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Obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease rates are all higher among people in lower income brackets. Even with insurance and subsidized health care options through programs like Medicaid, people with lower incomes tend to get less preventative care. At the end of the day, people in the highest socioeconomic group have an average life expectancy more than 4 years higher than people in the lowest income bracket.

While the exact causes of income-related health disparities is open for study and debate, the results are clear: wealth buys health. (continue reading…)

If you or a family member or a  friend have been struggling with this for years, or if ADD/ADHD is new in your life, check out this article from Master Herbalist Brigitte Mars. In Natural Remedies for ADHD (Alternatives to Ritalin and Aderol), she discusses ten environmental, nutritional and herbal strategies to combat attention disorders. Among her suggestions:

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My daughter, Emily, was ten when she started having problems. She would be unwell, but we were not really sure what was wrong with her. She would then pick up and go back to school. She went from two years of full attendance at school to fairly poor attendance. Over the next couple of years she moved up to high school and things got steadily worse until she was struggling to walk even a few minutes down the road. Fortunately our doctor was very supportive; however some of the school staff seemed to think (and possibly still do) that there was nothing wrong with her and she was putting it on and I was silly to believe her.

The doctor said that there was nothing he could do but gave some guidelines, the main one being to do as much as she could, no more and no less – not very easy! We tried various complementary therapies. We worked on geopathic stress, electromagnetic radiation, diet, homeopathy and so on. Getting advice on the geopathic stress and the electromagnetic radiation seemed to be the most useful. (continue reading…)

As parents get ready to send kids back to school, Dr. Michael Morrier, Assistant Director of the Emory Autism Center, offers suggestions for helping autistic children succeed in school, academically and socially.

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Take a minute and watch this adorable baby carry on a conversation…

Speech Development in Babies

Now, you may be wondering do all babies talk this much.  The answer is NO!

Science has found a significant correlation between fetal testosterone levels and vocabulary, suggesting that fetal testosterone might be involved in shaping the neural mechanisms underlying communicative development. (continue reading…)

This video is a must-see for parents of autistic children. Dr. Temple Grandin was diagnosed Autistic in 1950 and is currently an animal science professor at Colorado State University. In this video from the University of California MIND Institute lecture series, Dr. Grandin discusses what being autistic is like, and the different experiences people on the autism spectrum may have.  The lecture includes  strategies for helping autistic children and adults function, and how to teach children in ways that can help them overcome the challenges of autism.

In recounting her own experiences being taught, Dr. Grandin touches on a social shift in American culture that may have been detrimental to children on the autism spectrum. When she was growing up, social skills, etiquette and manners–the areas of social interactions that people on the autism spectrum often have difficulty with–were explicitly taught, and entertainment required interpersonal interaction with other children.

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Hearing a diagnosis of Autism for their child can be very upsetting to parents. The guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics confirm that diagnosing a child’s autism and getting appropriate therapy early is easier on the child. Parents, family members, primary caregivers, pediatricians and other health care providers have intimate knowledge of a child’s development and can identify the first signs of emerging problems during the child’s development.

Earlier the identification is better for diagnosis. Parents can play a great role in initiating the process of helping their child learn to relate, communicate and think while the professional are screening and performing comprehensive evaluations. The start of educational and therapeutic programs may take some time. In the meantime, parents can take initial steps. Children benefit most by getting help in an early stages when their nervous system is growing most rapidly. Early diagnosis and treatment for autism can prove to be very effective in avoiding developmental delays. (continue reading…)