Zone’in Workshops

Zone’in Research Literature

Zone’in, Move’in, Unplug’in, and Live’in Programs,
Foundation Series Workshops, and Zone’in Training

ADHD Drug Linked to Suicide Attempts: Health Canada. CBC News July 3, 2008. Available at: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/07/03/adhd-drug-warning.html. Health Canada warns that Atomoxetine (Strattera), a drug commonly used to treat ADHD disorder in children, has been linked to 189 reported adverse reactions as of December 31, 2007, including 55 suicide attempts. 29 of these patients recovered, three had not by December 31, 2007, and one patient died. Data was not available for the remaining 22 patients. Among the 55 suicide attempts, 43 were among children between the ages of 6 and 17. Health Canada advises health-care professionals to warn patients who are on ADHD medications, as well as their families and other caregivers, to be on the lookout for changes in mood, behaviour and feelings.

American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Communications (2006) Children, Adolescents, and Advertising. Pediatrics Vol 118 No 6, 2562-2569. This paper points out that exposure of children to TV advertising correlates with obesity, poor nutrition, and cigarette and alcohol use.

American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Public Education (2001) Children, Adolescents, and Television. Pediatrics Vol 107(2), 423-426. This policy statement describes the negative effects of television viewing as violent or aggressive behavior, substance use, sexual activity, obesity, poor body image, and decreased school performance. This statement recommends no TV or videogames for toddlers under the age of 2, and a limit of 1-2 hours per day for children.

American Academy of Pediatrics: Clinical Practice Guideline: Treatment of the School-Aged Child With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Pediatrics. 2001; 108(4):1033-1044. This guideline contains the following recommendations for the treatment of a child diagnosed with ADHD:

• Primary care physicians should establish a treatment program that recognizes ADHD as a chronic condition.
• The treating clinician, parents, and child, in collaboration with school personnel, should specify appropriate target outcomes to guide management.
• The clinician should recommend stimulant medication and/or behavioural therapy as appropriate to improve target outcomes in children with ADHD.
• When the selected management for a child with ADHD has not met target outcomes, clinicians should evaluate the original diagnosis, use of all appropriate treatments, adherence to the treatment plan, and presence of coexisting conditions.
• The clinician should periodically provide a systematic follow-up for the child with ADHD. Monitoring should be directed to target outcomes and adverse effects, with information gathered form parents, teachers and the child.

Anand S, Krosnick JA. Demographic Predictors of Media Use Among Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers. American Behavioral Scientist. 2005; 48(5):539-561. As children aged from 6 month to 3 to 5 years, they increased their use of all media. Income and gender had no effect on use of media. Young children with less-educated mothers and fathers watched significantly more television. Full-time employment of parents was associated with less media use, while retired parents was associated with increased media use. Children living with married adults spent more time watching TV, but less time playing video games than children living with adults of some other marital status.

Anderson CA, Berkowitz, L, Donnerstein E, Huesmann LR, Johnson JD, Linz D, Malamuth NM, Wartella E. The Influence of Media Violence on Youth. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. 2003; 4:81-110. In the short term, media violence can increase aggression by priming aggressive thoughts and decision processes increasing physiological arousal, and triggering an tendency to imitate observed behaviors. In the long-term, repeated exposure can produce lasting increases in aggressive thought patterns and aggression-supporting beliefs about social behaviors, and can reduce individuals normal negative emotional responses to violence.

Anderson C, Gentile D. Violent Video Game effects on Children and Adolescents. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2007. Studied effects of violent video games and found even violent cartoons increased aggression in 9-12 year old children. Violent is defined as doing intentional harm to another, not how graphic or gory the game is. Increased exposure to violent videogames results in more pro-violent attitudes, hostile personalities, less forgiveness, belief that violence is typical, behave more aggressively in every day life. Third study looked at 430 grade 3-5 students and found increase video game exposure resulted in increase verbal and physical abuse. Also found higher aggression and low social skills resulted in rejection by peers. Video game time was found to be a negative predictor of grades. Violent videogames can cause people to have more aggressive thoughts, felings, behaviors; and decrease empathetic, helpful behaviors with peers.

Antonuccio D, Burns D, Danton W (2002) Antidepressants: A Triumph of Marketing Over Science? Prevention and Treatment, Vol 5 No 1, July 2002 pages 1-21. The authors of this paper performed a meta-analysis of the Food and Drug Administration database of 38 controlled trials on 6,944 patients used in the initial approval for the most popular anti-depressants (fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, venlafaxine, nefazadone and citalopram). Kirsch I, Moore T, Scoboria A, and Nicholls S (2002) found that antidepressants demonstrated and clinically negligible advantage over inert placebo, and state how these results are surprising because they come from studies underwritten by drug manufacturers. Doesn’t this imply that it is an ‘industry standard’ to assume that drug trials by pharmaceutical companies are essential biased (C. Rowan comment)? The meta-analysis goes on to state that these finding do not appear to justify the popularity of anti-depressants, which may have been fueled in part by publication bias and outstanding marketing. This paper reports that the US pharmaceutical industry is a $250 million annual business, of which $19 million goes to advertising, making it the most profitable industry in America, number one in return on revenues, return on assets, and return on equity (Fortune 2000). Surprised? Read on. The pharmaceutical industry had a combined lobbying and campaign contribution budget of $197 million in 1999 and 2000 alone, larger that any other industry (Wayne and Peterson 2001), and has 625 registered lobbyists (more than there are members of congress)!

Autism Society America (2003) Facts and Statistics. Autism Spectrum Disorder. www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FactsStats. This article states that autism is the fastest growing developmental disability with 2003 prevalence of 0.7% with a 10-17% annual growth.

Ayres A (1985) Developmental Dyspraxia and Adult Onset Dyspraxia. Sensory Integration International, California.

Ayres, A (1972) Sensory Integration and Learning Disorders. Western Psychological Services, California.

Ayres, A (1979) Sensory Integration and The Child. Western Psychological Services, California.

Baines L, Baines C, Stanley G and Kunkel A (1999) Losing the Product in the Process. English Journal Vol 88(5) 67-72. These authors state the process of writing has become so ubiquitous as to mean anything, or perhaps more precisely, it has come to mean almost nothing. Tragically the art and soul of writing has been lost in the process.

Barros RM, Silver EJ, Stein RE. School Recess ad Group Classroom Behavior. Pediatrics. 2009; 123(2):431-436. Study looked at 11,000 third-graders agers 8-9 years showed that those who had greater than 15 minutes per day of recess had teacher reports of better classroom behavior. Researcher found that 30% had little or no recess (< 15 minutes per day) and 40% of school surveyed had cut back at least one daily recess period. Since the 1970’s, children have lost 12 hours per week in free time.

Barthell, K (2004) Evidence and Art: Merging Forces in Pediatric Therapy. Workshops and book available at www.labyrinthjourneys.com.

Baughman F. There is No Such Thing as a Psychiatric Disorder/Disease/Chemical Imbalance. Public Library of Science Medicine. 2006; 3(7): e318. Available at: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0030318. Pediatric Neurologist Fred Baughman chronologically details how mental “disturbance” has become known as mental “disorder” or “disease”, and how this labeling has resulted in the proliferation of the use of psychotropic medication in children.

Becker-Weidman A (2001) Attachment Disorder Checklist. Mental Health Matters http://www.mental-health-matters.com/articles/article.php?artID=573. Checklist designed to identify children with Reactive Attachment Disorder.

Blaxill MF. What’s Going On? The Question of Time Trends in Autism. Public Health Reports. 2004; 119:536-551. The United Kingdom and the United States have seen a ten-fold increase in Autism prevalence between the 1970’s and the 1990’s, from 3 per 10,000 to 30 per 10,000.

Block, J (2008) Issues for DSM – V: Internet Addiction. American Journal of Psychiatry Vol 165 March pg 306-307. This editorial advocates for inclusion of Internet Addiction into the upcoming fifth edition of the psychiatric Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Conceptually the diagnosis is a compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorder that involves online and offline computer usage, and consists of three subtypes: excessive gaming, sexual preoccupations and email/text messaging. All of the variants share the following four components: 1) excessive use 2) withdrawal 3) tolerance 4) negative repercussions.

Boyle CA, Decoufle P, Yeargin-Allsopp M. Prevalence and Health Impact of Developmental Disabilities in US Children. Pediatrics. 1994; 93(3):399-403. Data from the 1988 National Health Interview Survey-Child Health Supplement reports 17% of children in the US were reported to have a developmental disability.

Bragdon, A and Gamon D (2000) Brains That Work A Little Bit Differently: Recent Discoveries About Common Brain Diversities. Allen D. Bragdon Publishers Inc, The Brain Wave Centre, MA. Authors explore ten brain phenomena including left-handedness, dyslexia, ADHD, perfect pitch, SAD, Autism, alcoholism, déjà vu, photographic memory and synesthesia. Fascinating!

Braswell J and Rine R (2006) Evidence that Vestibular Hypofunction Affects Reading Acuity in Children. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Vol 70 Issue 11, 1957-1965. Study results found that reading acuity scores were significantly worse in children with vestibular hypofunction, and that reading acuity scores correlated with dynamic not static visual acuity scores. This reports high lights that gaze instability due to vestibular hypofunction affects reading ability in young children.

Braswell J and Rine R (2006) Preliminary Evidence of Improved Gaze Stability Following Exercise in Two Children with Vestibular Hypofunction. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Vol 70 Issue 11, 1967-1973. This study found that visual-vestibular exercises improved critical print size and reading acuity.

Breggin PR. Talking Back to Ritalin: What Doctors Aren’t Telling You About Stimulants for Children. Monroe ME, Common Courage Press, 1998. A must read book for all parents and teachers who think children should be taking Ritalin.

Buchanan AM, Gentile DA, Nelson DA, Walsh DA, Hensel J. What goes in must come out: Children’s Media Violence Consumption at Home and Aggressive Behaviours at School. Paper presented at the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development Conference, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Available online at: www.mediafamily.org/research/report_issbd_2002.shtml. Young children most vulnerable to media violence due to are more impressionable, can’t distinguish between fantasy and reality, cannot discern motives for violence, learn by observing and imitating.

Bundy A, Lane S and Murray E (2002) Sensory Integration Theory and Practice, 2nd Edition. F.A. Davis, Philadelphia.

Burdette, H and Whitaker R (2005) A National Study of Neighborhood Safety, Outdoor Play, Television Viewing, and Obesity in Preschool Children. Pediatrics Vol 116, 657-662. This study reports that mother’s perceptions of safety was related to their children’s TV viewing time.

California Department of Education PENT Forum 2008.  Resources on Restraints and Seclusion.  Available at: http://www.pent.ca.gov/beh/rst/restraintresources.pdf.  This document contains examples of lawsuits resulting from the use of restraints and seclusion in school settings, including those involving student deaths.  Accompanying power point available at: www.pent.ca.gov/beh/rst/alternativestorestraint.ppt.

