September - 2017

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The Theory of Mind

The Theory of Mind

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 own. It wasn't until my son was 15 that we understood that he didn't have a Theory of Mind. He had been kicked out of his theraptetuic boarding school and was back in a therapeutic wilderness program while we f

The Difference Between a School Identification and a Clinical Diagnosis

Flying my son back from Utah to his school district for his Triennial Reevaluation

Flying my son back from Utah to his school district for his Triennial Reevaluation

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 Education Act (IDEA) requires schools to reevaluate kids with IEPs at least once every three years. This is known as a triennial reevaluation or review. The purpose of the triennial is to see if your child’s nee

The Limbic Brain

The Limbic Brain

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 children at some time switch between having a Rational Brain and a Limbic Brain, which is the emotional or irrational part of the brain. In the Limbic Brain, the amygdala is responsible for the response and memory

10 Steps to help an Anxious Child

10 Steps to help an Anxious 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. It’s to help them learn to tolerate their anxiety and function as well as they can and even when they’re anxious. And as a byproduct of that, the anxiety will decrease or fall away over time. 2. Don’t avoid things just because they make a child anxious. Helping children

Bullying

Bullying

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 child is a bully? Look for: Impulsive behavior A desire to always be in control Showing little or no empathy for others Characteristics of bullies Tend to have problems at home May be the victim of aggressive behavior or abuse at ho

Private vs School Evaluations - the pros and cons

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