Archive for March, 2011

THE AGE OF AUTISM: MERCURY, MEDICINE AND A MAN-MADE EPIDEMIC

Dan Olmsted (Author), Mark Blaxill (Author)

(33 customer reviews)

Image and text above from: http://www.amazon.com/Age-Autism-Medicine-Man-made-Epidemic/dp/0312545622/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301461231&sr=1-1

Wednesday, March 30, 2011. Today I am grateful for those who have the courage to warn us we are “fouling our own nest,” as they say of careless birds, eh? Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill are among the number warning us. ~ Doc Meek

Here is what one reader has to say about Olmsted’s and Blaxill’s book (review from amazon.com):

Image by somenametoforget

Image from: http://langwitches.org/blog/2009/04/14/what-is-in-a-fieldtrip/

Tuesday, March 29, 2011. Today I am grateful for those who labor to bring teachers ideas they can use to increase their effectiveness. ~ Doc Meek

Melissa Kelly

Image above and text below from: http://712educators.about.com/b/?nl=1

Here is the email message I received from Melissa Kelly recently:

Secondary Education

From Melissa Kelly, your Guide to Secondary Education Creating Effective Field Trips While field trips aren’t normally a required part of your curriculum, they can be extremely effective if planned and used correctly. This article discusses the pros and cons of field… Read more Top 10 Concerns of Social Studies Teachers In the last post, I focused on concerns that many science teachers share. This post focuses on the specific concerns of social studies teachers. Top Ten Concerns of Social Studies… Read more Creating an Effective Tardy Policy Dealing with tardy students is an important part of any teacher’s job. Finding a tardy policy that works for you is extremely important. If you allow students to be tardy… Read more Curriculum and Lesson Plans Curriculum is at the heart of education. This category provides a wealth of information, resources, and lesson plans for each subject area across the curriculum. Secondary Education Ads Field Trips Secondary Education Effective Leadership Middle School Teacher Education More about Secondary Education Assessments and Tests Technology and Education Learning Theories and Pedagogy Teacher Education and Enrichment Teaching Tips and Strategies Issues in Education This newsletter is written by: Melissa Kelly Secondary Education Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics Thank you, Melissa Kelly, for helping teachers to help their students! Doc Meek, Tuesday, March 29, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

MASSA

I’m 16 years old. She’s 14. My name is Karina. Her name is Massa. I live in Carpinteria, California. She lives in Todee, Liberia. We’re half a world away and our lives are dramatically different, but we’re both girls who have our entire futures before us. READ MORE

Image and text from: http://www. GirlUp.org

Monday, March 28, 2011. Today I am grateful for the Girl Up campaign by the United Nations Foundation. – Doc Meek

“UNITING GIRLS TO CHANGE THE WORLD”

See “Girl Up” video by Gina Reiss-Wilchins, Director of “Girl Up,” on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcp_FbVF1JU

…………………………………………………………………..

I did send Gina Reiss-Wilchins an email:

“Gina Reiss-Wilchins, Director of Girl Up” <greiss-wilchins@unfoundation.org>

Dear Gina,

I am delighted that you are promoting the “Girl Up”program.

I am delighted to be putting up “Girl Up” information on my blog website: https://docmeek.com

You can click on the specific post by title hereunder:

“Learn about GIRL UP from Gina.” ~ Doc Meek

This is the second posting of Girl Up on THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE blog. Here is the first posting by title:

“Learn ‘Girl Up’ by the UN Foundation.” ~ Doc Meek

Blessings and Gratitudes,

Doc Meek

P.S. We all love seeing your 4-year old daughter Dylan on YouTube with you!

Doc Meek, Mon, Mar 28, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

Friday, March 24, 2011. Today I am grateful for the distinction between “behavior” and “the condition.” This has proven to be controversial so all the more worthy of presentation here.

When a child has some kind of “condition” such that his/her behavior is problematic or unpredictable, there is a tendency to not be able to make the distinction between “the behavior” and “the condition.”

For example, the emotionally unstable child (or the autistic child) may have an “emotional outburst” or a “temper tantrum” and scatter their basket of crayons/coloring books (whatever) all over the floor by throwing them off the table or desk.

There is a tendency for responsible adults (parents, teachers, teacher aides, caregivers) to “excuse” the behavior because they feel the behavior is is “caused” by “the condition” from which the child is suffering. And it well may be.

And love, care and concern for the child in relation to his/her condition often causes hesitation as to the appropriate response.

Regardless of what the “cause” is though, the child needs some realistic feedback, usually immediately. (Some advocate waiting until the child “cools off” a little and is not so “emotional” and their is merit in this in some cases.) To “excuse” the behavior out of love, care or concern is not usually helpful to the child long-term. Immediate feedback is usually the most helpful to the child long-term.

Almost always, the need is for the child to receive immediate feedback about his/her behavior, irrespective of his/her “condition.”

So in the case of the emotional scattering of crayons, books, toys, whatever, the adult should say to the child authoritatively, “Pick them up and put them back.” If the child is too young and or emotional to respond promptly, the adult takes the child’s hands in his/her own hands, and helps the child pick up the scattered items, much like the operator of a crane might make the machinery “do the right thing” by direct handling of the controls. Or perhaps it is more like a puppet show operator moving the puppets by direct action.

