In her essay (Sept. 12), Jennifer Schuessler concocts a peculiar mash-up. The pairing of a fictional account of bonobos (Sara Gruen鈥檚 ) with a nonfiction book on apes (Jon Cohen鈥檚 鈥淎lmost Chimpanzee鈥�) makes some sense; Gruen grounded her novel in visits to real-life bonobos at the Great Ape Trust in Iowa, a place also visited by Cohen.

But lest readers be led astray, we wish to clarify that the Great Ape Trust is in no way connected with Marc Hauser, the Harvard scientist mentioned in the essay who has been accused of falsifying data in his primate studies. For those with serious interest about the research into the language abilities of bonobos, extensive video documentation is freely available on the Internet, including material at .

We are scientists who have worked closely with Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and her colleagues at the , and/or have observed and interacted with the bonobos. We teach and write about the work impugned in the Book Review 鈥� because we respect its scientific integrity, because it has powerfully transformed our understanding of what apes are capable of, and because, through it, we grasp more fully what it means to share our world with other sentient creatures.

Benson and Greaves, members of Glendon鈥檚 , traveled to the United States to meet with earlier this year.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin

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During a recent conversation with聽91亚色 President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David Onley (Hon. LLD聽'09),聽expressed an interest in聽the research initiative. In response, Shoukri invited Onley to聽tour the facility and speak with researchers.聽On July 15,聽the lieutenant governor paid an informal visit to the University to hear first-hand from MEHRI researchers and therapists about their research into early childhood development.

Above: From left, MEHRI neuroscientist Jim Stieben; President & Vice-Chancellor聽Mamdouh Shoukri; 91亚色 Distinguished Research Professor Stuart Shanker, director of MEHRI; Rhonda Lenton, associate vice-president academic; Devin Casenhiser, MEHRI head of research; David Onley, the lieutenant governor of Ontario; MEHRI therapist Christine Robinson; Professor Lesley Beagrie, associate dean of professional & global programs in the Faculty of Health; Amanda Binns, MEHRI speech language pathologist; Alicia Allison, MEHRI community liason officer;聽Fay McGill,聽MEHRI speech language pathologist and floor-time therapist; Ana Bojcun, MEHRI budget & administrative officer; and Eunice Lee, MEHRI social worker

During聽his visit,聽Onley listened to remarks from聽the University's president and Stuart Shanker, 91亚色 Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology & Philosophy and the director of MEHRI. He then heard from MEHRI therapists and researchers about their work before taking a tour of the research facility.

Also present at the event were Rhonda Lenton, associate vice-president academic, and Professor Leslie Beagrie, associate dean of professional & global programs in the Faculty of Health.

鈥淚 believe that 91亚色 performs a very important and critical function in supporting postsecondary education, not only through the training of students but also through research," said Shoukri in his opening remarks.

"This particular initiative is very close to my heart. The Milton & Ethel Harris Research Initiative is led by its director, 91亚色 Distinguished Research Professor Stuart Shanker. One of the exciting aspects of this initiative is its focus on child development,"聽Shoukri said. "From all that I have seen so far, there is clear evidence that this initiative is on its way to having a significant national and international impact."

Following the president's comments, Shanker offered a brief history of MEHRI, including the role of the late Canadian philanthropist Milton Harris, whose support made the research initiative possible, (see YFile, June 23, 2005).

Right: Stuart Shanker

"We were very interested in a program called the Developmental Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based Model (DIR)聽for聽very specific reasons," said Shanker. "It focuses on the child鈥檚 core capacities. So that rather than trying to treat a symptom, you are trying to develop those underlying capacities that are constricted."

Conceived聽by the late Dr. Stanley Greenspan (Hon. LLD聽'06), a聽clinical professor of psychiatry, behavioural science and pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School and a practising child psychiatrist, DIR聽is a social interaction-based聽approach for treating children with autistic spectrum disorders. DIR聽engages children through play to expand their world and help develop their ideas and relationships and is at the heart of the extended聽study now underway at MEHRI.聽Shanker said the research will have an impact on the treatment of all children聽experiencing challenges and聽will聽play a聽role聽in enhancing聽the capacities of children developing typically.

