Aditi Shankardass: A second opinion on learning disorders

[bdp99pc]

You may schedule a DEEP/BEAM Assessment through Bright Minds Institute in San Francisco, where researcher Dr. Aditi Shankardass formerly worked as an employee.

Bright Minds Institute also offers cognitive guidance for children and adults with "no problems at all", high achievers, people with AD/HD, Autism, PDD-NOS, traumatic brain injuries, personal injury accidents and dementia. If it's brain related, BMI gets the job done.

[CONCEPTUALMAN]

also it bothers me , as someone who is "dyslexic" that i am called a person with a developmental/learning disorder . the idea being that anyone who doesn't think or learn like most people has a disorder . i do not feel like i have a disorder just because the educational system , for the most part , does not teach for my learning style .

[CONCEPTUALMAN]

i think that using E.E.G. sounds like a really good idea for diagnosing disorders , but how about simply improving the mental function of people who are already doing well ? 

[skuby75]

I have a kid with autism and abnormal EEG wich non of the great Dr.in the Irish Univ Child Clinic could not tell me what is the problem of the EEG if that Lady can I dont mind my son to be tested if this will help him to becom better.I you all dont like that i dont care

[txdoan]

Up to 50% of children means 0-50% could have brain seizures. I'd like to see the reference.

[WyldOrbit]

This is awesome research!

[Webmommy]

As the parent of two children with ASD, I found her speech to be ground-breaking. So many times, the "checklist" is used for diagnosing these disorders, but we have got to start going the distance and truly looking at the physical aspects of these disorders and how they are affecting the brain. The technology is readily available and should be utilized BEFORE any diagnosis is given.

[txdoan]

@Webmommy

Experimental at best, NOT readily available.

[bdp99pc]

@txdoan Experimental and providing usable data for over a decade now. This was developed at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston. What's your background?

[artlessartist]

For once can we have a woman speaker without the comments degenerating into "she's hot/she's ugly"? Grow up guys.

[kafcin]

You know she isn't exactly a '10' in India.... Interesting how most of the "She's pretty good looking" comments come from non-Indian people.. :P Don't know why that is...

[bharatiguy]

@kafcin maybe you should check out her facebook page - her TED talk doesn't do her justice - she is a model- and is absolutely gorgeous - and, by the way, Im an Indian guy!

[dapnd]

this is the kind of talk I love from ted - has an interesting point, has an application, has flow. 5 stars.

[ZenMoodi]

@dapnd has a beautiful woman :-D

[HomeOfficeMommy]

This sounds like Dr. Shankardass has seen the earlier articles in the medical journals about the Amen clinic from several years ago. Still my question after meeting with their marketing director, relates to these scans based on activity in children who do not have these negative labels applied to them. The most gifted "space out" appropriately when fixating on what they are fascinated by. I love these finding confirming my own observations after coaching these children for over 12 years. Yes!!!

[BlackBeltBusiness]

If you had a son with Autism, like I do, you might have focused on more than just how "hot" the speaker was. Very Classy....

[notme222]

Not to undermine what she's saying here or trivialize learning difficulties, but notice how much the word "normal" (or "abnormality) is used. Better diagnoses for autism, ADD, or seizures are something we should all get behind. It's wonderful that we're in an age that can deliver appropriate treatment where it's needed. But let's also maintain an awareness against too narrow a definition of "normality." That overdiagnosis can itself be a problem.

[matrixistrue]

man these comments are hilarious and juvenile

[TheTenneboke]

I think this video is good as is her general message: lets focus on proper, specific diagnoses and not just random observations. However I find it odd that she implies EEG's are a new thing. They've been around for years. And it goes without saying that any doctor or "professional" who waves their hand and pronounces a child "autistic/schizophrenic/etc" w/o proper tests is a joke.

[solitary200]

"Karate Super Champ" hahaha

Great TED talk though.

[JAYDUBYAH29]

i am in love.

