Blog - PediaStaff

Newest Robots Dance, Help Children with Special Needs

May 3, 2011

29 April 2011, Autism, News of the Week, Newsletter

[Source: CNN] The future arrives at American Morning’s set this morning. They’re two feet tall, nine pounds, equipped with touch sensors and Wi-Fi, and they just might be able to beat you at soccer. These bots, the Nao, made by Intel and…...

May 2, 2011

6 May 2011, Balance and Coordination, News, Newsletter, Vestibular

Thank You to our friends at Your Therapy Source for the Heads up on this cool research [Source: Gizmag.com] Photo Credit: Rice University Can killing monsters help physically-challenged children learn to walk? It can if they’re virtual monsters, that are part of…...

April 29, 2011

29 April 2011, Article, Assistive Technology, Newsletter, Q&A

By: Mishelle Rudzinski, SLP and AT Specialist Some children with limited motor skills use switches to access toys, communication, and/or the computer. Unfortunately, sometimes children who can benefit from more complex switch activities get stuck at the cause-effect level. They can hit…...

April 29, 2011

29 April 2011, Newsletter, SLP

By: Joleen Fernald, MS CCC-SLP, Doctoral Student Editor’s Note: The following is the second of two product reviews on the Thumball! When I first saw a Thumball two years ago at ASHA, I thought that it looked like a…...

April 29, 2011

29 April 2011, Handwriting, News of the Week, Newsletter

Editor’s Note: A pediatric occupational therapist is quoted in this article. [Source: The New York Times] For centuries, cursive handwriting has been an art. To a growing number of young people, it is a mystery. The sinuous letters of the cursive alphabet,…...

April 29, 2011

29 April 2011, Article, Bilingualism, Newsletter

By: Alejandro Brice, Ph.D, CCC-SLP, Ellen Kester, Ph.D., CCC-SLP and Roanne Brice, Ph.D., CCC-SLP Introduction Bilingual or dual language acquisition is a process that differs from monolingual development (Brice & Brice, 2009). It involves more layers that affect ultimate acquisition including: a)…...

April 28, 2011

29 April 2011, Autism, Newsletter, Tip or Resource

Special thanks to our friends at Fun And Function for this link to this video of Alex and Jack of ‘Autism Talk TV’ reviewing “Stimmy” Autism Toys. ...

April 27, 2011

Article, Language, Newsletter, Speech Sound Disorders, Stuttering, Vocabulary

By: Kelly Ring-Whiklo, M.Sc., S-LP ( C ) Reprinted with the express permission of the author as it originally appeared on her blog We had beautiful weather over the Easter weekend. It inspired me to get outside and start preparing my garden…...

April 26, 2011

29 April 2011, Cerebral Palsy, News, Newsletter

[Source: Disability Scoop] A Texas woman is outraged after she says her 8-year-old grandson was denied the opportunity to participate in a religious milestone all because he has a developmental disability. Irma Castro spent months preparing her grandson, Kevin, for his first…...

April 26, 2011

29 April 2011, Autism, Newsletter, Tip or Resource

[Source: New York Times ‘Arts Beat’ Blog] April is Autism Awareness Month, and given the increase in the number of children with autism spectrum disorders (the rate is in constant dispute, but some estimate that A.S.D. affects as many as 1 in…...