Curiosity is key to early childhood success in math and reading — ScienceDaily

Curious children are better able to grasp basic math and reading. This is according to a group of researchers from the University of Michigan, led by Prachi Shah. The study in the journal Pediatric Research, which is published by Springer Nature, is the first to investigate a possible link between curiosity and early academic success among young children. In addition, the researchers found that for children from poorer communities, curiosity is even more important for higher academic achievement than for children from more well-off backgrounds, and may serve as a potential target of intervention to close the achievement gap associated with poverty.

Children who have developed a wide range of socio-emotional skills are generally more successful when they start school. These skills include invention, imagination, persistence, attentiveness to tasks, as well as the ability to form relationships and manage feelings. According to Shah, most current early learning interventions focus on improving a child’s effortful control which includes their ability to concentrate or control impulses. Very few interventions aim to cultivate curiosity in young children — a trait that Shah describes as the joy of discovery, and the motivation to seek answers to the unknown.

Data for the current study were drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. This nationally representative population-based study sponsored by the US Department of Education has followed thousands of children since their birth in 2001. Their parents were interviewed during home visits and the children were assessed when they were nine months and two years old, and again when they entered preschool and kindergarten. In 2006 and 2007, the reading and math skills and behavior of 6200 of these children then in kindergarten were measured.

 

Source: Curiosity is key to early childhood success in math and reading — ScienceDaily

ADHD meds may be a prescription for bullying – Medical News Today

Kids and teens who take medications like Ritalin to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are twice as likely to be physically or emotionally bullied by peers than those who don’t have ADHD, a new University of Michigan study found.

Source: ADHD meds may be a prescription for bullying – Medical News Today

ADHD meds may be a prescription for bullying

Original post from Medical News Today

‘…………….

Kids and teens who take medications like Ritalin to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are twice as likely to be physically or emotionally bullied by peers than those who don’t have ADHD, a new University of Michigan study found.

At even higher risk were middle and high school students who sold or shared their medications–those kids were four-and-a-half times likelier to be victimized by peers than kids without ADHD.

The main findings are the same for both sexes, said the study’s first author, Quyen Epstein-Ngo, research assistant professor at the U-M Institute for Research on Women and Gender and a fellow at the U-M Injury Center. Carol Boyd, professor of nursing, is the principal investigator.

It’s long been known that kids with ADHD have a harder time making and keeping friends and are bullied and victimized more. This study is believed to be the first known to look at how stimulant medications affect their relationships with peers.

“Many youth with ADHD are prescribed stimulant medications to treat their ADHD and we know that these medications are the most frequently shared or sold among adolescents,” said Epstein-Ngo, a licensed clinical psychologist.

The U-M researchers surveyed nearly 5,000 middle and high school students over four years. About 15 percent were diagnosed with ADHD and roughly 4 percent were prescribed stimulants within the past 12 months.

Of those who took ADHD meds, 20 percent reported being approached to sell or share them, and about half of them did.

When looking at the overall figures, relatively few students were asked to divert their medications or did. However, Epstein-Ngo said the numbers don’t tell the entire story.

“Having a diagnosis of ADHD has lifelong consequences,” she said. “These youth aren’t living in isolation. As they transition into adulthood, the social effects of their ADHD diagnosis will impact a broad range of people with whom they come into contact.”

From 2003 to 2011, there was a 42 percent increase in ADHD cases diagnosed in the U.S., and between 2007 and 2011, there was a 27 percent increase in stimulant-treated ADHD.

Epstein-Ngo said the findings shouldn’t scare parents away from considering a stimulant medication. Rather, the study reinforces why parents must talk to kids about never sharing their medications.

“For some children stimulant medications are immensely helpful in getting through school,” Epstein-Ngo said. “This study doesn’t say ‘don’t give your child medication.’ It suggests that it’s really important to talk to your children about who they tell.”

It’s unclear why kids with prescriptions for stimulant medications are more at risk for bullying and victimization, but Epstein-Ngo said it’s probably several factors.

“Is it a function of the fact that they are in riskier situations, or are they being coerced and forced to give up their medications? Probably a little bit of both,” she said.

Epstein-Ngo believes the biggest takeaway is to have compassion for kids with ADHD.

“I think the biggest misconception about ADHD is that these kids aren’t trying hard enough, and that’s just not the case,” she said. “If these kids could do better they would. With the proper support and treatment they can overcome this.”

Adapted by MNT from original media release

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References

The study, “Diversion of ADHD stimulants and peer victimization among adolescents,” is scheduled to appear in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. It was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

University of Michigan              ………….’

What It’s Really Like for Black Students Who Face Police Bullying

Original post from Take Part

‘…………A student-made video explores the diversity, pain, and hope of the black American experience.

By Rebecca McCray

Rebecca McCray is a TakePart staff writer covering criminal justice and legal issues. She is based in New York.

full bio

Last December, when a grand jury declined to indict white New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo for the choke-hold killing of Eric Garner, many Americans protested in grief. Much of the outrage was attributable to the persistent lack of justice for black men who die at the hands of police.

At the University of Michigan, three graduate students came together after emotional conversations on campus about the deaths of Garner and black teenager Michael Brown and decided to create Walking the Line of Blackness, a video that shares the voices and experiences of 16 students at their school who identify as black or African American.

The video was a collaborative effort that took place over the course of the spring semester, born of questions about how to drive the conversation forward into action, said Maron Alemu, one of the collaborators and a student at Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

“We can have a conversation out of pain and anger. But how do we–as policy students–channel that into something that doesn’t just start and stop a conversation–but actually inspires others to begin deconstructing how race plays into all of our lives?” Alemu asked.

Alemu, who is black, worked with Pete Haviland-Eduah, who is also black, and Jimmy Schneidewind, who is white, to film student interviews. Each student was asked why it’s important to use the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter instead of #AllLivesMatter.

The video opens with Haviland-Eduah sharing his experience of being stopped by police on campus–because, he says he was told, he “fit the description” of an African American man the officers were looking for; his white friends walked on. The video moves onto a series of stories about the pain of being singled out because of race—in the street, in the classroom, and elsewhere. The video’s emphasis on what should be done to create a national environment in which black lives are treated like they do matter.

“I was surprised by the sheer number of folks who had similar experiences to my own,” Haviland-Eduah told TakePart. “Just hearing about it was almost refreshing, because I felt like I wasn’t alone on an island; I wasn’t the only person this happened to.”

related stories on takepart

   Activists Want Hillary Clinton to Speak Up Now About Why Black Lives Matter

   Malcolm-Jamal Warner Embraces Black Lives Matter

Watch the Inspiring Reality Check Eric Garner’s Daughter Gave on the Slain NYPD Officers    …………..’