[davidhyner]

Excellent thank you - we'll look into it. Not sure whether the UK is on to it yet ....... but I'm sure if a group of us??????

[kristanlh]

I give her MAJOR props for trying to find the real causes of these children's problems, rather than just going along with the easy, surface diagnosis. I hope there are more doctors and scientists out there like her.

[chansarick69]

I suffered for years with a mental disability and when I was 10 (I'm currently 14) my mother took me to have one of these brain scans done. For years I had been put on 150 different types of medications and diagnosed with everything from ADHD to schizophrenia what they found was that I had mini brain seizures causing my tantrums. It has saved my life

[yourtube20061]

she cd as well be an actress !!

why was a comment with 44 "Likes" removed ?

i wanna see it !!

[pudicus2]

you're not supposed to use notes at TED

[jnthnbush]

@pudicus2 she seamed a bit nervous.

[flexcapacitor1]

The way they treat anxiety, depression and many other mental illness' is behavior diagnosed as well. The solution is more disheartening. IE, take this medicin and in a month tell me if you feel better. If not try another type of medicine or increase the dose and next month lets repeat the process. They should use this to test for any type of differences in the brain.

[Vortex42]

Another excellent talk... and Aditi happens to be quite the looker! ;o)

[0MoTheG]

I'm just happy they stoped cutting peoples arterys.

goes to show how bad diagnostics are.

[bunkmasterflex]

that story kindof sounds like an episode of house

[RobotBadger]

As a neuroscientist and a person with ADD, dyslexia, and other developmental disorders, I've come to understand that neurological plasticity is the gift that nature has given us to overcome developmental issues. And feeding into using science to study the brain and assign to drugs will never be as effective as psychobiological therapy, where the person undergoes tasks that repeatedly force the brain to change and adapt to new tasks. In other words, fuck this lady.

[freezingbeast]

@RobotBadger

Shes not saying that a person with developmental disorder cannot succeed, shes saying that a better diagnostic method might be able to correctly diagnose the problem.

The subtly of interpretation makes a world of difference.

[thejameslehman]

@RobotBadger I'm not sure what you mean by the statement "And feeding into using science to study the brain and assign to drugs will never be as effective as psychobiological therapy..." It sounds like an extraordinary claim. Can you really say "never"?

I don't know what your biases must be that you could voice such a strong and unsophisticated opinion. It seems to me that this woman is just making a plea for better evidence-based medicine because diagnostic techniques now allow it.

[WhichDoctor1]

@RobotBadger Are you really saying that that kid with brain seizures would have been better off getting psychological treatment than anti seizure drugs? Speaking as someone with dyslexia who was labeled as lazy and stupid in school I feel this is brilliant. I only got diagnosed because I'm quite bright, I'm sure there are lodes of people with lower IQ's who have dyslexia but because they aren't obviously intelligent they are never picked up and just get discarded.This would help so many people.

[slLLyhumans]

Friggin great video .

thumbs up !

[DimitriRytsk]

This technique to detect abnormality has been known since Hitler. Most of post ww2 psychology based on Hitler’s concentration camp’s researches adopted by USA and the rest of the world. The World become one big concentration camp for the subject of statistical researches. All obsessed with detecting abnormalities in order to prove superiority.

Is there technique to detect normality? Does anybody know what normality is today?

[nikanj]

A remarkable and compassionate woman who just happens to be beautiful.

[scohen914]

The title is misleading. It really should be A Second Opinion on DEVELOPMENTAL Disorders. Learning Disorders are different.

[kcel1127]

you need to even out the volume of these videos, either tune down the intro or raise the volume in the rest of the video

[gabydewilde]

Very nice presentation.

Now lets test our politicians ability to feel the suffering of others.

[dahmin]

It's obvious isn't it?

Keep up the good work.

