I Speak of Dreams

Is This Photographer Abusive to Children

Jill Greenburg has a new art project: taking photographs of toddlers who she has induced to cry as a way of illustrating her distress over the rise to political power of Christian fundamentalists who believe that The Rapture is nigh.

As a parent I have to reckon with the knowledge that our children will suffer for the mistakes our government is making. Their pain is a precursor of what is to come.”

Thomas Hawk thinks that Greenburg's project is abusive to the children involved.

Personally, I think all use of children under the age of reason (seven or so) in advertising and media is questionable.  They aren't making the choice, the parents are.  What do you think?

Side note:  Robert Green, Greenberg's husband, made some inflammatory comments on his blog -- and then took them down.

Psychopathy an Information Processing Disorder?

From the lecture notes by Thomas O'Connor for a criminology class:

Psychopathy is a concept subject to much debate, but is usually defined as a constellation of affective, interpersonal, and behavioral characteristics including egocentricity; impulsivity; irresponsibility; shallow emotions; lack of empathy, guilt, or remorse; pathological lying; manipulativeness; and the persistent violation of social norms and expectations.

It is estimated that up to 25% of the male prison population are psychopaths .   Joe Newman thinks that psychopaths are in part a product of a neurological difference

that makes individuals oblivious to the implications of their actions when focused on tasks that promise instant reward. Being focused on a short-term goal, Newman suggests, makes psychopathic individuals incapable of detecting surrounding cues such as another person's discomfort or fear.

Why is this research important?

"We need to know more about this population as it presents unique challenges to the prison system and our efforts at rehabilitation and treatment," [ Dale Bespalec, a prison psychologist] says. " Everything that we can learn (about psychopathy) can impact our attempts to change people's patterns of behavior. Newman's work is likely to impact the entire field

Wikipedia on psychopathy.

The Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathology

Below the fold, some facts on untreated learning disabilities and prison populations.

Jerry Springer Funds a Multi-Sensory Room

Jerry Springer's daughter Katie volunteers at Park School, a k-12 public school in the Evanston Township that serves children with severe disabilities, including developmental disabilities.   (The newspaper report said "learning disabilities").  Mr. Springer funded a "multi-sensory room" or "snozelen room".

I couldn't find a website for Park School, but it appears to be limited to students with severe challenges including developmental disabilities.

What are Developmental                           Disabilities?
Developmental disabilities are a diverse group of       severe chronic conditions that are due to mental and/or physical       impairments. People with developmental disabilities have problems with       major life activities such as language, mobility, learning, self-help, and       independent living. Developmental disabilities begin anytime during       development up to 22 years of age and usually last throughout a person’s       lifetime.

Definition of Learning Disabilities

The definition provided in US federal code (Section 300.7(c)(10) of 34 CFR Parts 300 and 303):
(i) General. The term means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
(ii) Disorders not included.

The term does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Click here for more themes in learning disabilities.

Dyslexic Personality?

Chris Tregenza at Myomancy links to a paper by Gerald Hales (Consultant Psychologist and Clinical Hypnotherapist, Milton Keynes, England) The pattern of personality in dyslexic children and adults: the invisible symptoms and the effects they produce, which was presented at the 5th International Dyslexia conference.  The paper is a follow-up to Hales's 1990 paper, Personality Aspects of Dyslexia. (In G Hales [ed] Meeting points in Dyslexia (Proceedings of the first International Conference on Dyslexia, Bath, 1989). Reading: British Dyslexia Association.

I couldn't find a citation or link for Meeting points in Dyslexia.

I found the paper somewhat odd and unconvincing. 

Another Disabled Girl Sexually Assaulted by Classmates

A developmentally disabled girl was assaulted by classmates at Lew Wallace High School, another developmentally disabled girl was attacked at Frankfort High School.  A developmentally disabled girl was assaulted at  Mifflin High School.

Kalie McArthur , who has an IQ of about 50,  was forced into sexual contact by the student assigned to be her "peer trainer" at Rampart High School  in the fall of 2006. The student had a wretched academic and conduct history and reportedly had no training or supervision when Kalie was under his care.  Kalie's parents were reportedly not notified that Kalie was being supervised by a fellow student.

