Child Mind Institute Resources Aim to Focus NVLD’s Visual-Spatial Problems

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November 4, 2025

Child Mind Institute Resources Aim to Focus NVLD’s Visual-Spatial Problems

There are many misconceptions about nonverbal learning disorder (NVLD), from the fact that those with it might be highly verbal to the fact that the disorder is not in the DSM-5, the official guide to mental health disorders.

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The Child Mind Institute has released a series of resources from nonverbal learning disorder experts who have worked to sharpen the focus on the visual-spatial problems at the core of the disorder’s disparate symptoms. The experts have even proposed a new name: developmental visual-spatial disorder.

In the series of resources, the institute explains the new definition and criteria for a developmental visual-spatial disorder diagnosis. There are also articles on how to help children with the disorder.

Another resource focuses on why children with learning disabilities have social challenges, while another discusses how to boost their executive functioning skills. There is also a piece on the importance of keeping an eye on the emotional well-being of a child with the disorder.

Below are the Child Mind Institute’s resources:

Pennsylvania Key to Offer School-Age Care Professional Development This Fall

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November 3, 2025

Pennsylvania Key to Offer School-Age Care Professional Development This Fall

The Pennsylvania Key will offer several courses in November and December that will focus on school-age care professional development.

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The courses – as part of the Pennsylvania Key’s Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) – cover five topics all having to do with child and youth development, behavior, and emotions.

One course focuses on how youths’ behavior may reflect their big emotions as well as how to manage those emotions. Another involves tools to use for challenging behaviors by children in kindergarten through sixth grade.

The topic of one course is what to expect at each stage of development from kindergarten through sixth grade and how to identify developmentally appropriate milestones, while another discusses the developmental needs of fourth to sixth grade students and how to empower them to have a great after-school experience. There is also a class that focuses on social-emotional standards and how to incorporate them into daily activities. 

All courses include PQAS credits.

The class schedule includes:

October Recalls on Children’s Products

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October Recalls on Children’s Products

Below is a list of October recalls from the following federal agencies: the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

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In Motion Design recalled its Evermore Surprise Eggs because they violate the federal lead content ban. The toy airplane inside the egg contains levels of lead that exceed federal regulations. 

Blossom recalled its children’s loungewear because the items violate the mandatory flammability standard for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries or death to children.

Gunaito recalled its 10-drawer dressers due to the risk of serious injury or death posed if the dressers tipped over and entrapped children. The dressers are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall.

Dissolved oxygen test kits sold on Amazon have been recalled due to the risk of poisoning to young children. The test kits contain a bottle of sulfuric acid, which are required to be – but are not – in child-resistant packaging as required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.

Generic magnetic ball sets sold on Amazon by Ritons have been recalled due to the risk of serious injury or death by magnet ingestion. The 3 mm magnetic ball sets violate the standard for toys because the magnet sets contain loose magnets posing an ingestion hazard. When high-powered magnets are swallowed, they can attract each other or other metal objects and become lodged in the digestive system.

Bellabu Bear recalled its children’s robes because they violate the mandatory flammability standards for children’s sleepwear. The robes pose a risk of burn injuries to children.

Mom Genius recalled its retractable safety gates due to the risk of serious injury or death by entrapment. The gates violate mandatory standards for expansion gates because a child’s torso can fit through the opening between the gate and the floor.t

YGJT recalled its baby loungers due to the risk of serious injury or death by entrapment and fall. The loungers violate the mandatory standard for infant sleep products. The sides are too low to contain an infant and the enclosed openings at the foot of the loungers are wider than allowed, posing a fall and entrapment hazard.

Children’s LED tutu skirts sold on Amazon were recalled due to the risk of serious injury or death from battery ingestion. The skirts violate mandatory standards for consumer products containing button cell or coin batteries because the LED lights connected to the skirts contain lithium batteries that can be accessed easily by children. 

AOWOS recalled dressers that pose a risk of serious injury or death from tip-over and entrapment hazards. The dressers are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall.

WLIVE recalled its fabric 12-drawer dressers due to risk of serious injury or death from tip-over and entrapment. The dressers are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall.

Belivium recalled its baby loungers due to risk of serious injury or death from suffocation and entrapment hazards. The loungers’ sides are shorter than the minimum side height limit to secure the infant. The sleeping pad’s thickness exceeds the maximum limit, posing a suffocation hazard, and the enclosed openings at the foot of the loungers are wider than allowed.

Cranach Hardware recalled its tip restraint kits due to tip-over hazards. The kits can break or degrade and become entrapment hazards if they tip over that can result in serious injuries or death to children.

Olympia Tools International recalled its Pack-N-Stroll Utility Wagons that violate the mandatory standard for strollers because an opening between the organizational tray and the sidewall may cause a child’s head to become entrapped.