[briansmobile1]

My daughter has Glut-1 and was misdiagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Then it was Epilepsy. A spinal tap that was an "unnecessary" precaution showed glucose transport failure. This was after three years of testing for every other kind of problem. EEG's showed seizures, but her brain was healthy. It just wasn't getting enough glucose to run well. We increased her fats and protein and she produced ketones to compensate with great results.

[PlankKydo]

Thank god someone's thinking about the problem realistically and actually SOLVING it!

[Radjehuty]

@Santi2c people can do stupid things and not BE stupid.

[ashishtelgote]

Where is the centre of this EEG treatment in india ??

[yared94]

This is amazing.

[eugen1225]

ZOMG!!!! She discovered the EEG! And she knows how to interpret seizures on an EEG!!!! I'm speechless, why has no one done this before? Oh wait...

[t3tsuyaguy1]

@eugen1225 Someone missed the point.  Paying attention saves you from looking like a jackass.

[eugen1225]

@t3tsuyaguy1 No, I haven't missed the point. Everything (and i mean everything) she said was and is already being done in Romania, and I don't think that Romania is the leading country in the world when it comes to diagnosing child brain disorders.

[t3tsuyaguy1]

@eugen1225 She wasn't taking credit for discovering this stuff. She was imploring rich western countries to start doing it. The point was to illuminate a flaw in the way rich western cultures are handling childhood behavioral aberrations.

If you got out of her talk that she was looking to be a special person or a pioneer, then, yes you did miss the point.

[austpom333]

School? so what; I can change careers at 44 years, my Dutch and German is good and my Anglo saxon OK iv'e lived and survived in north America and Europe I can only learn by doing. I teach myself; i'm grass roots and proud of it.

[TheBlitz1]

please say abnormality and technology moar

moar please

[vlasevmovement]

Give her a Nobel prize please!!!

[ogrish84]

Our brains are just like computers.

[TheBlitz1]

@ogrish84 wow, your like - some kind of genius!

Could a mammal make a device that does the same things its own brain does!

Pretty simple actually.

[cosy18]

good to know this things

[clearmenser]

Ooo-ooo-ooo! I wanna get scanned!

[KiLLAxMAHN]

I Love Indians! This is very interesting.

[Eagleknot2]

If you want Dr.s to use these EEG's, make them avalable for use everywhere and make the testing affordable for public schools. Until then behavior is the only usable form of testing. This would be a great diagnostic tool, but it is too specalized for comon medical use.

[timg455]

Boring speaker.

[Shaunt1]

People are diagnosed with different diseases so they can be put you on medication for years. They want to sell drugs not cure you.

[david0aloha]

@Shaunt1

When you're talking about seizures we have drugs that we know work well. With depression not so much - it's more a lumping together of everything that causes someone to feel down (basically a psychological diagnosis rather than a neurological diagnosis). We prescribe SSRIs and a plethora of other drugs for this and they have very mixed efficacy - and it's no wonder, they don't normally know or deal with the root of the problem (and SSRIs can have harsh side effects).

[t3tsuyaguy1]

@david0aloha It's sad because you are right about SSRIs. And yet, they are light-years better for you than MAOIs. I believe our pharmaceuticals are useful, but they need SO much continued development.

[david0aloha]

@t3tsuyaguy1

Agreed, though I believe there's many options that don't receive proper attention. There's been a great of good results coming from Modafinil/Provigil but it doesn't seem to get much attention for broadening what it can be prescribed for (partially because the company was pushy with it before it was approved for other things and they're getting the book thrown at them).

[david0aloha]

@t3tsuyaguy1

Omega-3s from fish oil and Vitamin D in the 2000-4000 IU range seems to work really well (particularly in northern climates), but there's no patent so there's no one pushing to get them into everyone's homes (unlike Prozac). It's unfortunate because they're inexpensive and have millenia of proven efficacy (fish has been a staple of many large coastal civilizations and vitamin D is best created in the body through consistent exposure of moderate duration to the sun).

[t3tsuyaguy1]

@david0aloha I'm not familiar with studies on fish oil, though the anecdotal evidence is pretty pervasive that consuming fish yields great benefits to brain function. I am familiar with effects of Vitamin D.

