothes), while in others, the parent's rule fell within the moral domain (as in, you shouldn't hit or steal).
From ages 4 to 7, children's predictions that the characters would comply with moral rules (such as prohibitions against stealing) and feel good about doing so rose significantly, suggesting that between these ages, children become increasingly aware of the limits to legitimate disobedience. In stark contrast, children of all ages predicted that the characters would frequently break parents' rules when those rules intruded on the personal domain and that this disobedience would feel good, particularly when the desired activities were described as essential to the character's sense of identity.
"The findings suggest that children make important distinctions between different kinds of rules when reasoning about decisions and emotions," notes Kristin Hansen Lagattuta, associate professor of psychology and the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis, who led the study. Previous research has shown that "although the particulars of what gets defined as the personal domain can vary across cultural settings, the establishment of a zone of personal choice and privacy appears to be culturally universal," she adds.
"These results have practical implications for parents and educators," Lagattuta suggests. "Foremost, they argue for balance in promoting morality in young children -- not only restricting actions that they shouldn't do, but helping them identify situations where they can assert personal control."
Four Pebble Meditation Exercise for Mothers and Children
Here is a lovely meditation practice for children, and points out that many adults like it too.He calls it “four pebble meditation” and here’s how to do it -
First, select and collect four pebbles and keep them in small bag.
Select them so that each pebble reminds you, in turn, of a flower, a mountain, still water and space.
Take the first pebble, the 'flower' pebble, in your left hand, close your eyes and say “I see myself as a flower. I feel fresh.” Try to picture yourself as a flower in a warm breeze.
Repeat three times, then lay the pebble down.
Take the next pebble, the 'mountain' pebble, in your left hand and say “I see myself as a mountain. I feel solid” Picture yourself as a mountain, strong, and unmoveable.
Repeat three times, then lay the pebble down. Put this pebble aside.
Take the 'water' pebble in your left hand, saying “I see myself as still water. I reflect things as they truly are.” Picture yourself as a pool of fresh calm water reflecting the trees and flowers at your side.
Repeat three times, then lay the pebble down. Put this pebble aside.
Take the last pebble. The 'space' pebble and say “I see myself as space. I feel free.” Picture yourself as the vastness of space, quiet and enveloping, moving out beyond the troubles of the world and the restriction of gravity.
Repeat three times, then lay the pebble down. Put this pebble aside.
Take the last pebble. The 'space' pebble and say “I see myself as space. I feel free.” Picture yourself as the vastness of space, quiet and enveloping, moving out beyond the troubles of the world and the restriction of gravity.
Repeat three times, then lay the pebble down.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Bullying: Pursuit of status and affection
Pursuit of status and affection drives bullies' behaviour ScienceBlog.com
Researchers questioned almost 500 elementary-school children ages 9 to 12. Based on their findings, they conclude that bullies generally choose to gain status by dominating their victims. But at the same time, they try to reduce the chances that they'll end up on the outs with other classmates by choosing as victims children who are weak and not well-liked by others. In short, even bullies care a lot about others' affection and don't want to lose it.
Gender also plays a role. For example, the study finds that at this age, bullies only care about not losing affection from classmates of their own gender. So when boys bully boys, it doesn't matter whether girls approve or disapprove. The same holds for girls. Moreover, boys will bully only those girls that aren't well liked by other boys, regardless of what girls think about it, and girls will do the same in their bullying of boys.
"To understand the complex nature of acceptance and rejection, it's necessary to distinguish the gender of the bully, the gender of the target, and the gender of the classmates who accept and reject bullies and victims," according to René Veenstra, professor of sociology at the University of Groningen, who led the study.
Researchers questioned almost 500 elementary-school children ages 9 to 12. Based on their findings, they conclude that bullies generally choose to gain status by dominating their victims. But at the same time, they try to reduce the chances that they'll end up on the outs with other classmates by choosing as victims children who are weak and not well-liked by others. In short, even bullies care a lot about others' affection and don't want to lose it.
Gender also plays a role. For example, the study finds that at this age, bullies only care about not losing affection from classmates of their own gender. So when boys bully boys, it doesn't matter whether girls approve or disapprove. The same holds for girls. Moreover, boys will bully only those girls that aren't well liked by other boys, regardless of what girls think about it, and girls will do the same in their bullying of boys.
