It seems like head injury awareness is everywhere these days. From veteran hospitals and construction sites to cheer practice and Pee-Wee hockey games, it appears that people are beginning to understand just how serious a head injury can be. One of the more important aspects of that awareness is the realization that with these types of injuries, many of the associated risks may not become apparent until long after the swelling has subsided and bruises have healed, or there may be no bruises at all. Memory loss, brain damage and difficulties with school have all been seen in children who suffered a blow to the head, and sometimes these conditions don’t manifest for months or years after the accident. Now, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, there could be yet another risky, long-term side effect for children with brain injury: An increased risk for violent behavior.
The study, which followed 850 high school students for five years, showed that of the 88 study participants who had suffered head injury, 43 percent of them were involved in some form of violence in the year following their injury. That’s almost a 10 percent increase in violent activity when compared to study participants who had never suffered a head injury. These numbers may seem staggering to some, but come as no real surprise to the medical community.
“Given what we know about brain injuries’ ability to affect behavior, these results are far from shocking. Depending on the nature of the injury, it’s not unusual for a patient’s judgment of what is and what isn’t acceptable behavior to change after significant brain trauma,” says Mark Proctor, MD, of Children’s Hospital Boston’s department of Neurosurgery. “It’s a little bit like what happens when some people drink. Their inhibitions and normal judgment change, sometimes fairly significantly.” Full story »
By now I’m sure you’ve seen this adorable video of twin babies “talking” to each other. The animated way these little guys go back forth is cute, but what’s happening developmentally for these two? Is it normal for toddlers to be this animated when pretending to talk? Are they purposely changing their inflection and tone, or is that coincidence? To learn more I spoke with Hope Dickinson, MS, CCC-SLP, coordinator of the Speech-Language Pathology Services at Children’s Hospital Boston at Waltham.
Aside from being amazingly cute, what’s going on with these “talking” twins? These two are babbling, specifically they’re demonstrating a behavior known as “reduplicated babbling,” because the sounds used are repeated, which you can hear in their use of “da-da-da.” In a more informal way, I guess I would describe it as turn-taking with babbling, or conversational babbling.
Play talk is a healthy way for kids to develop language skills
As a speech pathologist, what do you take away from this video? It’s fun because these two are demonstrating great mimicking of multiple aspects of conversation. It really demonstrates how very young children communicate and know how a conversation works, even before they have the words to use. They will eventually begin to replace the babbling strings with words. If you listen closely, you’ll even hear a couple of words: One says “mama” when looking at the camera, and one or both say “up” more than once when picking up a foot.
One thing they are using wonderfully is turn taking, as in first one “talks” and then pauses and the other responds. They are also imitating the various intonations we use in conversation and speaking. There is fantastic rise and fall to their pitch and tones. Sentences or exclamations end loudly and emphatically, and there is also some questioning (rising) intonation. They are using gestures to supplement their talking, much like adults do. Their body distance is even very appropriate for most Americans; not too close, but not too far either. Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on March 8, 2011
The tragic deaths of two high school athletes last week has reignited public debate about whether or not young people should undergo more detailed physical exams before participating in sports. Those in favor of increased testing advocate for electrocardiograms (ECG) because they’re noninvasive and could help identify heart conditions before they pose problems on the field. However, even though early identification might prevent tragedy in some cases, many in the medical field aren’t convinced blanket ECG testing for young athletes is an efficient course of action. The following blog weighs the pros and cons of blanket ECG testing among kids, written by Mark Alexander, MD, an associate in Cardiology at Children’s Hospital Boston.
Mark Alexander, MD
Just over a year ago I wrote a blog post after a 17-year-old hockey player died in Haverhill. This weekend we learn of two high school boys, in Michigan and Colorado, both apparently with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, who died during athletic contests. Our hearts go out to the families and with the publicity associated with these events I am revisiting that post with a few additional thoughts. Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on November 10, 2010
Visceria Givans is a student athlete, diagnosed with scoliosis in grade school. She received corrective spine surgery at Children’s Hospital Boston a few years later and is actively playing sports again. In the following post she discusses her treatment, recovery and how she refused to let scoliosis define her or impact her self-esteem.
Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine measuring 20 degrees or greater
Getting checked for scoliosis at school is a little strange. First, you have to wear a bathing suit under your clothes that day because the school nurse needs to be able to see the entire line of your back to make sure your spine is growing correctly. Then, they disrupt the whole school day by checking all the kids for curvatures in their spine, one at a time. When I had my first scoliosis test back in the fourth grade, it was even stranger for me because after it was over the nurse mentioned that it looked like my back was growing a little crooked, and it was something we’d need to keep an eye on.
I didn’t know exactly what to think, but the nurse didn’t seem too worried so my parents and I didn’t think much about it either. For the next few years my doctor checked my spine regularly and when it was clear the curve was getting worse he suggested I wear a brace to try to correct it. Full story »
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It seems like head injury awareness is everywhere these days. From veteran hospitals and construction sites to cheer practice and Pee-Wee hockey games, it appears that people are beginning to understand just how serious a head injury can be. One of the more important aspects of that awareness is the realization that with these types of injuries, many of the associated risks may not become apparent until long after the swelling has subsided and bruises have healed, or there may be no bruises at all. Memory loss, brain damage and difficulties with school have all been seen in children who suffered a blow to the head, and sometimes these conditions don’t manifest for months or years after the accident. Now, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, there could be yet another risky, long-term side effect for children with brain injury: An increased risk for violent behavior.