Many people don't know that our government actual develops most medications. They develop many which are more effective, safer, and even cure things with short courses of treatment. The thing is that only private companies can sell them to the public. Con...

[t3tsuyaguy1]

@david0aloha They only buy the compounds that need to be administered over and over, because that is the most profitable business practice. The most aggravating example is a compound developed a few years ago, which showed dramatic promise in attacking cancerous tumors. It is cheap to produce and had very few side effects, but wasn't a money maker; so it just sits in the files not getting fully developed. Sick yeah?

[tyrbolo]

So science has invaded the medical realm of the witch doctor and helped

people. Good.

[Darvinisti]

Previous woman talker got bad response and the feminist cried out. This time its a silence of the feminists even though this time gender makes a big difference in the reception. Well not just gender but fertility.

[GRNoam]

hot. 

[davesdaname]

I would love to hear comments from Dr. Russel Blaylock and others on this.

[Rhal95]

@davesdaname Ya, nutrition is probably a big factor. A study of a nutritional supplement ( truehope.com ) at the U of L neuroscience labs showed nutrition helps most of these disorders.

Makes you wonder what is missing from our modern diets.....

[SourcesAreEverything]

This put tears to my eyes. I'm so proud to be alive at this point in history.

[t3tsuyaguy1]

@fsswim It shames me, but I was a little distracted. I found myself listening to her voice without listening to the words. : )

[drorjs]

@fsswim why do you watch ted? there are so many other channels with hotter women.

[Stickstacks12]

@fsswim

Fortunately for the world, women like her don't give the time of day to guys who let testosterone completely rule their minds.



[fsswim]

She's hot!

[SuperiorApostate]

I don't know anyone who has mental disorders nor do I have any of my own.

[x3ICEx]

@SuperiorApostate You didn't go to TED though so this does not apply to you. :) Watch 1:20-1:30 again.

[happyflea]

@SuperiorApostate Yes you do, there just not telling you.

[SuperiorApostate]

@happyflea I think I'd notice troll.

[happyflea]

@SuperiorApostate Firstly not a troll, secondly not necessarily as many people

with even severe mental ilness or learning difficulties don't appear to have such to most of the people around them.

[hossboss96]

@SuperiorApostate some one doesnt know wut 'troll' means. attempting to seem hip by using internet lingo fail

[SuperiorApostate]

@hossboss96 you're a troll.

[happyflea]

@SuperiorApostate You might not, a fair number of people with even serious condidtions can come across day-to-day as normal by learning to hide there condition. btw how the hell am I a troll?

[LeftOfToday]

Fabulous. I wonder what her thoughts are on using this for mental illness as well. Psychiatry and psychology is as much guesswork at this point.

[arbonac]

A modem "modulates" and "demodulates". An ADSL bridge does not do this.

[ACANOFSODA]

Haha, I was told that I had "depression", then Bi-polar. But, the depression symptoms were based on earlier symptoms of a rheumatoid disorder. I acted according to depression when younger because I thought it "that" was the cause. The Bipolar resulted from drugs being given to me, for something not mental. God... Makes you wonder if our education system is adequate for individuals going into healthcare services. I want someone who knwos how to think, not what to think.

[Th3Wab3]

interesting my niece was diagnosed with these seizures and has received medicinal treatment that has greatly assisted her.. otherwise she would have continued a path through the special needs system.. now she is progressing and recovering from the previous years of neglect... i happy to say that our medical system responded adequately in British Columbia..

[mazdaplz]

wtf is up with the new soccer icon in the video bar? i click it an hear vuvuzelas :S

[TheBerkeleyBear]

@mazdaplz yeah, im perplexed

[sugarkang]

most of those are ADD and that isn't real

[VitriolicAC]

@sugarkang ADD is real, it's just a lot of different things that all get grouped together and named "ADD".  I've struggled with this my whole life, without drugs. You don't know what you're talking about.