Castro J and Hewlett SA (1991) Watching a Generation Waste Away. Time Magazine Monday August 26, 1991. This interview with Janice Castro, author of When the Bough Breaks: The Cost of Neglecting Our Children, highlights concerns about the family, and reports that Americans treat their children like “excess baggage” and view children rearing as “some sort of expensive hobby”. Castro reports 60% of working moms have no maternity leave, parents spend 40% less time with their children than 15 years ago, 24% of children grow up without fathers, teen suicides have tripled since 1960, one third of students drop out prior to finishing high school, and since ’71 we have seen psychiatric hospital admissions increase from 16,000 to 263,000 (of which 80% have no fathers). Castro ends the interview by stating “Only a society that cherishes its children deserves to survive”.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders – Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 sites, U.S., 2002. For ages 8 – 14 years in 2002 the prevalence of Autism is 1 in 152. The data confirm that ASD prevalence is a continuing urgent public health concern affecting an approximate average of one child in every 150 and that efforts are needed to improve early detection.

Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2003) Mental Health in the United States: Prevalence of Diagnosis and Medication Treatment for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5434a2.htm. This reports a 7.8% ADHD prevalence in 2003 with 56.3% of this population on medication.

Children and Electronic Media. A Collaboration of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution. 2008; 18(1):1-253. Available at: http://www.futureofchildren.org/pubs-info2825/pubs-info_show.htm?doc_id=674322.
Key findings for future research considerations include:

• Media content matters: while media content designed to promote pro-social behaviour does in crease social capabilities, some entertainment and news programs instill anxiety and fear in children.
• Media multi-tasking is at an all time high, creating problems for analysis.
• Marketing and advertising are influential and integral parts of children’s daily lives and many of the products marketed to children are unhealthy.

Chow S, Choy S, Mui S (2003) Assessing Handwriting Speed of Children Biliterate in English and Chinese. Perceptual and Motor Skills Vol 96 pages 685-694. This study describes the psychometric properties of a handwriting speed test developed for children who are biliterate in English and Chinese, and reports the Handwriting Assessment Tool is a reliable and potentially useful handwriting test for children biliterate in English and Chinese.

Christakis D and Zimmerman F (2007) Violent Television During Preschool Is Associated With Antisocial Behavioural During School Age. Pediatrics Vol 120, 993-999. This study concluded that violent television programming was associated with an increased risk for antisocial behaviour for boys, but not for girls.

Christakis D, Zimmerman F, DiGiuseppe and McCarty C (2004) Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children. Pediatrics Vol 113, 708-713. This study reports that for every one hour of television watched per day, there is a 10% increase in attention problems by the age of 7 years.

Committee on Public Education. Media Violence. 2001; 108:1222-1226. Six prominent medical groups (American academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Psychiatric Association warn of these significant risks of media violence on child health:

• Increased anti-social and aggressive behaviour
• Desensitization to violence
• Viewing the world as violent and mean
• Fear of being harmed
• Nitemares
• Desire to see more violence in entertainment and real life
• Viewing violence as an acceptable way to resolve conflict

Violence (homicide, suicide, trauma) is a leading cause of death for children, more than disease, cancer or congenital disorders.

Cotman C, Berchtold N and Christie L (2007) Exercise Builds Brain Health: Key Roles of Growth Factor Cascades and Inflammation. Trends in Neuroscience Vol 30 No 9, 464-472. This research profiles how exercise improves cerebral vascular perfusion, increases the production of neurogenic growth factor, and decreases inflammation with subsequent increase in the number and length of survival of nerve cells in the hippocampal region, implicated in learning and memory. This article also shows the positive effects of exercise on reducing depression.

David-Ferdon C, Feldman Hertz M. Electronic Media, Violence, and Adolescents: An Emerging Public Health Problem. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2007; 41:S1-S5. Report from Center for Disease Control and Prevention panel of experts convened in September 2006 support argument that electronic aggression is an emerging public health problem in need of additional prevalence and etiological research to support the development of effective prevention programs.

DeBerardis D, D’Albenzio A, Gambi F, Sepede G, Valchera A, Conti CM, Fulcheri M, Cavuto M, Ortolani C, Salerno RM, Serroni N, Ferro FM. Alexithymia and Its Relationships with Dissociative Experiences and Internet Addiction in a Nonclinical Sample. CyberPsychology & Behavior. 2008; doi:10.1089/cpb.2008.0108. Difficulty identifying feelings, higher dissociative experiences, lower self esteem, and higher impulse dysregulation were associated with higher incidence of internet addiction in 312 undergraduate student population.

DeGangi, G (2000) Pediatric Disorders of Regulation in Affect and Behaviour. A Therapist’s Guide to Assessment and Treatment. Academic Press, New York.

Dennision, Paul (1992) Brain Gym: Simple Activities for Whole Brain Learning. Edu-Kinesthetics Inc, California. Loads of Brain Gym exercises for classroom and at home!

deSilva S. (2006) Director General Centre for Education Statistics reports results from Program for International Student Assessment (2006), a comprehensive survey of 15 year olds indicates that reading performance has declined to placing 4th in international standing, compared to placing 3rd in 2003.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 3rd Edition (1987), 313.89 Reactive Attachment Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood. American Psychiatric Association.

Diller LH (1999) Running on Ritalin: A Physician Reflects on Children, Society, and Performance of a Pill. Published by Bantam Publishing. Dr. Diller, a Pediatrician explores the escalation of diagnosis of American children with ADHD and treatment with Ritalin, and highlights how research often obscures social or environmental factors. Dr. Diller points out that it is misleading to hold that Ritalin’s success in treating ADHD children means that ADHD can be reduced to biological phenomenon, to chemical imbalance. Diller convincingly suggests that part of the reason that many wish to portray ADHD as a purely ‘neurobiological’ disorder and Ritalin is the ‘cure’ is political. As victims of biology, children and adults diagnosed with ADHD become legally entitled to rights not given to others. But so what? If Ritalin helps those diagnosed with ADHD perform better, what difference does it make whether it treats the causes of ADHD or just the symptoms? Diller’s answer is that America should be concerned because the 700% increase in Ritalin use points to societal imbalance that prescribing the drug covers up: “The surge in ADHD diagnosis and Ritalin treatment is a warning to society that we are not meeting the needs of our children”. Whether or not one entirely accepts Diller’s argument is that American psychiatrists have ignored the evidence against Ritalin’s effectiveness as a cure for ADHD, this is an important book for anyone interested in the narcoticising of America’s youth.

dosReis S, Zito JM, Safer DJ, Gardner JF, Puccia KB, Owens PL. Multiple psychotropic medication use for youths: A two-state comparison. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 2005; 15(1): 68-77.

Driver J and Frith C (2000) Shifting Baselines in Attention Research. Nature Reviews Neuroscience Vol 1, 147-148. This commentary profiles new studies indicating that the attention state of the observer affects processing of incoming stimuli, and that the sensory cortex can actually prepare and modulate incoming stimuli. This information substantiates the importance of educating children regarding how to attain body energy necessary to improve attention by using Zone’in Tools and Techniques.

Dunn, Winnie (1999) The Sensory Profile. The Psychological Corporation, USA.

Edwards, L (2003) Writing Instruction in Kindergarten: Examining an Emerging Area of Research for Children with Writing and Reading Difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities Vol 36 No 2 pages 136-148. This review examines the literature on how to teach kindergarten children with reading and writing difficulties how to write, and reports that text production is critical in writing development. Text production instruction should include modeling newly introduced letters, practicing letter names while writing letters, tracing letters with numbered arrow cues, practicing letters from memory, and asking children to circle letters that represent their best work. Edwards also points out that handwriting is not just a motor process, but rather draws on the importance of letter recognition (a visual memory skill), which is a skill that can be enhanced by repeated practice with letter production. Edwards also highlights the importance of explicit spelling instruction for kindergarten children, and goes on to say that there are only a limited number of empirical studies regarding how to teach kindergarten children with reading and writing difficulties how to write and highlights future direction for research.

Ehri L, Nunes S, Willows D, Schuster B, Zadeh Z, Shanahan T. (2001) Phonemic Awareness Instruction Helps Children Learn to Read: Evidence form the National Reading Panel’s Meta-Analysis. Reading Research Quarterly Vol. 36 No. 3 250-287. This article high lights that while phonemic awareness instruction improved reading, it did not improve spelling in disabled readers, and stated that PA was more effective when taught with, as opposed to without letters. This article supports the role of the visual in addition to the auditory component when teaching reading.

Elkind D (2007) The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon. Published by Da Capo Press, New York City, USA. David Elkind has often been referred to as the voice of parenting reason, calling our attention to the crippling effects of hurrying our children through life. He shows that by blurring the boundaries of what is age appropriate, by expecting-or imposing-too much to soon, we force our children to grow up too fast, to mimic adult sophistication while secretly yearning for innocence. Dr. Elkind provides a detailed, up to the minute look at the internet, classroom culture, school violence, movies, television, and a growing societal instability to show parents and teachers where hurrying occurs and why. He offers parents and teachers insight, advice and hope for encouraging healthy development while protecting the joy and freedom of childhood.

Engel A, Fries P, and Singer W (2001) Dynamic Predictions: Oscillations and Synchrony In Top-Down Processing. Nature Reviews Neuroscience Vol 2 704-716. This paper reports how descending pathways (expectations, attention, knowledge and memory) modulate ascending stumuli, and profiles how “the human brain should be regarded as a much more active and adaptive system”.

Faber Taylor A, Kuo FE, Sullivan WC. Coping With ADD – The Surprising Connection to Green Play Settings. Journal of Environment and Behavior. 2001; 33(1):54-77. Greenness of play setting is related to ADD symptom severity. Children need “attention restorative” environments. Attention Restoration Therapy (Kaplan 1995) proposes that children need to rest voluntary attention (as in school) with involuntary attention (as in recess, play and nature).

Field T, Ironson G, Scafidi F, Nawrocki T, Gonclaves A, Burman I, Pickens J, Fox N, Schanberg S Kuhn C (1996) Massage Therapy Reduces Anxiety and Enhances Eeg Pattern of Alertness and Math Computations. Journal of Neurocsience, Vol 86, Issue 3 & 4, pages 197-205. This study reports that two 15 minute massages per week to a group of 26 adults raised frontal delta power (suggesting relaxation), decreased frontal alpha and beta power (suggesting increased alertness), increased speed and accuracy on math exams, lowered anxiety, lower salivary Cortisol levels, lower depression scores on the Chronic POMS Depression Scale.

Fisher R and Fisher S (1996) Antidepressants for Children – Is Scientific Support Necessary? The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease Vol 184 No 2 pages 99-102. This article is concerned with issues pertaining to the degree to which clinical therapeutic decisions can reasonably depart from the best available scientific data, and state that ambiguity exists as to how much freedom practitioners have to accept or reject the existing scientific paradigm.

Fombonne E, Zakarian R, Bennett A, Meng L, McLean-Heywood D. Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Prevalence and Links With Immunizations. Pediatrics. 2006; 118(1):e139-e150. Although authors found a significant linear increase in pervasive developmental disorder prevalence during the period of this study, thimerosal exposure was unrelated to the increasing trend in pervasive developmental disorder prevalence.

Frick S and Hacker C (2001) Listening With the Whole Body. Vital Links Press, Wisconsin.

Gaskin CJ, Elsom SJ, Happell B. Interventions for reducing the use of seclusion in psychiatric facilities: Review of the Literature. British Journal of Psychiatry: 2007, 191; 298-303.  The authors of a recent systematic review concluded that the use of non-pharmacological containment methods, excluding restraint and seclusion, was not supported by evidence.  Authors suggest that alternatives to seclusion and restraint require further investigation in order to determine effective alternatives that would allow reduction of these patient control methods in psychiatric facilities.

Gee M. (1989) Start the “Write” Way. Reading, 23(3), 150-159. This research showed that teaching letters in stroke-related families, using letter templates, and using visual and motor cues resulted in reduced errors in output. Results were used in design of the motor planning interventions in the Play’in the Lines Computer Program.

Gentile D. Pathological Video-Game Use Among Youth Ages 8 to 18. Journal of Psychological Science. 2009; 3(2):1-9. Survey of 1178 American youth indicates 12% of boys and 8% of girl video game players exhibit pathological patterns of play, and fit the DSM IV category of addiction. Study also showed that pathological gamers are twice as likely to have ADD or ADHD.

Ghassemzadeh L, Shahraray M, Moradi A. Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Comparison of Internet Addicts and Non-Addicts in Iranian High Schools. CyberPsychology & Behavior. 2008: doi:10.1089/cpb.2007.0243. Internet addicts are lonelier and have lower self-esteem and poorer social skills that moderate users.

Goldberg E, Simner M. (1999) A Comparison of Children’s Handwriting Under Traditional vs. Whole Language Instruction. Results indicate that students who were taught using traditional instruction style demonstrated more legible handwriting, and were able to produce significantly more words, than students taught using whole language instruction style. Traditional instruction is defined as “copying, tracing, whole-arm movements, kinesthetic feedback, and writing on various materials (lined paper, blackboard, copybooks). Results were used in design of the motor planning interventions in the Play’in the Lines Computer Program.

Goldstand S, Koslowe K., and Parush S. (2007) Vision, Visual-Information Processing, and Academic Performance Among Seventh-Grade Schoolchildren: A More Significant Relationship Than We Thought? This article shows that visual ability correlates with academic performance, and report that visual deficits were found in 68% of study participants. Results of this study were used to substantiate the visual assessment components of the Move’in Program.

Goodwin R, Gould M, Blanco C, Olfson M (2001) Prescription of Psychotropic Medications to Youths in Office-Based Practice. Psychiatric Services Vol 52 No 8 pp 1081-1087. The study reports 84.8% of prescriptions for psychotropic medications were provided by general practitioners or pediatricians. 53.9% of psychotropic medications prescribed were stimulants, 30% antidepressants, 7.2% anxiolytics, 7.2% antipsychotics, 12.7% mood stabilizers.

Government of Canada Report 2003. Young Children With Disabilities in Canada: Chapter 6. The Well-Being of Canada’s Young Children. In 2001, the rate of disability for less than 4 years of age was 1.6%, 5-9 years 3.7% and 10-14 years 4.2%.

Graham S, Harris K, Mason L, Fink-Chorzempa B, Moran S, Saddler B (2008) How Do Primary Grade Teachers Teach Handwriting? A National Survey. To be published in Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal. This US study reports that 90% of US primary school teachers college education did not adequately prepare them to provide lessons in penmanship, and therefore do not devote much time to teaching printing. Teachers spend an average 14 minutes per day teaching handwriting, far less than the 45 minutes per day spent in the 60’s and 70’s, and slightly less than the 15 minutes per day mandated in the 80’s. Textbooks offer less information on teaching printing, and universities have less instruction. Handwriting teaching methods and methods for student evaluation are inconsistent and non-standardized. 100% of the 169 primary teachers who participated in this study reported they thought printing should be taught as a separate subject.

Graham S, and Weintraub N. (1996) A Review of Handwriting Research: Progress and Prospects from 1980 to 1994. Educational Psychology Review, 8, 7-87. This study documents that in 1993 70% of teachers indicated that handwriting was “not as good as it should be”, and expressed concern regarding the “downward plunge in the standards of handwriting legibility required of elementary school children”. Authors also state that students who have difficulty with automaticity of writing, thus achieving poor quality and quantity of written output, results in avoidance and minimization of the writing process. Authors state that for beginning writers, both visual and verbal modeling appears to be the most effective means of introducing a letter prior to practice (i.e. the teacher demonstrates how a letter is made while describing how it is formed).

Graham S, Berninger V, Weintraub N and Schafer W (1998) Development of Handwriting Speed and Legibility in Grades 1 through 9. Journal of Educational Research, Vol 92, 42-52. The Move’in Program Handbook and Back to Basics Workshop have included with author Steven Graham’s permission a grade related letter per minute chart. Please note that this research is 10 years old, and scores may be higher than what our present day videogame and TV addicted child can perform.

Graham S, Harris K and Fink B (2000) Is Handwriting Causally Related to Learning to Write? Treatment of Handwriting Problems in Beginning Writers. Journal of Educational Psychology Vol 92, 620-633. This article profiles how poor handwriting can result in a disability in written expression.

Graham S (2006) Handbook of Writing Research, Ch 13 – Strategy Instruction and the Teaching of Writing. Eds. MacArthur C, Graham S and Fitzgerald G. Guilford Press, New York. This meta-analysis concludes that printing strategy instruction is effective in improving student’s writing performance in the areas of quality, elements, length, and revisions, with results maintained over time and generalized to new tasks and situations.

Graham S, MacArthur C and Fitzgerald J (2007) Best Practices in Writing Instruction. Eds. MacArthur C, Graham S and Fitzgerald G. Guilford Press, New York. This book was instrumental in design of the Move’in Program and Workshop and draws the correlation between poor printing and subsequent difficulty with spelling, sentence composition, math, science and any subject requiring printing skill. Graham states “Failure to develop legible and automatic letter and word formation interferes with content in writing.” and “Because of the excessive labor and unattractive results involved in such writing, students are more likely to avoid or minimize the process when possible”. Graham instructs that for beginners, both visual and verbal modeling is the most effective means of introducing a letter prior to practice.

Grossberg S (2005) Linking Attention to Learning, Expectation, Competition, and Consciousness. Neurobiology of Attention (Eds. Itti, Rees and Tsotsos). Elsevier Academic Press Chapter 107, 652-662. Grossberg discusses his Adaptive Resonance Theory which predicts that “All conscious states are resonant states”, and that there is a resonance between top-down attention modulation and bottom-up stimuli, and that this resonance leads to a synchronization which facilitates learning as “cells that fire together wire together”.

Hall L and Case-Smith J (2007) The Effect of Sound Based Intervention on Children With Sensory Processing Disorders and Visual-Motor Delays. American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol 61 No 2, 209-215. Results of this study indicate that a therapeutic listening program and sensory diet significantly improved participants scores on the Sensory Profile, with parents reporting improvement in their children’s behaviours related to sensory processing. This information validated use of therapeutic sound in the Zone’in Program.

Hamilton S. Screening for Developmental Delay: Reliable, Easy to Use Tools. Journal of Family Practice. 2006; 55(5):416-422. One out of six children has a developmental disability e.g. language impairment 6%, ADHD 7%, mild mental retardation 2%, learning disability 8%, cerebral palsy 0.2%, Autism 0.5%. 13.2% of school aged children are in special education in the U.S. 65% of developmental disabilities escape detection prior to school entry, despite frequent well-child visits. Developmental disabilities are associated with poorer health status, higher rate of school failure, in-grade retention and special education placement. Author offers the following practice recommendations:

• Do not rely on clinical judgment only for developmental milestone review for the timely identification of developmental delays.
• Screen children for developmental delays regularly with cost and time effective screens such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status.
• Refer children with suspected delays promptly for comprehensive developmental assessment and early intervention.

Hancox R, Milne B and Poulton R (2005) Association of Television During Childhood With Poor Educational Achievement. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Vol 159 No 7, 614-618. This study concluded that television viewing in childhood and adolescence is associated with poor educational achievement by 26 years of age.
Hannaford, Carla (1997) The Dominance Factor: How Knowing Your Dominant Eye, Ear, Brain, Hand, and Foot Can Improve Your Learning. Great River Books Publishing, Utah.

Hannaford, Carla (2005) Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head 2nd Edition. Great River Book Publishers, Utah. This book reports the importance of determining developmental level of a child prior to introducing printing, and advocates introducing cursive prior to printing as requires less skill to achieve results. Hannaford reports that when faced with difficult tasks (printing too early) acquire a “learned helplessness” and low motivation for task completion.

Harvey-Berino J, Rourke J. Obesity Prevention in Preschool Native-American Children: A Pilot Study Using Home Visiting. Obesity Research. 2001; 11:606-611. Reports obesity incidence in 2 to 5 year old toddlers increased from 2.1% to 5.0% in boys and 4.8% to 10.8% in girls over a 6 year period. This home visiting program that focused on changing lifestyle behaviors and improving parenting skills showed promise for obesity prevention in high-risk Native-American Children.

Hasbrouck J. (1994) Objective Procedures for Scoring Student’s Writing. Teaching Exceptional Children, Winter, 18-25. This article was referenced when planning procedures for collecting writing samples for the printing speed component of the Move’in Program.

Healy J (1998) Failure to Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children’s Minds – For Better or For Worse. Simon and Schuster Publishing Company.

Healy J (1990) Endangered Minds: Why Children Don’t Think – and What We Can Do About It. Simon and Schuster Publishing Company, New York. An awesome ‘text book’ and a ‘must read’ for all educators and parents regarding the escalating educational crisis for our children resulting from TV and videogames. Dr. Healy reviews neurological research and analyzes current educational practices, and makes numerous recommendations for how to get our educational systems and our children back on track.

Hewlett SA (1992) When the Bow Breaks: The Cost of Neglecting Our Children
Published by HarperCollins Publishing Co., Toronto, Canada. Sylvia Ann Hewlett is an economist, consultant, lecturer and a volunteer with homeless children and has written a powerful, extensively researched and often shocking book that explores the plight of the vast number of our children today. She delves into a multitude of problems – substance abuse, emotional instability and broken homes that contribute to parental and public neglect. Hewlett also outlines ways society can help to rectify this situation, including educational reform, changes in the workplace, and government policies. The author’s approach to the harsh reality of neglect stirs the emotions and will no doubt cause a public reaction. This book is of great interest to professionals and general readers, as it is a well documented; compelling study that fully analyzes a nation wide problem.

Hillman C, Erickson K and Kramer A (2008) Be Smart, Exercise Your Heart: Exercise Effects of Brain and Cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience Vol 9 58-65. This article profiles the following studies: achievement in standardized test of reading and math was positively correlated with physical fitness scores; social isolation reduced positive effects of exercise on hippocampal neurogensis; exercise training improved depression; cognitive, physical and social engagement decreased the risk of dementia.

Hofler D and Kooyman M (1996) Attachment Transition, Addiction and Therapeutic Bonding – An Integrative Approach. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment Vol 13 No 6, 511-519. This article profiles the concept that addiction is a maladaptive attachment transition and results from a fear of intimacy, and states the clinical implication of using therapeutic bonding as a treatment intervention.

Horvath C (2004) Measuring Television Addiction. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media Vol 48(3), 378-398. Information from this paper was used in the design of the Zone’in “TVVG Help Module for Parents and Teachers”.

Hubert, Bill (2001) Bal-A-Vis-X: Rhythmic Balance/Auditory/Vision eXercises for Brain and Brain-Body Integration. Bal-A-Vis-X Inc, Kansas.

Huesmann LR. The Impact of Electronic Media Violence: Scientific Theory and Research. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2007; 41: S6-13. Violent media is a public health threat. A review of 50 years of research on the impact of violence in TV, movies, videogames and internet concludes that watching media violence significantly increases the risk that a viewer or videogame player will behave aggressively in both the short and the long term. 60% of TV programs contain violence and 40% contain heavy violence. Most videogames contain violence. Children spend 8 hours per day combined media use, non-school related. Authors state the impact of violent electronic media on public health is second only to the impact of cigarette smoking on lung cancer.

Hulit L and Howard M (2005) Born to Talk, An Introduction to Speech and Language Development, 4th Edition. Allyn and Bacon, Needham Heights Press. This book defines components of attention as orientation, motivation, arousal and memory, and types of attention as focused, sustained, selective, divided and alternating.

Human Developmental Index 2008 World Literacy Rankings. Available at:
http://www.photius.com/rankings/population/literacy_male_2008_0.html. Canada and the U.S. are 8th for females and 9th for males.

Insel T and Young L (2001) The Neurobiology of Attachment. Nature Reviews Neuroscience Vol 2 129-137. This article profiles the importance of attachment and quotes Baruch Spinoza who states “Humans are primarily a social animal, and it’s our social attachments we live for”. Insel and Young define a mother’s attachment to her infant as a process of “approach, identify and select/reject”, which are mediated by the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin, found in the dopamine rich areas of the brain, the substantia nigra and preoptic areas. This study points out the similarity between social attachment and psychostimulant addiction, as they apparently use the same neurological pathways, resulting in social recognition, reward and euphoria.

Institute of Medicine. Childhood Obesity in the United States: Facts and Figures. September 2004 Fact Sheet. Over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children ag3d 6-11 years. At present (Sept. ’04) 9 million children over the age of 6 years are obese.

Institute of Medicine Fact Sheet of the National Academies (September 2004) Fact Sheet. http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/22/615/Fact%20Sheet%20-%20Schools%20FINALBitticks.pdf

Jennings JT. Conveying the message about optimal infant positions. Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics. 2005; 25 (3); 3-18. Out of 400 physiotherapists surveyed, two-thirds say they’ve seen an increase in early motor delays in infants over the past six years. Those physical therapists who saw an increase in motor delays said that the lack of “tummy time,” or the amount of time infants spend lying on their stomachs while awake, is the number one contributor to the escalation in cases. APTA spokesperson Judy Towne Jennings, PT, MA, a physical therapist and researcher from Fairfield, Ohio, said, “We have seen first-hand what the lack of tummy time can mean for a baby: developmental, cognitive, and organizational skills delays, eye-tracking problems, and behavioral issues, to name just some complications.” She added, “New parents are told of the importance of babies sleeping on their backs to avoid SIDS, but they are not always informed about the importance of tummy time.” Jennings explains that because new parents now use car seats that also serve as infant carriers – many of which fasten directly into strollers and swings without having to remove the baby from the seat — this generation of babies spends prolonged periods of time in one position.

Jones D and Christensen C (1999) Relationship Between Automaticity in Handwriting and Student’s Ability to Generate Written Text. Journal of Educational Psychology Vol 91, 44-49. This article delineates how failure to develop legible and automatic letter and word formation may interfere with content in writing. Authors go on to states that students who struggle to retrieve letters from memory, to reproduce then on the page, and to scale them to other letters have less attention available to spend on spelling, planning and effectively expressing intended meanings.

Jordan A, Hersey J, McDivitt J and Heitzler C (2006) Reducing Children’s Television-Viewing Time: A Qualitative Study of Parents and Their Children. Pediatrics Vol 118, 1303-1310. This study profiles barriers to reducing TV viewing time such as parents using TV as a safe and affordable distraction, parent’s own heavy TV viewing patterns, the prominent role TV plays in the family’s day to day routine, and a belief that children should spend their leisure time as they wish.

Kessler RC, Adler L, Barkley R, Biederman J, Conners CK, Demler O, Faraone SV, Greenhill LL, Howes MJ, Secnik K, Spencer T, Ustun TB, Walters EE, Zaslavsky AM. The Prevalence and Correlates of Adult ADHD in the United States: Results for the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2006; 163:716-723. Prevalence of adult ADHD was 4.4%. Significant correlates included being male, previously married, unemployed and non-Hispanic white. This study calls for increased efforts to increase detection and treatment of adult ADHD. Although this study did not reveal a funding source, read following New York Times article implicating Dr. Joseph Biederman and Dr. Thomas Spencer in payments of $1.6 million of unreported income from pharmaceutical corporations over a 6 year period.

Kirsch I and Antonuccio D (2004) FDA Testimony On the Efficacy of Antidepressants With Children. Review of this testimony indicates that there are a total of 12 published randomized clinical trials in the entire world literature regarding the efficacy of antidepressant use with children. 8 of these 12 trials failed to find any significant benefit of medication over placebo, and the other 4 that did show benefit were clinician rated, not patient rated measures. This testimony also reports that overall, the effects of antidepressant medication on children is actually weaker than in adults.

Klenberg L, Korkman M, Lahti-Nuuttila P (2001) Differential Development of Attention and Executive Functions in 3 to 12 Year Old Finnish Children. Developmental Neuropsychology Vol 20(1) 407-428. This study profiles confusion in the literature regarding the terms attention, executive function and memory. Authors described attention as having 4 subfunctions of arousal, focus, sustain and shift, and describe 3 developmental sequences of attention as impulse control, sustained attention and executive function. 10 subtests used in this study on 400 normal 3-12 year olds measured impulse control, auditory and visual attention, visual search, planning and verbal and visual fluency. Girls out-performed boys on all subtests, and children of parents with higher education levels out performed children of parents with lower education only on the subtests of execute functioning (not on inhibition or visual/auditory attention subtests). Results suggest a staging of development that begins at age 6 years with maturing of inhibitory functions, followed by a relative maturation of auditory and visual attention at age 10 years.

Koopman C, Pelletier K and Murray J (2002) Stanford Presenteeism Scale: Health Status and Employee Productivity. Journal of Occupational Environmental Medicine Vol 44 No 1, 14-20. This scale was used in the design of The Office Zone Workshop.

Korkman, M (2001) Introduction to the Special Issue on Normal Neuropsychological Development in the School-Aged Years. Developmental Neuropsychology Vol. 20(1) 325-330. This article points out that lack of neuropsychological research on age-related changes in school-aged children, and recommends utilization of existing databases for study on normal development.

Ko HC, Kuo FY. Can Blogging Enhance Subjective Well-Being Through Self-Disclosure? CyberPsychology & Behavior. 2008: doi:10.1089/cpb.2008.0163. As blogger share their inner thoughts with others through writing, they may gain social support and improve their social integration. Self-disclosure through blogging may serve as the core of building intimate relationships.

Kowalski RM, Limber SP. Electronic Bullying Among Middle School Students. Journal of Adolescent Jealth. 2007; 41:S22-30. Surveyed 3,767 grade 6, 7, 8 students who attended six schools in the US and found 11% had been electronically bullied and 4% indicated they had bullied a victim in the past month. Half of the electronic bully victims reported not knowing the perpetrator’s identity.

Kubey R, Lavin M and Barrows J (2001) Internet Use and Collegiate Academic Performance Decrements: Early Findings. Journal of Communication Vol 51 No 2, 366-382.

Kuo FE, Faber Taylor A. A Potential Natural Treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence from a National Study. American Journal of Public Health. 2004; 94(9):1580-1586. Studies have shown inner city children suffer from ADHD at three times the rate of children in rural areas. Green outdoor activities reduced ADHD symptoms significantly more than did activities conducted in other non-green settings.

Landhuis C, Poulton R, Welch D and Hancox R (2007) Does Childhood Television Viewing Lead to Attention Problems in Adolescence? Pediatrics Vol 120, 532-537. This study found that not only does childhood television viewing contribute to attention problems in adolescence, but that these effects may be long lasting.

Learning Disabilities Association of British Columbia – Fact Sheet Statistics (2007) Learning Disabilities Fact Sheet. www.ldav.ca/info.html. This document states that 15% of the elementary population has learning disabilities, with reading deficits the most prevalent condition. 35% of the learning disabled population will drop out of school, 60% will receive treatment for substance abuse, and they will have twice the unemployment rate of the non-disabled population.

Lofland J, Pizzi L and Frick K (2004) A Review of Health-Related Workplace Productivity Loss Instruments. Journal of PharmacoEconomics Vol 22 No 3, 165-184. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the published, peer-reviewed survey instruments available to measure health-related workplace productivity loss. Five instruments measured both absenteeism and presenteeism, and were used in the design of The Office Zone Workshop.

Louv, Richard (2005) Last Child in the Woods – Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, NY and Thomas Allen and Son Limited, Canada. In his groundbreaking work about the staggering divide between children and the outdoors, journalist and child advocate Richard Louv directly links the absence of nature in the lives of today’s wired generation to some of the most disturbing childhood trends: the rise in obesity, attention disorders and depression. This is the first book to bring together a body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and physical and emotional health. More than just raising the alarm, Louv offers practical solutions to heal the broken bond.

Lumeng JC, Appugliese D, Cabral HJ, Bradley RH, Zuckerman B. Neighborhood Safety and Overweight Status in Children. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 2006; 160(1):25-31. This study reports 15.8% of 6-11 year old children are overweight. Parents of children who were overweight perceived their neighborhood as significantly less safe that parents of children who were not overweight.

