The new year is always a time to think of ways to create positive change. One of the greatest forces for change I’ve seen and been a part of involves parents joining together to help their children with learning differences. Many years ago my first job was at a public school in Marin County where I had a class of
There is a natural human impulse to make certain times special. How and what we celebrate is part of what gives us our identity. And yet, when I think of children like Alicia, who’s 11, I sometimes wish there were no holidays. Alicia has anxiety disorder and she needs a lot of structure in her life to avoid feeling stressed
Alan Barret, who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in second grade, had been my patient for five years. In that time, he’d done really well. At 13, he was a stocky, cheerful boy who loved to draw, did well in school, and had good friends. He was particularly close to his brother – the two boys played
For the past few years I’ve been involved with a wonderful family called the Warners. The little girl, who’s about six, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. Her parents are so healthy about the way they think about their child and how they interact with her. They want to foster her development, but they are realistic about
There are two things (that happen to be polar opposites) that wise parents can do to ensure their children’s happiness as summer winds down. One is to plan and prepare. The other is to enjoy the moment wholeheartedly. As a start to both, the beginning of August is a good time to get a calendar and show your child exactly
In their early forties, the couple sitting in my office had adopted twin baby girls from Romania. Now, at two and half, the two little girls were both sturdily built, dark-haired, dimpled—but it was all too easy to tell them apart. Megan was focused, coordinated, and a precocious talker. She was affectionate, and even in the middle of the Terrible Twos
When Anne and Tyler Engel came to see me about their 15-year-old son TJ, it was hard at first to see why. He was bright, good-looking, and outgoing, asking me about the Indian artifacts in my office. Were they old? Were the big woven baskets for some special ceremony? In turn, I asked him a little about his life. What
For those of us dedicated to the study of how neuroscience informs everyday life, the relationship between emotions and memory is particularly fascinating. For example, we know that learning which is accompanied by emotional content will form longer-lasting memories than learning that does not contain this emotional component. This is especially true if the emotions are not so personally intense
The other day in the clinic, Tommy, a fourth grader, complained about “just not having enough time for anything I like…all I do is homework!” Even Tommy’s mom seemed concerned, stating, “We have so much homework that it’s hard for us to get it all done each night.” As I thought about their comments, it became painfully clear to me that