[ACANOFSODA]

@VitriolicAC Agreed. ADD is indeed real. In actuality, they have shown that this disorder is only debilitating for awhile. The part of the brain related to attention, just grows later. I have no problem with my ADD anymore... Sorta. I get bored real easy, and distracted. But when I enjoy something, I do more efficiently than most.

[sugarkang]

@VitriolicAC you're just lazy. there's no one to blame but yourself. show some responsibility. own up to your failures and be a fucking adult.

[VitriolicAC]

@sugarkang What failures? Who or what am I blaming, and for what? What do I need to own up to. I'm sorry, you seem to be talking out of your ass again.

[xxSilverPhinxx]

I agree. There are way too many imcompetent observers out there who "diagnose" people.

[P1ranh4]

@n10ding I worked together with researchers who use this very same method to diagnose Alzheimer's disease early in old people. If you detect the disease early you can also start treatment early, which slows down the disease significantly and eventually improves the quality of life for these old people.

[P1ranh4]

About time somebody finds something that stops that flood of misdiagnoses and wrong treatment with wrong drugs in children. Too many children are nowadays diagnosed with the ailments she mentioned, while they have a different, little or no problem at all.

[SkepticalBliss]

This technology is phenomenal! Thank science for new technology! AMAZING!!!

[Suertsje]

Then why do so many children suffer from brainseizures?

[P00P0STER0US]

Fabulous, that's real progress. Reminds me of the talk where people in a coma were shown to be capable of understanding questions they were asked by thinking about very different things and lighting up specific areas of the brain. Like "yes" means "think of a pink elephant" and no means "4 x 6=?"

[geganobo]

asdf

[xerophiLIEs]

i wish all ted talks featured women of her attractiveness. in my fantasies she fights crime and strips after work as a scientist

[Durgles]

@godlessmessiah Statements like this show how ignorant people are towards mental illness. These are real disorders, and saying shit like that reflects the ignorance people have towards issues they can't possibly comprehend. Unless you have or know someone with Autism, and dyslexia, and a REAL (diagnosed by a doctor, not a friend) personality disorder - you have no clue what you're talking about. I know people with all of these issues. It's not in their head.

[godlessmessiah]

@Durgles

what the hell are you talking about!

I was making the point that people are often incorrectly diagnosed, as like the woman said in the video!

READ before you post your dumbass comments...

[Durgles]

@godlessmessiah Where in the hell did you say anything about being 'incorrectly diagnosed'? Read your own post and make sure your point is clear before posting it. You just listed off a list of symptoms and illnesses and said it was easy to label people and throw pills at them. What about the people who actually do have these illnesses? Are they among the people who were just labeled and had pills thrown at them? Show some respect.

[SirEldricIV]

@Durgles

I have to concur with GodlessMessiah. When I read his post, it was obvious to me that he was complaining about the preponderance of misdiagnoses in his country, where the slightest deviation from "normal" means, ipso facto, that one must possess a learning disability and require medication.

Your responses to him have been knee jerk reactions to points he has not made.

[S0up3rD0up3r]

@godlessmessiah its an easier way to make a quick buck as well.

[cosy18]

@godlessmessiah ouch

[rabbitwho]

@godlessmessiah I can't speak for the other things on the list, but as someone who spent hours and hours and hours and hours every day trying to learn how to spell and never could it was nice to know why. For one thing the teachers stopped screaming at me for being lazy and not trying. What solution would you have offered me? Just keep trying the same things as everyone else? Because that didn't work.

[airplayn]

@godlessmessiah You are throwing out the baby with the bathwater, Yes, you're right, everybody has some of those traits to SOME extent, BUT there ARE people who have those characteristics to such an extent that THEY ARE DISABLED! They are not label's when they are indicating a disorder, they are called a DIAGNOSIS!! Everybody has "quirks", but sometimes they are so uncontrolled that they INTERFERE WITH FUNCTION! that's why they are diagnosed and treated!

