Learning disability

In the United States and Canada, the term learning disability is used to refer to psychological and neurological conditions that affect a person's communicative capacities and potential to be taught effectively.

The term includes such conditions as dysgraphia (writing disorder), dyslexia (reading disorder), dyscalculia (mathematics disorder) and developmental aphasia.

In the United Kingdom, the term learning disability is used more generally to refer to developmental disability............

http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/l/learning_disability.htm
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Overload of screen time ‘causes depression in children’

Study claims there is a link between too much television and computer game-playing and lower self-esteem in the young

British children who spend most time in front of televisions and computer screens have lower self-esteem and greater emotional problems, according to a study published today by Public Health England.

The report found that excessive “screen time” – more than four hours a day – was linked to anxiety and depression and was responsible for limiting a child’s opportunity for social interaction and physical activity.

“The greater the time spent in front of the screen, the greater the negative impact on both behavioural and emotional issues relating to the child’s development,” said Professor Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at PHE. Professor Fenton said that too much screen time limited a child’s opportunities for physical activity and face-to-face social interaction with friends and family, which are key factors in reducing childhood anxiety.........

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/overload-of-screen-time-causes-depression-in-children-8786826.html

Childhood bullying 'casts shadow' over adult life

“Bullying is bad for your health,” the Daily Mail reports. The story comes from research which found that victims of childhood bullying had a higher risk of poor health, poverty and problems with social relationships in adulthood.

The study, which followed more than 1,400 participants from childhood to young adulthood, looked at three groups involved in bullying:

• victims only – who reported being bullied but never bullying others

• bullies only – who bullied, but had never been bullied themselves

• bully-victims – who had been victims of bullying and also bullied others

They found that “bully-victims” .......

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/08August/Pages/Childhood-bullying-casts-shadow-over-adult-life.aspx

SUPPORT Tan y Maen on the Bonkers Bike Ride

SUPPORT Tan y Maen on the Bonkers Bike Ride

The BONKERS BIKE RIDE 2013 is now taking place on Saturday 21st September 2013.  Please sponsor them or make a donation by using the either of the buttons to be found by following the link below. Using the BT MyDonate page will enable Tan y Maen to claim GIFT AID on all donations - turning £10 into £12.50.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE EVENT.

"Tan y Maen are here to offer support and resources to individuals, families, friends carers and other mental health organizations on any aspect of mental health.

You can call into our centre for a warm welcome, a cuppa and someone to talk to - you don't have to make an appointment. Sometimes people may want to talk about things that concern them, but often people just want an ordinary conversation.

One of the basic aims of the centre is to encourage self-help and mutual support, to encourage people to grow in confidence and to develop new skills or regain old ones.  We also work in partnership with a wide variety of other organizations to provide a range of advice and support.

Our service covers the whole of Meirionnydd.  We can support people at the centre itself, in Blaenau Ffestiniog and in our outreach centres in Tywyn, Dolgellau and Bala."

http://www.tanymaen.btck.co.uk/

Laughter Inc: the cheering growth of the chuckle industry

Getting people to guffaw together has become a serious enterprise, report Sarah Morrison and Beren Cross

Would you drag yourself out of bed at 7am every morning to laugh your head off on the telephone with a group of total strangers? And would you pay £6 a month for the privilege? This is just one of the services people around the country are signing up for – a sure sign that in Britain, laughter is becoming an industry.

It might be one of the least serious of human activities, but corporations, schools, behavioural experts, religious leaders and health workers are suddenly desperate to get people chuckling more. 

As a growing body of research demonstrates the health benefits of a good cackle, the number of people flocking to “laughter yoga” sessions, festivals, telephone clubs, laughter-fuelled religious services and workshops is growing.

The UK’s Laughter Network – largely made up of trained laughter yoga teachers, social workers and mental health professions – has more than tripled in membership since it was launched nine years ago.

Major companies such as Barclays and consultancy firm Ernst & Young have reportedly signed employees up to laughter workshops – which can charge corporate rates of up to £500 an hour – while “giggle doctors” have attended hospitals across the country.

“Laughter is more than just laughter – it’s not just silly,” said Lotte Mikkelson, a laughter yoga trainer who has coached more than  600 teachers in Britain and laughs with anything from 20 to 40 people each day in her non-telephone club. “To maintain the physiological changes and benefits we get from it, we need to do it every day,” she added. “We’re frowned upon in society if we do big, roaring belly laughs, but laughter club is a safe space to really laugh from the belly; you really get an exchange of air, it jogs internal organs, and you benefit physically.”

The science seems to back her up. Research by the University of Arizona has suggested that laughter yoga – an Indian tradition which mixes yoga breathing techniques and forced giggling sessions – could have the potential to improve mood and stabilise heart rates in patients awaiting organ transplants..........

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/laughter-inc-the-cheering-growth-of-the-chuckle-industry-8661063.html

Cafe run by young people offers mental health counselling

The Yasp cafe offers a laid-back environment where young people can receive support or train as mentors

"Somebody walked past recently, sniffed the air, looked inside and said, 'What ARE you?'" laughs Martin Stanier. In his Bowie T-shirt and broad grin, you could say the same about him. Stanier is volunteer co-ordinator at the Young Adults Services and Projects (Yasp) cafe. Well, it's a cafe, but it's also a drop-in centre and resource for 15 to 25-year-olds. The staff don't like the term drop-in centre, though and that's why the Yasp cafe exists in the first place..............

http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2013/aug/19/cafe-young-people-mental-health-support

Basic rights of mentally ill 'violated'

The basic rights of some mental health patients in England are being "violated" because of a shortage of beds in psychiatric units, MPs say.

The Health Select Committee said there was evidence some people are being sectioned unnecessarily to secure hospital treatment.

It also warned safeguards to protect patients who lack capacity are often ignored.

The charity Rethink said the findings were "shocking"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23685670