Category: developmental disabilities
Autism can build a wall of poor communication between those struggling with the condition and their families. While a personal computer can help bridge the divide, the distraction and complexity of a keyboard can be an insurmountable obstacle.
LAWRENCE, KAN. -- A new candidate gene for Specific Language Impairment has been identified by a research team directed by Mabel Rice at the University of Kansas, in collaboration with Shelley Smith, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Javier Gayán of Neocodex, Seville, Spain.
Data from an ongoing multi-year study suggest that people who consume deer and elk with chronic wasting disease (CWD) may be protected from infection by an inability of the CWD infectious agent to spread to people.
A common variation of the gene involved in regulating serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain may be linked to problem behaviors in adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, new research indicates.
Study was conducted with 274 adults with intellectual disabilities currently receiving funding from a state developmental disability agency
For many children, a trip to the doctor or dentist is a stressful experience. The sensory environment (i.e., the sounds, smells, and lights associated with the clinical setting) can cause a child's anxiety levels to rise.
Babies who are born prematurely are often in grave danger. They may not be able to suck, swallow or breathe on their own. Some ''preemies'' suffer strokes or hemorrhage during or shortly after birth. Many more have subtle brain injuries that affect the development of intelligence and speech. But a new high-tech pacifier being developed by the University of Kansas to train babies to suck at the right time, in the right way, may allow them to feed, thrive and leave intensive care units earlier. The pacifier also may reduce the incidence or severity of certain developmental disabilities that appear in early childhood and beyond as well as possibly boost IQ.
Researchers have traditionally thought that language learning in children with Down syndrome stopped during the teenage years. As a result, Down youth typically received no language instruction after puberty. But a new study suggests the opposite: that individuals with Down syndrome can benefit from language intervention programs during adolescence and beyond, precisely because it takes them longer to learn. Down syndrome is a developmental disability resulting from an extra copy of chromosome 21, and it affects about 5,000 newborns in the United States every year. Most children begin learning language skills, such as grammar and speaking, at rapid rates early in their lives. Children with Down syndrome, however, typically experience delays in language development, learning more slowly and at varying rates.
