Fewer U.S. parents say they spank their kids

Reuters reports the practice is becoming less common, with parents saying they are using non-physical approaches for discipline. Heidi Feldman, MD, PhD, says non-physical discipline is compassionate and helps children learn what they should not do all of the time, rather than just forcing children to stop a behavior in the moment. Read more>>

Exploring how physicians can handle discrimination by patients

Developmental-behavioral pediatrics fellow Emily Whitgob, MD, devoted her residency research project to exploring strategies for handling discrimination patients and families direct towards trainees. The results were published in Academic Medicine. Read more>>

Stanford Children's Health opens new, 80,000-square-foot specialty services center in Sunnyvale

After its first few weeks of operation, Stanford Children’s Health Specialty Services – Sunnyvale had already seen over 3,500 pediatric patients. May 2 marked the official opening for the Sunnyvale clinic, one of 10 Bay Area multi-specialty service centers that are part of Stanford Children’s Health. The state-of-the-art facility is designed to feel less like a hospital and more like a kid-friendly, soothing place. Our Developmental Behavioral-Pediatrics group now provides care at the Sunnyvale location. For more information on their clinical services, click here. Read more>>

Additional coverage

The Mercury News

Treatment recommendations for ADHD are not simple

A national study finds less than half of children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 2009 and 2010 received behavioral therapy as part of treatment. While clinical guidelines recommend that behavioral therapy be paired with medication, a study of nearly 10,000 children showed that 74 percent had taken medication in the last week whereas 44 percent had received behavioral therapy in the past year; about 31 percent had received combination therapy. Dr. Heidi Feldman is quoted in this Scientific American story, saying that while medication effectively reduces core symptoms of ADHD, it may be limited in terms of providing long-term functional benefits. Read more >>

Paper Published on Sensory Processing in Preterm Preschoolers

The Journal of Early Human Development recently published our paper on sensory processing in preschoolers. Adams et al. found executive function impairments in preterm preschoolers who had an elevated number of sensory symptoms. For the full text, click here. 

DBP Fellow named Western Section AMFR Scholar

The Western Section of the American Federation for Medical Research (AFMR) select our fellow, Dr. Lauren Hubner, as a Western Section AFMR Scholar. She receives this recognition for her research in shared decision-making in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Commentary Praises Recent Paper

Researchers from the University of North Florida praise recent work done by Dr. Heidi Feldman’s lab, saying it has “important implications for educational practice.” Our paper by Kovachy et al. (2014) explores decoding and reading comprehension in preterm and full-term children. Read more >>

After the NICU

Children who are premature and weigh less than 3.3 pounds at birth are much more likely to survive than they were 50 years ago. This Lucile Packard Children’s News story details some of the advances in follow-up care for these children and features neuroimaging research by Drs. Heidi Feldman and Susan Hintz. Feldman says that at ages 9 and 16, brain scans of children born preterm show a correlation between the structural integrity of the brain's white matter and language and reading skills.

Read more >>

Dr. Heidi Feldman visits Pittsburgh

Dr. Heidi Feldman returns to the University of Pittsburgh to lecture on how prematurity may adversely impact language development and reading. Comparing data collected from preterm and term participants, now 9-16 years of age, she shows differences in white matter microstructure between groups. Read more >>

International Innovation features the Preemie Language Study in its new issue. Read more>>

Dr. Feldman discusses redesigning health care for children with disabilities. Watch it here.

Rolfing for Children with Cerebral Palsy is discussed in the San Francisco Chronicle. Read more >>