This is the way that the child moves most rapidly and appropriately towards more “responsible behavior” even if the child is not at the moment capable of responding appropriately on his/her own.

Here’s the catch though. The adult has to be calm. No angry yelling and grabbing of the child in anger will do the job. (This is because, obviously, the adult is now out of control and not behaving appropriately and the negative example is no help at all to the child, regardless of how the adult feels about the situation emotionally.)

If the adult calmly and dispassionately takes the child’s hands in his/her own and moves the child’s hands in such a way that the child’s hands grasp the scattered objects one by one, however awkwardly, and restores them to their place, the adult has “won the day,” regardless of how upset the child is.

It is easier (and far quicker) for adult and child to “behave” their way to a new set of behaviors, than it is for them to “discuss” or “believe” or “theorize” their way to a new set of behaviors.

What do you think?

Doc Meek, Fri, Mar 25, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

The Little ICU Book [Paperback]

Paul L. Marino (Author), Kenneth M. Sutin (Contributor)

Image/text above from: http://www.amazon.com/Little-ICU-Book-Paul-Marino/dp/0781778239/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300763953&sr=1-5

Thursday, March 24, 2011. Today I am grateful for my daughter, Tanya Meek Nielson RN, who does what I could not do.

She works the long 12-hour overnight shifts in the Neurological ICU (Intensive Care Unit) at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Steady nights. I could do the long hours. I could not do the constant battle with death, and death itself.

Such Neurological ICUs care for the most dramatically ill or injured patients, often victims of sudden severe accidents.

“The Three Things I Learned while working in the ICU,” by Tanya Meek:

(1) My life is not so bad.

I can walk, I can talk, I can think. I can move forward with my life, no matter how bad my personal problems are.

(2) Your life can change in an instant.

One minute you are a bright muscular young man/woman, thrilled with your work and your social life; the next minute you are a bag of fluids that may or may not survive the  night, let alone the week

(3) There are worse things than death.

Often the injury and damage to the patient is so great that, despite the fact everybody is initiating and voting for  medical miracles, and everybody is rooting for you like mad, death may be the greatest triumph.

After all is said and done.

Thank you, Tanya Meek Nielson, for sharing your critical care experience with us!

Doc Meek, Thurs, Mar 24, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

The Naked Brain: How the Emerging Neurosociety is Changing How We Live, Work, and Love [Paperback]

Richard Restak M.D. (Author)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews) | Like(0)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011. Today I am grateful that some people take large chunks of time and energy out of their lives in order to organize large amounts of knowledge into a relatively small space for me to read in a book.

Here is what one reader had to say about THE NAKED BRAIN by Dr Restak:

5 out of 5 stars We think less than we think
Did you know that scientist estimate that only 5% of a normal person’s actions are decided consciously? The rest are results of automated processes that make up the so called cognitive unconscious. Civilisation advances create an ever increasing repertoire of human actions that are executed automatically as humans move their conscious mind to be preoccupied with more…

Read the full review ›

Above review text from: http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Brain-Emerging-Neurosociety-Changing/product-reviews/1400098092/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Thank you, Dr Richard Restak, for helping us know ourselves better and manage our brains better!

Doc Meek, Wed, Mar 23, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

5 minutes A Musical Savant Shows Talent    by CBS 244,773 views

15 minutes Catching Up With Rex by CBS 88,713 views

Images from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCF1xSgyKXg&feature=relmfu

Friday, March 18, 2011. Today I am grateful to know that a child who was labeled severely autistic was found later to respond to music, even though he was super senstive to sounds and would hold his ears when exposed to singing.

Of course every autistic child does not grow up to be a musical genius. That is not the point of this article.

I use music in my private practice (Baroque music, about 60 beats per minute) to help open the channels of learning for children with a large array of learning problems.

Sometimes  the music is simply background music in a classroom that helps almost every child in that classroom to learn more easily and achieve more.

Thanks to those who know, and who have taught us, that music opens the mind and soul!

Doc Meek, Fri, Mar 18, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

P.S. Here’s the book about Rex Lewis-Clack by his mother Cathleen Lewis:

Rex: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music that Transformed Their Lives – Hardcover (Oct. 28, 2008) byCathleen Lewis

P.S.S. Somebody told me that it is the “Ides of March” today. I know the reference is to Shakespeare and I do not know the full import of the phrase.

Can anybody “out there” give us some more information on the “Ides of March?”

Girls playing Irish folk music during a St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin, 2010; image/caption from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick’s_Day

Thursday, the 17th of Ireland, 2011. Today I’m feeling a great Irish sense of gratitude for me late fither [my Dad], James Collins Meek II, born in Belfast, Ireland, and after whom I was named. His name is one of my cherished Irish legacies. – James Collins Meek III (Doc Meek)

The Chicago River is dyed green each year for St Patrick’s Day celebration, shown here in 2005; image/caption from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick’s_Day

A fiddle and bow

Tin whistles, and a low whistle (right), in a variety of makes and keys

A (keyless) Irish flute

Uilleann pipes being played by Liam O’Flynn

A medieval cláirseach (a Celtic harp)

The banjo being played by Mick Moloney

An Irish Bouzouki.

Bodhrán with tipper.

Thank you Dad (James Collins Meek II) for my name and for my delightful Irish heritage!

Doc Meek (James Collins Meek III), Thurs, Mar 17, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA