The Ocala (FL) Star-Banner (4/21, Thompson) reported that an Ocala, Florida “mental health treatment facility” called The Centers is currently seeking a Federal “grant to help fund a move toward telepsychiatry, wherein patients could be treated via computer within their own homes or in other locations.” Charles R. Powell, executive director of The Centers, “said the agency wants to apply for an infrastructure grant from the US Department of Agriculture. The funding would help pay for new computers and related equipment.”

Related Links:

— “The Centers seeks to connect with patients virtually, “Bill Thompson, The Ocala, April 20, 2013.

HealthDay (4/20, Preidt) reported that a review “published April 18 in the journal Science outlines the underlying causes of learning disabilities and the best way to tailor individual teaching and learning for affected children.” In addition, the study “discusses how best to train teachers, school psychologists and doctors who deal with these children.” Investigators “said that specific learning disabilities (SLDs) are the result of abnormal brain development caused by complicated genetic and environmental factors,” leading “to conditions as dyslexia, dyscalculia, AD/HD, autism spectrum disorder, and specific language impairment.”

Related Links:

— “Kids’ Learning Disabilities May Have Multiple Causes, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 19, 2013.

Bloomberg News (4/20, Wayne) reported, “The Obama administration, trying to advance new gun-control measures amid resistance from Congress, proposed a rule making it easier to submit names of the mentally ill to a US database of people prohibited from buying guns.” Bloomberg News adds, “State authorities that decide whether people should be committed or found insane would gain an exemption to federal health privacy rules under the new regulation, allowing them to report those names to the federal database.” In a statement, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said, “In order to protect our children and communities, we must ensure that information on potentially dangerous individuals who are prohibited from possessing firearms is available to the background check system.”

Related Links:

— “Mentally Ill May Be Banned More Easily From Guns by U.S., “Alex Wayne, Bloomberg News, April 19, 2013.

The AP (4/19) reports that “several new initiatives” are “transforming the nation’s suicide-prevention community as more survivors find the courage to speak out and more experts make efforts to learn from them.” According to the AP, “There’s a new survivors task force, an array of blogs, some riveting YouTube clips, all with the common goal of stripping away anonymity, stigma and shame.” Jane Pearson, a suicide prevention expert with the National Institute of Mental Health, stated: “There are still clear consequences for talking about your mental health history. It’s getting better, but there are still challenges as to what that means for your life.”

Related Links:

— “More survivors of suicide attempts speak out, “David Crary , Associated Press, April 19, 2013.

In continuing coverage, the AP (4/19, Neergaard) reports that “psychological aftershocks are the often invisible wounds of disaster. Most affected are the injured and those closest to the blasts. But even people with no physical injuries and…who weren’t nearby can feel the emotional impact for weeks as they struggle to regain a sense of security.” Only a few people may go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, however, and those who are at higher “risk for lingering psychological effects are people who’ve previously been exposed to trauma, whether it’s on the battlefield or from a car crash or a hurricane.”

Related Links:

— “Psychological aftershocks are invisible wounds of disaster but most people recover with time, “Associated Press, The Washington Post, April 19, 2013.