Archives for 2015

It’s one of the wonders of nature that every child is unique, with individual talents, strengths, and challenges. One student may sail through math class but struggle in reading, while another may be able to recite the American Presidents in chronological order but forget his backpack every morning. Yet through our academic system, all these children’s academic abilities are measured by the same tests.

Fortunately, educational systems have allowed academic accommodations for children with a variety of disabilities. These accommodations create an even playing field for all students.

Types Of Accommodations
Testing accommodations for students fall into four general categories:
• How the test is presented
• How the student answers the questions
• How the testing environment is modified
• How much time the child is allowed, including scheduling and breaks

For example, children who are visually impaired may require that the test be presented in large print. Students who struggle with writing may be allowed to give oral answers to questions. Children easily distracted by ambient noise may be allowed to take the test in a special room, or wear noise-cancelling headphones. Children whose disabilities hinder their on-the-spot math or reading processing may be allowed more time, including multiple breaks or even multiple days.

Acquiring Accommodations
Although many teachers may allow for modifications in the classroom specific to the learning challenges of your child, in order to receive accommodations on most standardized tests, the child’s specific disability must be documented. A complete psychoeducational evaluation is recommended as the first step. This evaluation will pinpoint the disability, discuss the degree to which the child’s learning abilities are affected, as well as recommended what accommodations are most appropriate. Note that these accommodations are often available not only on standardized testing, but also in the classroom.

Note that many testing agencies require considerable lead time in order to process documents and to ensure accommodations are available at the test site. Even children with an Individual Education Plan or 504 Plan don’t automatically receive accommodations, so make sure to contact educational testing services early to ensure that your child gets a fair chance to shine.

Depression, anxiety, addiction, and many other debilitating mental conditions share a certain distressing commonality: People thus afflicted find themselves caught in a vicious cycle. Their strong, negative feelings lead to stronger, negative thoughts and then unhelpful or even destructive behavior, which only leads to more negative feelings, thoughts and behavior. Without intervention, they find themselves on a slippery downward slope.

Along with proper medication, many psychotherapists recommend Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) as a way for patients to learn how to recognize their unique, destructive patterns of thinking and then develop strategies to short-circuit them.

What’s Under The Hood?
The first step in CBT is to poke around in your own noggin in an effort to pinpoint the source of the anger, depression, anxiety, or other feelings that jump-start the vicious cycle. Often you’ll be asked to keep a journal in order to better recognize when and how the negativity begins. Recognizing the triggers is the first step in taking a measure of control.

How Do I Drive This Thing?
Once you’ve got a better sense of what starts the cycle, a psychotherapist will strategize with you on how to dampen or divert that negativity. Feelings are difficult to change, but you do have some power over what you think and what you do.

I Can Choose Where I Want To Go
One way patients counteract negative thoughts is by drafting positive statements of fact to directly confrontation anxious thoughts or fears. Consistently summoned to mind, these positive rejoinders will eventually arise spontaneously to dampen the negativity they were armed to battle.

I’m Taking A Turn In The Right Direction
With CBT, patients are given multiple strategies to modify their behavior in reaction to negative thoughts. Pausing before taking action is a simple but effective technique to use once you recognize that you’re in a distressing situation. Mindful deep breaths and summoning positive imagery can also help. Psychotherapists have a wide array of CBT techniques to help patients handle their afflictions in a pro-active, positive way.

If you suspect CBT could help you, contact a psychotherapist who will perform a complete evaluation before recommending an individualized therapeutic treatment plan.

You’ve just given birth to a beautiful, healthy baby. The birth went well and your recovery is quick. The neighborhood has activated the casserole brigade to save you from making dinner during those first hectic weeks. Family members are coming out of the woodwork to help you feed and diaper your new bundle of joy. Loved ones keep assuring you that this is the best time of your life . . . but you’re weepy, irritable, and just not feeling the love.

What’s Wrong With Me?
There are few times during a woman’s lifetime that are as wrought with expectation as birth. For nine long months, everyone dreams their own film reel of what the birth is going to be like. So when you find yourself wheeled in the OR for an emergency Cesarean section when you’d hoped for a vaginal birth, or begging for an epidural when you’d hoped to forgo anesthesia, it’s natural that the gap between those societal ideals and the messy reality may cast a shadow on the joy of the celebration.

Baby Blues Are Very Real
Beyond the stress of high expectations, normal biological changes can seriously affect a new mother’s mood. About two-thirds of new mothers feel irritable, unsettled, and weepy in the weeks after birth. The root cause is hormonal. During pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone levels are elevated to heights that a woman will not experience again during any other time of her life. After birth, the levels of those hormones plummet. Combine these sinking hormones with sleep deprivation and the stress of taking care of a vulnerable baby, and it’s no surprise that so many women feel emotional. Generally, the baby blues don’t last more than a few weeks at the most.

The Danger Zone of Postpartum Depression
Unfortunately, for approximately twelve percent of new mothers, the baby blues just don’t ebb. Since both the baby blues and postpartum depression share some of the same symptoms, they can be difficult to distinguish in the early weeks, but if you’re still experiencing them at your child’s first birthday, consider that you may be suffering from postpartum depression. If you find yourself having negative feelings about your baby, if you worry that you’re going to hurt him or her, or if you feel worthless, lack energy or motivation, are having suicidal thoughts or experiencing other depression-like symptoms, reach out for professional help.

Although you may not be able to control the stress, physical changes due to the pregnancy and birth, and hormonal changes that trigger these syndromes, studies show that eating well, getting plenty of sleep, and reaching out for help from friends as well as professionals can help lower your risk factors.

Inconsistency in school performance can be baffling. Sally may be able to name every one of the sixty-three moons around Jupiter, but not be able to spell them correctly. Johnny may be able to charge through his nightly homework, but then consistently forget to hand it in. Your child may love to read, but then agonizes for hours trying to write a book report.

Every human’s mind is wired differently. As adults, we have already gravitated toward the things we do well, yet children are expected to excel in all areas. Sometimes a child’s struggles have less to do with “favorite” subjects and more to do with an underlying weakness in particular learning skills. Identifying and then properly addressing that unique weakness may be the best way a parent can boost their child’s performance as well as confidence in school.

She Can Build Computers But Can’t Master German
Children who are smarter than their grades frequently excel in some areas but stumble in others. If your child hates classes with long lectures, like English and social studies, or has a particular distaste for foreign languages, consider the possibility that he or she is struggling with audio processing skills.

He Hates To Read!
Not every child develops an enthusiasm for reading. But if your math-savvy child labors over math word problems, consider whether there are other indications of language comprehension skills, memory weaknesses, or even dyslexia.

The Agony Of Writing One Paragraph
Many students dislike writing assignments, even when they appear to understand the material. Small motor skill weaknesses could cause any child to hate the process, but there is also a learning disability called dysgraphia. Children with this LD often have poor handwriting, struggle with spelling, and have great difficulties in gathering thoughts and getting them on paper.

Ugh! Math!
Focus and memory skills influence a child’s ability to master math, but if your child is also baffled by patterns, maps, or telling time, a visual processing disorder could be at the square root of the difficulties.

He’d Be An “A” Student If He Just Remembered His Homework!
Troubles with organization or forgetfulness may point to attention, focus, or other weaknesses that are generally termed “executive functions.” Focusing your parental efforts on those issues may do a world of good for your child’s academics, as well as for his future success.

Only a small percentage of students in the United States are formally diagnosed with learning disabilities. If you believe your child has an underlying, undiagnosed, or just-below-the-radar learning disability, consider arranging an educational assessment and evaluation by a licensed professional.

Every year, thousands of people are rushed into emergency rooms convinced that they are having a heart attack. They’re experiencing sharp chest pains, a racing heart, dizziness, weakness, difficulty breathing, and they honestly feel like death is imminent. It’s both a relief and a shock for these patients when a cardiologist diagnoses a panic attack instead.