She was loving and trusting. She went everywhere with us," said [Cindy] Starr [Kalie's mother]. "Now, it takes 100 percent of one person to manage her aggression."

Starr said Kalie is still sweet and friendly, but will grab men and pinch them.

"She used to be passive and affectionate, now she's aggressive, especially toward males," said [James] McArthur [Kalie's father]. "She could end up hurting someone, maybe a little boy."

Late Diagnosis of Learning Disability

It’s a real myth that you can’t be successful with a learning disability,” said Ryan Orwig, the program coordinator. “Many professional students are so bright that they’ve been able to compensate for a disability throughout their school careers.”

Because the students have been able to compensate, they may have not ever realized they have a learning disability, but once they are in a professional setting, such as medical school or law school, the volume of work increases as such so their study habits may no longer be as effective, Orwig explained.

The program is Marshall University's HELP program,  specifically geared toward medical students and law students.

Michael Drout Teaches You!

Michael Drout is a professor at Wheaton College, who we met on the second college tour and blogs at Wormtalk and Slugspeak.  He also records lectures for the Modern Scholar recorded-classes program:

Bard of the Middle Ages: The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer
Rings, Swords, and Monsters: Exploring Fantasy Literature

He has a new course coming out:

Writing and recording a new college course on CD, working title "The Art of Rhetoric" (though I am hopeful that they'll change the title to "How To Do Things With Words" -- because you can't copyright titles). This is a weird hybrid of a writing course and an analytical course on rhetoric. I have two entire lectures on grammar (!), as well as two on figures of speech, one on logic, one of fallacies, and one analyzing rhetorical train wrecks and triumphs

I'm looking forward to that one and plan to purchase it for myself and for JumperGirl, because we can't take a class in person.

What You Need to Do To Maximize Your Kid's Intellect (Hint: It Doesn't Cost Anything)

Link: Building a better brain | Science Blog.

With flashy toys, expensive classes and music compilations all promising to make your child smarter, it's hard to sort out the best way to help your child's brain thrive. A new policy paper helps put those worries to rest. The gist of the paper is this: what kids need is a secure relationship with adults who adore them.

"It's all about playing with your child," said Eric Knudsen, PhD, the Edward C. and Amy H. Sewall Professor in the Stanford University School of Medicine, succinctly summing up a paper coming out in the June 27 advance online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A child's eventual ability to learn calculus or a second language, he explained, starts with the neurons that are shaped by positive interactions with nurturing adults.

The piece, written by Knudsen and three other members of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child including Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman, PhD, doesn't just ease parents' toy-buying decisions - it lays out the scientific basis for why helping all kids have the best early experiences is good economic policy.

Their argument is based on work from the diverse fields of economics, neurobiology, developmental psychology and public policy. Working independently, the four authors each came to the conclusion that the earliest years of life forever shape an adult's ability to learn. Although much research has been published on the value of positive early experiences, this paper pulls those strands together into an integrated message that the group hopes will help guide public policy in the future. They've already influenced legislation in Washington state and Nebraska and have begun working with lawmakers around the country with a nonpartisan partner, the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Kevin McGrew showed it to me.   I'll put up a link to the paper itself when I find it.

Gay Pride in Jerusalem

David Bogner, who writes Treppenwitz, was asked to by a fellow Israeli blogger to post out against  World Pride 2006 in Jerusalem. He responded nobly.

Gay Students at Religious Schools

Kentucky.com has published a long, thoughtful article by Jamie Gumbrecht about students at religious colleges who discover that they are gay.

Few, if any, statistics about gay students are kept at the 29 Kentucky-based schools with religious ties. Some welcome gay students, while others admit them but don't allow them to form campus groups. A few schools, like the University of the Cumberlands, bar gay students from attending. Many religious schools decline to articulate what their policies are. But they all can expect to enroll students struggling to understand their sexual orientation in their first years away from home.

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