Category Archives: Our Blog

Preparing Your Kids For ‘Back to School’

Back to School tips

Written by Dr. John Carosso

Yes, it’s that time

It’s that ‘back to school’ time. Yes, it’s sad to see the summer coming to a close and definitely time to get back to the school routine.

Summer vs. School Routine

Need I mention the difference between summer and school-year routines? If you start about 2-3 weeks out, it’s much easier to ship your kids into shape. Otherwise, it’s a culture-shock for your child, and not too pleasant for you either.

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Autism: Dealing with Aggression and Tantrums

Written by Dr. John Carosso

The question:

I was recently asked an excellent question from a parent with an adorable, nonverbal child with autism. The concern is that the kiddo does not seem to understand consequences such as time-out, and loss of privilege has little impact. The aggression reportedly often stems from, for example, a sibling being in close proximity, not getting what she wants, or related frustrations.

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Preparing for Summer Fun with the Kids!

Written by: Dr. John Carosso, Psy.D
Go ahead, you can admit it; it’s kinda scary…
On one hand you’re excited for the start of summer and to have far more access to your kids. If you’re a SAHM, then you’re home all day with the little darlings and the sky is the limit in terms of the potential for fun-in-the-sun!! Even if you work, it’s most likely you’ll be seeing your kids quite a bit more over the next few months. Of course, you’re thrilled; they’re your kids and you want nothing more than to be around them and enjoy their company. However, deep down, you’re also a little scared…

 

What is ADHD, Part III

Written by Dr. John Carosso

Okay, this is the final segment of this blog series on ADHD. We started out with a discussion of what causes ADHD (disturbance of the prefrontal lobe) and the negative impact on executive functioning. We then moved into specific strategies to enhance executive functioning, and some more general interventions to make day-to-day activities go smoother. Finally, in this third segment, here are more helpful tips and suggestions I trust you’ll find to be helpful…

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What is ADHD, Part II

Written by Dr. John Carosso

Where’d we leave off?

We left off with the discussion of ADHD being a disorder within the pre-frontal cortex that manifests in deficiencies in what’s called ‘executive functioning’.  The more a parent can externalize these executive functions, and help the child carry-out the pre-frontal cortex duties in the child’s natural environment, the more success will be experienced. In the last post, each executive function was described, and specific skills to target any shortcomings.

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What is ADHD?

Written by Dr. John Carosso

Is ADHD just a bunch of symptoms?

We tend to describe and explain ADHD by its outward appearance and core symptoms: impulsivity, hyperactivity, and distractibility. However, that does not explain ‘what is ADHD’ or what causes the disorder.

Let’s dig deeper

If we look beyond and beneath the signs and symptoms, and consider the cause of ADHD, we can get a much better grasp on effective strategies.

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“What About The Siblings of My Special Needs Child?”

Written by Dr. John Carosso

A parent on Facebook asked a good question regarding the difficulty of her other children, the siblings of her special needs child, not understanding the difference in discipline between them and their brother, and how this causes dissension and frustration. In addition, from other parents, there has been concern expressed about siblings copying maladaptive behavior, and feeling as if they are not getting as much attention. All of these issues will be addressed in today’s post.

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There’s a surprisingly simple way to convince vaccine skeptics to reconsider

Here is a depressing fact about facts: In the face of beliefs, they often have little power. Fixing falsehoods — whether it’s the closely held conviction of a birther or an anti-vaxxer — doesn’t tend to work nearly as well as it seems it should.

But maybe we’re going about the business of changing people’s minds all wrong. A new study found that while it may be tempting to lecture someone that they’re just wrong about vaccines and autism, it may be more powerful to simply tell and show them exactly what it’s like when a child gets sick from a disease that could have been prevented.

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