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4132.0: Tuesday, November 9, 2004: 12:30 PM-2:00 PM | |||
Oral | |||
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| Learning and developmental disabilities (LDDs) appear to be on the rise, affecting at least 17 percent of youth in the U.S. under the age of 18. New research is revealing that certain neurotoxicants such as lead, mercury, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and solvents can have a particularly detrimental impact on brain function and in turn lead to the development of LDDs. In addition, recent science is beginning to show that environment exposures can influence gene expression, which is also key to healthy brain development. To date, most learning and developmental disability (LDD) groups have focused on identifying affected kids and getting them the services they need—something that is, of course, very important. However, under the auspices of the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE), a new work group, the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI), was formed in April 2002 to national and regional LDD groups interested in looking upstream and focusing on the prevention of exposures to neurotoxicants. Almost 100 organiziations and individuals have joined LDDI, including a number of the major LDD organizations. With memberships totalling well over 500,000, these organizations are now educating their constituencies and becoming a strong national voice to reduce exposures to neurotoxicants. This session will present the latest science on the links between environmental exposures and LDDs as well as specific model programs that are translating cutting edge research into collaborative educational and political action on community, regional and national levels. | |||
| Learning Objectives: 1) Participants will learn the latest science regarding how environmental toxics may constribute to learning and developmental disabilities. 2) Participants will understand how higher rates of learning and developmental disabilities in the United States, which appear to be related to certain exposures to neurotoxicants, are impacting low-income communities in particular and society in general by increasing crime rates, special education needs and health care costs. 3) Participants will be able to describe three new model programs lead by national learning and developmental organizations to educate their constituencies about environmental toxicants and to leverage specific policies to reduce exposures. | |||
| Elise Miller, MEd Polly Hoppin, ScD Molly Jacobs, MPH Derek G Shendell, MPH, DEnv Rebecca A. Head, PhD, DABT | |||
| Elise Miller, MEd | |||
Windows of vulnerability: An overview of the brain development and susceptibility to environmental contaminants ![[ Recorded presentation ]](/static/img/filetypes/16x16/wrf.gif){kind=small} Ted Schettler, MD, MPH | |||
| Gene-environment interactions and biological heterogeneity in learning and developmental disorders: A complex systems approach Martha Herbert, MD, PhD | |||
| Healthy Children Project: A New Model Program to Reduce Exposures to Neurotoxics Jane Browning | |||
| Developmental Disabiliies and Envrionmental Toxics: Collaborating for Action Doreen Croser, Michele N. Gagnon | |||
| A new environmental justice community finds its voice Allison Davis, MS, RN | |||
| See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement and author's information. | |||
| Organized by: | Environment | ||
| Endorsed by: | Health Administration; Public Health Nursing | ||
| CE Credits: | CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing | ||