‘Remember that organization is a skill. To some it comes naturally. To others it must be taught. Keep taking small steps to teach your child or teen, and they will be able to learn some simple and effective organizational strategies. Your child will feel much better and more capable in their world when they can start to become more independent and more in control.”….
…..Parenting a teen is never easy, and parenting a teen with ADHD is definitely not easy. But, people with ADHD often have many strengths that other people do not, as well as endless potential. Remember that as much as your teen may push you away, she also needs you beyond measure. In the end, you will both persevere, and have a stronger relationship for it.
Flashbacks are experienced when people relive or remember something very frightening. Flashbacks are often experienced with increased physical and psychological arousal. Physically, the person may sweat, their heart rate increases, and breathing may become shallow and rapid. Subjectively, it can be described as “panic,” or “terror.” Some people report feeling “frozen,” or like they are “flinching.”
Separation Anxiety is common, yet can be very frustrating and upsetting for children (and their parents). Oftentimes, children have difficulties separating, and can experience panic in these situations. They may feel sick, and feel worried or guilty about not being with their families. Often children wonder what their parents or loved ones are doing and whether something terrible has happened to them, like death, a car accident, or a shooting. As a result, they have great reluctance or refusal to separate from their parents. They may have difficulty sleeping in their own room or different parts of the house. When they come home from school or camp, they may be irritable, tired, and upset, as it takes a lot of energy to hold that level of stress/anxiety in all day. Oftentimes, a loved one will make a simple request, and then the child will yell, cry, or tantrum.
Psychological and neuropsychological assessments can cover a broad range of areas, including cognitive functioning, intellectual functioning, attention, learning, social skills, personality, career, and psychological health and well-being. Concerns in these areas can surface at home, school, or work, and sometimes in all three. While these concerns are sometimes identified early in children, assessments can be valuable tools for individuals across the lifespan. An “assessment” will vary based on what areas you are looking at, but often includes paper-and-pencil questionnaires, interviews, and activities that you would do with your psychologist provider to gather information and help answer your questions.
Have you ever had a broken heart? I don’t mean occasional sadness, but pure grief. The kind of grief that feels like your heart has been torn out, stomped on, and thrown away. The kind of grief that feels like life will never be the same.
The holidays are a beautiful time of year. We get time to spend with our families, we eat great food, and we most likely we have some warm holiday traditions that may also include meaningful or spiritual values. When handled well, holidays can be a time of connection and emotional reward. But, for many people the holidays can also be terribly stressful.
Bottom-line: It seems like standardized tests are here to stay. But the key to our children doing their best on them is NOT adding pressure or fear to the situation. Instead, it is teaching our children tools to manage their fears and thoughts. It is supporting them in their individuality, and helping them find the good things in their present world. And it’s helping them remember that some of the best things in life are not measured, but rather are experienced with kindness, love, and support.
For many people, unknown things can feel bad or scary. It seems that when we don’t know what to expect, we prepare for all the bad things that could happen. It makes sense; biologically, our bodies are perfectly wired to avoid danger. So when something frightens or upsets us, our hearts beat, our lungs take in more air, and our muscles tense, preparing for “fight or flight.” We try to process the information, make sense out of it, and stop it from happening. We are primed to keep ourselves safe.
Last week in Iowa City, there was a community experience of violence. Episodes of horrible violence also happened in other places, such as South Carolina. Community violence is something that many of us will experience. Recent research suggests that 39-94% of children will witness an episode of violence in their community at some point in their childhood.
If you are reading this, you or your child (or both of you) probably has some anxiety. You may be surprised to know that everyone has some stress, anxiety, or fear. It is part of the human condition. Our biology wires us to recognize and perceive danger. These are survival instincts, and actually quite miraculous. Anxiety allows us to stop, rather than walk out into traffic. It allows us an opportunity to question whether we should make decisions involving safety or taking risks. Anxiety can help us consider the feelings of others when we make decisions.
Similarly, one anxious person in a family who is consumed with stress or worry will result in other family members having similar stress reactions….
