No one is against teaching responsibility to teenagers and preteens.  However, when it comes to prescription medication, the old adage about letting them make their own mistakes can be downright scary.

At least in theory, around the time kids enter middle school, they become more capable of taking over responsibility for their medications.On the other hand, there are actual health (and sometimes social or academic) risks associated with non-compliance or even missing a dose. Worse still are the risks of getting medications confused.

 

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A couple of months ago I noticed my 9-year-old daughter making some unusual sounds while she was playing games on her computer.  At first I thought she was just amusing herself.  When I continued to hear it the next day I began observing her quietly.  While repeatedly making this “pah” sound she kept jerking her head to the left.  I went online and began to do some research.  I kept coming up with the possibility of Tourettes Syndrome.

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Being a parent can be an overwhelming experience for anyone. Just think of everything we have to juggle on a daily basis just to keep our families afloat. The phone ringing, the dog barking, kids fighting, bills to pay, emails to respond to, husband late, deadlines for work, commitments outside of the home…the list goes on and on.

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Question: How many senses are there?

A sensory room can be extremely therapeutic for both children and adults with sensory processing disorders and other sensory sensitivities. In fact, everybody could benefit from spending time in an environment designed to appeal to the senses.

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The standard of care for the treatment of ADHD, with which 11% of all school-aged children are diagnosed, is typically the prescription of medication. About two-thirds of all those with a current diagnosis are prescribed stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall. And while these medications are believed (and advertised) to improve the lives of those with ADHD, a recent study out of Johns Hopkins Children’s Center shows that, at least with young children, they actually don’t.

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My second son Elijah was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome when he was eight years old. It took us almost a year to get this diagnosis. Getting the diagnosis was just the beginning of our journey to understanding this complex disorder. He had been diagnosed with ADHD at the age of five and after his Tourette’s diagnosis was also diagnosed with OCD.

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Temper tantrums, along with Dora and The Wiggles, are a “special” part of being a parent to a toddler. Both researchers and parents note that temper tantrums are characterized by an emotional outburst of negative emotions that may often seem dramatic and excessive given the stimulus or situation.

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A friend recently recommended the book “Smart but Scattered” [i] for my 7-year-old son.   I was a little disappointed, not because of the recommendation, but because this title was already taken. My 7-year-old is definitely smart and extremely scattered (can that be a real title some day with no evidence of plagiarism??).  

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I Can Never Forget!

I can never forget, that I am raising a deaf child. Sometimes it is easy to forget, because he wears bilateral(two) cochlear implants. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device that sends signals to the cochlea and then to the nerve in the ear so a deaf person can hear.

 

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