Mangen, A. Hypertext fiction reading: haptics and immersion. Journal of Research. 2008; 31(4):404-419. Comparative study of digital reading vs. print reading reports the following problems with screen reading:

• Attention: clicking and scrolling disrupt attention and disturb mental appreciation.
• Comprehension: reader lacks both completeness and constituent parts.
• Memory: change in physical surroundings has a negative effect on memory.
• Learning: doesn’t allow required time and mental exertion.
• Meaning: isn’t a physical dimension, loss of totality.

Mangen Quote: “The digital hypertext technology and its use of multimedia are not open to the experience of a fictional universe where the experience consists of creating you own mental images. The reader gets distracted by the opportunities for doing something else.”

Mandell D, Morales K, Marcus S, Stahmer A, Doshi J, and Polsky D (2008). Psychotropic Medication Use Among Medicaid-Enrolled Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Pediatrics Vol 121 No 3 pp e441-e449. This study reports that 56% of Medicaid-Enrolled children with diagnosed Autism were taking one psychotropic medication, and 20% were taking > three. Use was common even in children 0-2 years old (18%) and 3-5 years old (32%). Neuroleptic drugs were the most common class (31%), followed by antidepressants (25%) and stimulants (22%). Children who lived in countries with lower percentage of white residents were less likely to use medication.

Mannuzza S, Klein R, Bessler A, Malloy P, LaPadula M (1993) Adult Outcome of Hyperactive Boys. Educational Achievement, Occupational Rank and Psychiatric Status. Archives of General Psychiatry Vol 50 No 7 pages 1-9. This study involved 91 white males with mean age of 26 years with reported hyperactivity in childhood years, and found increased ADHD symptoms, antisocial personality disorders, and drug abuse disorders, with significantly compromised educational and occupational achievements.

Mate, G (1999) Scattered Minds. A New Look at the Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder. Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, Toronto, Canada.

Mate’ G (2008) In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction.
Published by Knopf Canada Publishing, Toronto. Dr. Maté’s book eloquently offers a more sympathetic and informed view of human addictions. Dr. Maté looks at the root causes of addiction, applying a clinical and psychological view to the physical manifestation and offering some enlightening answers for why people inflict such catastrophe on themselves. He takes aim at the hugely ineffectual US led war on drugs, challenging the wisdom of fighting drugs instead of aiding the addicts.

May-Benson M, Koomar J (2007) Identifying Gravitational Insecurity in Children: A Pilot Study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol 61 No 2, 142-147. This study reports that the GI Assessment is a promising clinical tool for objectively identifying children with gravitational insecurity, and was referenced in the Zone’in Workshop when reporting movement related sensory processing disorders.

Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, Overview of Mental Disorders in Children. This paper describes the general categories of mental disorders in children, assessment and treatment strategies, and goes into depth regarding psychopharmacology treatments stating that 1) there are no short or long term studies regarding safety and efficacy of psychotherapeutic medication in children, 2) there is limited information regarding the pharmacokinetics (drug concentrations in body over time), and 3) combined effectiveness of drugs and psychosocial treatments is rare. This report goes on to say that when the FDA approves a medication for general population use, approval is based on studies conducted on adults only. Therefore when a practitioner prescribes an “off label” drug for a child, the practitioner is required to “guess” the dosage parameters. Due to reluctance by the pharmaceutical companies to perform drug research on children as it was reportedly too “costly”, the US Congress subsequently passed the FDA Modernization Act 1999 Title 21 USC 505A (g) to create financial incentives for pharmaceutical companies to perform clinical research on children.

Michael K and Crowley S (2002) How Effective are Treatments for Child and Adolescent Depression? A Meta-Analytic Review. Clinical Psychology Review, Vol 22 pages 247-269. The authors of this paper reviewed and analyzed comprehensive sample 38 studies from 1980 – 1999 on the psychosocial and pharmacological treatment of child and adolescent depression and showed that while the psychosocial interventions provided moderate to large treatment gains, the pharmacological interventions were not effective in treating depressed children and adolescents.

Miller AR, Lalonde CE, McGrail KM, Armstrong RW. Prescription of Methylphenidate to Children and Youth, 1990-1996. Journal of the Canadian Medical Association. 2001; 165(11):1489-1494.  The rate of methylphenidate prescription for children increased from 1.0 per 1000 in 1990 to 4.7 per 1000 in 1996. Pediatricians and psychiatrists wrote 23% and 21% of prescriptions, while general practitioners wrote 56%. Many of the children who received more than 10 prescriptions had more than 4 physicians. Persistence with therapy was more likely when a psychiatrist provided the initial prescription, or with involvement of more than one speciality.

Miller L, Anzalone M, Lane S, Cermak S, and Osten E (2007) Concept Evolution in Sensory Integration: A Proposed Nosology for Diagnosis. American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol 61 No 2, 135-140. This article defines terminology for Sensory Processing Disorder diagnosis for eventual inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V, as described in the Zone’in Workshop.

Miller L, Coll J and Schoen S (2007) A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study of the Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy for Children with Sensory Modulation Disorder. American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol 61 No 2, 228-238. Children diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder made significant gains following a sensory integration approach on goal attainment scaling and on the Attention subtest and the Cognitive/Social composite of the Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised. This study validates use of sensory integrative approach in design of the Zone’in Program.

Mirsky A, Anthony B, Duncan C, Ahern M, Kellam S (1991) Analysis of the Elements of Attention: A Neuropsychological Approach. Neuropsychology Review Vol 2 No. 2, 109-145. This study reports three elements of attention and their respective anatomical origins: focus/execution – temporal and parietal lobes, sustain/encode – hippocampus and amydgala, and shift – prefrontal cortex.

Mistry KB, Minkovitz CS, Strobino DM, Borekowski DLG. Children’s Television Exposure and Behavioral and Social Outcomes at 5.5 years: Does Timing of Exposure Matter? Pediatrics. 2007; 120(4):762-769. Sustained television viewing was associated with behavioural outcomes. Concurrent television exposure was associated with fewer social skills. Having a television in the bedroom was associated with sleep problems and less emotional reactivity at 5.5 years.

Montagu, A (1978) Touching, The Human Significance of the Skin 2nd Edition. Harper and Row Publishers Inc. New York.

Mukaddes N, Bilge S, Alyanak B, Kora M (2000) Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Responses in Cases Diagnosed as Reactive Attachment Disorder. Child Psychiatry and Human Development Vol 30(4), 273-287. This study was conducted on 15 children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) who were misdiagnosed with Autism, and found that 66.6% of RAD children were exposed to 7.26 hours of TV use per day with age of onset at 7.16 months, and conclude that “excessive TV exposure might be a form of neglect that is specific for RAD patients”.

Muralidharan S, Fenton M. Containment Strategies for people with serious mental illness – Review.  The Cochrane Collaboration. The Cochrane Library: 2009, Issue 4.  Review of 4808 reports of non-pharmacological approaches to containment (including seclusion and restraints) of disturbed or violent behavior are not supported by evidence from controlled studies.  Clinical practice is based on evidence that is not derived from trials and continued practice entirely outside of well designed, conducted and reported randomized studies is difficult to justify.

Murphy-Berman V and Wright G (1987) Measures of Attention. Perceptual and Motor Skills Vol 64 pages 1139-1143. This study measured vigilance and reaction time independently and reports that these are two separate skills. Authors also report that children with faster reaction time could handle a faster presentation of stimuli on the vigilance task, and suggest that children self-pace to match their actual attention capabilities.

Murray J, Liotti M, Ingmundson P, Mayberg H, Pu Y, Zamarripa f, Liu Y, Woldorff M. Gao J, and Fox P (2006) Children’s Brain Activations While Viewing Televised Violence Revealed by fMRI. Media Psychology Vol 8 No 1, 25-37. fMRI’s of eight children showed that TV violence viewing recruits a network of brain regions involved in the regulation of emotion, arousal and attention, episodic memory encoding and retrieval, and reports that extensive TV violence viewing may result in a large number of aggressive scripts stored in long-term memory in the posterior cingulated, which facilitates rapid recall of aggressive scenes that serve as a guide for overt social behavior.

National Association for Sport and Physical Education. NASPE Releases First Ever Physical Activity Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers. February 6, 2002. Available at: http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/template.cfm?template=toddlers.html. Toddlers should have one hour per day structured physical activity, and another 2-3 hours of unstructured physical play. Toddlers should not be sedentary for more than one hour at a time except when sleeping.

National Center for Education Statistics, 2005. Available at: http://nces.ed.gov/. More than eight million students in grades 4-12 read below grade level, and while they can decode, they cannot comprehend what they read. Between 1971 and 2004, the reading level of America’s 17 year olds showed not improvement at all. 40% of high school graduates lack the literacy skills employers seek. Early exposure to print is largest predictor of reading ability.

National Dissemination Centre for Children With Disabilities – Fact Sheet 7 (2004) Learning Disabilities. www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs7txt.htm. This document reports that one in five children have a learning disability requiring the services of a school-based special education team, and prevalence of LD children have increased 22% over the past 25 years.

National Resource Center on ADHD – Statistical Prevalence (2007) About ADHD. www.help4adhd.org/en/about/statistics. This report states that 7% of elementary children have a diagnosis of ADHD, with 61% of these children also having learning disabilities.

National Center for Health Statistics, April 2006. Prevalence of Overweight Among Children and Adolescents: United States 2003-2004. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overweight/overwght_child_03.htm. This study reports 17% of children and adolescents ages 2-19 years are overweight. Overweight increased form 7.2 to 13.9% among 2-5 year olds and from 11 – 19% among 6-11 year olds between 1988-94 and 2003-2004. Among adolescents aged 12-19, overweight increased form 11- to 17% during the same period.

Nelson M, Neumark-Stzainer D, Hannan P, Sirard J and Story M (2006) Longitudinal and Secular Trends in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior During Adolescence. Pediatrics Vol 118 No 6 1627-1634. This study documents increased computer use correlates with decreased physical activity.

Niederhofer H (2004) Family Conflict Tendency and ADHD. Psychological Reports Vol 94 pages 577-580. This study found that low conflict families with one or more ADHD child, reported lower scores on Physical Punishment scale, Anger and Disregard Scale, and increased openness to others needs.

Nielsen Media Research Report (2005) Television’s Popularity is Still Growing.
http://www.nielsenmedia.com/nc/portal/site/Public/menuitem.55dc65b4a7d5adff3f65936147a062a0/?vgnextoid=4156527aacccd010VgnVCM100000ac0a260aRCRD. From a sample size of 25,000, this report states that in 2005/2006, adults watched an average 4 hours and 35 minutes of TV per day.

No Child Left Behind. Available at: http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml. U.S. 2000 Bush initiative implementing mandatory yearly standardized testing with penalty for failure to show successive improvements. Schools who regressed or didn’t improve, were put on probationary status for possible with drawl of Title I funding, and were published in the local paper with parents given the option of changing schools. While designed to increase standards of accountability, criticism was noted regarding teachers “teaching to the test”, states lowering standards (each state was allowed to make up their own test), and children suffering performance stress. Recess was forfeited in many states to create extra time for instruction. Go Obama.

