Teach the Brain Forums

segarama Wrote:Good Evening

Last night I spend about a half an hour looking at this particular url from RDI that was retrieve for the net 1-19-06. At first you think it is just a commercial and maybe it is.....however if you take type to look at the entire site you will be quite taken by the approach they use for intervention. I am very familiar with the program and it works for many autistic children and PDD children.
Best,
Rob URL:http://www.rdiconnect.com/

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Good Evening, 2-3-06

Having a family with autism and pervasive developmental disorders etc. and being a former superintendent of schools for many years, I can tell you directly that the very best programs for early intervention [which is finally agreed upon as one of the best things to do to help your child] concentrates on sensory amelioration and forms of applied behavioral analysis...[adapted]. This is a life time duty that we must see that our children receive. Now as far as the Public and Private Schools are concerned, the quality of early intervention and availability of early intervention varies from school district to school district and from country to country. My deepest advice is to get professional help for you child either through the schools or through private therapy. Money is best spent on therapy for the child; not money for attornies to fight the schools....because your ladder that you might be climbing may be against the wrong wall...and you may be climbing to the wrong destination. Teachers are just now really being trained in the United States for early intervention. This does not discount the many that took it upon themselves to be trained using professional development dollars or their own money. We must work together in full cooperation for the benefit of the child.
Rob

February 11, 2006

There is a program called Relationship Development Intervention [RDI] that seems to be gaining approval of many children and parents with special needs. I retrieved it from the internet 2-11-06 and thought you might like this most interesting program for special needs youngsters.
Be well,
Rob URL: https://webmail.chapman.edu/src/printer_...fe_images=

Good Afternoon,

Something to think about....

Things
which matter
most must never
be at the mercy of
things which matter least.

-Goethe-

Be well,
Rob

February 28, 2006

Good Evening

Very interesting articles in the latest Dana Foundation's Brain Work Newsletter......The Foundation sends you at no cost a well researched neuroscience newsletter every month or so. Here are some headlines of the Vol.16, No.1 Newsletter.
1. Relatives' Brains Yield Autism Clues
2. Avoiding the Eyes
3. Parent's Brains Examined
4. Autism researchers are employing brain imaging in novel ways, especially as the search for genes heats up.
5. An Epidemic of Autism?
These are some of the articles on autism...other articles are especially good also that cover ageing, stem cells, the paradoxical creative brain, anticipating "smart"drugs...learning ethics from the jocks, meditation may change the brain and ......The return of Tau...."the other" protein in Alzheimer's disease.
Url: http://www.dana.org

Be well,
Rob

March 2, 2006

Good day Retrieve from the internet on March 1, 2006 is the brochure from the Dana Foundation that I was talking about previously. A good read and I suggest if interested you should subscribe....
Be well,
Rob URL:http://www.dana.org/books/press/brainwork/

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March 12,2006

Good Morning,

Vol.19/february'06 no.1 of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has very good articles this issue about stem cells et al. The cover story is called A Cell's Second Act...Researchers set out to understand neuc. reprogramming to revert adult cells to medically useful embryonic stem cells. This is not just water cooler talk...this is serious business that could be a major break through in amelioration of degeneration and disease.
Be well,
Rob,

March 14, 2006

Good Morning,

If you have any questions regarding neuroimaging Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and you want me to ask; I will be attending a workshop at Harvard at the end of this month, Speaking at University of Ulm in Germany next month or in September, attending a workshop at the University of Nottingham in England next month also the 4 or 5 day conference in Cambridge and Harvard at the end of next month and two days in May, with excellent speakers and people attending that are on the cutting edge of special needs neuroimaging.
Be well,
Rob

April 10, 2006
Good Morning

As a vaccine for cervical cancer could be ready as early as a year if everything goes ok, the same would be true for neuroimaging Autism, Pervasive, Developmental Disorders. The prospective noninvasive technology that is coming on the market soon [I hope] will be of great help in identifying and addressing these syndromes with more specificity. What happens to the children who have these terrible disease now. My granddaughter autism and we believe that the technology will be too late for her. She is now eight, but everyday she has intervention therapy either by professions or her family who are getting to be pretty professional....We must all go on with life and the child with autism must also do this...to the best of all or our abilities.
Best,
Rob

April 18, 2006

Good Morning,

Good articles on Autism that are a good read. Retrieved from the internet today.
Rob
Url: http://neurolearning.com/autism_archives.htm

Making teaching Fun.....Program today, Tuesday Apr. 25th

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Interesting Program today........

