School Health News

Up to 1.9 million children are estimated to have concussions in the United States each year, and these injuries may be underreported among young athletes, according to a clinical report published in Pediatrics.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Therapy putty may not help children and teenagers with ADHD focus or improve their academic performance, according to research presented at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition. However, the tool may be helpful for listening-based activities, researchers said.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Obesity may affect children’s ability to carry out daily tasks and cope at school, according to research presented at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition.

SAN FRANCISCO — An elementary school-located influenza vaccination program increased vaccination and decreased school absences and hospitalizations related to influenza in students, according to research presented at IDWeek.

Adolescents who sleep fewer than 8 hours on school nights are more likely to engage in several risk-taking behaviors, according to research published in JAMA Pediatrics. However, teens who get fewer than 6 hours of sleep are at significantly higher risk for considering, planning and attempting suicide, researchers said.

Although kindergarteners enrolled in the 2017-2018 school year were able to maintain high rates of vaccination coverage — specifically with the measles, mumps and rubella; DTaP; and varicella vaccines — researchers observed a slight increase in vaccine exemptions.

Hand hygiene programs that include education for children, parents and day care center workers are effective at reducing the number of respiratory infections among the center’s students and the number of antibiotic prescriptions filled, according to research published in Pediatrics. Researchers said that this intervention also reduced the number of absent days for children.

SAN FRANCISCO — Most parents of teenagers at a high school in Texas where a mumps outbreak occurred did not follow recommendations for immunizing their child with a third dose of the measles, mumps and rubella immunization, or MMR, according to research presented at IDWeek 2018.

Speech therapy is a traditionally recommended approach to improving communication skills in children with developmental dysphasia. However, findings from a randomized controlled trial suggest that introducing animals, such as dogs, into therapy sessions can strengthen the benefits of this intervention.

Nearly half of American teenagers report sleep difficulties that affect their daily functioning, according to findings published in the Journal of Adolescence. Exhaustion from lack of sleep can lead to negative health outcomes, including depression, obesity and accidental injury.