Children,
their mental health and war, 9/11, graffiti, autism and more
More than
1,400 delegates gathered in Melbourne, Australia, for an international meeting on
child and adolescent mental health. They tackled mental health issues for
children including: child soldiers, terrorism and natural disasters, jailing
for autism, detaining refugees, online games, graffiti -- have we got it
wrong?, ADHD safe drugs or over-prescribed?, deadly medications, two tongues
and drug use. The congress is held every four years.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/children_their.php
First
evidence that musical training affects brain development in young children
Researchers
have found the first evidence that young children who take music lessons show
different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year
compared to children who do not receive musical training. After one year the
musically trained children performed better in a memory test that is correlated
with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, visiospatial
processing, mathematics and IQ.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/first_evidence.php
Drinking
by Pregnant Women Predicts Later Alcohol Problems Among Kids
A long-term
study concludes that women who drank as few as three drinks at a single sitting
during early pregnancy had children who were more likely to have alcohol
problems by the time they reached age 21. The study, which involved 2,138
parents and children, found that women who drank heavily even once during early
pregnancy were 2.47 times more likely to have children with early-onset alcohol
disorders.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/drinking_by_pre.php
FAS
Kids Can Fully Recover, Researchers Say
A regimen
of constant mental stimulation and nurturing during the first two years of life
can help children with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) catch up developmentally with
their peers. A Toronto program is pioneering the
intervention, and a researcher of Toronto's Sick Children's Hospital said that widespread implementation could
transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of children.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/fas_kids_can_fu.php
**Civic
Engagement
Global
Youth Survey Explores Perspectives on Social, Cultural Identity
The World
Youth Identity and Citizenship Survey, developed by the Our World Alliance, was
intended to capture youth thoughts regarding their community and sense of
belonging, their political and economic beliefs, and their social and cultural
experiences. According to a new survey asking young people worldwide about
their social and cultural beliefs, most identified themselves as members of a
"global community," citizens of a broader multicultural world,
concerned about the problems of the planet.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/global_youth_su.php
New
Foundation Center Report Sheds Light on Community Foundation Giving
Estimated
giving by the nation's 700 community foundations rose to a record $3.2 billion
in 2005, according to the Foundation Center's new report, "Key Facts on
Community Foundations." The report is the first ever to exclusively
highlight the Center's most current research on the size, scope, and giving
interests of this segment of the nation's grantmaking foundations.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/new_foundation.php
Leadership
Dallas Celebrates 30 Years of Leadership Development
It all began
during the nation's Bicentennial year as a way to encourage young professionals
in Dallas to become more involved in their
community. The leadership development organization has also become a model for
groups around the Metroplex and North Texas and serves as a vibrant part of the city's business and volunteer
community.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/leadership_dall.php
**Education
Immigrant
Children Keep Academic Pace with Peers
Far from
being a burden on the educational system, research from Florida State
University shows immigrant children perform as well or better than their
same-race, American-born counterparts. Researchers found that first- and
second- generation children are no more likely than their third-generation
peers to have to repeat a grade despite the many social and economic
disadvantages they face.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/making_the_grad.php
Better
grades and greater incentives help explain why women outpace men in college
degrees
Researchers
found that girls did better academically than boys in both 8th grade and in
high school. Overall, 63 percent of women who enrolled in four-year colleges
graduated, compared to 55 percent of men. And the advantage for women was not
because they were taking easier majors, or because women used different
pathways than men to graduation, such as starting at two-year colleges, the
findings showed. The male disadvantage in earning a college degree is largest
for those who grew up in households with a low-educated or absent father. But
the findings showed that women from families with a low-educated or absent
father had the biggest increase in college enrollment and graduation.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/better_grades_a.php
**Health
Family
and Friends can Help Manage or Prevent Diabetes in Hispanic Communities
About 2.5
million (9.5 percent) Hispanic Americans age 20 or older struggle with diabetes
in the United States. Three Prevention Research Centers
(PRC) funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are
working to reverse the trend and ultimately eliminate health problems such as
diabetes and obesity that disproportionately affect Hispanic communities.
Approaches being tested focus on how families and friends can help people start
or keep doing things that will help prevent diabetes.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/family_and_frie.php
Widespread
Lack of Knowledge About Medicare 'Doughnut Hole'
A recent
survey of seniors on Medicare Part D drug plans has found that there is still
widespread misinformation and confusion on the gap in drug coverage commonly
known as the "doughnut hole." The study, released last week by the
Medicare Rx Education Network, found that almost half (47 percent) of
respondents enrolled in a Medicare drug plan were not aware of the gap in
coverage or "doughnut hole."
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/new_study_shows_6.php
**Homelessness
High-Alcohol
Beer, Wine Banned in Some Seattle Neighborhoods
Sales of
"fortified" beer and wine will be banned in certain Seattle neighborhoods as part of a plan to
cut homelessness and chronic alcoholism. City officials said they will monitor
the ban closely to ensure that sales don't simply shift to other areas of the
city.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/highalcohol_bee.php
**Substance
Abuse
Medical
Foundation Youth Action Initiative
The Youth
Action Initiative (YAI) of Massachusetts'
The Medical Foundation will award mini-grants to young people who work to
eliminate tobacco use through community-based youth tobacco prevention and
control efforts. Youth groups associated with schools, faith communities, teen
centers, community-based organizations, or other agencies are encouraged to
apply.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/ma_medical_foun_1.php
CDC
Report Slams Alcohol Ads Targeting Youth
The federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report saying that
the alcohol industry has failed to live up to promises not to advertise to
youth, the Associated Press reported Aug. 31. The alcohol industry ran about
half of its radio ads during youth-oriented programs in 2004, the report said,
violating a 2003 vow not to run ads on shows with an audiences comprised of 30
percent or more of underage listeners.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/cdc_report_slam.php
Middle-School
Methamphetamine Prevention Called Effective
Middle-school
students in rural areas who attended prevention programs aimed at
methamphetamine use were less likely to use the drug when they got older,
according to research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Researchers examined outcomes from a group of Iowa families who attended one of two prevention programs when
the children were in 6th grade
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/mt-static/archives/2006/09/middleschool_me.php