Panic attacks are not to be treated lightly. Intense anxiety can produce symptoms that are very real and very powerful. Over the long term, intense anxiety can exacerbate stress-related health problems and increase the likelihood of a heart attack in patients who already have cardiac issues.

If you feel a panic attack coming on, consider these 5 immediate ways to tame the rising terror.

Know Thyself
The first step in calming a panic attack is to recognize your particular mix of symptoms, preferably before they occur. Are you in a situation that often triggers anxiety? Is your heart beginning to race? Are your palms starting to sweat? Are you feeling suddenly fearful? When it comes to nipping a panic attack in the bud, knowledge is power.

Accept Thyself
Anxiety tends to feed upon itself. Once you’re feeling anxious, it’s easy to become even more anxious about feeling anxious. By acknowledging and accepting the sensation as just another emotion among many, you may cut short that escalation.

Breathe
Focus on inhaling and exhaling slowly and deliberately. Conscious, deep breathing can trigger your body’s natural relaxation response, lower your heart rate, and further de-escalate a panic attack.

Clear The Fog
During a panic attack, your brain goes on overdrive. Worries and fears race through your mind and many of those thoughts will be irrational. Try to mentally peel yourself away from the deluge in order to shine a harsh light on these thoughts. Challenge your worries and fears. Have in your coping strategy a series of positive statements to countermand what most worries you.

Dream
If the worry-traffic in your mind reaches traffic-jam level, try visualizing a place of great calm. The mental effort it takes to envision tropical sand between your toes, evoke the scent of coconut oil, and remember the slickness of a cold drink in your hand can go a long way in overcoming a panic attack.

Many patients suffering from anxiety benefit from diet or lifestyle changes, psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and anti-anxiety medication. As is true for all health issues, the first step toward calm, peace, and fewer trips to the emergency room is a thorough evaluation and a correct diagnosis by a licensed professional.

Finding a parent who hasn’t complained about an inattentive child would be like stumbling upon a zebra in the Arctic tundra. Children are busy bundles of energy soaking up the world at a phenomenal rate, so it’s no surprise that they often ignore a parent’s suggestions to do homework or chores in favor of zooming around the backyard as a superhero.

But chronic inattention, especially when it affects speech, language, or learning, can be a sign of a neurological condition such as an auditory processing disorder. Check out these seven signs of ADP.

What?
Does your child often request that you repeat instructions or behave as if he may have a hearing problem? Children with APD listen to what you are saying but have difficulty processing the sounds that they hear.

It’s Too Noisy!
Does your child isolate himself or become grumpy in noisy environments? Does he have difficulty focusing under these conditions? Children with APD often have trouble sorting out multiple auditory stimuli.

What Was I Supposed To Do?
Does your child struggle to follow verbal directions or falter when trying to conform to multiple instructions given at once? Does he often ask for clarification? Auditory processing disorders affect the processing of sounds through the central nervous system, which can affect language comprehension.

Did I Do A Good Jab With That Bash Of Cookies?
Does your child mispronounce, misspell, or confuse similar-sounding words or have other signs of speech difficulties? Language processing issues that arise from APC can sometimes manifest as speech anomalies.

I Don’t Want To Study French!
Does your child struggle in language class or in any class that revolves around frequent, long lectures? Children with APD must work hard to understand complex language and rapid speech.

I Forgot My Homework Again!
Is your child forgetful? Difficulty remembering verbal instructions can manifest in forgetfulness as well as disorganization.

I Don’t Get It.
Does your child struggle to understand jokes, riddles, and puns? When you say, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” does he understand the idiom or does he take the phrase literally?

Many of the above symptoms may be present in children suffering from other disorders, such as ADHD and autism, which is why careful testing and examination by a group of multidisciplinary professionals is critical for a correct diagnosis of APD. A child’s auditory system matures by the mid-teens, so early detection and implication of speech-language therapy and certain hearing devices can do a world of good.

