Swim Lessons for Kids, Pool Safety Urged as Summer Season Nears

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(POTOMAC, Md.) -- When Clay Metro was 3, he nearly died after falling into a pool.

“My husband and I had gone for a run. We were at the beach at my dad’s house by his community pool,” Clay’s mother, Laura Metro of Potomac, Md., told ABC News Wednesday. “Some friends were watching Clay....We believe that Clay tripped on a towel and fell into the deep end. There were about eight or so other people at the pool and no one saw.”

Metro said that as she and her husband returned, her daughter ran out of the pool area, saying, “I think Clay died.”

Clay had been under the water for just a few minutes.

“He was blue. He had no life,” Metro said. “As bad as you think it was, it was worse.”

On Wednesday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission pleaded with parents as the Memorial Day weekend and the start of the summer season approached, to teach children how to swim and to put fences around pools.

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According to the commission, an average of 290 kids under age 5 drown each year. And more than half drown in their family pool. The largest group of victims are just 2 years old.

As Metro and her family waited for the paramedics to arrive, a friend performed CPR on Clay. He was flown by Medivac to a children’s hospital in Wilmington, Del., where he remained in a coma for two days.

Two years later, at the age of 5, Clay is mostly recovered with a few lingering effects — and Metro is now an advocate for pool safety.

Inez Tenenbaum, the commission’s chair, said that simple steps, such as never leaving a child unsupervised near a pool, making sure children learn how to swim, putting fences around pools and learning CPR, could save lives.

The recommendations and warnings are not new but unfortunately the numbers have remained steady.

“Children are drowning,” Tenenbaum said. “It is silent. It’s quick. Someone is at the bottom of the pool and they have been there for a few minutes and you can’t resuscitate them unless you know CPR on the spot.”

Metro said that even though Clay had taken two semesters of swim classes before the incident, he had not learned how to float on his back. She said parents should make sure children learn how to float during swim lessons.

“The bottom line is, he fell in and he sank,” she said. “I wasn’t aware of the dangers. I didn’t know what drowning looked like. I didn’t know it was as fast as it is.”

Olympic swimmer Cullen Jones was underwater for about 30 seconds and nearly became a statistic at the age of 5.

“They had to pull me out and resuscitate me, and my mom got me into swimming lessons really quickly after,” he said.

Now the 2008 gold medal winner says he is trying to inspire and teach children about the importance of knowing how to swim through USA Swimming’s Make a Splash.

“There’s a simple cure: Getting swim lessons is the answer to drownings. It’s just like riding a bike,” he said. “You never forget how to do it....Swimming is fun.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Facebook Teens Weary of 'Drama'

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Teens on Facebook are increasingly friending other social media sites as their enthusiasm for the service wanes, according to a new survey.

A Pew study shows that teenage users have been moving some of their online sharing to other social media services like Twitter and Instagram to escape the "drama and pressure" of Facebook. The study does still list Facebook as the most often-used service (81 percent of teens answered this way) and number one for active accounts (94 percent of teens said they currently have a Facebook profile).

Of the teens surveyed, 26 percent said they have a Twitter account, but only 7 percent said it's their most used profile. Still, Pew shows that, among their sample, active teen Twitter accounts have grown 14 percent from the year earlier (12 percent in 2011 to 26 percent in 2012), while Facebook only grew 1 percent (93 percent in 2011 to 94 percent in 2012).

"The [social media] platform transitions story is a really interesting one," Mary Madden, senior researcher with the Pew Internet Project, told ABC News. "Our findings suggest that teens are supplementing their Facebook use and shifting their energies, rather than completely abandoning the site."

Madden explained that teens have traditionally been the early adopter demographic, but Twitter was first colonized by adults. Now teens seem to be looking to other platforms to find a break from the "social burden" of Facebook, showing services like Twitter a bit more attention.

Eleven percent of teens said they now have an account with social photo sharing community Instagram (the service didn't appear on the 2011 Pew survey) and 5 percent have a Tumblr media blog account (up from 2 percent in 2011). Madden also said that messaging service Snapchat was mentioned "repeatedly" in focus groups related to the survey.

"While Facebook is still deeply integrated in teens' everyday lives, it is sometimes seen as a utility and an obligation rather than an exciting new platform that teens can claim as their own," said Madden.

