Special Report: Troubled Children: Diagnosing, Treating, and Attending to Context

Online Version: Troubled Children: Diagnosing, Treating, and Attending to Context
A Hastings Cen­ter Spe­cial Report By Erik Parens and Josephine John­ston
March-April 2011 Hastings Cen­ter Report vol. 41, no. 2

Download PDF: Troubled Children:  Diagnosing, Treating, and Attending to Context (pdf)


The following information was taken from the publication:



Primary Authors and Editors:
Erik Parens is senior research scholar at The Hastings Center and an adjunct professor in the Science, Technology, and Society Program at Vassar College."


Josephine Johnston is research scholar and director of research operations at The Hastings Center.


Sidebar Authors
Mary G. Burke is a psychiatrist at the Sutter Pacific Medical Center, as well as project coordinator in the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit and associate clinical professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.


William B. Carey is clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine and senior physician in the Division of General Pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.


Gabrielle A. Carlson is professor of psychiatry and pediatrics and director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Stony Brook University’s School of Medicine.


Peter Conrad is the Harry Coplan Professor of Social Sciences in the Department of Sociology at Brandeis University.


Lawrence Diller is a behavioral/developmental pediatrician/family therapist in Walnut Creek, California, and assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco.


Susan Resko is the executive director of the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation.
John Z. Sadler is the Daniel W. Foster Professor of Medical Ethics, professor of psychiatry and clinical sciences, chief of the Division of Ethics and Health Policy in the Department of Clinical Sciences, and chief of the Division of Ethics in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas’s Southwestern Medical Center.


Ilina Singh is reader in bioethics and society at the London School of Economics and Political Science.


Benedetto Vitiello is chief of the Child and Adolescent Treatment and Preventive Intervention Research Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.


Julie Magno Zito is professor of pharmacy and psychiatry in the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore

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About the Project
Read more: Download Special Report PDF – Hastings Center Report on Pediatric Psychiatry
Erik Parens and Josephine Johnston, “Troubled Children: Diagnosing, Treating, and Attending to Context,” Special Report, Hastings Center Report 41, no. 2 (2011). 


Thanks to Kevin McGrew for the link!

iPad: Links to a couple of interesting articles from WIRED

I thought I'd share links to two articles about the iPad, a tablet that is enchanting millions around the globe: 


Nobody Needs a Tablet.  So Why Are We Gobbling Them Up?
Brian X. Chen,  WIRED Gadget Lab, 3/24/11


"Indeed, it turns out that a tablet needn’t do everything that a more powerful PC can, according to multiple research studies on iPad usage. Rather, the tablet’s main appeal lies in the approachable touchscreen interface that just about anybody at any age can pick up and figure out...That’s the genius of the blank slate — with nearly 400,000 apps that allow the iPad to become a toy, a TV, a medical tool for doctors, a notetaker for students and more, it caters to an extremely broad audience." -Brian X. Chen


iPads Are Not A Miracle for Children With Autism
Daniel Donahoo, WIRED GeekDad, 3/22/11


" ...the potential of the iPad is not achieved by the iPad alone, nor by simply placing it in the hands of a child with autism. The potential of the device is realized by the way professionals like speech pathologists, educators, occupational therapists and early childhood development professionals apply their skills and knowledge to use the iPad to effectively support the development of children. The potential is realized by engaged parents working with those professionals to explore how the device best meets the individual needs of their child." -Daniel Donahoo


(I have a few thoughts about the iPad of my own that I'll share in a future post.)

Cross-posted on the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog.

Press Release from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and others: Defunding the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program will have long-range negative consequences for education in the US

ELIMINATION OF EETT WILL UNDERCUT ENGINE OF K-12 EDUCATION INNOVATION, REFORM

All news

March 08, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2011


Contacts:
CoSN: Jennifer Cummings, 202-822-9491, jcummings@cosn.org 
ISTE: Marlene Nesary, 541-302-3789, mnesary@iste.org
SETDA: Sara Hall, 410-279-3368, shall@setda.org  
SIIA: Mark Schneiderman, 301-943-5702, marks@siia.net

Education and Business Leaders Express Dismay Over Efforts to Defund State Ed Tech Grants Program  
Elimination of EETT will Undercut Engine of K-12 Education Innovation, Reform


Washington, DC – Four leading education and business associations – on behalf of more than 100,000 educators and hundreds of high-tech employers in all 50 states – today expressed deep disappointment with Congressional proposals to defund the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. EETT is the only federal program (ESEA Title IID) dedicated to making technology and training investments in K-12 education that benefit all students. The associations – the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), International Society for Technology Education (ISTE), Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) – released the following joint statement.


“Today, as President Obama speaks at TechBoston Academy to tout the need for more technology-related innovation in education, there is an effort under way to defund the EETT program. EETT is the only existing authorized education program designed to leverage innovation and technology to get our economy back on track and adequately prepare all of the nation’s children for the competitive 21st century global economy.


“We are deeply disappointed that despite many Members’ understanding of the vital role technology plays in K-12 education in their states and districts, Congress is on the verge of eliminating funding for this critical program.


“Elimination of the program also is the surest way to devalue the billions of dollars invested over the last two years on improving broadband access to K-12 schools and directly undercuts ongoing state and federal efforts to deploy education data systems, implement new college and career-ready standards and assessments, and address the well-documented STEM crisis.


“Our educators and students deserve better, and we urge Congress to reverse course and fully fund the EETT program.”


About CoSN, ISTE, SETDA, SIIA:

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) is the country’s premier voice in education technology leadership, serving K-12 technology leaders who through their strategic use of technology, improve teaching and learning. For further information, visit www.cosn.org.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE ®) is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in advancing excellence in learning and teaching through the innovative and effective use of technology in PK-12 and teacher education. Home to ISTE’s annual conference and exposition and the widely-adopted NETS, ISTE represents more than 100,000 professionals worldwide.

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) is the national member association that represents the interests of the educational technology leadership of state and territorial education agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. SETDA members work collectively and in public-private partnerships to ensure that meaningful technology innovations with broad potential for systemic improvements and cost-savings in teaching, learning and leadership are brought to scale. www.setda.org.

The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education and intellectual property protection to 500 leading software and information companies. www.siia.net.

Words of Wisdom about technology integration from Vicki A. Davis, Cool Cat Teacher

"It is, however, NEVER about the technology but what it lets you do. I like Voicethread because students can easily use their voice. If they can learn to TALK in a topic sentence then when they are ready to construct paragraphs by hand - the concept is in their mind already. Anything to help bring multisensory learning and expression to differentiate and reach all students should be what we do - but it shouldn't be done some here some there...As Chris Lehman says, technology should be like air. Ubiquitous, everywhere, invisible."


CAN'T WE JUST  "INTEGRATE IT EVERYWHERE?"
Vicki Davis, Cool Cat Teacher, 3/10/11

Words of Wisdom from Ira David Socal: "Writing without the blocks" using free/low cost technologies.

"Liberate students from the cognitive waste going to mechanical issues which have nothing to do with effective communication. Help them to become communicators and storytellers, and let your teaching focus on construction of effective writing, and what separates "writing" from "talking" in our culture." -Ira David Socal 


You don't need to be a student to appreciate this approach to writing and communication!


WRITING WITHOUT THE BLOCKS
Ira David Socal, SpeEdChange 3/10/11


Ira Socal starts out his thoughtful blog post by mentioning that he dictated it using a Jawbone bluetooth headset and Windows 7 Speech Recognition, which is a free component of the operating system.  He's found that this is a great approach to use with students who struggle with the writing process.   He points out that there are many barriers that students face when attempting to write, especially for those who have difficulty holding a pen or using a keyboard efficiently.  He also points out that "keyboards injure more people each year than any other workplace tool."


Below are two videos Ira Socal shared on his blog:

RELATED/SOMEWHAT RELATED
How to set up Windows 7 Speech Recognition
MIT Freedom Stick (Michigan Integrated Technologies Supports)
Freedom Stick and Firefox Accessibility
"The MITS Freedom Stick is designed to provide students with information and communication access on any computer using a Windows or Linux operating system. When you insert the USB Flash Drive into the computer the LearnApps software should load giving you a menu in the toolbar on the lower-right corner of the screen. Please note, however, that when using the software on some computers you may need to open the drive and click directly on the LearnApps icon to open."

Video: Apple's iPad - How about some apps for school psychology and related fields?

The video provides a recap of the iPad and highlights how it can be used in education, for students with special needs, in aviation, in doctor's offices, in the board room, in an art studio, in the kitchen - just about anywhere.


I wonder how an iPad could transform the work of a school psychologist!   I have a plenty of ideas, now that the iPad2 is out.  How can it help with RTI?  Progress monitoring?  Digital social stories?   Social skills activities?  Counseling? Behavior intervention?   Transition planning?  Assessment?  Communication? Productivity?  IEP collaboration and development?   


Wouldn't it be nice if there were a few iPad apps that could effectively support the work of school psychologists and those who work in similar fields?   


So much of what we use in our productivity work as school psychologist was built upon applications first developed in the mid-to-late 1990's,  at best.  There must be more efficient and effective solutions out there.  What can be done to move us forward?


Psychological and educational test publishers, can you hear me now?    


I have some ideas.

Game Accessibility Example: Control Sims 3 with your eyes!

The video below was shared by SpecialEffect Accessible GameBase:





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SpecialEffect Accessible GameBase website.


SpecialEffect Accessible GameBase (Facebook)



Cross-posted on the Interactive Multimedia Technology blog.