Y3K Tutor In Your Home

Autism Caused By The Flu?

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Danish researchers report that children whose mothers had the flu or ran a fever lasting more than a week during pregnancy had an increased risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder. The study analyzed data collected from 97,000 mothers of children born from 1997 through 2003. The children whose mothers specifically reported having the flu during pregnancy had double the risk of being diagnosed with autism before age 3. Children whose mothers had a fever for more than seven days had three times the risk for autism. There was also a small increased risk of autism after the mother’s use of various antibiotics during pregnancy. It also found no association between mothers who reported common respiratory or sinus infections, common colds, urinary tract or genital infections, during pregnancy and autism in their children.

Inhalants, Huffing, Drugs & Teens

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Alcohol, marijuana, and opiates are often drugs that teens turn to in high school. Some are now choosing to inhale toxic household products they can easily obtain such as computer air dusters, gasoline, butane, Freon, paint thinner, glues, whipped cream, and anything else in an aerosol can. This is called “huffing”. Some youths first use inhalants when they are around 11 or 12. For some, it is the first or second drug kids try (even before alcohol or cigarettes). About 2.6 million children ages 12 to 17 uses an inhalant each year to get high.

Huffing occurs when sprays are put into a plastic bag and inhaled, a rag or sock is soaked in the chemical and then the vapors are inhaled, or vapors are inhaled directly out of the container. The fumes end up cutting off oxygen to the brain, producing a high. Lack of oxygen and cardiac arrest are the leading causes of sudden death from huffing.

In a 2011 study, 11% of US teens said they had used inhalants in their lifetime. In Massachusetts 5% of high school students reported using inhalants in the past 30 days. This method of drug use is a problem because these chemicals are readily available in homes and stores and are not illegal to sell or possess.

Executive Function Tutor

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D. H. from Weston, MA asks, “What is executive function?”

This is a common question that we get asked a lot. As a child’s brain matures, they are able to perform higher level tasks. These high level tasks are referred to as executive function. Think of executive function as the role of a Chief Executive Officer in a company. She or he must analyze what the company needs to have done, develop a plan, identify the order these tasks must be done, make mid-course corrections as needed, and complete the job by the deadline. Someone with executive function problems may have difficulty doing any of the following:
Analyze a task
Plan how to address the task
Organize the steps needed to carry out the task
Develop timelines for completing the task
Adjust or shift these plans as needed
Compete the task in a timely way
Executive function issues in school can be devastating. If your child starts long term assignments at the last minute, loses papers, has loose papers everywhere, forgets to do homework, forgets to hand in completed homework, has difficulty with math word problems, has trouble starting and organizing English writing assignments, or studies for tests at the last minute then there may be executive function issues.

Y3K Tutor In Your Home helps many students with executive function learn how to become successful and attain high grades. Contact us if we can be of any assistance.

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Why Teenagers Are Fearless

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Often we are asked why teenagers tend to do things that we would consider dangerous to themselves without any fear. At the same time, most rational adults realize the consequences and would not do these same acts themselves. In fact many teenagers tend to not realize how unsafe their acts are such as dangerous skateboard and bicycle jumps, speeding in a car, riding in the back of a pickup truck, and etc. The reason is that the brains of adolescents are different than the brains of adults. As adolescents get older, maturation happens from the back to the front of the brain with the frontal lobe being the last part of the brain to mature. The frontal lobe is the part of the brain that controls judgment and insight. This means that adolescents are wired to be quick learners with limitations on their common sense and sense of danger. Unfortunately it is a lot easier to take risky chances when you are wired to be impulsive and confident.

How To Improve A Student’s Memory

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Physical health and cognitive health are related. When a student gets their heart to pump more blood from physical exercise, the body ends up sending more oxygen and nutrients to the brain. This can help improve a student’s memory in the long run.

ADHD Focus & Exercise

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It is suspected that students with ADHD are able to focus better for one to three hours after exercise. This is due to the fact that studies show that exercise increases levels of two key brain chemicals that help people focus (dopamine and norepinephrine).

Possible Cause of ADHD: Bisphenol-A

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Kids toys and bottles containing bisphenol-A may be linked to health problems. According to some studies, bisphenol-A exposure even at low doses may be connected with ADHD, brain damage, altered immune system, obesity, breast cancer and prostate cancer. Bisphenol-A in children’s items is enough of a concern that legislation has been filed in Massachusetts to ban the manufacture or sale childcare articles with this chemical.

Cell Phone Radiation Danger

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Cell phone radiation has been shown to damage blood cells, DNA, nerve cells and vision. The radiation may cause sleep problems, fatigue and headaches. Limit the amount of cell phone radiation exposure your child receives.

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