"We are always focused on making Facebook a great experience; and we're gratified that more than 1 billion people, including enormous numbers of young people, are using Facebook to connect and share," a spokesperson for Facebook told ABC News.

The Pew survey also asked teens who they "friend" online and if they prefer to keep their posts private.

Of those surveyed, 60 percent of teen Facebook users said they keep their profiles private. Seventy percent admitted to being Facebook friends with their parents, and only 5 percent said they filter which posts their parents can see.

Only 24 percent of teen Twitter users said they keep their tweets private.

Another trend in the study linked the number of Facebook friends a teen has with the likelihood he or she is using additional social networking services. Thirteen percent of teen Facebook users with fewer than 150 friends also had a Twitter account, and of those with more than 600 Facebook friends, 46 percent had a Twitter account.

"Ultimately, teens, like adults, are finding ways to "diversify" their social media portfolio for different purposes," Madden said. "In some cases, it helps them to compartmentalize smaller groups of friends and certain kinds of interactions. In other cases, the newer platforms are appealing for the features and functionality they offer."

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Tech Giant Recruiting Autistic Workers

Ralph Orlowski/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Autism advocates are praising a German software company for its plan to hire people with autism as software testers, programmers and data quality assurance specialists.

SAP, which employs more than 65,000 people worldwide, said it sees a "potential competitive advantage to leveraging the unique talents of people with autism, while also helping them to secure meaningful employment." It will partner with Specialisterne – Danish for "The Specialists" – to recruit people on the autism spectrum.

"By concentrating on the abilities that every talent brings to the table, we can redefine the way we manage diverse talents," SAP executive board member Luisa Delgado said in a statement. "With Specialisterne, we share a common belief that innovation comes from the 'edges.' Only by employing people who think differently and spark innovation will SAP be prepared to handle the challenges of the 21st century."

Autism affects one in 50 children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And while many children often qualify for special services, advocacy groups say adults often struggle to find the support they need.

"There's a significant need to provide better services and more support for children with autism transitioning into adulthood," said Peter Bell, executive vice president for programs and services at Autism Speaks. "We're thrilled that a major global company such as SAP has made this kind of announcement, which sounds like firm commitment to really address a major need in the autism community."

"We're looking forward to seeing how this plays out and whether other companies follow suit," Bell added.

For Specialisterne, a company that primarily employs people on the autism spectrum, the SAP partnership is an important first step in changing the perception of autism as a disability in the workforce.

"We are very excited by this opportunity to enable SAP global access to a huge pool of untapped talent and therefore, help strengthen SAP's position as a global leader in innovation," Specialisterne founder Thorkil Sonne, who has a son with autism, said in a statement. "The partnership will position SAP as thought leader and motivate the ecosystem to follow its example."

The partnership will help overcome one of the biggest obstacles for a person with autism in search of a job: the interview.

"Oftentimes it requires what we call 'soft skills,' like the ability to interact and communicate, and those might not be the skills necessary for the job," said Bell. "I think having someone in the middle to help facilitate the process and prequalify people could be very helpful."

Anka Wittenberg, SAP's chief diversity and inclusion officer, called the hiring plan a "win-win" for the company and the autistic community, stressing that a diverse workforce boosts innovation among employees. And in her experience, people with autism tend to boost morale, too.

"Autistic people don't understand sarcasm and they always speak the truth. Well, really everybody likes that," she said, describing a pilot project conducted last year in Bangalore, India, that served as inspiration for the new hiring plan. "It really helped to improve the climate and culture in the team. The turnover rate went down, employee engagement went up, and we got really positive feedback."

SAP plans to roll out their hiring plan in Germany and extend it to North America later this year. They hope to have people with autism make up 1 percent of their workforce by 2020.

"We're creating win-win situations, and that's what sustainable," Anka said.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Synthetic Peas Soothe Injured, Achy Joints

frozenpeaz.com(NEW YORK) -- Sir Isaac Newton found his inspiration in an apple.  MaryCarol Dolivier found hers in a bag of frozen peas.

After Dolivier tumbled down a flight of stairs a few years ago she was forced to lay on the couch for several weeks with a bag of frozen peas propped on her swollen knee.

