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5-year-old watercolor genius shines light on art therapy, autism
watercolors
"It was on her first painting I noticed a difference in her painting compared with how you would normally expect a child to paint," Iris' mom told ABC News in an email. "She filled the page with colour but with thought and consideration. ... We didn't think [too] much of it at the time, we were just so happy to have found an activity that brought her so much joy." - photo by Courtesy: Vimeo
Eric Schulzke
Deseret News National
Updated: Oct 17, 2014, 9:00 AM
Published: Oct 13, 2014, 6:37 PM

A 5-year-old English girl is turning heads and opening wallets with stunning watercolor paintings that have drawn comparisons to Claude Monet, the French 19th century impressionist. In the process, she is also drawing renewed attention to the untapped potential often hidden by autism and the use of art therapy as a treatment and outlet for autistic children.

“It was on her first painting I noticed a difference in her painting compared with how you would normally expect a child to paint,” Iris’ mom told ABC News in an email. "She filled the page with colour but with thought and consideration. ... We didn't think [too] much of it at the time, we were just so happy to have found an activity that brought her so much joy."

“There have been a lot of references to Monet because of the Impressionistic style. We have had many artists, dealers and galleries contact us who are very complimentary about her work, which is lovely,” Iris's mother told the (UK) Independent.

“For us, though, the joy that Iris gets from creating her pieces is the highlight, how it changes her mood, how happy it makes her.”

Some of the best photos online of Iris and her work are found at Bored Panda, which has published a second piece on her relationship with her therapy cat, a Maine Coon named Thula.

Art therapy is a widely recognized treatment not just for autism but for other forms of emotional or psychological challenges, according to the American Art Therapy Association. Art therapy can be used to "reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem. A goal in art therapy is to improve or restore a client’s functioning and his or her sense of personal well-being."

Among the promising uses of art therapy is treatment for dementia. Last year a Canadian journa lpublished an article on highlighting the experience of Mary Hecht, a renowned sculptor suffering from vascular dementia who was able to do detailed drawings both from observation and from memory despite having lost most of her apparent mental powers to her Alzheimer's-like condition.

"Art opens the mind," said Dr. Luis Fornazzari, neurological consultant at St. Michael's Hospital's Memory Clinic, the paper's author. "Mary Hecht was a remarkable example of how artistic abilities are preserved in spite of the degeneration of the brain and a loss in the more mundane, day-to-day memory functions."

Email: eschulzke@desnews.com
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.