Your Child's Brain WYPR Baltimore

The focus of this podcast is on an aspect of sickle cell disease that doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves—the neurological and developmental implications of the disease. These conditions may severely impact children’s functional independence, mental health, quality of life and educational pursuits, and may increase their risk of future complications.

Dr. Bradley Schlaggar, president and CEO of Kennedy Krieger Institute, is joined by Dr. Eboni Lance.  Dr. Lance is the Medical Director, of Kennedy Krieger’s Sickle Cell Neurodevelopmental Clinic. She is the Associate Director, of the Institute’s Neurology and Neurogenetics Clinic. Dr. Lance is an Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Schlaggar is also joined by Derek Robertson and Shanta Robertson--the Robertson’s, parents of children with sickle cell disease, are the Founders and Directors of the Maryland Sickle Cell Disease Association, an organization that was created to improve the lives of Marylanders with sickle cell disease. 

Links to visit:

Maryland Sickle Cell Disease Association https://marylandsicklecelldisease.org/

Kennedy Krieger Institute Sickle Cell Neurodevelopmental Clinic https://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/centers-and-programs/sickle-cell-neurodevelopmental-clinic

Hospital Education Liaison Program https://www.kennedykrieger.org/training/programs/center-for-innovation-and-leadership-in-special-education/community-outreach/hospital-education-liaison-program

Sickle Cell Disease and Schooling Resources for Families https://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/centers-and-programs/sickle-cell-neurodevelopmental-clinic/sickle-cell-disease-and-schooling-resources-for-families

Supporting Students with Sickle Cell Disease in School https://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/centers-and-programs/sickle-cell-neurodevelopmental-clinic/sickle-cell-disease-and-schooling-resources-for-school-staff

Sickle Cell Research Studies https://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/centers-and-programs/sickle-cell-neurodevelopmental-clinic/research-studies
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Check out the latest episode of Your Child’s Brain. Join Dr. Brad Schlaggar President and CEO of Kennedy Krieger Institute and his guests Heidi Daniel,  president and CEO at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, and Dr. Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, a developmental neuroscientist at Kennedy Krieger Institute as we discuss children's reading, literacy, and the impact of technology on both.

Links to visit:

Enoch Pratt library Summer Reading Program https://www.prattlibrary.org/summer-break

The Neurobiology of Reading podcast https://urlisolation.com/browser?clickId=796DE2A7-3F7F-4DA8-A057-296FDC84DFF0&traceToken=1682690228%3Bkennedykrieger_hosted%3Bhttps%3A%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DS&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DS_7brlIMa_k

Dr. Brad Schlaggar (BS): Welcome to Your Child's Brain, a podcast series produced by Kennedy Krieger Institute with assistance from WYPR. I'm Dr. Brad Schlaggar, pediatric neurologist and president and CEO of Kennedy Krieger Institute. One of the most distinctive features of the human brain is its capacity for language. Arguably, our brains have evolved to produce spoken and heard language. But exactly when that capacity emerged in humans is debated, in the scientific literature, spoken language likely emerged no less than a couple of 100,000 years ago and perhaps as long ago as one million or more years. On the other hand, the invention of the written form of language and therefore the origins of reading, came roughly 5,000 years ago. Simply put, while our brains evolved for spoken language, reading and writing are far too recent to have been drivers for the evolution of our brains. It has only been in the last several 100 years that human society has put such a premium on the value of reading that large portions of society learned to read. That said, in Maryland and in the US as a whole and while estimates vary, roughly one in five adults has very low or absent literacy skills, contributing to significant challenges for the health and welfare of those individuals. For some, reading difficulty is largely the consequence of lack of access to quality education while for others, the issue is dyslexia or a reading impairment, despite sufficient intellectual ability and access to quality education. For so many reasons, it is critically important for us to understand the full complexity of how our brains learn to read and how factors in our children's life, like screen time, for example, impact the development of this crucial skill. Today, I'm joined by two guests, both with expertise that is highly relevant to a discussion of reading development and literacy. Dr. Tzipi Horwitz-Kraus from the Department of Neuropsychology at Kennedy Krieger Institute is an international leader in the neuroscience of reading development. She's an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She's also an associate professor of education and science and technology and in biomedical engineering at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. For full disclosure, Tzipi and I are research collaborators on the neuroscience of reading development and we published several papers together. Heidi Daniel is the president and CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, a true gem in Baltimore, Maryland, where she has been at the helm since July of 2017. Welcome, Tzipi and Heidi. Heidi, you're completing your sixth year leading the Enoch Pratt Free Library. I know that literacy is one of the pillars of the library's strategic plan, especially focused on digital literacy and pre-literacy. Tell us about the library's approach to literacy.

