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Pag* 8 NORTHWEST HERALD Section A Saturday, August >1,19S5 Nation -^V r Professors study owls to find cure for deaf babies ByLidlaWasowlcz UP1 science writer STANFORD, Calif. -- Owls have become stock characters in child­ hood literature, but two Stanford University professors believe the legendary wise birds can help hu­ man babies with hearing problems. Neurobiologist Eric Knudsen and his wife Phyllis are gathering data on how a dozen barn owls in a man- Schools-- made cave in a Stanford research laboratory respond to sound In hopes of deciphering the complicat­ ed link between the sensation of hearing and the functions of the brain. Some 20 million Americans have hearing problems severe enough to require nearing aids. Statistics from the March of Dimes Birth De­ fects Foundation show 75 percent of all infants younger than 11 months who are brought for care to a pedia­ trician suffer some form of ear dysfunction. "I believe that understanding the unparalleled skill of owls In hunting In the dark and In compensating when very young for impediments to their auditoryjMnses-wlll help us to undersUda better the conse- queneesjw hearing defects in hu­ man babies," Knudsen said. "Owls are an Important link in The Montessori system focuses on an individual child and the peaceful unfolding of self in a prepared class­ room environment. Montessori realized that a child under six years "has a genius ca­ pacity for mental absorbtion." She discovered that the "absorbent mind" never repeats its miraculous ability to absorb the native tongue, to perfect movement, or to internal­ ize order. She concluded that these sensitivities would never be more alive than in the preschool years. Directors and teachers at the lo­ cal Montessori schools have re­ ceived special training in this meth­ od of education, which stresses "freedom within structure," ac­ cording to Eleanor Washburn, who is in her seventh year of teaching at the Community Montessori in Wood­ stock. She says the resurgence of Montessori schools stems from the fact that the Montessori method "is effective and accurate." "The very best for children is our goal, with each individual child be­ ing able to reach their fullest poten­ tial at their own level," says Judy Claxton, director of Community Montessori. Washburn explains that the scien­ tifically prepared environment of the Montessori classroom helps the child grow "with consentration and self-discipline." Motor skills and sensory-motor activities are empha­ sized in the classroom and special materials are used in the learning process. "The children participate in ac­ tivities because they want to. We never push the children ... they automatically have the desire to learn ... everything is orderly and we encourage the child as they show the desire," says Washburn. She says the brain is more capa­ ble of learning in a child under 6 • years. "The brain is more absor- ' bent {ien. In the early years, birth to 6, more than SO percent of the . learning process takes place," says Washburn. Learning always needs to be ex­ citing, and the Montessori method makes it that way. In addition to learning colors, numbers and the alphabet through use of special ma­ terials, children in Community Montessori are also introduced to the beauty of art, nature and classi­ cal music. According to Claxton, she and her staff recognize that every child is unique and has spe­ cial needs. "We encourage children to be­ come independent through the ac­ quisition of skills in the area of practical life, academics and social behavior," she says. Claxton says she believes learning proceeds best when in tune with the child's total psyche, and that intellectual growth cqnnot be pursued to the exclusion of the child's personal and social development. "Respect is a key word in the Montessori approach to offering a well-rounded experience for the child...respect for each child's indi­ viduality, respect for others and re­ spect for our environment," Claxton says. Community Montessori offers dal­ ly classes for children between 3 and 6 years and includes a kinder­ garten program. The establishment START YOUR DAY the HEALTHY WAY!! , with FITNESS EDUCATOR LANAHERTEL Highly Certified Instructor Candidate for Texas Governor's Council On Physical Fitness * Private classes in your home ' Qualified to work with pregnant, obese, Senior Citizens, "Adults at Risk", special attention to causes of low back pains ' Programs for employee fitness * Education programs for fitness fetors on cardiovascular conditioning and injury prevention techniques , For interview caH: 815-455 1055 also offers Saturday classes for chil­ dren from 18-months-old and their parents. In addition to the director, Clax­ ton, the school has five teachers and a speech and language clinician. The teacher-student ratio is 1 to 10 at this facility, located at 640 Mc- Henry Avenue in Woodstock. Claxton says she believes that the expense of sending a child to Mon­ tessori school at a young age level "is worth more than the expense of college years. These are the founda­ tion years when 50 percent of the learning process takes place," she says. Ten teachers from the staff of the Crystal Lake Montessori Preschool Coatinuedttom page 1 and Elementary School attended in­ tensive training programs