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Those statistics… As Mark Twain popularized, “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.” I suppose there is some truth to that saying; statistics can be confounding, confusing, and twisted. However, by the same token, statistics can also add clarity and help to guide our decisions. So, with that in mind, today we’ll focus on a way […]
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Are more boys than girls diagnosed with autism? Yes, about 4x as many males than females are diagnosed on the spectrum. Let’s look at the two primary deficits pertaining to autism We know that children with autism struggle with language and social difficulties. In fact, along with: self-stimulatory behaviors obsessive tendencies and hyper or hypo-sensitivities it is clear that social […]
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Huge impact on our lives The Coronavirus has had a major impact in lots of ways, not the least of which is trying to explain to our children with autism what’s going on, and helping them to adjust to the changes in the schedule, i.e. not going to school, being watched by grandma one day, and a sitter the next. […]
» Read moreSo, what’s the difference between the coronavirus, a hurricane, tornado, and climate change? Potentially, not much. If you live in Oklahoma and its tornado season, then you’ve got some things to be thinking about. Likewise, if you live in South Carolina and it’s August, a hurricane could arise at any time. Moreover, if you think like Greta Thunberg, well, the […]
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Written by Dr. John Carosso How to clear the ‘internal dialogue’, better known as ‘chatter’, in our heads I wrote earlier that the chatter in our heads can be as distracting as any external annoyance, and more anxiety-provoking than the actual fear. Our ability to self-sooth, through calm and reassuring self-talk, and re-direct our internal dialogue is vital and can […]
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Do you talk to yourself? A young man named Ryan Langdon, from his post at InsideMyMind https://insidemymind.me/2020/02/05/how-my-internal-monologue-affects-my-attention-deficit-disorder/ wrote of his internal dialogue, as a person with ADHD, that he referred to as being hyper-neuro-vocal in that he tends to have hyper self-talk that interferes with his concentration. In his own investigation, he found that others with ADHD tend to get […]
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We know ADHD rates are increasing We find the rate of ADHD increasing by upwards of 10% over the past ten years, and the boy/girl ratio is upwards of 3:1. Why? Maybe the rates are rising because practitioners are better at assessing and diagnosing this condition. Or, maybe the condition is actually increasing due to toxins in our environment or […]
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Diagnostic Criteria So, here is the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for ADHD. We are pretty familiar with these symptoms and recognize the impact they can have on a child’s life. Look them over for a quick review, and then we’ll discuss whether there is something missing from this list? The diagnostic criteria for ADHD: Inattention Six or more: __ failing to […]
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The Importance of the Executive Functions ADHD is described as a disorder of the prefrontal lobe of our cerebral cortex, which is the area of the brain that controls higher-order thinking. This ‘higher-order thinking’ is also known as a set of executive functions that help us to more effectively get through our day. The specific executive functions include: Impulse control, […]
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Written by Dr. John Carosso How do you discipline your child? Most parents rely on raising their voice, pestering, threatening, loss of privilege, and time-out, in that order (with the last two being used interchangeably). We have to ask ourselves, as parents, is this effective (especially the first two options)? If you’re taking the time to read this post, probably […]
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