RFB&D, which was originally known to many of us as “Recording for the Blind” before it became “Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic” and then (more simply) “RFB&D,” has renamed itself “Learning Ally” and affixed a ™ to that. Keep up with the latest from LearningAlly™.
Sphere: Related ContentArchive for the 'News' Category
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According to Tamar Lewin’s report in the New York Times, “Dr. Melvin D. Levine, a nationally known pediatrician who was found dead last week, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a medical examiner said on Friday.” Ms. Lewin’s article includes extensive recounting of the background on both Dr. Levine’s influence on Learning Disabilities and the accusations of his inappropriate behavior with patients.
“Pediatrician in Abuse Case Killed Himself,” By Tamar Lewin, published 25 February 2011.
Sphere: Related ContentIn an article headlined “Accused pediatrician left suicide note,” Jesse James DeConto of the Raleigh (NC, US) News & Observer reported that Dr. Melvin Levine, the widely known pediatrician who had been dogged by accusations of molesting patients, left a suicide note before his death last week. According to Mr. DeConto, “Barbara Levine found the note Thursday night, according to the sheriff’s report.”
In a version that is otherwise filled with background, WTVD of Raleigh-Durham (NC, US) reported that “Reports have surfaced that Dr. Mel Levine left a suicide note after he was found dead last week.”
Accused pediatrician left suicide note and Reports: Mel Levine left suicide note.
Previous coverage: Levine suit to continue (2011), Mel Levine died(2011), AKoM founder resigns (2008), Levine surrenders MD license (2008), Levine’s short-comings (2005).
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Atty C. Durso
Carmen L. Durso, the attorney representing 45 men who claim that Dr. Melvin Levine manipulated their genitals during private examinations for Learning Disabilities when the men were children or youths, said that their suit against Dr. Levine will proceed against his estate now that he has died.
Appearing on NECN’s “The Broadside,” Mr. Durso told interviewer Jim Braude that he has 45 people in the group, but that he has talked with “at least 60.” People say “thousands” were abused, but it is difficult to ascertain how that number is reached.
Continue reading ‘Levine suit to continue’
-Updated-
According to news reports, Dr. Melvin Levine, the pediatrician famed for promoting the idea of “learning differences” rather than Learning Disabilities and dogged by accusations of inappropriate examinations of young patients, found dead at age 71 on 18 February 2011. Dr. Levine’s death in Rougemont (NC, US) was reported one day after the filing of a law suit by former patients alleging medical malpractice.
Read David Abel’s report of Dr. Levine’s death in the Boston Globe, “Doctor in sex abuse suit dies: Worked 19 years at Children’s Hospital,” and the version carried by the Associated Press that appeared in the New York Times Boston Pediatrician Facing Sex Abuse Suit Dies. For more on the law suit, see Mark Pratt’s 17 February 2011 story, “Former Boston doctor accused in lawsuit of inappropriately touching boys during exams,” as carried in the Los Angeles Times.
Dr. Levine faced previous charges of sexual abuse while he was affiliated with Children’s Hospital in Boston (MA, US); those were dismissed. Another set of charges were settled. In response to the new round of charges, brought by 40 male former pediatric patients who are represented by attorney Carmen Durso, Dr. Levine’s attorney Edward Mahoney said that Dr. Levine has made valuable contributions to the field and he “denies in the strongest terms possible the allegations.” In an interview with television reporter Jim Braude, Mr. Durso discussed the future of the most recent law suit, given the context of Dr. Levine’s death.
Obituary from the Raliegh (NC, US) News & Observer (see, also, SpedPro.
Sphere: Related ContentSandy Hausman, Charlottesville (VA, US) reporter for WVTF (one of the local public radio stations available in my listening area), carried a story about LearningRx and Learning Disabilities this morning. Unlike the credible coverage provided by many reporters for popular-but-unproven therapies for LD and other disorders, Ms. Hausman provided a sensible and balanced story about LearningRx. Here’s the blurb from WVTF’s Web site
Americans spend millions of dollars keeping our bodies in shape. Now a Charlottesville man is offering a workout for the brain. His center–part of a nationwide franchise–promises to help children and adults improve their concentration, memory, reasoning, and other mental skills. Sandy Hausman has the story.
Unlike many reporters who too-often fall for pop-psych and pop-ed theories (as regularly noted in other posts here on LD Blog), Ms. Hausman gets many facts right (e.g., prevalence of LD), phrases her report carefully (describes LearningRx reports as “internal studies”), includes appropriate caveats along with personal-interest angles, and even incorporates alternative explanations from the experts she interviews.
This is an example of journalism done better. Listen to an MP3 of Ms. Hausman’s report and explore WVTF.org.
Sphere: Related ContentIn “From illiterate to role model” Carla Rivera provides one of those examples worth passing along to others. Ms. Rivera, who reports for the Los Angeles Times, described the case of John Zickefoose, a man who at 30 years of age was not able to read to his own children, read their report cards, read prescription labels, or to order from a menu. As a boy he was diagnosed as having dyslexia but, after adult literacy studies, he participates in book clubs, writes his own speeches, and is an advocate for his local library.
Now, as Ms. Rivera reported, Mr. Zickefoose will serve as a member of his local school board.
Continue reading ‘A success story’
In what will be his last guest column for the Washington Post education column, “The Answer Sheet,” cognitive psychologist Dan Willingham advises people to be skeptical about the poppycock that masquerades as scientific advice about brain-based education. Under the headline “Willingham: 3 brain facts every educator should know,” Professor Willingham explains clearly and with the force of evidence and plain, ordinary reason why “most of what you see advertised as educational advice rooted in neuroscience is bunkum.”
Professor Willingham contends that there are three facts educators should know.
Continue reading ‘Willingham making sense of brain research’
The RTI Action Network published a paper by Jack Fletcher about identification of Learning Disabilities in the context of response to instruction (or intervention; RTI). Professor Fletcher, who has been a leading proponent of RTI since the 1990s, makes a strong case for the importance of examining instruction as a part of determining eligibility for LD services.
Continue reading ‘Fletcher paper about identifying LD’
More on smoking and neuropsych disorders
New research shows that using nicotine during pregnancy affects genes involved in myelination and, consequently may help explain why the children of mothers who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to develop such psychiatric disorders as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, autism, and even drug abuse. In a paper presented at Neuroscience 2010, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Professor Ming Li, Ph.D., of the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA, US) reported that when rats were given nicotine during pregnancy, their offspring manifested changes in myelin genes for the limbic system, especially the prefrontal cortex, a brain region important for decision-making.
“Our research shows that gestational treatment with nicotine significantly modifies myelin gene expression in specific brain regions that are involved in behavioral processes,” according to Professor Li, leader of the study. “Myelin deficits have been observed in adults with various psychiatric disorders. Our findings suggest that abnormal myelination may contribute to the psychiatric disorders associated with maternal smoking.”
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