Scepter recalled fuel containers that violate mandatory safety standards for portable fuel containers because they lack flame mitigation devices required under the Portable Fuel Container Safety Act. Additionally, the Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act requires all closures on portable gasoline fuel containers to be child resistant, and the spout on this product is not child resistant.

Bealife recalled its five-drawer dressers because they are unstable if not anchored to a wall, posing tip-over and entrapment hazards that can result in injuries or death to children.

HOMEAL recalled its bed rails because they violate the mandatory standard for children’s portable bed rails. When installed adjacent to the bed, a child can become entrapped in the openings on the side of the mattress, posing a risk of serious injury or death.

Partial SNAP Benefits to Be Paid in November

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Partial SNAP Benefits to Be Paid in November

A federal judge on Friday issued a order to ensure that 42 million Americans can continue to receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the ongoing federal government shutdown.

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Under the order, the Trump administration is required to distribute contingency funds to continue food assistance while the case proceeds.

The order follows a lawsuit filed by the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) with a coalition of charitable and faith-based organizations, small businesses, unions, and local governments as well as attorneys from Democracy Forward and the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture told a federal court on November 3 that it would use a contingency fund to allow states to issue partial benefits through SNAP during the government shutdown. No further information on how this was to be carried out in Pennsylvania was immediately available.

While local nonprofit food banks and pantries are stepping up to fill gaps in their communities, many lack the resources or capacity to meet the overwhelming need.

Residents in the Pittsburgh region who are in need of immediate food assistance can access the following resources:

Resources in neighboring counties include:

Those seeking assistance while SNAP benefits are not being paid out should also view lists of Pittsburgh food resources and mutual aid distribution as well as learn about the Pittsburgh Police’s Thanksgiving dinner distribution.

OCDEL Warns of SPAM Emails Targeting Child Care Providers

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October 30, 2025

OCDEL Warns of SPAM Emails Targeting Child Care Providers

Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has received multiple reports across regions regarding providers being contacted with inquiries that appear to be SPAM.

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The sender of the emails is not affiliated with Lancaster REC – as it purports to be – and appears to be a SPAM effort directed at child care providers.

OCDEL asked providers not to click on any links in the emails. Tips to avoid being compromised by phishing emails that have become more sophisticated through the use of generative AI include:

  • Be suspicious of emails that impart a sense of urgency and read them through thoroughly before opening any attachments or links. Phishing emails often use alarming language such as “Act now” or “Warning.”
  • Double check URLs because attackers often use email addresses and links that closely resemble a trusted source.
  • When in doubt, contact the sender – for example, if you receive a communication from a normally trustworthy source that seems to be suspicious, reach out to that person by looking up the organization’s phone number and calling them.

The following is an example of how SPAM emails might appear:

Resources for November Observances

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October 29, 2025

Resources for November Observances

Various organizations, states, and nations recognize various observances each month. Resources help parents, caregivers, and child care professionals acknowledge and navigate these observances.

Here is a list of resources for November observances:

Month-Long Observances

CHILD SAFETY AND PROTECTION MONTH

FAMILY STORIES MONTH

NATIONAL ADOPTION AWARENESS MONTH

NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVERS APPRECIATION MONTH

NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH

Week-Long Observances

NOVEMBER 3 – 9 IS NATIONAL CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK

NOVEMBER 16 – 20 IS NATIONAL HUNGER & HOMELESS AWARENESS WEEK

NOVEMBER 10 – 14 IS NATIONAL YOUNG READERS WEEK

NOVEMBER 23 – 30 IS NATIONAL FAMILY WEEK

Days of Recognition

NOVEMBER 4 IS ELECTION DAY

NOVEMBER 5 IS INTERNATIONAL STRESS AWARENESS DAY

NOVEMBER 8 IS NATIONAL STEM/STEAM DAY

NOVEMBER 9 IS WORLD ADOPTION DAY

NOVEMBER 13 IS WORLD KINDNESS DAY

NOVEMBER 20 IS UNIVERSAL CHILDREN’S DAY

NOVEMBER 21 IS INTERNATIONAL STAND UP TO BULLYING DAY

Trying Together Exec Director Touts Importance of Early Childhood Education at Business Solves Conference

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October 28, 2025

Trying Together Exec Director Touts Importance of Early Childhood Education at Business Solves Conference

Trying Together’s executive director discussed the importance of early childhood education during the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Business Solves conference on October 28.

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Cara Ciminillo, Trying Together’s executive director, joined Mark Bezilla, vice president and manager of corporate volunteerism at PNC Bank, and Brittany Scott, senior manager of policy and childhood education at the chamber, to discuss Trying Together’s partnership with the bank.

During the partnership spotlight – titled Creating Systems-Level Change for Children – both Ciminillo and Bezilla discussed why early childhood education is critical to the workforce.

“We see child care as a structure just as a bridge is to a city,” Ciminillo said. “In Pennsylvania, more than 75 chambers of commerce have endorsed child care as a top priority.”

Ciminillo cited a study in Washington County that found that a shortage of more than 1,500 child care slots resulted in $5 million in lost productivity for the county’s workforce. She added that early childhood education is an “infrastructure for the economy” because it allows parents to remain in the workforce.

Ciminillo and Bezillo discussed how Trying Together and PNC Bank have partnered on various initiatives, from financial management courses to helping to build early childhood education kits at Trying Together’s office.

She also talked about the areas in which Trying Together works in the early childhood education field.

“Our work spans two areas – direct support to the caregiving community and the developmental needs of children and family  through professional development, coaching, behavioral health consultation, and child care navigation tools, and advocacy and system change by partnering with philanthropy, government and the business community to help bring about long-term policy solutions,” she said. “Child care is the workforce behind the workforce. It’s what helps us have a thriving economy.”

To listen to the entire discussion, watch the 2025 Business Solves Conference Day 1.

Pittsburgh-Based Milk Bank Adds New PA Sites, Plans to Host Fundraiser in November

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Pittsburgh-Based Milk Bank Adds New PA Sites, Plans to Host Fundraiser in November

The Pittsburgh-based Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank has expanded to include three new milk depots in Pennsylvania and will host a cookie-themed fundraiser in Pittsburgh in November.

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The nonprofit – which is based in Pittsburgh – has added depots at UPMC Hamot in Erie, St. Luke’s Baby and Me Support Center in Bethlehem, and WellSpan York Hospital in York as well as at CAMC Women and Children’s Hospital in Charleston, WV. 

In Pittsburgh, the milk bank operates a site at 3217 Penn Avenue that includes a depot, dispensary, and lab. It also operates a depot in nearby North Huntingdon and other sites throughout the state.

In a recent interview with Pittsburgh’s NPR station, 90.5 WESA, the milk bank’s executive director, Denise O’Connor, said there has been a surge in demand for human donor milk.

“We went from no one using donor milk in this area in western PA to within six months of us opening in 2016, every single NICU in Western Pennsylvania using donor milk,” she said. “Exposure to human milk early on helps to create a more diverse and better microbiome, which is so important for a lifetime of health.”

O’Connor added that early access to human milk also supports long-term breastfeeding success, helps babies to stay exclusively breastfed for longer, and promotes better health outcomes through infancy and beyond.

Milk Bank & Cookies

The milk bank will hold an event – Milk Bank & Cookies – on Thursday, November 6 at Stage AE that will act as a fundraiser. During the event, the region’s top bakers and cookie-table makers will compete to raise funds for the Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank.  

This year’s theme is “The Mother of All Cookie Tables.” The event will include cookie displays and local celebrity judges. Proceeds will help to provide donor milk to medically fragile infants in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. 

The event starts with a cocktail hour at 6 p.m., after which the cookie table will be open. Each attendee will be given a small box to fill with cookies. Winners will be announced at the end of the evening. 

Tickets, which cost $75, are now available.

The Buzzword is RECIPE

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The Buzzword is RECIPE

As part of its programming, Buzzword distributes its signature “BUZZ Boxes” to local families to help excite children from birth to age five as well as their caregivers about new words that are all around them. These family engagement kits come complete with a high-quality children’s book and enriching activities that support early literacy skills and development.

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This month’s Buzzword is RECIPE, which means a set of instructions for preparing something. Buzzword’s RECIPE Activity Book will give children – ages birth to five – and their caregivers the opportunity to connect through science, art, music, and early literacy activities.

Caregivers are encouraged to read through Empanadas for Everyone by Jackie Azua Kramer with their child. Then, they should go through the different activities and ideas together, taking time to explain the meaning of the words and connecting them to their child’s real-life experiences.

Buzzword has also provided a RECIPE book list of recommendations from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for further reading.

View the RECIPE Activity Book and book recommendations.

More Information

Want to learn more on how to get involved with Buzzword? Ask your local Allegheny County Family Center about the program, or email buzzword@tryingtogether.org. 

Urban League of Pittsburgh to Hold Annual Thanksgiving Distribution Event

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October 27, 2025

Urban League of Pittsburgh to Hold Annual Thanksgiving Distribution Event

The Urban League of Pittsburgh will provide free groceries to those who intend to celebrate Thanksgiving but cannot afford to make a turkey dinner.

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The league – which has a mission of enabling under-served communities to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power, and civil rights – will hold its annual Thanksgiving distribution on Saturday, November 22 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event will be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, located at 1000 Fort Duquesne Boulevard in Pittsburgh.

The Thanksgiving distribution will bring together community partners to provide holiday meals as well as essential resources and services to more than 900 families from around the region. Organizations interested in taking part in the event must register by 5 p.m. on Friday, October 31.

To sign up to become a vendor at the 2025 Annual Thanksgiving Distribution, register online. 

The event will be held in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute.