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NEW MINDFULNESS PROGRAM BRINGS ZEN TO
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LITTLE SCHOLARS
old Coast early education provider, Little Scholars, has launched a Mindfulness Program, hoping to instill the importance of mindfulness in young children. This comes after a concerning increase in anxiety, depression and stress in children. The program will see each of its nine centres equipped with a toolkit for children’s mental wellbeing, made up of exercises and games developed by a Gold Coast children’s counsellor to facilitate mindful moments. Founder and Managing Director of Little Scholars Jae Fraser says the rollout of this program is crucial to ensuring an environment for optimum learning and development in our youngest citizens. “The first five years of a child’s life
are fundamental to their future; this is a period of rapid brain development where the habits and behaviours that will carry them into adulthood are formed. Mindfulness is an extremely useful tool for instilling healthy stress management and emotional selfregulation in children—a skill which we know leads to a happier and brighter life,” said Jae. Child Psychotherapist and Founder of Mindful & Co Kids Jacqueline Yeats says, “I’m delighted to be working with Little Scholars in implementing the Mindful & Co Kids Toolkit across their centres.” The toolkit will be integrated into the daily learning program at Little Scholars across all age groups, with exercises such as the ABC’s of Mindfulness, Yoga Flashcards and Memory Cards.
Fish give insight on SOUND SENSITIVITY IN AUTISM
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tiny fish is helping scientists understand how the human brain processes sound, while also giving insight into autism spectrum disorder. Scientists at The University of Queensland studied zebrafish, which carry the same genetic mutations as humans with Fragile X syndrome and autism, and discovered the neural networks and pathways that produce the hypersensitivities to sound in both species. By studying how zebrafish make sense of their world, the team could explore how neurons work together to process information. “Loud noises often cause sensory overload and anxiety in people with autism and Fragile X syndrome,” said Dr Constantin from the Queensland Brain Institute. “We think
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the brain is transmitting more auditory information because it is not being filtered and adjusted as normal.” The team recorded the brain activity of zebrafish larvae while showing them movies or exposing them to bursts of sound. “The movies simulate movement or predators—the reaction to these visual stimuli was the same for fish with Fragile X mutations and those without,” Dr Constantin said. “But when we gave the fish a burst of white noise, there was a dramatic difference in the brain activity in Fragile X model fish.” “We hope that by discovering fundamental information about how the brain processes sound, we will gain further insights into the sensory difficulties faced by people with Fragile X syndrome and autism.” K I D S O N T H E C O A S T.C O M . A U • K I D S I N T H E C I T Y.C O M . A U