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Hearing loss can affect a child’s ability to develop communication, language, and social skills.  The earlier children with hearing loss start getting services, the more likely they are to reach their full potential.  If you are a parent and you suspect your child has hearing loss, trust your instincts and speak with your child’s doctor. Don’t wait!

There is no question that the incidence and prevalence of autism are on the rise. Starting in the early 1990s and continuing to today, there has been a steady rise in the number of children diagnosed with autism. Prior to 1990 the estimates of autism prevalence were about 3 per 10,000. The most recent estimates from the CDC and elsewhere now have the number at about 100 per 10,000, or 1%. The burning question is – why are the rates increasing steadily? There are those, particularly in the anti-vaccine community, who conclude that the increase in prevalence is a real biological effect – an epidemic – and is evidence for an environmental cause (which they believe is vaccines, even though the scientific evidence does not support this position). However, the evidence strongly suggests that the rising prevalence of autism is largely an artifact of broadening the diagnosis and increased surveillance.

Schools that have clear policies, procedures and activities designed to prevent bullying and have supportive staff and student organizations can be effective in reducing verbal and physical harassment. These kinds of positive school climates are associated with reduced suicide risk and better mental health among LGBT students [5,6].  For youth to thrive in their schools and communities, they need to feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe. Schools, communities, parents, and youth have a role to play in building positive, supportive, and healthy environments for youth. Such environments promote acceptance and respect and help youth feel valued [7].

Today, about 50 million Americans, or 1 in 5 people, are living with at least one disability, and most Americans will experience a disability some time during the course of their lives. Anyone can have a disability. Some people are born with a disability, get hurt or sick and have disability as a result, or develop a disability as they age. Some people may have a disability that lasts a short time while other people have a disability that lasts a lifetime. Different kinds of disabilities affect people in different ways. 

If you are living with a disability or provide services for people with disabilities, learn about health care and health programs to support the overall well-being of people with disabilities.

Bullying, particularly among school-age children, is a major public health problem. This compendium provides researchers, prevention specialists, and health educators with tools to measure a range of bullying experiences: bully perpetration, bully victimization, bully-victim experiences, and bystander experiences.

There’s a group of students struggling through school rd to navigate that gets little attention in the media or in the debate about how to fix schools: Children with ADHD. ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a brain condition that makes it especially hard for children to focus and concentrate in school and has a number of other symptoms. It is too often misunderstood by teachers, parents and even the students themselves. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 9.5% or 5.4 million children 4-17 years of age, had been diagnosed with ADHD, as of 2007. Many others who have the disorder haven’t had the benefit of a diagnosis. Here is a powerful post by David Bernstein, a nonprofit executive who lives in Gaithersburg, Md., writing about the difficulties that his two sons, ages 7 and 15, have confronted in school as a result of ADHD.

Do you know someone who isn’t sure whether or not to pursue a medical diagnosis for a developmentally delayed son or daughter? According to the Centers for Disease Control, most children with autism are diagnosed after age 4.  Certain other developmental and learning disabilities are usually not diagnosed until a child enters elementary school.  These facts are puzzling, since it is well-established that early intervention leads to better outcomes for children with special needs. But there are many reasons why parents and physicians choose to delay diagnosis, even when a young child is delayed and has difficulty adapting to everyday life:

Many kids struggle with developmental problems at some point in their childhoods, and getting care for them can be costly and confusing. If your child isn’t babbling or sitting at nine months, for instance, struggles with stairs or speaks unclearly at age three, you might be worried about a developmental delay. Help is available to enable your child to catch up, but parents will need to navigate a complicated zone where health care rubs up against education—and kids sometimes fall through the cracks.

My son Ian had a lack of oxygen to his brain at 9 weeks of age and spent 3 weeks in the hospital. Perhaps it was caused by a seizure, perhaps a near-SIDS incident, but we are not sure of the cause. He had a resulting brain injury, with “other developmental disabilities” of autism, blindness, communication impairment, severe cognitive impairment, seizure disorder, and other issues. The brain injury was in 1989, so he is now 23 years old. As you can imagine, this incident devastated our family, at first mostly because we had no clue what to do, what it meant for any of us, how to help him grow, and how much it would change our lives.

