The February 15, 2008 issue of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s MMWR reports on unintentional strangulation deaths from the “Choking Game” among youth aged 6 – 19.  The report tracks reported incidents from 1995 – 2007.  What I found alarming about this report was the age of those who died – most were […]

The PBS show Frontline recently aired a show on the Medicated Child (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/medicatedchild/).  The focus was on children medicated for AD/HD and bipolar disorder.  In interviews with parents and physicians, the show looked at the increasing tendency to medicate even young children for behavior-related disorders. 
 
A question often arises about whether there really are so […]

A commentary by Linda Grant, M.D.
Media reports on MRSA or Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus have been making headlines in the past few months, capturing school administrators and parent’s attention and elevating concerns… However, schools may be more well-prepared than they realize to address his issue. 
 
Schools have experience with minimizing risk of illnesses. Universal precautions […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently proposed new rules that would require that all seats on school buses be four inches higher and that all small school buses (10,000 pounds GVWR or less) have 3-point safety belts.  They are also proposing to establish standards for 2 or 3-point safety belts on larger school buses. 
 
For […]

A commentary from: Lani Wheeler, MD, FAAP, FASHA Partially reprinted with permission from School Health Professional May 25, 2007.

 In recent months there has been much debate over requiring the new HPV vaccine (GARDASIL ™) for public school attendance. In one state the Governor issued an executive order requiring all girls entering the 6th grade to […]

The American School Health Association welcomes you to our blog. The purpose of the blog is to provide an opportunity for dialogue on health and safety-related issues that affect children and youth in grades pre-k through 12. Just as the American School Health Association is a multidisciplinary organization, this blog can bring to bear on […]