AT THIS HOUR

Mood Monitor: “I’m feeling very Wofford today” — Timmy, 11, who picked the college to win in the first round of the NCAA march madness tournament, only to watch them lose - his dad didn’t flinch: “Sorry Tim, now go do your homework”

31: Percent of 12,308 parent readers we polled who, like me, acknowledge they’ve cried at least once during “Finding Nemo” only to have their kids look at them judgingly and say, “You’re crying?! Really? Over Nemo?” But they’re kids, what do they know….

Science: A new study has found that spending time with therapy dogs while in the emergency room reduces kids’ anxiety. Only seven kids in the group with therapy dogs needed medication to calm them, compared to 14 kids in the control group. 

Sport: In a change since our similar poll of 1,900 10-12 year-olds 5 years ago, 65% of boys and now 74% of girls say basketball is their favorite sport and they feel better after they play "even if I hit a lot of brick shots" said 11-year-old Kyle. Many of the girls say they try to practice dribbling like Caitlin Clark - "it helps my mood and my handle," 10-year-old Dana said. Cigna's health division Evernorth is leaning into the trend by supporting a WNBA Health Summit as part of broader community initiatives to help basketball fans with physical, mental and preventive health.

Policy: A test using a strand of hair designed to identify biomarkers associated with autism in infants and young children is now available to the public in about 44 states. LinusBio (sounds a bit like that great Peanuts character) launched the Clearstrand-ASD test Thursday to help pediatricians mostly rule out autism in children 1 to 36 months old. Insurers have not yet approved and the FDA has not yet approved the test. If diagnosed with autism, there is a trend toward alternatives to treatment other than the most common applied behavioral analysis. Use of a multi-disciplinary approach combining physical and speech therapy is gaining popularity and insurance coverage, while more advanced technologies like transcranial magnetic stimulation are being studied but not yet approved or covered by insurance for autism. TMS is covered for major depressive disorder and Cigna just expanded coverage for it to adolescents at least 15 years old with major depressive disorder (previously 18 years old).

Perspective: I’m channeling my inner Rodney Dangerfield to help kick off a tour of schools …. check out the news here.

Read the archives