The bag leaked when it melted.  When she refroze it, the peas formed a lumpy iceberg.  The squishy mess they became when microwaved made them a totally unacceptable choice for heat therapy.

Dolivier knew she could do better.

Along with her partner, Arthur Blackwood, Dolivier invented Frozenpeaz, green-tinted, pea-shaped glass beads that heat and cool a lot like frozen peas.

“If you just get a simple bump or bruise, we are not what you are looking for,” Dolivier said.  “But if you’re serious about sports or if you have a chronic injury or you are someone who is relying on hot and cold therapy on a regular basis, a bag of peas simply will not do.”

The $65 Frozenpeaz kit improves upon a $.74 bag of frozen peas in the following ways: It can cool or heat an injured area for up to 30 minutes with no messiness or mushiness; it can be reused without losing shape or effectiveness;  and it includes an attractive wrap that conforms to any body part, three bags of peaz, a Velcro strap to hold it in place and an insulated compression band that protects the skin from freezer burn.

This last feature is the most important one, Dolivier said, because compression is one of the basic tenants of the R.I.C.E. injury treatment protocol recommended by orthopedic specialists, along with rest, ice and elevation.

“A regular bag of peas or a conventional ice pack doesn’t offer compression to help with swelling,” she pointed out.

Since the virtual pea packs began selling on the Internet in January, Dolivier said sales have been brisk.  Beginning this fall, consumers who wish to give Frozenpeaz a chance will be able to purchase them at Walgreen drugstores nationwide.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

NASA to Award Company Grant for 3-D Food Printer

SMRC(NEW YORK) -- With companies beginning campaigns to send vacationers to Mars, it’s time to start working out some of the logistics.  One concern: How do you pack enough food to supply years-long space missions?

One company, Systems and Materials Research Corporation (SMRC), believes the answer may be in 3-D food printing, and it has been selected to receive a $125,000 grant from NASA to construct a prototype.

“Long-distance space travel requires 15-plus years of shelf life,” Anjan Contractor, engineer with SMRC, told the news website Quartz.  “The way we are working on it is, all the carbs, proteins and macro- and micro-nutrients are in powder form.  We take moisture out and, in that form, it will last maybe 30 years.”

SMRC would not comment on the project directly to ABC News.

Allard Beutel of NASA told ABC News that the agency is in “contract negotiations” with SMRC.

“As NASA ventures further into space, whether redirecting an asteroid or sending humans to Mars, we will need to make transformation improvements in our life support systems, including how we feed our astronauts during long, deep space missions,” said Beutel.

“[SMRC] has proposed a 3-D printed food system for long duration space missions,” Beutel added.  “The proposal was selected for contract negotiation because of its merits in addressing NASA’s advanced food system technology needs as we prepare for long duration human space exploration.  In-space and additive manufacturing offers the potential for game-changing weight savings and new mission opportunities, whether ‘printing’ food, tools or entire spacecraft.”

3-D printing is a process that usually involves layering materials like plastics, metals or rubbers as directed by a computer blueprint to construct items from the ground up -- seemingly out of thin air.

Contractor’s vision for printing food is similar but instead of using materials like plastics, the printer would construct the food with different, nutrient-rich materials -- ones that are edible, of course.

Contractor even told Quartz that he will soon begin the development a “pizza printer.”

He believes food printing could be useful outside of spaceships, too.  Food printers could easily “program” our foods to meet regular diets, and address allergies or taste preferences.

Because most of the materials used for food printing would come in a powdered form with a long shelf life, methods of food storage would become simple and food waste could be mitigated.

“I think, and many economists think, that current food systems can’t supply 12 billion people sufficiently,” Contractor told Quartz.  “So we eventually have to change our perception of what we see as food.”

Hod Lipson, associate professor at Cornell University and co-author of the book, Fabricated: The New World of 3-D Printing, told ABC News that although it’s still a “nascent technology,” his group at Cornell has been experimenting with 3-D food printing, too.

“[3-D food printing] has the potential of making a large amount of food products. … And you can print food that has exactly the nutritional content that is desired,” Lipson said.

His group at Cornell has experimented with things like cube-shaped creations from powdered milk, he said, and it has even printed cookies with controlled sugar levels.

“That fact that food and biomaterials are beginning to enter the realm really brings a lot of new possibilities [to 3-D printing],” he said.