Heidi Daniel (HD): The library approaches literacy the way we approach most things through the lens of access. You mentioned having access to high-quality education and high-quality materials is really important for the development of reading and literacy in our population. The library's focus is really o

Evidence suggests that children and teens with autism are at an increased risk for experiencing a mental health crisis.  In this episode of Your Child’s Brain, we speak with a panel of experts about the co-occurrence of mental health issues in autistic children and teens, the signs and symptoms of mental health concerns, how those signs and symptoms can differ in young people with autism, and ways that parents can advocate for their child, not only in a crisis situation, but also in the classroom and the community. We also are going to discuss how one can learn more about autism spectrum disorder and research being conducted to better understand how best to help autistic individuals who seek care. 

 

Guests for this episode include: 

Dr. Bradley Schlaggar, Host, President & CEO of Kennedy Krieger Institute

Dr. Ebony Holliday, a school psychologist and research scientist at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders

Dr. Luke Kalb, Director of the Informatics Program at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders and a faculty researcher in the Department of Neuropsychology.  He is also an assistant professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Dr. Katherine (Kate) McCalla, a clinical psychologist and assistant clinical director for the Center for Autism and Related Disorders

Dr. Ericka Wodka, a pediatric neuropsychologist and the Clinical Director for the Center for Autism and Related Disorders and is an associate professor in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

 

Autism Acceptance Month Free Webinars:

https://eventscalendar.kennedykrieger.org/event/autism_acceptance_month_miniseries
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Bradley Schlaggar, president and CEO of Kennedy Krieger Institute welcomes Dr. Lisa Jacobson, a pediatric neuropsychologist and Dr. Lisa Carey, an education specialist, to discuss the late effects of cancer treatment on children, especially as it relates to school and learning.   

Here are helpful links for people who wish additional information:

https://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/centers-and-programs/neuropsychology-department-outpatient-clinics/oncology-clinic

https://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/centers-and-programs/neuropsychology-department-outpatient-clinics/oncology-clinic/cancer-survivorship-schooling-resources

https://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/centers-and-programs/neuropsychology-department-outpatient-clinics/oncology-clinic/cancer-survivorship-research-projects

https://www.kennedykrieger.org/training/programs/center-for-innovation-and-leadership-in-special-education/community-outreach/hospital-education-liaison-program
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

February is nationally recognized as Rare Disease Month and to highlight this,  Dr. Bradley Schlaggar, president and CEO of Kennedy Krieger Institute, welcomes Dr. Jacqueline Harris, a pediatric neurologist at Kennedy Krieger and Abby Tower, mother of five-year old Bay to discuss rare diseases and in particular KAT6a, a very rare disorder impacting Bay and her family.   

Guests for this month's episode include:

Dr. Brad Schlaggar - President and CEO of Kennedy Krieger and professor of neurology and pediatrics at The Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Jacqueline Harris - Pediatric neurologist and researcher at Kennedy Krieger and an assistant professor in pediatrics, neurology and genetics at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 

Abby Tower - Abby is a parent of Bay, a very social five-year-old who has a rare disorder called KAT6a.

 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Your Child’s Brain, Dr. Bradley Schlaggar, president and CEO of Kennedy Krieger Institute, welcomes Dr. Amy Bastian, chief science officer and director of the Center for Movement Studies at Kennedy Krieger  to discuss pediatric clinical research as a way forward to better care and to developing treatments for childhood disorders and injuries.

Links to visit:

https://clinicaltrials.gov/

https://www.kennedykrieger.org/research/participate-in-research
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.