[godlessmessiah]

@airplayn

Im not saying there arent people with mental difficulties, my argument is that every man and his dog 'must' have some sort of illness in accordance with the perspectives in England.

The determinations in this country are so vague (expecially based on a persons actions in a single time period) that practically anyone in the country can be classed as mentally imbalanced if they are given the test.

Check through a psychological dictionary and see whats applicable to you.

[BaileysBeads]

@godlessmessiah if you aren't great at reading then you are indeed dyslexic. Duh.

[godlessmessiah]

@BaileysBeads

2/2

I would also like to state that between the school years 2-9

I was considered dyslexic....am I?

Ofcourse not, I was simply at a lower reading and writing level, as with most people.

[Apeiron242]

godlessmessiah,

Just because SOME people self diagnose as having problem X does not mean that all people who claim to have it are lying. Just because SOME doctors are lazy and over diagnose doesn't mean that ALL diagnoses are incorrect.

Sometimes the diagnosis is correct. Sometimes people need treatment. Dyslexia is a REAL thing. ADD is real.

To reflexively and cynically dismiss real problems as laziness, lack of motivation or somesuch is as childish as attributing them to demonic posession.

[godlessmessiah]

@Apeiron242

Ok im deleting this comment as it seems 10% people cant seem to comprehend what Im saying.

Im NOT saying that mental illness is fake!

where the hell did I say anything like that?

My argument is that the system for diagnosis is so vague that anyone can be classed as having a mental problem just by being tested (as half the symptoms are just usual everyday emotions and problems)

[MassZombicide]

I think I might be retarded, can retarded people tell that they're retarded?

[mooxim]

@MassZombicide If people are tought was is considered normal and what symptoms are consistent with learning difficulties then they might be able to tell.

[e1nste1n]

society has been so keen on throwing pills down your throat and telling you something is wrong with you, i am glad that finally we are truly starting to understand these medical problems and fix them rather than deeming these kids mentally unstable and unfit for society

[Chroposnos]

This is inspiring.

[guyincognito84]

This proves yet again that there should always be a mix of approaches.....behavioral, medical, neurological, etc...

Thanks for sharing this video.

[thepianoaddict]

I wonder how many people who watch these kind of video's have something like add, adhd, asperger and so on.

I have PDD-NOS

Thumbs up if you have something like that? :P

[BrokenBjartur]

I always get confused when a woman is both hot and smart =S.

__

I am absolutely inspired by this. We HAVE to be ABSOLUTELY SURE when we diagnose. To be this sure, we have to advance in both medical technology, and distribution as well.

[anikinippon]

YES!!!

[RuleNr34]

vuvuzela button!!!

[goog2k]

Amazing!

BRAVO!!!

[mummifiedcheese]

@daawsomeWOW  Ironically, I see shank tard ass...

[IdoloR]

I'm dyslexic, and have only been diagnosed at the age of 20 through behavioural, and academic tests. I would love to take part in an EEG test to see what was going on up stairs. My memory, reading, writing, information processing are abysmal. Touching video :)

[frilink]

@IdoloR

I have ADD.......feels good to finally get that out of my chest

[princeofexcess]

@frilink practice decreases ADD symptoms. A lot of kids in america develop ADD because their brain did not practice paying attention when they were little. All young kids start out with ADD  unable to pay attention to more then very limited amounts of time. Their attention is prolonged as they mature. Even autism can be greatly improved.

[ZerqTM]

0:42 i would have thrown up.. X3

[trulez]

I feel humbled by the amount of hope her work, and the work of her team, gives to the misdiagnosed children and their parents. I can only wish to ever achieve something as positive.

[svinehunden]

1 in 6??? kool... i only have 5 children so it must be the neighbor... ;)

[hanksnivelyreturns]

I wish I could give this video a million thumbs up. Powerful stuff!

[CAlex6977]

I see her last name and immediately do not take any of this seriously.