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"Desperate Housewives" Star Promotes Prostate Cancer Awareness

Safeway Foundation and Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C)(NEW YORK) -- Since the Desperate Housewives finale aired last May, Marcia Cross has stayed mostly low-key.  But when she was asked to participate in a PSA to promote prostate cancer awareness, she says it was a “no-brainer” because her close friend’s husband had been diagnosed with the disease.

“There are so many causes out there but when someone you know is affected by it, it becomes more personal,” says Cross, 51, who also advocated for breast cancer awareness after her friend -- the same friend whose husband was sick -- learned she had the disease.

“It’s so selfish that I get to do something so simple and I get to feel like I’ve done something,” the actress said.

For Cross, who has partnered with Safeway Foundation and Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C), cancer has been an all-too-familiar presence.  Not only have her friends been diagnosed with the disease, but her longtime companion, Richard Jordan, died of brain cancer in 1993, and her husband, stockbroker Tom Mahoney, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2011.  He is in remission.

Such experiences, which Cross calls “scary,” was especially fraught because the couple, who married in 2006, has young children: twins Eden and Savannah, now 6.

“I’ve shielded them from a lot of things, but I’ve introduced little facts,” she says of her kids’ understanding of the disease.  “It’s weird that they lived through [their dad's experience], but they still don’t know much about cancer.  I try to keep it age appropriate.”

And now that her husband is in better health and her ABC drama has wrapped, Cross is focusing on spending as much time with her family as possible, and reveling in her twins’ blossoming personalities.

“They’re such different girls, but the beauty is they really complement each other and they get along beautifully,” she says.  “Savannah is my scientist.  She’s more concrete and scientific.  She’s got her dad’s analytical mind.  Eden is always upside down, doing cartwheels and spinning yards.  More imaginative and lyrical.  I love hanging out with them.”

So much so that this summer, she and Mahoney will take their girls to Paris for a week.

“I feel like, I’m an older mother, do it now, do everything now,” she says.  “Life can turn on a dime.  We’re healthy, we can do it, they want to be with us.  Let’s do everything now while we can.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Parents Warned of the Dangers of Kids and Pools

Hemera/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- As we head into the summer pool season, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has a warning for parents:  Pools can be deadly, especially for small children.

The CPSC says kids younger than five and children of color face the greatest dangers.

Children under 5 years old represent more than 75 percent of all child drowning deaths in the U.S.

And black children older than 5 years old are six times more likely to drown in pools than white and Hispanic kids. The report cites data from USA Swimming, the national governing body of competitive swimming, which claims 62 percent of Hispanic children and 70 percent of African American children don't know how to swim and that makes them more likely to drown.  

The report says all kids should have swim lessons, and all pools should have fences.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Couple Pleads for Return of Stillborn Son's Stolen Ashes

Jody Hughey(NEW YORK) -- A Georgia couple is pleading for the return of a silver box stolen from the bedroom of their Cobb County home, as the box holds the ashes of their stillborn son.

Jody and Haley Hughey lost their only child, Caleb, when he was stillborn in 2008.

"We spent some time with him before we let him go, and then had him cremated," said Jody Hughey, describing through tears the silver "memento box" with an angel and "Caleb Ean Hughey, October 16, 2008," engraved on the lid.  "I realize there are people in Oklahoma going through more than us right now, but for us, it's a personal hell."

Since Caleb's death, Haley has struggled to become pregnant again.

"He is only our only son," said her husband, choking up at the thought of his son's stolen ashes.  "It's devastating for both of us.  But for my wife, this is everything.  She can't have the future she wants, and now she doesn't have a way to hold on to the past."

The Hughey home was robbed on Monday while the couple was at work.  The thief -- or thieves -- entered through a second-floor window at the back of the house, standing atop an air-conditioning unit to smash the glass and climb in.  They then went straight for the bedroom, Jody said.

"They were looking for small, valuable stuff," he said, listing a handgun, an iPod and some inexpensive jewelry among the missing possessions.  And then there's the silver box, which sat on the couple's bedroom dresser.

"What they took from us has absolutely no value whatsoever to them," said Jody.  "If someone happens across it, I would ask that they just simply call the police and turn it in.  And if the person who actually stole it wants to give it back, they can drive by my house at 3 a.m. and throw it in a garbage bag in my front yard.  Whatever it takes for them to feel comfortable giving us our son back."

