Blog Posts by Maia Szalavitz

  • What child prodigies and autistic people have in common

    By Maia Szalavitz | Time.com – Tue, Jul 10, 2012

    Child prodigies evoke awe, wonder and sometimes jealousy: how can such young children display the kinds of musical or mathematical talents that most adults will never master, even with years of dedicated practice? Lucky for these despairing types, the prevailing wisdom suggests that such comparisons are unfair — prodigies are born, not made (mostly). Practice alone isn't going to turn out the next 6-year-old Mozart.

    So finds a recent study of eight young prodigies, which sought to shed some light on the innate roots of their talent. The prodigies included in the study  [PDF] are all famous (but remain unidentified in the paper), having achieved acclaim and professional status in their fields by the ripe age of 10. Most are musical prodigies; one is an artist and another a math whiz, who developed a new discipline in mathematics and, by age 13, had had a paper accepted for publication in a mathematics journal. Two of the youngsters showed extraordinary skill in two separate fields: one

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  • How the Global War on Drugs Drives HIV and AIDS

    By Maia Szalavitz | Time.com – Thu, Jun 28, 2012

    The war on drugs is driving much of the global AIDS pandemic, increasing new infections among injection-drug users in the U.S. and elsewhere, according to a new report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

    The commission — led by a distinguished panel including the former presidents of Mexico, Poland, Colombia, Brazil and Switzerland, along with Virgin Airlines entrepreneur Richard Branson, the former chair of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, and former Secretary of State George Schulz, among others — finds in its report that about one-third of all new infections outside of sub-Sarahan Africa occur in injection-drug users.

    Since the 1990s, effective public-health strategies to curb HIV transmission in drug users have led to drops in new infections in most countries. But over the same time period, seven countries have seen a 25% increase in new infections. Not coincidentally, five of these countries — mainly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia — employ aggressive drug war Read More »

  • Baby soaps and shampoos trigger positive marijuana tests

    By Maia Szalavitz | Time.com – Tue, Jun 19, 2012

    Commonly used baby soaps and shampoos, including products from Johnson & Johnson, Aveeno and CVS, can trigger a positive result on newborns' marijuana screening tests, according to a recent study. A minute amount of the cleansing products in a urine sample — just 0.1 milliliters or less — was found to cause a positive result.

    Researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, began studying the issue after an unusually high number of newborns in their nursery began testing positive for marijuana exposure. Newborn screening for marijuana at hospitals, particularly among babies of women who are considered at high risk of drug use, is not uncommon: at U.N.C. Chapel Hill, 10% to 40% of newborns are tested.

    Positive results can precipitate an investigation by child welfare authorities. "We really did this to help protect families from being falsely accused," study co-author Dr. Carl Seashore, a pediatrician in the U.N.C. Chapel Hill newborn nursery, told My Health News Daily.

    (LIST:

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  • Do family dinners really reduce teen drug use?

    Contrary to previous findings, a large new study finds that family meals may have little effect on reducing teen drug use long-term

    By Maia Szalavitz | Time.com – Thu, Jun 7, 2012

    Few would disagree that sitting down to dinner together as a family is a good thing. It can help families eat healthier, encourage meaningful conversation and according to some addiction researchers, it even keeps kids from using drugs.

    Indeed, dining together has been so widely touted as a critical anti-drug measure that the fourth Monday in September has been designated "Family Day — A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children" and is observed in all 50 states. In 2009, President Barack Obama even recognized Family Day in an official proclamation.

    “America’s drug problem is not going to be solved in courtrooms or legislative hearing rooms by judges and politicians. It will be solved in living rooms and dining rooms and across kitchen tables — by parents and families,” declares Joseph Califano, the founder of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, which created Family Day, on the center's website.

    (SPECIAL: 'Healthy' foods that really aren't: Nutritionists weigh in)

    Problem is,

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