Nunez-Smith M, Wolf E, Mikiko Huang H, Chen P, Lee L, Emanuel EJ, Gross, CP. Media and Child and Adolescent Health: A Systematic Review. Available online at http://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/NunezSmith%20CSM%20media_review%20Dec%204.pdf. 173 research efforts going back to 1980 were analyzed and rated, showing 80% of the studies showed a link between a negative health outcome and media hours or content. Negative health outcomes were as follows: obesity, smoking, sexual behavior, drug use, alcohol use, low academic achievement and ADHD.

Olney C (1991) Where There’s a Will, There’s an A. Chesterbrook Educational Publishers. www.wheretheresawill.com. This two-part video is actually for high-school students, but its easy-to-follow, often funny approach makes it worth watching even if you have to fast forward through the parts that don’t apply. Olney’s excellent tips, based on research, are likely to help your child succeed not only on tests but in writing essays, doing projects and making presentations.

Orzack, Maressa with McLean Hospital in Belmont Massachusetts and Computer Addiction Services says 40% of the 8.5 million videogame players are addicted. Other addictions are 5-10%.

Ouellette-KuntzH, Coo H, Yu CT, Chudley AE, Noonan A, Breitenbach M, Ramji N, Prosick T, Bedard A, Holden JJA. Prevalence of Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Two Canadian Provinces. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities. 2006; 3(3):164-172. The finding show that the prevalence among children ages 1-14 years of age was 0.6% or one in 165 children.

Paavonen E, Pennonen M and Roine M (2006) Passive Exposure to TV Linked to Sleep Problems in Children. Journal of Sleep Research Vol 15, 154-161. This study documents that active and passive TV viewing was correlated with sleep-wake transition disorders.

Parham L, Cohn E, Spitzer S, Koomar J, Miller L, Burke J, Brett-Green B, Mailloux Z, May-Benson T, Smith Roley S, Schaaf R, Schoen S, Summers C (2007) Fidelity in Sensory Integration Intervention Research. American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol 61 No 2, 216-227. This article describes identification of 10 core sensory integration intervention elements, with subsequent review of 34 sensory integration studies showing only one core element was addressed in all studies. These results show that validity of sensory integration outcomes studies is threatened by weak fidelity in regard to therapeutic process, as described in the Zone’in Workshop.

Paris B and Murray-Slutsky C (2005) Is it Sensory or is it Behavior? Behavior Problem Identification, Assessment and Intervention. Harcourt Publishing, San Antonio Texas. This book clearly outlines behavior as a coping strategy, and discusses that as this coping strategy is repeated, the behavior becomes firmly established appearing “willful”.

Parker-Pope, T (2005) Risk of Over-Diagnosing ADHD. Wall Street Journal, Health Journal. January 25, 2005.

Paulose-Ram R, Safran MA, Jonas BS, Quiping F, Orwig D. Trends in Psychotropic Medication Use Among U.S. Adults. National Center for Health Statistics. April 2006. Available at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/114113714/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0. Psychotropic medication use increased from 6.1% in 1988-1994 to 11.1% in 1999-2002, due to a three-fold increase in anti-depressant use.

Pelligrini A. and Bohn C. (2005) The Role of Recess in Children’s Cognitive Performance and School Adjustment. Educational Researcher Vol 34 No 1, 13-19. This study reports that providing breaks over the course of a child’s school day enhances their ability to attend and learn. This study also reports that kindergarteners’ playground social behaviour was a significant factor in first grade achievement, and discussed that the playground may be the only area where “latch-key” kids get to socialize with their peers. This study support Zone’in premise that children learn first with their bodies, then their brain, and supports Zone’in recommendations that children should employ a variety of movement techniques to optimize learning.

Petersen AC, Kube DA, Palmer FB. High Prevalence of Developmental Disabilities in Children Admitted to a General Pediatric Inpatient Ward. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities. 2006; 18(3):307-318. Authors report that assessing the prevalence of developmental disabilities is difficult due to developmental status not often recorded in inpatient or outpatient settings. This study found that 31% of children admitted to an inpatient pediatric ward in the U.S. had a developmental disability.

Phillips C. Medicine Goes to School: Teachers as Sickness Brokers for ADHD. Public Library of Science Medicine. 2006; 3(4): e182. Available at: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030182. The organized penetration of the pharmaceutical industry associated with ADHD into the education domain is a new phenomenon. An informal role also exists for teachers as “disease-spotters.” There appears to be considerable difference internationally in the alacrity with which teachers engage in disease-spotting.

Pliszka S, Bukstein O et al. Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2007; 46(7):894-921. This parameter discusses the clinical evaluation for ADHD, comorbid conditions associated with ADHD, research on the etiology of the disorder and psychopharmacological and psychosocial interventions for ADHD. Dr. Pliszka receives “research support” from Shire, McNeil Pediatrics and Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical corporations, and Dr. Bukstein receives “research support” from Cephalon, Forest, McNeil Pediatrics, Shire, Eli Lilly and Novartis Pharmaceutical corporations. Aforementioned pharmaceutical corporations manufacturer ADHD medications.

Porges, S (2005) The Vagus. The Neurobiology of Autism, Eds Bauman & Kemper, John Hopkins University Press, 65-77.

Primack BA, Swanier B, Georgiopoulos AM, Land SR, Fine MJ. Association Between Media Use in Adolescence and Depression in Young Adulthood. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2009; 66(2):181-188. This study of 4142 participants reporting high television exposure, had significantly greater odds of developing depression for each additional hour of use (odds ratio 1.08). In 2002 at the onset of this 7 year study, adolescents reported 5.68 hours of combined media exposure per day (2.3 hrs. TV, 0.62 hrs. videos, 0.41 hrs. computer games, and 2.34 hrs radio).

Pritchard R and Honeycutt R (2006) Handbook of Writing Research, Ch 19 – The Process Approach to Writing Instruction. Eds. MacArthur C, Graham S and Fitzgerald G. Guilford Press, New York. This chapter reports that due to poorly defined parameters regarding the process approach, evidence based research regarding efficacy is lacking. Authors go on to state that since the process approach provided an instructional alternative at a time when traditional methods grounded in rhetorical theory were being challenged, the process model evolved in practice more quickly than did supporting research and theories.

Rapport MD, Bolden J, Kofler MJ, Sarver DE, Raiker JS, Alderson RM. Hyperactivity in Boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A Ubiquitous Core Symptom or Manifestation of Working Memory Deficits? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. 2008; DOI 10.1007/s10802-008-9287-8. Study of 3082 US children between 2001 and 2004 aged 8-15 years indicates 8.7% (equivalent to 2.4 million children) fulfilled criteria for ADHD. Findings report the children with ADHD need to move more to maintain the required level of alertness while performing tasks that challenge their working memory such as math.

Ratey JJ, Hagerman E (2008). Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Little, Brown and Company, New York. Author reports a positive correlation between physical activity and seven categories of cognitive performance: perceptual skills, intelligence quotient, achievement, verbal tests, math tests, developmental level, and academic readiness. Study showed that a reduction of 240 minutes per week of academic class time, replaced with increased time for PE, led to higher math scores. Adding PE time does not improve grades. It’s vigorous exercise that improves cognition e.g. climbing walls, exercise bikes, tread mills, dancing. Author reports the following effects from regular vigorous exercise:

1. Cognition: enhanced memory and learning through improved neurogenesis in frontal cortex.
2. Anxiety: rewires response pathways.
3. Stress: improved blood flow to brain enhances neural connections.
4. Depression: elevates endorphins and dopamine, regulates serotonin.
5. ADHD: increases dopamine which improves focus and attention.
6. Addiction: increases dopamine, enhances the brain’s own ability to satiate.

Researchers Fail to Reveal Full Drug Pay. The New York Times June 8, 2008. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/us/08conflict.html. A world-renowned Harvard child psychiatrist whose work has helped fuel an explosion in the use of powerful antipsychotic medicines in children earned at least $1.6 million in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007 but for years did not report much of this income to university officials, according to information given Congressional investigators. By failing to report income, the psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Biederman, and a colleague in the psychiatry department at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Timothy E. Wilens, may have violated federal and university research rules designed to police potential conflicts of interest, according to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa. Some of their research is financed by government grants. Like Dr. Biederman, Dr. Wilens belatedly reported earning at least $1.6 million from 2000 to 2007, and another Harvard colleague, Dr. Thomas Spencer, reported earning at least $1 million after being pressed by Mr. Grassley’s investigators. But even these amended disclosures may understate the researchers’ outside income because some entries contradict payment information from drug makers, Mr. Grassley found. In one example, Dr. Biederman reported no income from Johnson & Johnson for 2001 in a disclosure report filed with the university. When asked to check again, he said he received $3,500. But Johnson & Johnson told Mr. Grassley that it paid him $58,169 in 2001.

Reilly JJ, Jackson DM, Montgomery C, Kelly LA, Slater C, Grant S, Paton JY. Total Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity in Young Scottish Children: Mixed Longitudinal Study. 2004; 363:211-212. The average preschooler spends 20 minutes per day in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Movements were tracked on 78 three year old children using an accelerometer for one week, and again at age five. Study reports that the children were spending 9-10 hours of their waking day not moving at all. All day TV and video games were the reported “culprit”, as well as increased use of strollers. Other concerns were that children have recently been banned from bringing balls to playgrounds or climbing trees. Author Reilly states “There really needs to be a balance. Perhaps we have taken the safety thing a bit too far.” Reilly goes on to report “The dangers of a sedentary childhood go way beyond obesity. More active children tend to be better behaved and scientists suspect that more active children learn more effectively.”

Reinking D. Wu J. Reexamining the Research on Television and Reading. Reading Research and Instruction. 1990; 29;30-43. Successful readers read often. Children who are heavy TV viewers (> 3 hours per day) show the greatest decline in reading ability

Rideout V, Vandewater E and Wartella E (2003) Zero To Six: Electronic Media In The Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers. The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation Report, California. This report documents the recent explosion of electronic media targeted at the very youngest of children 0-6 years of age, and states that 99% of homes have a TV, 36% have a TV in their bedrooms, 50% have a videogame player, and 73% have a computer. Despite the fact that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends toddlers under the age of 2 years should not use ANY electronic media, 68% use electronic media daily, 25% have TV’s in their bedrooms and average use is 2 hours 5 minutes per day. Regarding extent of TV usage, children are less likely to read in high use homes, TV use is not income dependent, but that there is less usage in homes where one parent holds a college degree.

Rine R, Braswell J, Fisher D, Joyce K, Kalar K, and Shaffer M. (2004) Improvement of Motor Development and Postural Control Following Intervention in Children with Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Vestibular Impairment. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Vol 68 Issue 9, 1141-1148. This study showed that motor development scores increased significantly in children with sensorineural hearing loss and vestibular impairment following balance, visual and somatosensory training. This study substantiates that impaired vestibular development affects postural and motor ability.

