Next issue of the newsletter: the second week of July. (Not yet a subscriber? Go here.) Back issues of 2e Newsletter are available.

PROGRESS WITH SI. A New York Times article blesses and legitimizes sensory integration, noting the growing awareness of the condition and that therapists and researchers have acted to have sensory processing disorder in the DSM. The article quotes Dr. Lucy Miller, a prominent practitioner in the field, offers hints at causes, and also describes why some oppose SPD's admission to the DSM. [See a review of Lucy Miller's book in the next issue of 2e Newsletter.]

Hippocrates/Plutocracies. Two articles in June focused on the influence of drug companies. ScienceDaily reported a study at the University of California - San Francisco which found that drug trials funded by a particular company tended to favor that company's drug over competitive drugs. And the New York Times reported how state-legislated disclosures of payments by drug companies to doctors reveal that psychiatrists earn more money from drug makers than doctors in other specialties - averaging $45,492 last year in one state, Vermont. Related Times article here. (Think about this the next time your 2e child gets a prescription.)

Doing the SAT Next Year? The San Francisco Chronicle reported on one parent's experiences in trying to get accommodations for her daughter on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, examining the conflict between College Board, students, parents, and administrators.

SUCCESS STORY. Read a Teacher Magazine story about one educator's success with a bright Aspie named Ranjbar.

2e Achiever Becomes Headmaster. The Burlington Press and the Pine Ridge School website tell us that the school has hired Dana Blackhurst, a nationally recognized authority on learning differences, as headmaster of the private day/boarding school for LD students of average or above-average potential. The wrinkle: Blackhurst has his own LD, never finishing high school but earning an equivalency certificate and then "working his way up" academically. 

CRAZIER THAN NEW YORK CITY? The Economist magazine described how Hong Kong's international primary and secondary schools issue debentures (non-interest-bearing bonds to pay for school construction, etc) tied to admission to the schools; the debentures can then be bought and sold at a market price. While admissions are merit-based, holding a debenture puts a prospective student at the top of the queue. In June, a Hong Kong family reportedly paid HK$1 million for a debenture to one of the most highly sought-after schools.

AD/HD NEWS. Australia's The Age reported on research contending that key areas in AD/HD children's brains develop more slowly, possibly as a result of a genetic condition. A news report says that two new formulations of AD/HD meds (Daytrana, a skin patch, and Vyvanse) last longer and have less potential for abuse. (And who funded the studies?)

SLEEP 2007. The 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in June produced a number of findings on sleep and children. The headlines and links: Children with Sleep Disorder Symptoms Are More Likely to Have Trouble Academically; Sleep Deprivation [in Adolescents] Can Lead to Smoking, Drinking; Going to Bed Late May Affect the Health, Academic Performance of College Students; Children's Brain Responses Predict Impact of Sleep Loss on Attention; and Snoring Children: Poor Sleep Hygiene in Children Associated with Behavioral Problems [including AD/HD].

FIRST-BORN ADVANTAGE. The New York Times reported on a study that found a slight (three point) advantage in IQ for first-born children over their closest sibling, and that pinned the difference on family dynamics, not biological factors like prenatal environment. Read it. Related Times article.

Note: Some of these news items came to our attention through ScienceDaily and CEC SmartBriefs.