"Suppose I had a child who was experiencing difficulty in learning how to read. Rather than doing intensive exercises to get the child to read, we would look at what are the underlying causes. Is there a problem with visual perception or motor control?" he said. "In addition to doing reading exercises, with DIR we would work very hard on strengthening the weakened capacities that are causing the deficits and rather than just treating the symptoms."

DIR is wedded to science, said Shanker, and at MEHRI, scientists and therapists are partners in the research underway into children's core capacities. "I saw this as a model for the 21st century, a framework for really enhancing early childhood development, because we would continually be revising and developing what we are doing," said Shanker.

"DIR also operates through the parent. The parent becomes the primary agent in the child鈥檚 development. What we have been seeing is that there聽has been a remarkable effect on family dyanmics. Families are being empowered by DIR," he said. "This is a program about understanding, for any child, why they may be having certain problems and聽what are the causes and then helping that child to develop a better ability to stay calm and focused.

"Milt Harris was very insistent that he wanted this initiative to inform public policy, so MEHRI has also been working very hard with the聽premier鈥檚 special adviser on early learning []," said Shanker. "MEHRI聽has played a聽role in seeing these ideas embedded in the core of the early learning program that is being rolled out in Ontario."

Lenton echoed Shanker's comments and reiterated that she was very pleased to see that the work underway at MEHRI, in addition to helping children with autism,聽would have benefits related to a general approach to early childhood development.

Onley聽then heard from MEHRI therapists聽Christine Robinson, Amanda Binns, Sonia Khan and Eunice Lee. The group spoke about their work with children with autism and showed聽before-and-after video clips that displayed the accomplishments experienced by聽a聽child after just a few weeks聽in floor-time therapy.

MEHRI researchers and offered a summary of their latest research to Onley. Their work examines the behavioural and neurological effects of a DIR-based treatment on young children with autism spectrum disorders.聽The two researchers previewed聽the results of their聽research to the lieutenant governor.聽The MEHRI researchers explained how they hope the results of their work will expand聽the range of options available in the treatment of all children through the use of DIR.

"This is remarkable," said Onley. "Thank you all very much, your research聽is most fascinating. The reality of autism is significant. I聽hear regularly from聽parents who express their deep concerns about autism. Please keep up the good work and I look forward to keeping in touch and following your research."

At the conclusion of the presentations, the lieutenant governor and聽Shoukri聽toured the MEHRI facility.

More about David Onley, the lieutenant governor of Ontario

In 2007, Onley was the first person with a physical disability 鈥� he had polio at the age of three聽鈥� to become a lieutenant governor. Before stepping into the role, he had a 22-year career as a broadcaster for Citytv and was the first senior newscaster with a visible disability.

For many years,聽he has聽championed disability issues聽as chair of the Government of Ontario鈥檚 Accessibility Standards Advisory Council and as an accessibility council member for the Rogers Centre and the Air Canada Centre. Onley has used his influence to highlight聽and help remove barriers to employment and housing for Ontario's 1.5 million people with disabilities.

On Friday, June 26, 2009, 91亚色 honoured Onley with an honorary degree in recognition of his work in advancing disability rights in Canada.

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The interview runs over 53 minutes and is available on the .

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The message? Mozart, and indeed any classical music will stimulate the infant brain. Science says it鈥檚 so. Soon, other brain enrichment practices were encouraged. Parents were told to set up black and white squares around baby鈥檚 crib, this will enhance visual development. A multi-textured blanket will provide sensory stimulation.In the past 10 years though, the brain claims have intensified, fuelled by commercial forces. It鈥檚 called 鈥渆dutainment鈥�, the multi-billion dollar educational toy market has products designed to accelerate an infant鈥檚 growth with names like: Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby, Jumpstart Baby, Baby Genius.

Part of what鈥檚 fuelling the billion dollar baby is brain science. Studies over the decades claim that baby鈥檚 brain is a vast resource that can be enriched through stimulation. So a young child can learn colours, count and even read earlier than ever before. The explosive growth of baby learning products has sent parents scrambling to ensure their baby is as bright as bright can be. So, are the scientific studies behind this social force real or exaggerated? In this series, Ideas producer Mary O鈥機onnell explores what some are calling a brave new age of infant determinism.

Shanker's segment . His commentary on his concerns about how edutainment products are changing the way children learn continues throughout the program.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

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