Bilingualism boosts cognitive capacity for low-income children

Bilingualism may be key to helping children from low-income families improve their focus and concentration, giving them an academic advantage over their monolingual peers, according to a recent study by an international team of researchers, including York University Professor Ellen Bialystok. “For children living in poverty, there are often conditions present that can negatively affect […]

Bullying is bad for the brain, says speaker for upcoming conference

Bullying is bad for the brain. It has the potential to change and damage the brain, causing lifelong consequences. Professor Jean Clinton of McMaster University will discuss how toxic stress, such as that caused by bullying, can have long-lasting effects for children, at PREVNet’s sixth annual bullying prevention conference next week. Debra Pepler Creating Healthy […]

Youth with autism face higher rates of bullying, says study of parents

Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience higher rates of bullying, which are associated with a higher incidence of mental health issues, according to a study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders this month by York researchers. “Very little research has been done to assess the relationship between bullying and mental health in youth with […]

Study finds all bilingualism gives kids an advantage

All bilingual children – regardless of the languages they speak – show cognitive advantages over their English-only peers, although they may experience weakness in areas like vocabulary acquisition, says a new study by York University researchers. The study, published today in the journal Child Development, examined the effects of specific language pairings on children’s verbal and […]

Professor Jonathan Weiss receives new researcher award

York psychology Professor Jonathan Weiss (MA '02, PhD ’07) has recently been awarded a Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) President’s New Researcher Award in recognition of his contribution to psychological knowledge in Canada. The award is, in part, based on the researcher’s record of early career achievement. For Weiss, that encompasses the research on developmental disabilities that […]

Romanticizing divorce carries high price, says professor emerita

Long the goal of marriage, "happily ever after" is being reimagined by books and movies as the chief export of divorce, wrote Postmedia News July 12. A leading Canadian divorce researcher, however, warns that escapism carries a high price, if not for couples who've survived a split than for those teetering on the edge of […]

Faculty of Education graduate students to present theses on Thursday, May 26

Topics include formation of child soldiers in Uganda and how children use creative work to construct identity Two graduates will present their theses – and compete for prizes – at the Graduate Program in Education Spring Colloquium May 26. Opiyo Oloya (right) (PhD ’10) and master’s graduand Farra Yasin will explain their final academic projects […]

Want compassinate sons? Professor Raymond Mar says get them reading novels

If you follow the advice below, chances are, your son will turn into the kind of man you want him to be, wrote WomensDay.com May 11, in a story about parenting advice for mothers: Encourage him to read novels. Ongoing studies at York University [by psychology Professor Raymond Mar and colleagues in the Faculty of […]

Professor Alison Macpherson calls OHF's bodychecking ban a great first step

The Ontario Hockey Federation's decision to ban bodychecking will likely draw more players to the game and keep others from dropping out, wrote The Canadian Press May 6 (via Global Toronto): The federation is making the change – which affects players between the ages of 6 and 21 – in an effort to create a […]

York Autism Research Alliance shares research findings with wider autism community

Some 24 outside agencies came to the inaugural York Autism Research Alliance’s Research Showcase at York last week to hear what researchers were working on – everything from isolating three to 20 genes potentially responsible for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to looking at how children with ASD process visual and auditory information. “The take home […]