Supporting Children With Disabilities in the Catholic Schools

Many children with disabilities attend Catholic schools, but the resources to serve these children adequately are limited. Teacher assistants are increasingly being used to meet this need by assisting students with disabilities in regular classrooms. The authors maintain that such assistants can be effectively used in Catholic schools for this purpose, and others, if appropriately prepared. This article identifies the education needed to enable urban teacher assistants to work effectively with students with special needs in regular classrooms in Catholic schools. The article also examines a preparation program at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC

Supporting Children With Disabilities in the Catholic Schools

Many children with disabilities attend Catholic schools, but the resources to serve these children adequately are limited. Teacher assistants are increasingly being used to meet this need by assisting students with disabilities in regular classrooms. The authors maintain that such assistants can be effectively used in Catholic schools for this purpose, and others, if appropriately prepared. This article identifies the education needed to enable urban teacher assistants to work effectively with students with special needs in regular classrooms in Catholic schools. The article also examines a preparation program at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC

The Effects of Nutritional Interventions on the Cognitive Development of Preschool-Age Children: A Systematic Review

The developing human brain requires all essential nutrients to form and to maintain its structure. Infant and child cognitive development is dependent on adequate nutrition. Children who do not receive sufficient nutrition are at high risk of exhibiting impaired cognitive skills. This systematic review aimed to examine the effects of nutritional interventions on cognitive outcomes of preschool-age children. PubMed, PsycInfo, Academic Search Complete, and Cochrane Library electronic databases were searched to identify Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) published after the year 2000. Studies assessing the effects of food-based, single, and multiple micronutrient interventions on the cognition of nourished and undernourished children aged 2–6 years were deemed eligible. A total of 12 trials were identified. Eight out of the twelve studies found significant positive effects on cognitive outcomes. Iron and multiple-micronutrients supplementation yield improvements in the cognitive abilities of undernourished preschool-age children. Increased fish consumption was found to have a beneficial effect in the cognitive outcomes of nourished children. On the other hand, B-vitamin, iodized salt, and guava powder interventions failed to display significant results. Findings of this review highlight the importance of adequate nutrition during preschool years, and the crucial role sufficient nutrition plays in cognitive development

A Study of Brain Cell Loss In the Student Body of UMSL: Brain Stew.

Brain Stew is an UMSL publication distributed bi-weekly in both digital and print formats. Its mission is to provide a forum for uncensored free thought, commentary, and creativity for the UMSL student body, as well as news and event listings from PLCHSA and other related campus organizations. The current Brain Stew staff consists of editors Mya Horn, Kenny Miller, Aimee Pieper, and Abby Wall, with Dan Gerth serving as the faculty supervisor. During the semester, editors write their own content as well as harass their fellow students, alumni, faculty, and staff for submissions. The result is The Most Entertaining Team - edited Midwestern Satirical Collegiate Publication of April 2021, and the steady decline of braincells as these student-monkeys churn out content. Due to the loss of braincells, Brain Stew features content that some readers may find offensive. Viewer discretion is advise

Food security: community perceptions survey and 2021 food audit

Student poster from the Spring 2022 Island School Semester Research Class</p

PREPULSE INHIBITION DEFICITS ONLY IN FEMALES WITH OBSESSIVE–COMPULSIVE DISORDER

BackgroundDeficits in sensorimotor gating have been hypothesized to underlie the inability to inhibit repetitive thoughts and behaviors. To test this hypothesis, this study assessed prepulse inhibition (PPI), a measure of sensorimotor gating, across three psychiatric disorders (obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD], social anxiety disorder [SAD], and anorexia nervosa [AN]) whose clinical presentations include repetitive thoughts and behaviorsMethodsWe tested acoustic PPI in unmedicated individuals with OCD (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;45), SAD (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;37), and AN (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;26), and compared their results to matched healthy volunteers (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;62). All participants completed a structured clinical interview and a clinical assessment of psychiatric symptom severity.ResultsPercent PPI was significantly diminished in females with OCD compared to healthy female volunteers (P&nbsp;=&nbsp;.039). No other differences between healthy volunteers and participants with disorders (male or female) were observed. Percent PPI was not correlated with severity of obsessions and compulsions, as measured by the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale.ConclusionsThis is the first study to assess PPI in participants with SAD or AN, and the largest study to assess PPI in participants with OCD. We found PPI deficits only in females with OCD, which suggests that the cortico-striato-pallido-thalamic and pontine circuitry (believed to underlie PPI) differs between males and females with OCD. Given that PPI deficits were only present in females with OCD and not related to repetitive thoughts and behaviors, our results do not support the hypothesis that sensorimotor gating deficits, as measured by PPI, underlie the inability to inhibit repetitive thoughts and behaviors in individuals with OCD, SAD, and AN