Diet, Parental Behavior, and Preschool Can Boost Children's IQ

Diet, Parental Behavior, and Preschool Can Boost Children's IQ

From ScienceDaily.com

Girl at preschool. Supplementing children's diets with fish oil, enrolling them in quality preschool, and engaging them in interactive reading all turn out to be effective ways to raise a young child's intelligence, according to a new report. (Credit: © Serhiy Kobyakov / Fotolia)

Jan. 25, 2013 — Supplementing children's diets with fish oil, enrolling them in quality preschool, and engaging them in interactive reading all turn out to be effective ways to raise a young child's intelligence, according to a new report published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Using a technique called meta-analysis, a team led by John Protzko, a doctoral student at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, combined the findings from existing studies to evaluate the overall effectiveness of each type of intervention. In collaboration with NYU Steinhardt professors Joshua Aronson and Clancy Blair, leaders in the field of intelligence, Protzko analyzed the best available studies involving samples of children from birth and kindergarten from their newlyassembled "Database of Raising Intelligence."

"Our aim in creating this database is to learn what works and what doesn't work to raise people's intelligence," said Protzko. "For too long, findings have been disconnected and scattered throughout a wide variety of journals. The broad consensus about what works is founded on only two or three very high-profile studies." ...

"The larger goal here is to understand the nature of intelligence, and if and how it can be nurtured at every stage of development," said Aronson, Protzko's advisor. "This is just a first step in a long process of understanding. It is by no means the last word. In fact, one of the main conclusions is how little high quality research exists in the field and how much more needs to be done."  ...

To read the rest of the article, please click on the above title.

To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link.

Autism Research Institute Webinar

Autism: the SCD Diet Webinar

Presented by Vicki Kobliner, MS, RD 

Many children with Autism suffer from digestive disorders that can affect learning, behavior and mood. The Specific Carbohydrate diet (SCD) has been used for decades to heal the gut in people with digestive disorders, and is a popular dietary therapy for children with ASD. Improvements in bowel function, language, eye contact and self stimulatory behavior can occur when the diet is implemented correctly. In clear and understandable language, Ms. Kobliner will provide a framework for successful implementation of the SCD diet, while covering the following topics:
- Rationale for use
- Which children are the best candidates
- Diet principles
- Understanding the phases of the diet
- Avoiding common mistakes
- Meal planning and preparation tips

Ms. Kobliner is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Holcare Nutrition (www.holcarenutrition.com). She practices a functional nutrition approach to help the body heal itself, and has extensive experience using various diet modalities to help children with autism and related disorders. Vicki works with infants, children, and adults with chronic illnesses, digestive disorders, food allergies, ADHD, and autism, and provides fertility and prenatal nutrition counseling. She is a contributing author to A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America’s Children.

To read more, please click on the above title.

To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link.