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April 25, 2006

Good Morning
Interesting problem for students today.....take a "look see".
URL: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstor...cleid=6266
Best,
Rob

May 10, 2006
Good Morning,

I spent about a week in Cambridge, Mass earlier this month, listening to Neuroimaging from some of the best physicians in the country. I asked this direct question of a prominent physician. "What are we finding out about autism and pdd from our neuronimaging capability"? His reply almost left me with my mouth wide open....He complained that we really were not [in his case] doing much in neuroimaging because of the privacy and permission constraints placed upon his occupation.

Two door down the hall I met a professor and physician who raved about the neurobrain imaging and that his profession was learning a great deal about the children with autism and pdd....This occured in the same building....don't these people talk to each other.
Best,
Rob

June 4, 2006

Good Morning

Retrieved from the internet today is a most interesting article from McGill University. I personally will follow this particular area of interest.
Best,
Rob URL: http://www.mcgill.ca/reporter/38/18/evans/

l I guess there are loads of people suffer from neuro-endoscopic problems, which affect the brain and realistically speaking, it's as dangerous as any other disease..so better not delay and get yourself cured as soon as possible!

Thanks for posting this very important article Rob.

One caution with Bradley Peterson's comment that, "having a set of control images of normal brain development will be extremely valuable." It will certainly be very valuable, but it is important to remember the limitations. Namely, that using this data as a control would likely lead to cohort effects.

All the best,
Christina

June 6, 2006

Christina,

Even with this constraint, do we have anything better now? Would like to know....
Thanks.
Rob

June 30, 2006

Good Morning ,

Teachers Sleep........retrieved from the internet today. Url: http://www.springerlink.com/(y5efnw55new...1:104757,1

Best,
Rob

July 12, 2996

Interesting Autism case in China [stem cells etc....] Url retrieved today on the internet. URL: http://www.stemcellschina.com/content/view/156/81/

Be well,
Rob

July 15, 2006

What do you make of this article retrieved on the internet today. Please reflect your thoughts about this article? ...I know nothing more about it than reading it. Thoughts? URL: http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=...nav=menu31
Best,
Rob

Hi Rob ,
About a year ago I was introduced to the techniques of Speed Reading, which I've been looking into. I came to the conclusion that this may be helpful in relation to Autistic Spectrum difficulties? Where a fairly common feature is a difficulty with comprehension when reading. Where they tend to read in a 'literal' way, with lack of inference.
Though an important element of Speed Reading, is to expand the digit span when reading. So that words are read in 'blocks of words', rather than word by word.
My proposition is that A/S readers, tend to be 'word by word' readers, which would result in lack of comprehension.
Given that Working Memory operates with block/ Chunks, with a 7[+2/-2] span.
So that for a 'word by word' reader, W/M runs out of space after 7 words.
'Key-words' within a sentence are also lost, as they are not prioritised. So they are not retained in W/M for providing context for the following sentence/s.
Yet it occurred to me that speed reading is directed at learning to read in blocks/ chunks, rather than 'word by word'. Therefore it may be of relevance to A/S and reading comprehension difficulties.
Though another element of S/R, is the 'suppression of Sub-Vocalisation', [or reproducing the sound of words in our mind as read].
More particularly the selective use of sub-vocalisation. Where only 'key-words' in a sentence are sub-vocalised.
Which supports selective retention in W/M.
Therefore I came to a conclusion that speed reading may be of assistance in developing greater reading comprehension for A/S readers?

Though I recently came across a group that is developing S/R software for those with Learning Disorders, and also non-L/D'ers.
They are also offering a free version, which I wonder if your grand-daughter might like to try out?
http://www.reallyeasyreader.com/index.html

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this.
Geoff.

