February 2017

One of the gravest ills that has crutched modern humanity is the unprecedented surge in mental issues related to anxiety, stress, and depression. The National Institute of Mental Health states that about 18% percent of the American population, making a whopping 40 million adults, are suffering from anxiety disorders. According to a new study published in the British Medical Journal by Montreal University, anti-depressants taken by the mother can increase the chances of the baby being born...

We know that resilience – or one’s ability to ‘bounce back’ in the face of adversity – can protect an individual from the accumulation of stress due to adverse childhood experiences. BCR, based at the Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness at the George Washington University, takes this understanding to the community level in order to foster resilience that buffers against adversities impacting whole communities – and to break the cycle of poor health and other lifelong outcomes.

Legions of people walk through decades of their lives completely unaware that they are missing something. They may look around, and they may see others living more fully, or with more color or vitality. They may have a vague sense that something is not quite right. But they are intelligent and competent and likable, and so they do okay. They put one foot in front of the other, and take life step by step; doing what is expected, and providing what is needed, with no idea that they’re more...

Last year 7-year-old Kendra Cruz Garcia and her 10-year-old-brother, Roberto Guardado Cruz, crossed the Rio Grande alone. When their tiny boat reached the shore, they started walking into Texas. The Border Patrol agents who soon caught the Salvadoran siblings deemed them “unaccompanied” because no parent was with them. Children with this designation are granted special, well-deserved protections. They aren’t subject to quick deportation and are entitled to a full hearing before an...

YOU may have read about the deportation of a woman who had been living in Arizona for more than 20 years . She was well known to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and had been compliant in her regular check-ins. Left in the wake of her deportation are her husband and two children. My place as a pediatrics resident is not to argue the legality of our immigration policy. However, I can discuss the impact that these policies and procedures have on the children who pay the consequences of our...

For people who suffer from depression or anxiety, being diagnosed with a physical health condition on top of a mental health issue can feel like the worst kind of bad luck. But recent research suggests that this type of dual diagnosis is more than just an unfortunate coincidence. Scientists are learning that seemingly unrelated psychological and physical issues may actually be closely connected. Doctors once thought that the link between mental and physical health problems was purely...

School isn't usually tough for Kalyb Wiley-Primm, a smart, soft-spoken kid who likes science and robotics. But one day in second grade, Kalyb said, some bullies made it a nightmare. Upset by the bullies' taunts, he began to cry and yell. "I was like, 'I didn't do anything to you!'" he recalled. When a school security officer at George Melcher Elementary found Kalyb crying and screaming in the classroom, he asked Kalyb to come with him. Out in the hallway, Kalyb, still crying, refused to...

Leah H. Somerville, a Harvard neuroscientist, sometimes finds herself in front of an audience of judges. They come to hear her speak about how the brain develops. It’s a subject on which many legal questions depend. How old does someone have to be to be sentenced to death? When should someone get to vote? Can an 18-year-old give informed consent? Scientists like Dr. Somerville have learned a great deal in recent years. But the complex picture that’s emerging lacks the bright lines that...

When the President and Congress asked the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF) to develop a national strategy to eliminate child maltreatment fatalities in 2014, we knew the task would not be easy. There was little in the way of evidence-based programs from which to learn. The myriad of policies at the federal, state and local level for defining, counting and addressing fatalities made the task all the more complicated. However, as we concluded our two years of...

Following off of the work I did in part two of our blog post series on the development of technology for ACEs, where I tried to map out some of the possible needs and areas of functionality we could consider, the next step should be to try and build early-stage mockups and prototypes addressing some of these needs; and validate that the needs are indeed addressed in useful ways. About a year or so ago, I built a working prototype of a subset of the functionality I envisioned could be useful...

Eastern Montana CASA GAL Inc., along with Fallon County Tobacco Prevention, and SMART, will be hosting a screening of Paper Tigers, a film that captures the pain, danger, beauty and hopes of struggling teens – and the teachers armed with new science and fresh approaches that are changing lives for the better. The documentary film, directed by James Redford and Executive Produced by Karen Pritzker, will be screened on March 2, 2017 at 4 p.m. at the Baker High School ITV Room and is open to...

At first glance, Philadelphia zip codes 19148 and 19120 might seem to have little in common. The 19120 zip code is on the northern edge of the city, bordering Cheltenham Township and including parts of the Olney, East Oak Lane and Lawncrest neighborhoods. The 19148 zip code is along the Delaware River in Southeast Philadelphia, just below the Pennsport neighborhood and bisected by I-76 before it links to the Walt Whitman Bridge. But what these two areas have in common, according to a new...