this sum­ mer in preparation for the fall ses­ sion in the school's new facility, located at 3013 Country Gub Road, north of Ridgefield near McConnell Road. According to Director Penny Ci- chucki, because of additional space, the school will be expanding its pro­ grams, which include parent-infant classes, classes for two to three and three to six-year-olds and elemen­ tary classes. For more information on the Mon­ tessori approach to education and the various programs offered, call Cichucki at 455-4558 or Claxton at 338-7414. the search for reasons why early hearing loss can lead to permanent hearing deficiencies." The researchers have learned there is a"critical period" soon after birth during which a dysfunc­ tion of the ear in owls and humans can be compensated for by the brain. / "Certain parts of the brain are able to change and form correct nerve cell connections," Knudsen said "After that period, the opaci­ ty for adjustment decreases tremendously." The scientists found that in owls this period comprises the first two months of life. "This is no guide to what happens with human babies, however, since an owl's lifespan is 10 years and its sexual maturity is complete at sev­ en months," Knudsen said. The small amount of human data available -- dealing mostly with children treated for hearing impedi­ ments -- suggest the critical period in humans may be between 3 and 8 years of age. In early life the brain is plastic, adaptable, he said, and then at cer­ tain points in life certain aspects of brain function become fixed. "If we can find out where in the brain these changes are taking place and what happens that ends the brain's ability to adjust, we may someday in some way be able to reverse it and recover those func­ tions that otherwise would be lost," Knudsen said. Newborn humans and animals are capable of crude sound localiza­ tion, he said, meaning that they have the innate ability to locate the source of certain sounds. Experi­ ence improves this ability. , The researchers chose the owl for the study because the bird's audi­ tory system is remarkably devel­ oped and resembles that of humans. The barn owl is capable of locat­ ing the source of a sound within a range of one degree to two degrees In devation and azimuth, or angle of horizontal deviation, Knudsen said. This enables the bird to swoop down on a mouse so' that its out-' stretched talons precisely encom­ pass the animal's body. "Until the barn owl was tested, man was thought to possess the greatest ability to locate the sourcje of a sound," Knudsen said. "Hu­ mans are about as accurate as the owl in azimuth but only one-third as! good In terms of elevation." Flying jOootlnuedfrom page J reluctant to give up that vacation time, Pickrum said. After the hijacking in June that resulted in 34 Americans - includ­ ing a large number from the Algon­ quin area - several people canceled trips to Greece, the site of the hi­ jack odyssey, Pikcrum said. How­ ever, those people re-booked to oth­ er destinations, she added. "The people are going to go pretty much no matter what," she said of vacationers. "We've got a few peo­ ple going to South Africa next month." Although people can reschedule vacations to avoid the world's hot spots, there's no way people can schedule around a potential crash. There's usually some emotional - rather than business - fallout fol­ lowing a big crash. After a crash, Freund said, trav­ elers tend to get a little more inquis­ itive about the type of Jet they'll be flying. If a crash involves a Boeing 747, for example, people try to avoid flying on one, she explained. Freund said people have been making Inquiries about reservations in the smoking section, which is located to a Jet's rear. The only Jvors in both the Japanese Air- disaster and the Dallas crash were people who were seated in the rear of the planes. "We've had non-smokers calling up and saying 'put me in the smok­ ing section,"' Freund said. "The first couple days (after a bad crash) there's some hesita­ tion," Grimm said. "It makes peo­ ple stop and think a little bit." The local travel agents added that all they can do to calm white-knuck­ le fliers is to point out that, statisti­ cally speaking, planes are a safe mode of travel. The number of peo­ ple killed daily on the nation's roads in cars would about equal one Jet crash per day, they said. "I think the people believe they're safe," Pickrum said, "they Just want a few extra words of encour­ agement. They've already con­ vinced themselves, otherwise they wouldn't be in buying a ticket. "v Handcrafted furniture classics for those who Design your own sofa with many popular sofa %/a|MO ovrollon^ol styles at spectacular sale prices. Then designate "aluc vAUclIt?l IOtJ: which one of a wide range of fabrics you prefer as upholstery. There's no longer any need to allow a sofa to dictate your room design, instead, have an eight-way, hand-tied quality sofa made to your order. Match your other furniture, your carpeting, your overall plan of interior decoration. For a sofa that suits you, choose Laine, which represents superior quality and value... with the outstanding design and masterful tailoring that reflects lasting distinction. 5A & Laine UpT0MmgOs.alMcfcory.NC CRYSTAL POINT SOFA SAVES344 MOW770 CHAR SAVE $140. 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