It’s normal for a child to feel anxious about going back to school, particularly if she is transitioning into middle school. Anxiety often peaks during transition times, and it makes sense; when you think back to when you were a kid, going to middle school felt like a...

Learn the symptoms and be a good listener

Going to college can be a huge transition for kids, as they’re leaving home and taking on a number of new responsibilities all at once. For many it can be overwhelming, leaving them vulnerable to mental health disorders. In fact...

For most parents setting boundaries for young kids’ behavior is second nature: No hitting. Don’t interrupt. We don’t grab toys out of other kids’ hands.

But as they get older, and social interaction gets more complex, it’s not enough to just learn the rules. They need t...

Let me tell you about my relationship with the school desk. From my first day at Penny Camp Elementary School in 1982, it was fraught.

This is how it went down: Five seconds into class, the foot starts bouncing; 10 seconds in, both feet; 15 seconds, I bust out the drums...

Theory of mind (often abbreviated ToM) is the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc.—to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are different from one's...

Back when my son was in second grade, his school psychologist told me he had bi-polar disorder. Ok so I have a diagnosis. Well,  not really. Schools don't diagnose conditions, only doctors and other clinicians do. The school's job is to determine if a child is eligible...

Since my son has been out West in therapeutic boarding schools, our travel budget has gone through the roof. Unfortunately, we hadn't budgeted for his triennial reevaluation in this either...

Triennial Reevaluation (Three-Year Review)

The Individuals with Disabilities Ed...

I want to talk briefly about this because it is something that I found very useful as a parent. I love the limbic brain and It helped me understand that most mental health issues are neurological which took away some of the blame that I had as a parent.

All of our child...

1. The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety, but to help a child manage it.

None of us wants to see a child unhappy, but the best way to help kids overcome anxiety isn’t to try to remove stressors that trigger it. I...

Four myths about bullying

• Victims are responsible for bringing bullying on themselves

• Bullying is just a normal part of childhood

• Bullies will stop if you just ignore them

• Victims need to learn to stand up for themselves

What are the signs that my c...