GIFTED WITH TOURETTE'S. An article in The Providence (Rhode Island) Journal describes how a bright young woman with Tourette Syndrome is succeeding at Rhode Island College. Part of the honor student's success comes from treatment by the Yale New Haven hospital; part from the understanding of her co-workers and classmates at the college; and much from her own determination. Read more.

GIFTED AND BORED. On the other coast, the Napa Valley Register reported on a precocious sixth grader not getting enough challenge from public school, resulting in boredom, frustration, and depression. He is now in an independent study program. In the article, psychologist Ed Amend offers an analogy: "Consider what would have happened to an athlete like Tiger Woods had his coach suggested he not develop his talents yet, and continue working on the same drills he has mastered years before."  Read what the young man's parents and clinicians say about his struggles.

TIGER WOODS REDUX. In an "Extra Credit" column in the Washington Post, Jay Mathews responded to a writer's comment about the appropriateness of placing profoundly gifted kids with their age peers in a GT center. Mathews said: "It is unrealistic and indeed harmful to try to develop services for such kids in the public schools. Not everyone acknowledges that our public schools cannot find, train or afford to pay staff members who can teach anything useful to children with the compositional talents of Mozart or the putting stroke of Tiger Woods, to name just two child prodigies." See the column.

NOT DOOMED. Children entering school with behavior problems or AD/HD may not be doomed to fail, say two studies reported in the New York Times. According to one study, kids with disruptive or antisocial behavior in kindergarten were found to achieve academically as well as their elementary school peers. The other study used imaging techniques to indicate that the brains of kids with AD/HD may develop the same as, but more slowly than, typical kids' brains. Read the NY Times article here. Listen to an interview with the researchers on the Diane Rehm Show on American University Radio.

KNOW A LEFTY? An article appearing in several publications noted that left-handedness is connected to neurodevelopmental disorders -- autism and schizophrenia, for example -- but also that a disproportionate number of professors, musicians, and architects may be left-handed. The article says that "the brains of left-handed people develop more freely in utero... allowing the organization to stray more from the standard design."  Interested? Read more.

MOM'S SHAPE, KID'S SMARTS. This item piqued the interest of at least one woman I know. Apparently, researchers have determined that females with smaller waists and bigger hips are more likely than females with other shapes to produce intelligent children. The reason: omega-3 fatty acids, stored in the hips, as opposed to omega-6, stored at the waist. Omega-3 fatty acids are necessary for the proper growth of the brain in utero. The article is partially titled, "Is gluteofemoral fat a privileged store of neurodevelopmental resources?"  More here.

LD ACHIEVERS. The Annual Gala of the Lab School of Washington honors outstanding achievers who are leaders in their fields -- in spite of learning disabilities. Previous honorees include Charles Schwab, Magic Johnson, and Judy Blume. Find this year's winners here.

TALK TO YOUR LITTLE ONES. A study shows that children who hear at least 30,000 words a day will thrive in terms of language development and academic success, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity. A press release describing the study says that 30,000 words is the equivalent of reading The Cat in the Hat 18 and a half times.

IF TIME WRITES ABOUT IT, IT MUST BE REAL. Actually, Time's title is, "Is this disorder for real" -- and they're writing about sensory processing disorder (SPD). The article highlights the efforts (and frustrations) of Lucy Jane Miller, who wrote Sensational Kids. [See the review of this book in the July/August, 2007 issue of 2e Newsletter.] Because SPD is not in the DSM-IV, Miller laments that "It's hard to get grants for a disorder that doesn't exist." Miller notes in the article that as many as 1 in 20 children may be affected. The article.

OTHER STORIES. See http://del.icio.us/2eNewsletter for news items we've saved recently on specific topics such as giftedness, gifted education, AD/HD, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, etc.