Tobinworld, a K-12 school for autistic and emotionally disturbed children in California, offers a very unique program.  They have their very own not-for-profit Baskin-Robbins ice cream store on campus.  The store is used to motivate students and modify behavior.  Teachers provide students with reward tokens for a job well done that can be redeemed for ice cream.  Moreover, older students are able to gain real life experience by working at the shop.  Many of the student employees were able to obtain real employment upon graduation.

Twenty-six teenagers work at the school's Baskin-Robbins. They apply for the positions like real employees do and undergo a pre-employment interview. On the job, they wear official company uniforms. They are not paid for their work at the not-for-profit store.

This is proof that lots of wonderful things can be accomplished with a good scoop of ice cream.

Bob Pool of the Los Angeles Times has more: Link

AMC Theaters in collaboration with the Autism Society of America are now offering movie showings for children with autism. They are called sensory friendly films.  The kids are allowed to talk during the film, they don't turn the lights all the way down,and they keep the volume  from getting to high.

Autism friendly movies are available at select theaters throughout the county. The Autism Society of America has a list of the participating theaters.

Link

In August of 2009 a newborn baby born was found naked and abandoned on the front lawn of a home in Virgina. He laid there for several hours before he was found. There is, however, a happy ending to this story. That little boy is now a happy thriving 10-month old who is very loved. The foster parents of Nehemiah Christopher Allen were able to make their family official. Nehemiah was made part of the Allen family through adoption proceedings on July 16, 2010.

My local hospital and the county fire stations in my neighborhood offer safe surrender for newborns.  These are drop off locations with a don't ask policy. I have seen the one in the hospital,  because is located in the maternity ward.  It looks like a large parcel post mail slot.  Once the baby is placed inside they are delivered right into the newborn nursery. These types of programs are designed to help save babies born to people who are afraid and feel that they have no where to turn to for help.


Link

Forever 21, the clothing store known for catering to teens, has launched a new Maternity line.  What is puzzling is where it was launched.  The flagship stores are in Arizona, Alaska, California, Utah and Texas.  Three of those states, Arizona, California, and Texas have some of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country.  Was the company specifically marketing to the pregnant teen crowd? The company says no.

http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12821859

Electric Spoofaloo combines Dora The Explorer and the sci-movie Inception.

Link

A new study out of Sweden suggests that there may be a higher incidence of childhood cancer among test-tube babies.  The authors believe the increase  is related to the genetic makeup of the parents and may be what caused the initial fertility issues.  They don't believe the IVF process is what is causing the increase in cancer.

The results of the new study were published online Monday in Pediatrics. It analyzed more than 2.4 million births in Sweden between 1982 and 2005, including almost 27,000 IVF babies, along with cancer data in children tracked for up to 19 years.

Overall, 53 IVF children developed cancer versus 38 that would be expected in other children of the same age, a 42 percent increased risk. Leukemia and brain cancers were among the most common.

While test-tube babies do seem to have elevated risks for the disease the actual rate of cancer is still very small.

Lindsey Tanner of The Associated Press has more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_TEST_TUBE_BABIES_CANCER?SITE=NMALJ&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

An ad for a Little Tikes Princess Cozy Coupe has some parents scratching their heads.  In it is a little girl talking on a cell phone while driving.

The toddler car is actually now on clearance.   Don't worry the new version doesn't even come with a cell phone. If you are worried about your toddler talking and driving just don't buy your kid the cell to go with.

Link

Inhabitot has a crazy post this week on 5 fun things you can do with your placenta.

1. Make a creepy placenta teddy bear. Apparently you need to cure the placenta to make it leathery before you can cut and sew your very own little bear. I love craft projects as much as the next person, but I think I might skip this one.

2. Turn the placenta into capsules and eat them. The placenta is supposed to be full of all kinds of nutrients. They say if you eat it you can help ward of postpartum depression, enhance your milk supply, and reap all kinds of wonderful benefits.

3. Make placenta art. I guess some people are suggesting you rub or stamp your placenta on paper. Well, they do say art is subjective.  I think I will just stick to boring old photos of the kids.

4. Paint baby clothes with placenta blood. I spend a ton of time trying to get all kinds of stains out of my kids clothes (mostly food stains).  I never thought of intentionally staining anything, much less by using placenta blood. Eww!

5. Place the placenta under a newly planted fruit tree. OK, this one isn't nearly as creepy.  I had a neighbor growing up who did this.  That apricot tree always did produce great fruit.

I have never tried to bring my kids placenta home from the hospital, but I hear that it's not easy getting them to release it to you.  If you are thinking of doing one of these projects you may want to talk to your hospital in advance.