In a world ablaze with artificial light, it’s easy to forget that only a century ago, our ancestors ordered their daily lives according to the rising and setting of the sun. Long, bright days occurred during the season of plenty, and shortening work hours signaled the coming of winter. So when the summer sun falters, it’s no surprise that many people feel a growing irritability, a dipping of spirits, and a darkening of mood.

If you feel a looming depression as the seasons change, consider these 5 all-natural ways to lift your spirits.

Turn Your Face Toward The Sun
The winter blues, or, in its more serious form, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), rarely occurs among people who live within 30 degrees of the equator. If you’re not one of the lucky ones, consider planning an annual mid-winter vacation in tropical climes. It takes at least two or three days of basking to mitigate the symptoms of the blues, but the positive effects often last much longer than the tan.

Bring The Sun To You
Phototherapy is one of the primary all-natural ways to decrease irritability and moodiness—and a lot cheaper than a trip to Aruba. Light boxes that mimic sunshine are available without a prescription and come in different intensities and sizes. Be sure to choose one that filters out UV light and is designed specifically to alleviate symptoms of SAD.

Revel Outside
Physical exercise releases endorphins, which create happy, euphoric feelings. Exercising outside—by jogging, skiing, snowboarding, or hiking—gives you a double benefit because it allows you to soak up what natural sunlight is available.

Live Like It’s The 1800s
Before electricity and gas lighting, our ancestors woke with the sun. Mimic the experience by using a sunrise alarm clock. These inexpensive gadgets, placed bedside, are programmed to slowly increase natural light, which is a far gentler way to greet the world than the abrupt, dissonant blaring of an alarm.

You Are What You Eat
Some scientists postulate that the carbohydrate cravings that people frequently experience in the winter are due, in part, to decreased levels of serotonin in the brain. Tryptophan is a precursor of serotonin, so it can’t hurt to eat foods rich in this amino acid. Fill your plate with whole grains, turkey, eggs, and citrus fruits like grapefruit and oranges.

About 10 to 20% of Americans experience a mild form of the winter blues, but around 5% may experience the far more serious seasonal affective disorder. If your seasonal mood changes aren’t helped by the suggestions above, don’t suffer needlessly. Consider consulting a medical professional to talk about psychotherapy and/or medications.

Like most parents, you arrange your world around your children’s needs. You feed them, tend to them when they’re sick, read to them to expand their minds, and then teach them to do these things for themselves so that they may someday fledge into the world as strong, healthy, self-reliant adults.

But is your child emotionally prepared to handle life’s inevitable ups and downs, stresses and demands? Have you taught them to recognize when it’s time to reach out for help? When it comes to teaching healthy ways to think and feel, it’s never too early to start.

Encourage Self-Awareness
Those blue-faced, sprawled-on-the-floor tantrums that toddlers experience are often a result of being overwhelmed by frustration and anger. Teaching your child to acknowledge and identify these feelings is a first step toward healthy emotional awareness. The ability to communicate changing emotions can later help a growing child identify alarming shifts. A teen comfortable with verbalizing her feelings will be more likely to reach out for help.

Encourage Acceptance
Every child is perfect in her own way. But as an adult, you know that perfect doesn’t mean flawless. If you drop an egg, shrug off the mistake, and then clean up the mess, your toddler will model your behavior by accepting mistakes and dealing with the consequences with grace. For a preschooler in the midst of potty-training, witnessing how their all-powerful parent handles little accidents like a broken egg can be wildly reassuring.

Encourage Grit
The world can be a harsh and unfeeling place. One of the bedrocks of lifetime mental health is learning how to handle the inevitable stresses, roadblocks, and disappointments. Your preschooler may not remember the time he didn’t win the lead in the school play, but the lessons you taught him about how to handle disappointment will stay with him for a lifetime. Praise your child for honest effort and hard work, whether or not success follows, and they’ll learn grit.

Encourage Community
A child’s social world begins with the family that makes him feel safe and cared for. That world expands as he makes friends with his peers, which encourages a sense of belonging and trust in others. Having a network of friends keeps a child active, gives him different perspectives on the world, provides resources for advice, and centers him in a community that looks out for one another. Encouraging empathy for others makes for a more emotionally healthy child as well as a wonderful adult.

Children suffer from many of the same mental illnesses that affect adults, but the symptoms often manifest in different ways. One of the best ways for a parent to keep alert for brewing troubles is to become educated about mental health issues. Starting early is the best way to grow not only a healthy body but also a healthy mind.

Everyone knows that exercise is good for you. When you were a child, you were told to go play in the sunshine and it will make you feel better. Exercise is not just physically good, but it is also mentally and emotionally good for you. For those suffering from depression, anxiety, and other various disorders, there are several forms of exercise that are actually better for you to take part in.

Reduce Stress, Anxiety, and Tension
Take a ride around the neighborhood on your bike. Taking a twenty-minute bicycle ride can help reduce stress, anxiety, and tension. It won’t solve your problems, but the peace and solitude of a bike ride will give you time to reflect and empty your mind of negativity plus you get a great cardio workout at the same time. If bike riding isn’t your thing, try swimming or taking the dog for a walk. The idea is to do something that gets you moving and lets your mind unwind.

Better Sleep
When you are depressed or stressed, you don’t sleep well and not sleeping well just makes things worse. Try the relaxation techniques of yoga before bedtime. The meditative techniques of yoga will allow you to get a short burst short of physical exercise and give your mind the quiet time it needs. If you don’t want to exercise before bedtime, try some stretching exercises in the morning before you get ready for the day. What is important is that you are getting short bursts of exercise that will allow your stress and feelings of sadness to slide away for a bit.

Pump up the Endorphins
Increasing the production of endorphins by taking a nature hike will not only make you feel better physically, but it will also allow your mind a chance to focus and relax. Focus and relaxation will reduce your stress and anxiety. Don’t like nature? That’s okay, try a game of tennis or brisk walk around the mall. No matter what you choose as long as it has you moving and feeling relaxed, you are on the right track.

Exercise is not just for your heart, but for mind as well. By improving your physical health, you are making changes to your self-image and building your self-confidence. These changes are necessary for your emotional well-being. Bear in mind that while exercise helps with depression and anxiety by itself it is not a cure.

It is well-known that when you are depressed you eat. So, why not eat foods that will help you to overcome depression and ease stress?

Turkey
Eat more turkey. Turkey contains a chemical called tryptophan. Tryptophan increases serotonin levels which gives a natural feeling of over-all wellness. Small amounts of tryptophan can lessen irritability. It also helps you to sleep and better sleep helps with depression as well. Turkey also contains dopamine which helps you feel motivated.

Walnuts
Nuts are a great source of protein and mono-saturated fats, but the walnut goes even further in helping with depression. Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids which contribute to brain health by improving cognitive function and even reducing memory loss.

Tuna
Fatty fish like tuna contain omega-3 fatty acid. This essential acid cannot be produced by the body naturally. Eating a healthy diet that regularly contains tuna will keep your brain functioning well. It also helps with circulation and helps to reduce inflammation.

Skim Milk
Low-fat dairy products like skim milk help in the fight against depression. The calcium, vitamin D, and peptides bring about a sense of well-being and promote relaxation.

Oatmeal
The complex carbohydrates in oatmeal do wonders in battling depression. They help your mood improve quickly through the production of serotonin. As an added bonus, oatmeal also has antioxidant properties.

Green Tea
Green tea is filled with antioxidants and the chemical theanine. Theanine helps to relieve stress and tension which in turn helps to ease the symptoms of depression. Two cups of green tea a day will boost your brain’s ability to fight depression. It does contain caffeine.

Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate aids in the production of serotonin. It helps to lower blood pressure which produces a calming effect on your body. Now, this by no means implies that you should sit down with a box of chocolate and eat all of it in one sitting. You should still practice moderation.

Consuming these depression-fighting foods is not a cure. If you or someone you know are suffering from depression, seek professional help as well.