Roberts D, Foehr U, Rideout V, Brodie M (1999) Kids and Media at the New Millennium: A Comprehensive National Analysis of Children’s Media Use. The Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation Report, California. This report documents that children spend on average 6.5 hours per day of combined media use (TV, videogames, computers), and 32% of 2-7 year olds and 65% of 8-18 year olds have TV’s in their bedrooms.

Robinson JP, Martin S. What Do Happy People Do? Journal of Social Indicators Research. 2008; 89:565-571. People who report they are not happy watch over 30% more TV hours per day than people who report they are happy. Authors question why people engage in an activity that makes them unhappy, and answer that TV is an opiate, and a refuge for unhappy people. Authors state that while addictive activities produce momentary pleasure, they also produce long-term misery and regret. People most vulnerable to addiction tend to be socially or personally disadvantaged, with TV becoming their opiate.

Robinson TN. Reducing Children’s Television Viewing to Prevent Obesity. JAMA. 1999; 282(16):1561-1567. Children in one elementary school received an 18 lession, 6 month classroom curriculum to reduce television, videotape and video game use with significant relative decreases in body mass index, as well as decreases in reported television viewing and meals eaten in front of the television.

Rosack J (2003) Prescription Data on Youth Raise Important Questions. American Psychiatric Foundation – Clinical and Research News Vol 38 No 3 pp1-3. This interview with Julie Zito’s regarding her 2003 study reports that psychotropic prescriptions for children and adolescents rose between 200% and 300% between 1987 and 1996, and that between 5.9% and 6.3% of all youth were prescribed at least one psychotropic medication. Extrapolation for an additional 250% increase for the next ten year period from 1997 to 2006 would yield figures of between 14.75% and 15.75%. Interview with Peter Jensen, MD advocates for increased education and training of family practitioners, and points out the problems of attaining accurate psychiatric diagnosis for children, as there are only 7,500 child and adolescent psychiatrists in the US, and 12-17 million children and adolescents with psychiatric problems (20% of < 18 year old population).

Ruff, M (2005) Attention Deficit Disorder and Stimulant Use: An Epidemic of Modernity. Clinical Pediatrics Vol 44 pg 557. An excellent article that raises many pertinent questions regarding the prevalent drugging of ‘borderline’ ADHD children, and advocates for increased research into environmental as opposed to biological medication justification. Great lines are “When did prescribing stimulants go from success to excess”, “Nature is designed for and needs nurture”, with reference to parents of ADHD children “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and if the tree subsists with suboptimal soil and moisture, it will not produce good fruit”, “We are an impulsive, impatient culture with a free-floating sense of time urgency that feeds on rapidly changing trends”, “The brain allocates neural real estate, depending on what we use most”. Dr. Ruff is concerned that if we are already giving stimulants to borderline ADHD children, will we also give them the new Alzheimer memory enhancer drugs as well? Dr. Ruff eloquently points out that if we ban physical performance enhancing drugs for athletes, shouldn’t we also ban academic enhancing drugs for students? Dr. Ruff goes on to state “Researchers should be required to reveal just how much compensation, in the course of a year, they are afforded by the drug companies. We may then be able to better assess the merit of their conclusions and recommendations”.

Sax, L, Kauta K. Who First Suggests the Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? Annals of Family Medicine. 2003; 1(3):171-174. Available at: http://www.annfammed.org/cgi/reprint/1/3/171. In a study of 491 physicians in Washington, D. C., almost half of the diagnoses of ADHD in their patients had been suggested first by teachers.

Schaaf R and McKeon Nightlinger, K (2007) Occupational Therapy Using a Sensory Integrative Approach: A Case Study of Effectiveness. American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol 61 No 2, 239-246. This single subject design of a child with poor sensory processing indicates improvement in goal attainment and behaviour with occupational therapy using a sensory integrative approach. This study validates use of sensory integrative approach in design of the Zone’in Program.

Shaffer, David (1994) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults. The American Journal of Psychiatry. Vol 151, pp 633-638.

Schilling D, Washington K, Billingsley F, Deitz J (2003). Classroom seating for Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Therapy Balls Versus Chairs. American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol 57 534-541. This study reports that children with ADHD who were seated on therapy balls had increased in-seat behaviour and legible word productivity. This study supports the Move’in Programs use of therapy balls to set postural tone and improve distal motor performance effecting word legibility.

Schlagal B (2007) Best Practices in Writing Instruction – Ch 9 Best Practices in Spelling and Handwriting. Eds. Graham S, MacArthur C and Fitzgerald J, Guilford Press, New York. This chapter highlights how handwriting instruction for teachers has reduced by pointing out that The Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language (Flood, Lapp, Squire, and Jensen, 2003) has only devoted one page out of 1000 to handwriting instruction. Author goes on to state that poorly developed spelling and handwriting can affect the higher level literacy processes in which they are embedded, and should be given a more important role in school curriculum.

Schmidt R and Lee T (2005) Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioral Emphasis. Human Kinetics Publishing, Illinois. This book reports the immense role that vision has in determining behavior, and states that 87.7% of behavior is driven by vision.

Schneider M, Moore C, Gajewski L, Laughlin N, Laron J, Gay C, Roberts A, Converse A, DeJesus O (2007) Sensory Processing Disorders in a Nonhuman Primate Model: Evidence for Occupational Therapy Practice. American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol 61 No 2, 247-253. This study profiles development of a Sensory Processing Scale for monkeys that measured behavioual responses to a series of tactile stimuli in monkeys exposed to prenatal alcohol, stress or post-natal lead. Results showed while control monkeys from undisturbed pregnancies showed a habituation pattern, prenatally stressed monkeys showed sensitization, and prenatal alcohol-exposed monkeys showed relatively high responsiveness without habituation. Lead exposed monkeys showed sensitization, reduced with chelation.

Shanahan T (2007) Early Literacy Development: Sequence of Acquisition. Encyclopedia of Language and Literacy Development 1-6. London, ON: Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network. This document clearly outlines the sequence of acquisition of precursor skills for eventual reading ability, and high lights letter recognition and print concepts such as directionality and laterality.

Shao-I C, Jie-Zhi L, Der-Hsiang H. Video Game Addiction in Children and Teenagers in Taiwan. CyberPsychology and Behavior. 2004; 7(5):571-581. Video game addiction can be statistically predicted on measures of hostility and poor academic achievement.

Sheridan S (2001) The Scribble Hypothesis: A Plea for Brain-Compatible Teaching and Learning. Poster Presentation “Toward A Science of Consciousness “ Conference, Sweden. www.drawingwriting.com/scribabs.pdf.

Simner M. (2003) Promoting Skilled Handwriting – The Kindergarten Path to Meaningful Written Communication. Canadian Psychological Association. This manual and Dr. Simner’s recommendations regarding printing instruction were instrumental in the planning of many components of the Move’in Program. Dr. Simner reports that documented cases in Toronto kindergarten classes spend just 2 minutes per day on letter formation instruction, and states that “It is my understanding that formal handwriting instruction, for the most part, has disappeared”.

Sloat E, Willms JD. The International Adult Literacy Survey: Implications for Canadian Social Policy. Canadian Journal of Education. 2000; 25(3):218-233. Available at: http://www.csse.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE25-3/CJE25-3-sloat.pdf. 1994 and 2003 comparative literacy studies of Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States covering four literacy domains – prose (reading and understanding text information e.g. stories, editorials), document (locating text information e.g. maps, schedules), and numeracy (understanding math embedded in text e.g. weather and loan interest charts) and problem solving. Participants were ranked on five levels, with level one being the lowest. 15% of Canadians scored in level one, and only 50% reached level three. Canadians scored in the middle of the pack, and results were the same for 1994 and 2003.

Small G, Vorgan G. IBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind. New York: Harper Collins Publisher; 2008. Exposure to digital technologies changes how the brain works e.g. the way we read, learn and interact with each other. Reading facial expression during conversation impacts on social skill ability. Reading comprehension requires analysis, which takes time. Author questions whether online readers will needed added instruction to attain comprehension.

Smith Roley S, Blanche Imperatore, E and Schaff R (2001) Understanding the Nature of Sensory Integration With Diverse Populations. Therapy Skill Builders, Arizona.

Spotts P (2003) Chemical Kids. The Christian Science Monitor, March 6, 2003 edition. This author looks at some of the reasons behind the trend in over-prescribing psychotropic medications to children listed as: research explosion in the 80’s and 90’s caused a shift toward attributing kid’s behavioral problems to physiological causes with subsequent medication prescription, skyrocketing healthcare costs caused outsourcing of psychiatric services to for-profit clinics who found drugs cheaper than counseling, physician pressure from teachers and parents. This article points out that up to 25% of ADHD diagnoses are actually children who have a sleep disorder.

Stage S, Sheppard J, Davidson M. and Browning M. (2001) Prediction of First-Graders’ Growth in Oral Reading Fluency Using Kindergarten Letter Fluency. Journal of School Psychology Vol 39, issue 3, 225-237. This study report that first graders’ growth in oral reading fluency was predicted by their kindergarten letter-naming and letter sound fluency. This study supports the Move’in Program’s premise that letter recognition is crucial for eventual reading fluency.

Statistics Canada (2006) Martin Turcotte. Time Spent With Family During a Typical Workday, 1986 to 2005. This study reports that parents spend an average 3.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with their children.

Tannock MT. Rough and Tumble Play: An Investigation of the Perceptions of Educators and Young Children. Journal of Early Childhood Education. 2008; 35: 357-361. Throughout most of human history child engagement in rough and tumble outdoor play and imaginary games resulted in the achievement of adequate sensory, motor and attachment development required for attention and learning. Fear of potential litigation has caused significant changes to playground structures, and has resulted in restricting children from rough and tumble play, grossly vestibular, proprioceptive and tactile input needed for optimal sensory and motor development.

Thakkar R, Garrison M and Christakis D (2006) A Systematic Review for the Effects of Television Viewing by Infants and Preschoolers. Pediatrics Vol 118, 2025-2031. This study points out that although viewing educational programs broadens young children’s knowledge, viewing of cartoon content has a negative effect on children’s attentional abilities.

Thomas C, Conrad P, Casler R, Goodman E (2006) Trends in the Use of Psychotropic Medications Among Adolescents, 1994 to 2001. Psychiatric Services Vol 57 No 1 pp63-69. This study reports that rates oif visits that resulted in psychotropic prescription increased from 3.4% in 1994-1995 to 8.3% in 2000-2001, and reports that by 2001, one out of every ten office visits for adolescent males resulted in a psychotropic medication prescription.

Thompson, D and Christakis D (2005) The Association Between Television Viewing and Irregular Sleep Schedules Among Children Less Than 3 Years of Age. Pediatrics Vol 116, 851-856. This study reports that the total number of hours of TV watched per day was associated with irregular nap and bedtime schedules.