[QUOTE=geodob]Hi Rob ,
About a year ago I was introduced to the techniques of Speed Reading, which I've been looking into. I came to the conclusion that this may be helpful in relation to Autistic Spectrum difficulties? Where a fairly common feature is a difficulty with comprehension when reading. Where they tend to read in a 'literal' way, with lack of inference.
Though an important element of Speed Reading, is to expand the digit span when reading. So that words are read in 'blocks of words', rather than word by word.
My proposition is that A/S readers, tend to be 'word by word' readers, which would result in lack of comprehension.
Given that Working Memory operates with block/ Chunks, with a 7[+2/-2] span.
So that for a 'word by word' reader, W/M runs out of space after 7 words.
'Key-words' within a sentence are also lost, as they are not prioritised. So they are not retained in W/M for providing context for the following sentence/s.
Yet it occurred to me that speed reading is directed at learning to read in blocks/ chunks, rather than 'word by word'. Therefore it may be of relevance to A/S and reading comprehension difficulties.
Though another element of S/R, is the 'suppression of Sub-Vocalisation', [or reproducing the sound of words in our mind as read].
More particularly the selective use of sub-vocalisation. Where only 'key-words' in a sentence are sub-vocalised.
Which supports selective retention in W/M.
Therefore I came to a conclusion that speed reading may be of assistance in developing greater reading comprehension for A/S readers?

Though I recently came across a group that is developing S/R software for those with Learning Disorders, and also non-L/D'ers.
They are also offering a free version, which I wonder if your grand-daughter might like to try out?
http://www.reallyeasyreader.com/index.html

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this.
Geoff.[QUOTE]

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July 23, 2006
Hi Geoff,

First of all, thank you for thinking of my granddaughter [autism], secondly I do see value in the search for comphrension whether it be by speed reading or chucks etc. I would very much like to chat with you about this when we both have some thinking time....right now I am at Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory in New York. We have been discussing the glial cell all week; almost ten hour a day. Participants have come from all over the world for this and it is intense. Wish you were here to see the discussions about myelin and how very important that glial is to the normal functioning of the brain. This has major implications for learning and disease. Be well.
Best,
Rob

Recent research suggests that males with autism have fewer neurons in the amygdala, an area which plays a central role in emotion: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticl...ived=False

Cheers,
Christina

March 23, 2007

Lives may be saved with this biggest of big neuro imaging device....let's give it a try. Many neuro degenerative disease may be caught in the inchoate states of degeneration....url: http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=44...rmat=print
Best,
:yes: Rob aka segarama

December 20, 2007

It is really a great possibility with the advancement in neuroimaging that we will actually be addressing an "all out attack" on neurodegenerative diseases" along with "Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorders".

Presently with neurodegenerative diseases we treat symptoms and with autism and PDD we treat everything that we can think of doing that will create a positive intervention. Can you imagine if prospective advances in neuroimaging could show us the beginning of a disease such as Parkinsons....well, I believe that it will. At this time, we can diagnose parkinsons after approximately 70 - 80% of the dopaminergic neurons die or are functionally diabled. This means that we essentially wait around until the pars compacta of the substantia nigra is replete with moribund dopamine cells. Now we have learned that the dopamine neurons that die or are disabled are not confined just to the substantia nigra, but indeed all throughout the brain.

Well things will change...soon I hope. There is a push by scientists to improve upon neuroimaging machinery so that medical specialists can see the process of early signs of these diseases. In this manner we can prepare to work on a positive cure rather than controlling symptoms.

We must support the neuroimaging science with our dollars. This will help us see the problems early enough to do something about them.
Be well,
Rob ...aka segarama.....http://www.segarama.com

Scientists have been looking for this for sometime. This may have legs. Retrieved from the internet 1-9-08: URL: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/st...TopStories

Best,
Rob aka segarama:am:

Interesting url retrieved from the internet today. URL: http://spnl.stanford.edu/researchproj/autism.htm

Be well,
Rob aka segarama:yes: