THERE IS HELP!

Neurofeedback 

for ADHD

Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Anxiety Disorders

 Attachment Disorders (RAD)

 Improved Athletic Performance 

 Learning Disorders

IMPACT: Immediate Post-Concussion 
Assessment and Cognitive Testing

Developed by clinical experts who pioneered the field, this is the most-widely used and most scientifically validated computerized concussion evaluation system.   ImPACT provides trained clinicians with neurocognitive assessment tools and services that have been medically accepted as state-of-the-art best practices -- as part of determining safe return to play decisions.

Volunteering at a School is Good For Your Brain

         The new school year is rapidly approaching, and one of the least talked about needs of teachers is classroom volunteers. Classroom volunteers represent an unknown necessity in most schools.
         They are usually retired senior citizens who are multifaceted in their abilities and approach toward classroom duties. It could be one-to-one reading, math or art instruction. Yet without their helping hands, many children in need of special attention would be lost. Conversely, the seniors are receiving something in return from the experience, what I like to call “cognitive stimulation.”
         A teacher who uses volunteers explains about the benefits senior volunteers receive, “After a few months of volunteering the seniors say they begin to feel younger. They seemed more focused, and their ability to follow lessons and work with our most energetic children improved considerably.”
With this in mind, I decided to research studies about brain fitness and the different approaches brain scientists have suggested to slow down our brain’s aging process, particularly dementia. In 1900, the portion of U.S. adults 65 older was only 4.1 percent. Today it is 12.6 percent, and in 2030 it will be 20 percent.
         One study was based on the benefits of learning new languages, doing difficult crossword puzzles or taking on intellectually stimulating tasks. Working as a school volunteer seemed to satisfy all three brain-fit recommendations. The volunteers would have to learn the new language of speaking to young children. Further, they would have to oversee language, math and art lessons that perhaps, at first, could seem like a crossword puzzle to their brains. And the art of teaching was definitely an intellectually challenging task.
         Moreover, researchers found that physical stimulation could forestall some of the assumed declines associated with old age. The school volunteers walked on the school grounds, conversed with all ages and practiced resilience in social settings. This so-called physical stimulation is supported by another study that found that older adults who participated in aerobic exercise (walking) outperformed those in programs for stretching and toning in improving cognitive task areas.
         It was discovered that the four most improved cognitive areas were the executive or higher order thinking functions, which are essential for planning, multitasking and making effortless responses to novel situations. Young children are in the present, particularly with their interpretation of the world and social resilience is needed.
         Another study in 2001 involved 5,925 women 65 and older at four different medical centers across the United States. They asked the women how many blocks they walked or how many flights of stairs they climbed daily and also administered a questionnaire about their level of participation in 22 other physical activities. After eight years, the researchers assessed the women on cognitive functioning. The most active women had a 30 percent lower risk of cognitive decline.
         Interestingly, walking distance was related to increased cognition but walking speed was not. Further, according to researchers, even moderate levels of physical activity have proved to limit cognitive decline.
         Cognitive declines such as dementia are a mind/body connection and a link between physical activity and disease. That is physical activity reduces the risk of cardiovascular-related death, Type 2 diabetes, colon and breast cancer and osteoporosis. Also, cardiovascular disease and diabetes have been associated with a deteriorating cognition.
         Lastly, a 2006 study examined the influence of fitness training on potential changes in brain structure.
        The six-month study showed that even relatively short exercise intervention could begin to restore some losses in brain volume associated with normal aging.
Dementia will continue to become a major issue in spite of all our scientific research, but these studies suggest some viable solutions. In closing, perhaps a good mental exercise for seniors would be to investigate volunteer positions at your local school. It could change your life and maybe even your brain.

How the French Deal with ADHD

           For the past 40 years I have worked extensively with behavior disordered children with an emphasis toward ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) and RAD (reactive attachment disorder) children. Recently I had the opportunity to consult with a father who was visiting the US and had a child had school behavior issues. Upon further discussion I asked if his had been diagnosed with ADHD. The parent looked at me with a curious expression and said, “In France we do not look at children in the extreme but less severely and often view it as normal behavior of children with the hope they will grow out of it. Of course, we consider many options like nutrition and so forth.”
           As a result of our discussion I researched the major differences about diagnosis and treatment of ADHD children in the United States and France. To my amazement the differences between the two countries were shocking. For example, the incidence of ADHD of U.S. children has risen over the past 20 years from 3-5 % to 11% (Wedge, M., 2012). However, in France, the percentage of children diagnosed for ADHD is less than .5 percent. Why the difference?I researched an excellent article written by Dr. Marilyn Wedge called “Why French Kids Don’t Have ADHD.” The article listed some major differences about the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD Children in France versus the United States. For instance, one major difference is that the French do not view ADHD as a biological-neurological disorder. She explains, “the U.S. MD’s view ADHD as a disorder with biological causes and the popular treatment by U.S. MD’s is biological and treated with psycho-stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall etc.” (Wedge, Psychology Today, 2012) Dr. Wedge goes on to say: “In France, MD’s do not view ADHD as a medical condition but rather as a psycho-social and/or situational cause and as a result they rarely recommend stimulant medication. (For information regarding the harmful effects of stimulus medication please see Dr. David Sortino Blog – Santa Rosa Press Democrat). Another significant difference and one echoed by my conversation with the father is that French children are not diagnosed pathogentally. In other words, French psychiatrists do not treat someone as psychologically abnormal when the behavior is often normal.
           Also, French psychiatrists do not use the same classification system of childhood emotional problems as American psychiatrists or what is called the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of MentalDisroders). Interestly, the French Federation of Psychiatry developed an alternative classification system as a resistance to the influence of the DSM. France’s version of the DSM or the CFTMEA. The CFTMEA identifies and addresses the underlying psychosocial cause of children’s symptoms ad not on finding the best pharmacological band-aids with which to mask symtoms (Wedge).
Another significant difference associated with the French holistic psychosocial model has to with nutrition. The French system connects ADHD-type symptoms or with behavior caused by easting food, for example, with artificial colors, certain preservatives, and/or allergens.
           Further, in the US, the focus is on pharmaceutical treatment of ADHD and often encourages clinicians to ignore the information of dietary factors on the child’s behavior (Wedge).
           Lastly, from the time their children are born, French parents provide them with a “structure.” That is, children are not allowed to snack whenever they want. Mealtimes are at four specific times of the day. French children learn to wait patiently for meals, rather than eating snack foods whenever they feel like it. Readers can reference P. Druckerman book “Bringing up Bebe,” which offers excellent information why the diagnostic and treatment of ADHD French children are so much lower than children in the US.
           The purpose of this article is not to accuse U.S. parents of negative parenting. Rather to identify those with the knowledge and power who are not providing parents of ADHD children with a more intelligent and professional direction.

Throw Like a Girl?

           A recent commercial sponsored by Research Now called “throw like a girl” describes how the loss of power (confidence, self esteem) can occur when a girl reaches puberty. According to the commercial, when the interviewer asked girls who had reached puberty to demonstrate what it is like to “throw like a girl” the girls demonstrated “stereo typical limp arms” and/or “silly facial expressions” of what it is like to “throw like a girl.” However when the interviewer asked pre-puberty girls, the same question, the girls exhibited the opposite. These girls threw with the intensity of seasoned pitchers.
           The interviewer seems to be revealing that values such as assertiveness and self-confidence shift with the onset of puberty due to our society’s judgment that confident girls are less attractive or feminine than unassertive girls. The study found that more than half of the girls surveyed claimed their self-confidence levels dropped with the onset of puberty.
           Perhaps the pre-puberty group maintained their strength and assertiveness because they had not yet been labeled as part of the group labeled pubescent.  They held onto their natural strength because they did not need to conform to a group? Peer group pressure causes the pubescent group to conform to the peer group values such as feminity, which implies that one must “throw like a girl?” Our social media defines what feminism should look like. Interestingly, developmental psychologists refer to the pubescent stage as identity assurance versus role confusion.
           Another factor is that girl’s values change from believing they can manifest strength to wanting to form relationships. That is, if they are too powerful the group could reject them. The need to be a part of a group is located in the brain’s emotional area or hippocampus, which is directly connected to the executive centers of the brain, thus leading to a need for emotional relationships? With a maturing brain, the need for relationships could be a powerful motivator to conform to the group or to “throw like a girl.”
           Whatever the reasons for the dramatic differences in the two groups, it is critical that we do not give in to thinking that girls’ power changes when they reach puberty. Rather, parents need to take heed and continue to reinforce a girl’s self-esteem to continue through puberty and beyond, regardless of what Madison Avenue or society deems appropriate. Bottom line: all girls can throw a ball with strength, if they want to and still be considered feminine or in baseball lingo simply to be a thrower.

Transitioning to Middle School

           The transition from elementary school to middle school is considered a major milestone in every student’s life. It is as though your student has just worked seven years at the same company and now must move to another company. Instead of one boss he now has five or six bosses. Instead of working in one office for most of the day he must move to other offices every hour, five or six times. To make matters worse, if he or she is late getting to any of his offices his punishment could be time spent in his office after work and usually in a different office with other tardy workers.
           I think you get the point about how difficult the transition from elementary school to middle school can be. Therefore, parents need to be keenly aware of this period and that his student may experience high levels of stress until he has successfully made the adjustment to middle school. For some students, this adjustment could take a few months. For others, it could even be even more extensive. The longer the adjustment, the greater the distraction from your student’s learning potential and developing intelligence.
           Erik Erikson, the noted social psychologist, called the 7 to 11 year old stage “industry versus inferiority,” (elementary school) and the 11 year old and older stage “identity versus role confusion” (middle school). For the middle school student “role confusion” can come from many different sources. For instance, the difference in the physical size of middle schoolers is particularly difficult. Being undersized can attract harassment from bigger students; being oversized, adults often assume greater maturity and expectation.
           I like to compare the middle school period to a child standing on two blocks of ice. On one block is the pull of childhood and on the other block is the pull of adulthood. The problem — the blocks are pulling him in two different directions. Therefore, the major goal for parents is to listen to the gripes of your middle school student with a sympathetic ear as he tries juggling his new identity with bouts of role confusion in the new school.
           Another suggestion is for parents to maintain contact with their student’s middle school teachers. If your student is being harassed, do not wait until conference week but be proactive immediately. A week of pain can affect a child’s learning potential and intelligence for the whole year.
           A further adjustment that is often overlooked by middle school students is opening their lockers! If they only have a few minutes to get to a class located in some distant building and they can’t open the lockers, at this age, they would rather end up in class late, than without the needed material for class. Suggestion: Have them practice their combination locks at home. In addition, a good locker and/or time management strategy is for your student is to color code their different notebooks and/or book covers so they can quickly grab the needed book, thus saving time in getting to class.
           Moreover, don’t buy backpacks that can store 50 pounds of materials! The bigger the pack, the more they will put in it. The smaller the pack, the better the organization.
           Furthermore, be sure to purchase a large wall calendar to hang on your student’s bedroom wall. A wall calendar is an excellent strategy to remind students about important homework assignments and activities as well as thinking about the future.
           Also, in elementary school your student was given grades with checks or check pluses for excellent. In middle school they grade with letters and in-between grades like A- and so forth.
           Last by not least, there is no recess. He or she will most likely have a short 15-minute break and a 40-minute lunch period. Thus, be sure he has a good breakfast, and a good snack to nourish him until lunchtime
           I have only touched on a few adjustments your student will need to make in his transition to middle school.

Contracts, Adolescence and Family Values

           There will come a time in every parent/adolescent relationship that a behavioral contract should be considered, not only for your sanity, but also as a way to stimulate growth in the adolescent’s ability to deal with issues regarding family values and rules.
In my private practice and work in schools I have developed countless behavioral contracts usually for student failure and/or acting out behavior. Instead, I suggest parents take a proactive approach with behavior contracts simply because it is a good strategy for stimulating greater learning and moral judgment. Why wait until the adolescent’s behavior becomes a challenge to family rules and values?
           Behavior contracts are developmental. That is, most adolescents possess the ability for higher order thinking or abstract ideas and support family values but often regress in their behavior because of conflicts between family values and the pull of the peer group. Such adolescent behavior is especially troublesome when the peer group challenges family values associated with personal freedom and responsibility. It is simply easier and more popular to go with the peer groups’ values than family values because of the adolescent’s vulnerability associated with sexual experimentation, driving a car, curfews, alcohol — the list is endless.
           Therefore, to successfully deal with the many pitfalls challenging the adolescent and family values the parent and adolescent need to create a behavior contract that is above all, concrete yet abstract. A concrete approach is the actual spelling out of the privileges and consequences of the contract. The abstract concept or higher order thinking is the actual negotiation, acceptance and follow through of the contract as defined by the family’s values and rules.
           Thus, the major points to consider when writing a behavior contract with an adolescent is to be specific about the concrete agreement between parent and adolescent. Rules, privileges and behaviors should be spelled out or concretely defined. Also, be prepared to negotiate since negotiation serves as a buy in for the adolescent and fosters higher order thinking. For example, what are the concrete consequences if privileges are not followed?
           In addition, include only a few rules and behaviors. Too many rules and behaviors could set the adolescent up for failure. Adolescents are masters at stretching boundaries and distorting your words for their own liking, so keep the contract simple.        Moreover, define positives and negative behaviors concretely. Positive behaviors often serve as incentives that keep the adolescent focused and connected to the contract. For example, if a curfew is followed for one month, the contract can be revised, such as increasing the adolescent’s curfew time by 30 minutes. Again, be sure that the adolescent feels he /she is a factor in creating the contract. If he/she does not feel included the parent could be back at step one and creating another behavior contract. Lastly, be consistent and above all, never put privileges and consequences into a contract that are not doable.
           Remember, behavior contracts should be developmental. You ultimate goal is intended to prepare the adolescent for the greatest behavior contract of all — which is his/her life and of course respect for your family values or legacy.

Getting Practical About the Drop Out Rate and Juvenile Delinquency

           For the past decade, the U.S. high school drop out rate in our inner cities has remained constant or between 40 to 50 percent of high school students. The first inclination is to blame the schools for the high drop out rate. Obviously, if a high percentage of your customers (students) reject what you’re selling, it must be the product or the customers are simply not interested in buying? Another culprit might be family or parents not setting boundaries or making school a priority? Whatever the case, the problem of high school dropouts may not be that complicated or complex and might easily be solved or maybe the numbers cut in half by looking at a few intangibles. Could we possibly connect the drop out rate to the degree to which we address the vocational interests of juveniles?
           For years I have worked with high school dropouts who end up in juvenile correctional institutions. Many students who drop out of school often break the law, their only graduation becoming a trip to juvenile hall. A study conducted by the Washington State Office of Corrections found that 70% of prison inmates do time in juvenile corrections and another study by U.C. Santa Barbara found that it costs the state (CA) about $1.1 billion a year in juvenile crime costs, but the economic loss from juvenile crimes is about $8.9 billion per year. Starting at 12 years old, juveniles will cause about $1 billion dollars in economic losses. Throughout their lifetime they will cost the state about $10.5 billion.
           When I asked juvenile offenders to name some reasons why they dropped out of school, they often used words such as “boring,” “not interested” or  “I needed to make money and get a job,” and so forth. However, if we investigate their responses, we might begin to shed light on a possible solution to the drop out rate as well as to juvenile delinquency.
           For example, I have used vocational assessments to motivate higher learning and career awareness with juvenile offenders and/or school dropouts. Over a five-year period, 75 % of male juvenile offenders chose vocational interests associated with a realistic and conventional personality. The realistic and conventional vocational personalities represent those males interested and even motivated to learn or work in the trade industry such as auto mechanics, carpentry, plumbing, landscape design, etc. Conversely, 70 percent of female juvenile offenders chose a vocational personality, which is associated with the social and artistic personality. This personality was defined as being highly social and creative with interests in careers connected with hairdressing, dental hygiene, preschool education, jewelry design, and so forth.
           In many respects, perhaps the solution has now become the problem. That is, we refuse to recognize the connection that dropouts and /or juvenile offenders might need a different school curriculum or one that complements their vocational personality or interests with school learning. In short, when you connect an at-risk population with high vocational interests you are in effect defining a major cause of the high drop out rate and delinquency of high school students. We need to take the advice of Joseph Pearce, author of Magical Child, and stimulate the ability to learn through connection to the heart. We need to offer curriculum that “serves as a catalyst to greater brain activity or emotional intelligence”(Pearce).
           The moral of the story? The cost to build Sonoma County’s juvenile hall facility (Los Guilicos) was about 38 million dollars. The cost to build a new technical high school probably more. However, the average cost to incarcerate a high school drop out turned juvenile offender in California for one year can vary from $125,000 to $175,000! (*American Correctional Association, 2008 Directory). The cost to educate a California high school student for one year is about $9,000 (NCES-2010). What do you think makes more sense?