Tomblin, B. Literacy as an Outcome of Language Development and its Impact on Children’s Psychosocial and Emotional Development. Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network. 2006. Available at: http://www.literacyencyclopedia.ca. A foundation in spoken language competence is important for the successful achievement of literacy, academic and social competence.

Tomchek S and Dunn W (2007) Sensory Processing in Children With and Without Autism: A Comparative Study Using the Short Sensory Profile. American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol 61 No 2, 190-200. This study reports that 95% of sample of 281 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder demonstrated some degree of sensory processing dysfunction on the Short Sensory Profile, with greatest differences reported on the Underresponsive/Seeks Sensation, Auditory Filtering and Tactile Sensitivity sections.

Tremblay MA, Willms JD. Is the Canadian Childhood Obesity Epidemic Related to Physical Inactivity? International Journal of Obesity. 2003; 27:1100-1105. One third of children in the US and Canada are considered to be overweight.Both organized and unorganized sport and physical activity are negatively associated with being overweight (10-24% reduced risk) or obese (23-43% reduced risk), while watching TV and video game use are risk factors for being overweight (17-44% increased risk) or obese (10-61% increased risk).

Tsuzuku T. and Kaga K. (1992) Delayed Motor Function and Results of Vestibular Function Tests in Children with Inner Ear Anomalies. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Vol 23 Issue 3, 261-268. This study reports that children with vestibular impairment demonstrated delayed motor function, supporting Dr. Jean Ayers findings that the vestibular system is the foundation for bilateral and ocular coordination and development of postural tone.

Turcotte, Martin. Time spent with family during a typical workday 1986 to 2005. Statistics Canada. Catalogue No. 11-008. Available from: http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/11-008-XIE/2006007/pdf/11-008-XIE20060079574.pdf.

Vandewater E, Lee J and Shim M (2005) Family Conflict and Violent Electronic Media Use in School-Aged Children. Media Psychology Vol 7 No 1, 73-86. This research showed that family conflict is positively related to violent electronic media use, and that family tensions will be reflected in children’s interest in media with violent content.

Waddell C, Hua JM, Garland O, DeV. Peters R, McEwan K. Preventing Mental Disorders in Children: A Systematic Review to Inform Policy-Making. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2007; 98(3): 166-173. Recent research demonstrates that prevention programs in childhood can reduce the prevalence of mental disorders, while also addressing causal factors. For example targeted parent training within disadvantaged families can significantly reduce subsequent prevalence of behavior disorders in children, while also improving educational and social outcomes.

Waddell C. Improving the Mental Health of Young Children. Children’s Health Policy Centre, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver BC, Canada. 2007. Available at: http://www.firstcallbc.org/pdfs/Communities/4-alliance.pdf. States the following mental illness statistics for children in Canada: anxiety disorders 6.4%, ADD or ADHD 4.8%, conduct disorders 4.2%, depressive disorders 3.5%, substance abuse 0.8%, autism spectrum disorders 0.3%, obsessive compulsive disorders 0.2%, eating disorders 0.1%, schizophrenia 0.1%, bipolar disorder <0.1% for a total of 14.3%.

Waldman M, Nicholson S and Adilov N (2006) Does Television Cause Autism? Cornell University, New York. This study showed that heavy TV use prior to age 3 years positively correlates to increase in prevalence of Autism.

Wall Street Journal (January 25, 2005) Studies Linking Ritalin and Depression Highlight Risk of Overdosing ADHD. This article reports from the 2004 annual meeting of the American College of Neuropharmacology stating that researchers are concerned about he lack of long term studies regarding the use of Ritalin to treat ADHD in children, and point out that animal research found that Ritalin permanently alters brain structure and may lead to depression, as brain pathways involved in pleasure and aversion have been changed. This article also points out research done by Martin Teicher, director of the Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program at McLean University which reports that teacher inter rater reliability is poor and “notoriously unreliable”.

Walson P (1999) Patient Recruitment: US Perspective. Pediatrics Vol 104 No 3 pages 619-622. This paper describes the difficulties in patient recruitment of children for clinical drug trials as the following: identification of eligible patient population, explaining the study, obtaining true informed consent, maintaining ethical standards, recruiting adequate, representative sample, retaining subjects until study completion, and minimizing the risk/benefit ratio. I suppose it would be difficult to convince a parent they should enroll their child in a clinical trial of a drug that has not been proven effective (C. Rowan comment).

Washington Post by Anthony Faiola May 27, 2006. When Escape Seems Just a Mouse Click Away. Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/05/26/AR2006052601960.html
2.4 % of S. Korea from ages 9 – 39 have video game addiction according to a government funded survey. Another 10.2% were found to be borderline cases at risk of addiction. Addiction was defined as an obsession with playing electronic games to the point of sleep deprivation, disruption of daily life and a loosening grip on reality, depression and with drawl when not playing. 10 S. Koreans dies in 2005 from disruption in blood circulation caused by prolonged use. S. Korea has government funded counselling and clinics for gamers. Most addictive video games are the MMORPG’s massively multiplayer online role playing games. A Harris Interactive Poll in the US release in April 2007 found that 8.5% of youth gamers could be classified as “pathological” or “clinically addicted” to playing video games. A British survey of gamers indicated 12% reported being “addicted”.

Welch M, MD (1989) Holding Time. Published by Simon and Schoester, New York. In this fascinating book written by Dr. Martha Welch, child psychiatrist and president of The Mothering Center at Cos Cob, Connecticut describes a technique called ‘forced holding’, where the mother holds the child close to her on her lap, as if she were nursing the child, and doesn’t let go! Even if the child squirms and screams, the mother hangs onto the child, maintaining essential eye contact and repeating to the child ‘I love you’ over and over again. While this technique has met mixed reviews, it does offer interesting information regarding the mother child connection, and offers families with children with Autism an alternative technique for establishing bonding.

Willard NE. The Authority and Responsibility of School Officials in Responding to Cyberbullying. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2007; 41:S64-65. Online cyberbullying most often occurs off campus, but may result in on site altercations. Author explores authority and responsibility of school officials regarding cyberbullying.

Willms JD. Vulnerable Children. University of Alberta Press; Edmonton. 2002. Cites that mounting research evidence suggests that childhood is the optimal time to influence determinants of social and emotional wellbeing, and proposes a much needed public health strategy to provide effective preventative treatment for mental health disorders.

Williams M and Shellenberger S (1995) How Does Your Engine Run? Therapy Works Inc, New Mexico.

Worthen MR. Education Policy Implications from the Expert Panel on Electronic Media and Youth Violence. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2007; 41:S61-63. Educators and education policy makers should be concerned regarding the effects of media on youth behavior due to internet bullying is correlated with school behavior problems and that media literacy programs may mitigate the negative effects of electronic media on youth.

Ybarra ML, Diener-West M, Leaf PJ. Examining the Overlap in Internet Harassment and School Bullying: Implications for School Intervention. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2007; 41:S42-S50. Youth who reported being harasses online were 8 times more likely to carry a weapon to school in the past 30 days. Authors advocate for schools to be aware of the possible linkages between school behavior and online harassment.

Yen JY, Yen, CF, Chen CS, Tang TC, Ko CH. The Association between Adult ADHD Symptoms and Internet Addiction among College Students: The Gender Difference. CyberPsychology & Behavior. 2008: doi:10.1089/cpb.2008.0113. ADHD was the most associated symptom of Internet Addiction, followed by impulsivity. Authors suggest college students should be surveyed and treated for ADHD to reduce risk of Internet Addiction, and strategies for internet addiction should be provided to students with ADHD.

Zappella M (2006) Reversible PDD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Vol 36 pp 831-832. This editorial reports author’s research study which found 13.3% of children diagnosed with Autism following treatment ‘dismatured’ to ADHD diagnosis. Treatment involved a developmental approach conducted by parents and teachers where emphasis is placed on promoting physical play, affiliation, exploration of the other and speech therapy.

Zhang Lihui. Family, School and Friends: Correlates of Canadian Youth Outcomes. PhD Candidate Thesis, Department of Economics, Dalhousie University. May 2008. At the family level, parental education, supervision and peer influence are found to be the most import determinants for youth outcome. At the school level, “cooperation” through group activities in class is the single most important associate with youth outcomes in academic performance and lower aggression and youth crime. More generous social assistance is correlated with more crime for youth.

Zhang Lihui. Why are American Teenagers More Violent Than Their Canadian Peers? PhD Candidate Thesis, Department of Economics, Dalhousie University. May 2008. American teenagers are three times more violent than their Canadian peers. Mother being a teenager at child’s birth, non-intact family, low family income, mother’s education level and number of hours of television use are predictors of youth violence.

Zimmerman F, Christakis D and Meltzoff A (2007) Television and DVD/Video Viewing in Children Younger Than 2 Years. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine Vol 161 No 5, 473-479. This study showed that by 3 months of age, 40% of children regularly watched television, DVD’s or videos, and by 24 months 90%. Average duration rose form 1 hour per day for children less than one year old to 1.5 hours by 24 months.

Zimmerman F and Christakis D (2007) Associations Between Content Types of Early Media Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems. Pediatrics Vol 120, 986-992. This study showed that viewing of television prior to age 3 was significantly associated with attention problems.

Zito, J, Safer D, dosReis S, Gardner J, Boles M, Lynch F (2000) Trends in the Prescribing of Psychotropic Medications to Preschoolers. Journal of the American Medical Association Vol 283 No 8 pp 1025-1030. This study reports a dramatic increase in the prescription of psychotropic medication between 1991 and 1995 to two to four year old children; 28.2-fold for Clonidine (sedative), 3.0-fold for stimulants, and 2.2-fold for antidepressants. Authors report that these findings are “remarkable, in light of the limited knowledge base that underlies psychotropic medication use in very young children”. This study reports reasons for increased use are: expanded diagnostic criteria, more girls being treated for ADHD, greater acceptance for using biological treatment for behavioral disorders, expanded role of school and preschool personnel in identifying medical needs. Authors report grave concerns regarding the rise of prescriptions for Clonidine in conjunction with Ritalin due to lack of studies.

Zito JM, Safer DJ, dosReis S, Gardner JF, Magder L, Soeken K, Lynch F, Riddle M. Psychotropic practice patterns for youth. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. 2003; 157(1): 17-25. A population based analysis of community treatment data on nearly 900,000 youths revealed that the total psychotropic medication prevalence for youths increased 2 to 3 fold and included most classes of medication.

Zito JM, Safer DJ, dosReis S, Gardner JF, Soeken K, Boles M, Lynch F. Rising prevalence of antidepressants among US youth. Pediatrics. 2002; 109 (5): 721-727. Antidepressant prescriptions for youth substantially increased up to 4.6 fold in the 1990’s, generated primarily by primary care physicians.