Reading book

Reading Comprehension Strategies

Reading comprehension is an important skill, starting early in elementary school. In order to show good reading comprehension skills, a person is asked to read, understand, and answer questions about what they’ve read.  Children with ADHD or other learning disabilities, such as Dyslexia, can struggle with reading comprehension.  In these circumstances, instructional strategies can help. […]

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ADHD accommodations

Helpful Classroom Management Strategies for ADHD Students

Many times, children with ADHD have difficulty adjusting to the school environment.  Their symptoms can make school more difficult for them than for other students.  Oftentimes, when working with the school, there are things that teachers and parents can discuss as accommodations to help children with ADHD cope better in the classroom. Here are some […]

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What Kindness Means to Me: Caitlin Hayes

“Give me a Brake!” Caitlin Hayes It was my first year on my own It had to be close to one hundred degrees outside, and my little 1994 Ford Taurus didn’t have A/C. I pulled into the Kirkwood parking lot and went to class. When I came out, my car wouldn’t start, so I called […]

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Savor and Observe What You Consume

We are a culture that CONSUMES We are great consumers of food, coffee, alcohol, information, clothes, cars, concerts – if there is a thing, and that thing is good, we consume as much of it as we can. Sometimes, this tendency is harmless; then again, sometimes, it’s a pretty big problem. One of the ways […]

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Bullying in Childhood – Advice for Parents

Bullying awareness is important. Recent studies have found that between 10%-50% of children are bullied on a regular basis at school, most commonly between the grades of six and ten. An online study of 50,000 teenagers by dosomething.org found that 80% of teenagers witness bullying daily. Even when children are bystanders to aggression, they often […]

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Burnout

Burnout Can Be Real and Requires Care

Burnout is a common experience, particularly among high-achieving people.  It can occur in tweens, teens, and adults.  Often, burnout can occur as a result of employment roles, but also other care-giving roles, such as those of parents and helpers. What is burnout? Burnout is defined as a state of chronic, enduring stress.  It is characterized […]

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Man with watch

Adult ADHD

You may live in a mess —chips in your desk, papers in the pantry, and the remotes are nowhere to be found.  It’s hard to know where to look when you lose your wallet or your keys.  Unfortunately, you may lose your phone routinely and have become very familiar with the “where’s my phone” app.   […]

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Woman helping boy read

ADHD Accommodations in the Classroom

Many times, parents and teachers ask us for suggestions on how to help develop ADHD accommodations for the classroom. The list below is a compilation of suggestions that may be helpful under these circumstances.  However, it is important to remember that every child is an individual.  Every child with ADHD may benefit from different accommodations […]

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ADHD and Anxiety

Can people have both ADHD and Anxiety?

Many people struggle with ADHD.  Studies estimate that as many as 5-10% of children and up to 5% of adults are diagnosed with this condition.  Likewise, anxiety is also a common condition, impacting upwards of 30% of people at some point in their life.  So, yes, it makes sense that people with ADHD would also […]

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Depressed girl on chair

Gaining School Support for Depression in Children

It can be very overwhelming to know what to do when your child seems depressed at school. “Frankie, what I am going to do with you?”  Frankie’s mother sighs, as she wonders these thoughts aloud.   Frankie is a 9-year-old boy attending a new school.  His family moved from out of state recently, and he has […]

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sanity if you have a child with mental health needs

Allergies and Stress: There Is a Connection

Achoo… cough….snort…! The sounds of allergies are everywhere, it seems. Many of us cannot escape allergies this time of year. According to the American College of Allergy and Immunology, ragweed pollen usually reaches peak levels in mid-September, impacting up to 23 million Americans with allergy symptoms, roughly translating to 20-30 percent of people. But what […]

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distressed by distraction

Distressed by Distraction

Distraction sneaks up on us. For example, Nina sits down to the computer. She has just a few things to get done, and she’s got maybe half an hour before she’ll have to get up, get dinner going, and get that load of laundry in the wash. As she starts to get working, she suddenly […]

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