This article made me laugh and gag at the same time.  Does anyone else have any other strange things to add to this list?

Link

Baby booties made to look like Birkenstocks or Tevas with socks underneath! How awesome is that!!This little gem was made by Etsy seller curiousworkmanship.

Ahhh, memories of my college days... The unofficial uniform of the Math Department allowed you a choice of either Birkenstocks or Tevas, and you'd winterize your sandals by wearing them with socks. Because that makes them *winter* sandals, you see.

Now your baby can wear that same 'Stocks 'n' Socks look that geeks and bohemians everywhere covet! Rendered in all-season 100% cotton yarn, these booties are perfect for an academic ensemble! Or pair them with a tie-dyed onesie for that hippie look. Psychedelic!

This find has made me super nostalgic for those oh so simple college days. These booties really do remind me of my husband in college. He wasn't a math major, but plenty of people in the MCB department sported the look as well.   He used to wear Tevas with socks all the time and it drove me crazy. I really wish I had a baby small enough to buy these for. I really, really love them!

Oh youth, how I miss thee.

Link

Studies show that introducing your baby to Super Mario before they can walk can greatly increase their video game aptitude.  OK, I made that up.   Etsy seller FishyFishy, however, does make a pretty cute felted Super Mario mobile.  The best part is that it's probably not nearly as traumatizing as the Mr. T mobile that we previously featured.

If you can't get enough  Super Mario you should check out the NeatoShop. Heck, even if you don't like Super Mario you should still check out the NeatoShop.  They have lots of cool stuff for everyone.

Link

Etsy seller NausicaaDistribution makes adorable statistical burp cloths. The come in:

1. Normal distribution


2. t distribution


3. Uniform distribution


4. Chi-square distribution and


5. Log normal distribution

They are so cute! I love them.

Link

Hello Neatoramanauts and welcome to our second Decipher The Doodle Contest.  This doodle was again created by my almost-4-year old daughter.  I dare you to delve into the mind of this pint-sized artist and tell me what her doodle means.

We will award 2 prizes. One for the most correct answer and one for the funniest but ultimately wrong answer. Please leave your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, but you are welcome to enter as many as you would like. Important: Please choose your own prize from the NeatoShop. You can pick any one item in stock, $25 or less. Write your item selection along with your guess, or you forfeit the prize, mmkay? Good luck!

Update: The contest is now over. Congratulations to our winners.  The winner for most correct answer is lolamouse.  The winner for funniest is xela22 for this entry:

Yes, the turtle may have unleashed a toxic cloud upon us all. Yes he may have opened up a rift into another dimension. and Yes, he stole my necklace. But the important thing was that he styled my hair just the way i like it.

The real answer is: A picture of Nan and Papa's pet turtle Darwina (the turtle's name was Darwin till she laid eggs one day and they realized he was a she).  The green circle is Nan and Papa's pool where Darwina lives. (Yes, they have a turtle who lives in their swimming pool.  What?  Is this weird or something?) The blue stuff is Darwina's food.  The waving stick figure is my daughter.

Thanks everyone for playing! We hope you had fun!

Workers at All Star's Child Care in Florida left a 9-year old boy in charge of 12 other children.  The workers, who were supposed to be watching the kids, left the day-care center after an apparent dispute with the boss.   The children were left alone for about an hour.

Laquanda Tamel King, 33, told the child to lock the door, and he assumed she would be back soon, he told the deputy. A 14-month-old, a 22-month-old and a 3-year-old began to cry, so he patted their backs to comfort them, the report states.

The children were unharmed.

This little 9-year old boy is very much a hero in my book.

Orlando Sentinel has more: Link

Photo: Laqunda Michele Hill (one of the three women charged in this incident) provided by Orange County Sheriff's Office

Pottery Barn Kids recalls 82,000 drop-side cribs. The recall is due to entrapment, suffocation and possible fall hazards.

This is a recall of all their drop-side cribs regardless of model number. Pottery Barn kids is providing consumers with a free fixed-gate conversion kit.

The cribs’ drop-sides can detach when hardware breaks, creating a space into which a young child can become entrapped, which can lead to suffocation. A child can also fall out of the crib. Drop side incidents also occur due to incorrect assembly and with age-related wear and tear.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10302.html

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Angie Cromar of Utah is pregnant with two babies who are not twins and have two different due dates.  As strange as this sounds it actually can happen.  You see, Angie has didelphys or two uteruses.   She conceived in both of them.  The odds of that are about one in 5 million.

Link - Thanks David