"To understand the complex nature of acceptance and rejection, it's necessary to distinguish the gender of the bully, the gender of the target, and the gender of the classmates who accept and reject bullies and victims," according to René Veenstra, professor of sociology at the University of Groningen, who led the study.
Child Development: Talk to your babies
Talk to your babies | ScienceBlog.com
Northwestern University researchers have found that even before infants begin to speak, words play an important role in their cognition. For 3-month-old infants, words influence performance in a cognitive task in a way that goes beyond the influence of other kinds of sounds, including musical tones.
The research by Alissa Ferry, Susan Hespos and Sandra Waxman in the psychology department in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, will appear in the March/April edition of the journal Child Development. In the study, infants who heard words provided evidence of categorization, while infants who heard tone sequences did not.
Three-month-old infants were shown a series of pictures of fish that were paired with words or beeps. Infants in the word group were told, for example, "Look at the toma!" ?-- a made-up word for fish, as they viewed each picture. Other infants heard a series of beeps carefully matched to the labeling phrases for tone and duration. Then infants were shown a picture of a new fish and a dinosaur side-by-side as the researchers measured how long they looked at each picture. If the infants formed the category, they would look longer at one picture than the other.
Northwestern University researchers have found that even before infants begin to speak, words play an important role in their cognition. For 3-month-old infants, words influence performance in a cognitive task in a way that goes beyond the influence of other kinds of sounds, including musical tones.
The research by Alissa Ferry, Susan Hespos and Sandra Waxman in the psychology department in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, will appear in the March/April edition of the journal Child Development. In the study, infants who heard words provided evidence of categorization, while infants who heard tone sequences did not.
Three-month-old infants were shown a series of pictures of fish that were paired with words or beeps. Infants in the word group were told, for example, "Look at the toma!" ?-- a made-up word for fish, as they viewed each picture. Other infants heard a series of beeps carefully matched to the labeling phrases for tone and duration. Then infants were shown a picture of a new fish and a dinosaur side-by-side as the researchers measured how long they looked at each picture. If the infants formed the category, they would look longer at one picture than the other.
In brain-injured children, early gesturing predicts language delays
In brain-injured children, early gesturing predicts language delays | ScienceBlog.com
Researchers found that gesturing at 18 months (but not early speech) predicted which children with lesions had vocabulary delays a year later. The results suggest that gesture may be a tool for diagnosing persistent language delay in children with brain lesions.
These findings have both diagnostic and therapeutic implications, according to the authors of the study, Susan C. Levine, Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology, and Susan Goldin-Meadow, Beardsley Ruml Distinguished Service Professor, both in the Department of Psychology, Comparative Human Development, and the Committee on Education at the University of Chicago.
Notes Levine: "Gesture may be a promising diagnostic tool for identifying those children with pre- or perinatal brain lesions whose language delays are likely to persist at a time when they are saying very little. Early identification may be useful because intervention early in development may be critical to successful remediation of language delay."
Adds Goldin-Meadow: "The fact that gesture predicts later language delay raises the possibility that gesture itself may be an effective intervention??encouraging children with lesions to gesture in the first 18 months of life may improve their spoken vocabulary years later."
Researchers found that gesturing at 18 months (but not early speech) predicted which children with lesions had vocabulary delays a year later. The results suggest that gesture may be a tool for diagnosing persistent language delay in children with brain lesions.
These findings have both diagnostic and therapeutic implications, according to the authors of the study, Susan C. Levine, Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology, and Susan Goldin-Meadow, Beardsley Ruml Distinguished Service Professor, both in the Department of Psychology, Comparative Human Development, and the Committee on Education at the University of Chicago.
Notes Levine: "Gesture may be a promising diagnostic tool for identifying those children with pre- or perinatal brain lesions whose language delays are likely to persist at a time when they are saying very little. Early identification may be useful because intervention early in development may be critical to successful remediation of language delay."
Adds Goldin-Meadow: "The fact that gesture predicts later language delay raises the possibility that gesture itself may be an effective intervention??encouraging children with lesions to gesture in the first 18 months of life may improve their spoken vocabulary years later."
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