Joanne Cacciatore, a grief counselor and founder of Phoenix-based Miss Foundation for grieving families, said parents mourn stillborn babies as they would any child.

"The death of a baby is just as devastating," said Cacciatore, who lost her daughter Cheyenne about 15 minutes before she was born.  "And this couple doesn't have their child's baseball glove or hair comb.  When a baby dies during or shortly after birth, you have very few tangible mementos.  So while, of course, this would be horrid for anyone, for this family, this is one of the very few things they have that belongs to their baby."

While mementos are important, Cacciatore said couples can also find comfort in honoring their children through random acts of kindness, like leaving a teddy bear on the doorstep of a family in need.

"That way their love continues on in the world because of their parents," she said.  "Even though that baby didn't live long, its life mattered."

But for the Hugheys, the box brings a sense of comfort that can't be replaced.

"My wife said, 'I wanted to be buried with him so I could be with him forever,'" Jody said, sobbing, and pleading for help in finding the precious box.  "I just hope that somehow word gets out and that someone is willing to do something about it."

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Red Cross’ Birthday Wish for Moore, Oklahoma

PRNewsFoto/American Red Cross(NEW YORK) -- Volunteers from the American Red Cross are on the ground in Moore, Okla., where a violent tornado tore through homes, a hospital and two elementary schools, killing 24 people and injuring more than 200 others.

The organization, which provides food, shelter, blood and mental health services for disaster survivors, turned 132 on Tuesday.  Its birthday wish?  To support and comfort the residents of Moore for “as long as it takes.”

“We’re there to help communities recover and rebuild,” said Red Cross spokeswoman Anne Marie Borrego.  “Our hearts go out to those affected by this tragedy, and we want to be there to help today and tomorrow and as long as it takes.”

Founded on May 21, 1881, the American Red Cross works closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to respond to more than 70,000 natural and man-made disasters a year in the U.S., according to its website.

“Our members respond to a disaster every eight minutes,” said Borrego, noting that most of the disasters are house fires.  “We’re a national organization, but we’re built on local chapters and in communities across the country.”

In its 132 years, the Red Cross has grown and expanded its reach, using the latest technology and social media to connect to people in need.

“In 1881, it was much smaller,” said Red Cross historian Susan Watson, explaining how founder Clara Barton had “a handful” of volunteers collecting money at local gatherings as reports of a disaster landed in newspapers.

“Social media is allowing us to reach much further and get the word out much faster,” Watson said.

The response is faster, too.  It took six days to get help to deliver aid after the Johnstown, Pa., flood of 1889, according to Watson.

“In Moore, we’re there now,” she added.

The organization was actually chartered by the United States Congress to “carry on a system of national and international relief in time of peace and apply the same in mitigating the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods and other great national calamities, and to devise and carry on measures for preventing the same,” according to its website, working hand-in-hand with FEMA.

Ninety-one cents of every dollar donated goes towards its humanitarian programs, according to Borrego.

The easiest way to help the Red Cross support the people of Moore is to donate money online at RedCross.org or by texting “REDCROSS” to 90999 (the text will automatically donate $10).

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Could Depression Medication Also Prevent a Heart Attack?

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DURHAM, N.C.) -- New research suggests medication prescribed for depression could also help reduce patients' risk for stress-induced heart attacks.

In a randomized trial of over 300 people with stable heart disease, participants were put under a routine amount of mental stress by being asked to complete a difficult math problem or tell a story that made them mad or angry.  During the mental stress testing, about half of the participants became so stressed they actually had a small heart attack.  

After their heart attack, participants were randomized to start taking either an antidepressant medication -- in this case, Lexapro -- called an SSRI, or a placebo.  

Six weeks later, participants were again exposed to the same mental stress testing.  This time, those on the antidepressant medication were 2.6 times less likely to suffer another heart attack.  

Dr. Wei Jiang, a researcher on the study and an associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University, said, according to MyHealthNewsDaily, that the study's findings show antidepressants or treatments that help patients manage stress could help to ease symptoms for people with coronary heart disease.  Jiang added, however, that more research is needed to confirm the study's findings.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio