Sensory Classroom Interventions
This research update highlights two recent studies evaluating the drawbacks and benefits of sensory classroom interventions (specifically, fidget spinners and wiggle seats) utilizing reversal crossover-withdrawal designs. Do children with ADHD do better if they can use fidget spinners in school? The first study’s goal was to examine if the use of fidget spinners by children…
Read MoreTreating ADHD and Emotion Dysregulation
A TENDENCY to experience and express intense negative emotions is among the most significant problems people with ADHD face. Among children, low frustration tolerance, rageful outbursts over seemingly small annoyances, and explosive overreactions to disappointments other kids handle with composure often make peer relationships and family life difficult. These difficulties can lead to a cycle…
Read MoreMore Than Refills: The Importance of Regular Follow-Up Visits
DESPITE LIFE’S COMPLEXITIES, regular ADHD follow-up visits are very important. I recommend scheduling a visit with your ADHD doctor at least once every season; fall, winter, spring, and summer. If your prescriber is your pediatrician, then one of these quarterly visits could be incorporated into the yearly well-child care visit. If your prescriber is a…
Read MoreMornings Matter with ADHDCHADD Webinar
Parenting Your Child with ADHD for Career Success
What drives a person to choose a major, a field, a job? This is an extremely complex question. Research shows, and my experience supports, that several factors weigh into early career decisions—including teacher and parent feedback, interests, known aptitudes, as well as some healthy fantasies about what the day to day will look like. Often…
Read MoreTailored for Young Learners: SMARTS Elementary
HOW DO WE EMPOWER CHILDREN to tackle difficult problems and achieve personal goals, both in school and in life? Lynn Meltzer, PhD, president and director of the Institutes for Learning and Development, says one possible way is to immerse them in a school culture that values, fosters, and celebrates metacognitive awareness. “Metacognitive awareness is the…
Read MoreWhat Makes a Good Accommodation?
PARENTS AND EDUCATORS OFTEN STRUGGLE when it comes to deciding whether or not to provide a child with an accommodation or modification. In giving a child a “leg up” or a “crutch” are we making them more dependent? Are we preventing them from trying their best? Are we giving them a message that they aren’t capable…
Read MoreBuilding Relationships in the Classroom
SCHOOL CAN BE A VERY LONELY PLACE for children with ADHD or learning differences. Thanks to programs like Sanford Harmony, their school lives may soon feel far more welcoming. Sanford Harmony is an innovative, social-emotional learning curriculum that provides classroom teachers with tools and strategies that help all students feel they belong and have something…
Read MoreHelp! My Child Only Has Virtual Friends
From Cajoling to Collaboration–Learn How to Help Your Child Develop True Friendships IF YOU HAVE KIDS WHO ENGAGE WITH OTHERS on any social media or gaming platform, you’ve said it before: “Those people are not real! They are not your friends. You don’t even really know who they are! Why do you spend so much…
Read MoreChildren and Violent Behavior: Where it Comes From and What to Do
MANY CHILDREN HAVE VIOLENT THOUGHTS AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIORS. Normal rough-and-tumble play-fighting can get too rough. Kids hit, kick, scratch, bite, throw, or even choke. Many children enjoy playing with toy guns. Even in households where toy weapons are banned, kids will still pretend to be warriors, making rifles out of sticks and guns out of…
Read MoreSummer Camps: Like Horses for Courses
We often hear the phrase “one size fits all.” However, this is not always the case–especially when picking just the right summer camp to meet the needs (and interests) of your child. My English grandfather, an enthusiastic racehorse owner, used to say that some horses preferred the hard, dry race tracks of the chalk uplands…
Read MoreHomework: Do You Take More Responsibility Than Your Child Does?
AS A PSYCHOLOGIST who specializes in ADHD and executive function issues, I often focus on issues around homework when I meet with parents and their child or teen. During conversations about homework, I often find myself wondering, “Is the parent more invested in the homework getting done than the child?” In fact, I actually often…
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