Sound Medicine -- April 13, 2002
- Barbara Lewis and Dr. Pescovitz talk to IU physicians about:
Selective mutism in children
Early
puberty in girls and boys
- An
interactive nutrition learning game
Listen to the show:
Real
Media | Windows
Media
Selective mutism in children
What would make children so silent that they fall behind in school,
don't make friends and cannot interact with anyone outside a few chosen
people? It's an anxiety-related condition called selective mutism and
it's rare. Only about one percent of children suffer from it.
To shed light on the condition is Dr. Eric Scott, assistant clinical
professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the Indiana
University School of Medicine. Dr. Scott describes this subtle communication
problem and how it differs from normal childhood shyness. He also explains
behavioral and chemical therapies that reduce anxiety and he offers
good advice for parents, teachers, and physicians who suspect a child
may suffer from selective mutism.
- Resources
 Find
information and support at the Selective
Mutism Group, part of the Childhood Anxiety Network, Inc. Some
material is for members only.
- The
American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association site has an excellent description
of selective mutism, including symptoms and treatments.
Early puberty in girls and boys
In the last few years, research studies have indicated that girls are
reaching puberty at an earlier age. Discussing the subject is co-host
Dr. Ora Pescovitz, a nationally recognized expert in the area of puberty.
She is director of pediatric endocrinology and diabetology and executive
dean for research affairs at the IUSM.
Dr. Pescovitz has doubts about these studies but also has concerns
about substances in the environment that may trigger abnormal growth
in girls and boys. Pescovitz discusses 100 years of data about puberty
and the role nutrition plays in its onset. The normal range for girls
entering puberty is between 8 and 13 years old, and she says that obesity
or "overnutrition" may be a factor for girls developing in
the lower range. Pescovitz differentiates between early-normal and "precocious"
puberty, a condition which may occur in 2- to 5-year olds and which
has pathological causes. Left untreated, precocious puberty can cause
the fusion of bones and result in stunted growth.
Environmental toxins called "endocrine disrupters" may also
affect human reproductive system functions and are currently under investigation
by the EPA and other American health organizations.
- Resources
- American
Academy of Pediatrics site offers a synopsis on the link between
obesity and early puberty.
- The
Magic Foundation for Children's Growth has a good discussion of
precocious puberty and its treatment.
Interactive nutrition learning game for teens
Know some kids hungry for knowledge about science? A Purdue University
food science professor has found the right ingredients: computers and
pizza. Bruce Watkins talks about his invention, the CD-ROM (and now
Web) program called Pizza Explorer, an interactive learning tool that
makes science visual. To enhance comprehension, a portion of the game
tests to see if a child is a right-brained or left-brained learner.
The game was created with high school students in mind, but middle school
and home school kids will enjoy it too.
- Resources
- Play
the Pizza Explorer at the Access
Excellence Web site. The Access Excellence site has loads of resources
for teachers and parents educating youngsters in science.
|
|
|
We're pleased to thank our founding sponsors: IU
Medical Group,
Clarian Health
and Wishard Health Services.
Upcoming topics:
Episiotomy during labor, does it do more harm than good?
Call or email us with your medical questions.
tel: (317) 274-IU4U
email: soundmed@iu.edu
Read our Privacy
Policy
Health Quiz —
The "stent" is one of the most commonly used devices in medicine,
but unless you have a particular health problem you may not know what
it is. Is a stent:
a. a special splint for broken fingers,
b. a tube for easily injecting medicine into hospitalized patients,
or
c. a device for treating heart attack patients.
What's the answer?
Medical Mystery —
How much sleep?
Sleep -- we all need it, and many of us wish we could get more of
it. Although experts say teens need more sleep and senior citizens less,
the traditional rule of thumb is that we all need eight hours of sleep
per night.
Is that rule really accurate? And if we're not getting our allotted
eight, is that a bad thing?
Find out!
Weekly Notebook — Yankee couch potatoes
A recent CDC report shows Americans don't exercise much. The study
defines regular physical activity as light-to-moderate exercise 5 times
per week or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise 3 times per week.
• 38% adults don't get any exercise at all.
• Only 3 out of 10 adults are physically active on a regular basis.
• Men are more likely than women to engage in at least some leisure-time
physical activity.
• Adults who live in the suburbs are more likely to be physically
active than adults in urban or rural areas.
• Nearly 8 in 10 adults with graduate level degrees engaged in
at least some form of leisure-time physical activity, twice as many
as those with less than a high school diploma.
Source: National
Center for Health Statistics
|