The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act considers the issues of “self-determination, independence, productivity, and integration and inclusion in all facets of community life” for individuals with developmental disabilities. All of these values presume respect for people with developmental disabilities. Where respect is lacking, self determination and independence are often denied. Integration and inclusion without respect become merely symbolic. As we celebrate Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month 2012, it is clear we have achieved much over the past 50 years, but we still have far to go before we can claim full success.

This session of Grand Rounds will explore the societal burden of youth violence, and the evidence-based approaches and partnerships that are necessary to prevent youth violence and its consequences.

About 1 in 323 children has been identified with Cerebral Palsy according to estimates from CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. There is an abundance of information regarding CP out there. However, it can be overwhelming sifting through all of that knowledge. Here is a list of great resources regarding CP, including research articles, books, support organizations, blogs, and more.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has published the results of their latest study on the prevalence of autism. There is no question that in the last 20 years the number of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses has increased. What is also clear is that during this time there has been increased surveillance and a broadening of the diagnosis of ASD. Whether or not this accounts for the entire increase in ASD numbers, or if there is a true increase in there as well, is unknown.

The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network is a group of programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine the number of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in the United States. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disabilities characterized by atypical development in socialization, communication, and behavior. In 2006, on average, approximately 1% or one child in every 110 in the 11 ADDM sites was classified as having an ASD. These results indicate an increased prevalence of identified ASDs among U.S. children aged 8 years and underscore the need to regard ASDs as an urgent public health concern. This presentation will review the most recent published ADDM data.

For the first time in three decades, the rate of premature births in the United States has declined for two years in a row, a finding that suggests the country is finally beginning to make some progress in the battle against prematurity.

Click here to register for this event What: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 60 percent of American adults say they endured abuse and other difficult family situations as children, otherwise known as adverse childhood experiences. Those experiences can have long-term health consequences. The annual financial burden to society of childhood abuse and trauma is $103 billion, according to a 2007 Federal Economic Impact Study. The costs include annual direct costs such as hospitalization, mental health care, child welfare service, and law enforcement, as well as indirect costs such as special education, juvenile delinquency, mental health and health care, adult criminal justice system, and lost productivity. The SAMHSA 10x10 Wellness Campaign invites you to a free training teleconference titled, “The Impact of Trauma on Wellness: Implications for Comprehensive Systems Change.” This teleconference will educate diverse stakeholders about comprehensive systems change, including preventing harm and inadvertent retraumatization and ensuring that services and supports are welcoming, engaging, and culturally attuned. The goal is to help facilitate the healing process among people who have experienced trauma so that they can become fully engaged in their communities. When: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 1:00 - 2:30p.m. Mountain Presenters: Cathy Cave, Senior Program Associate, Advocates for Human Potential Roger Fallot, Ph.D., Director of Research and Evaluation, Community Connections Ann Jennings, Ph. D., Founder and Executive Director, The Anna Institute

Most children in the United States get recommended vaccines on schedule, but some parents still have misgivings about the shots, questioning whether they are safe or even necessary, U.S. government researchers said on Thursday.

Influenza is a contagious, upper-respiratory disease caused by many different strains of influenza viruses. While many people use the imprecise term “flu” to describe 24- or 48-hour bouts of illness, real influenza can interfere with normal daily activities for as long as a week. Influenza is not a minor inconvenience. As many as 200,000 Americans are hospitalized because of it each year, and as many as 36,000 die of the disease or complications associated with it. Children under age 1, people 65 or older, and people suffering from underlying medical conditions are at a higher risk of serious complications.

High rates of premature birth are the main reason the United States has higher infant mortality than do many other rich countries, government researchers reported Tuesday in their first detailed analysis of a longstanding problem.