Today is the official publication date for my new book Mindfulness in the Classroom: Strategies for Promoting Concentration, Compassion, and Calm.  I have been practicing mindfulness for almost thirty years, and with the rise in the need for social and emotional learning in the schools, I thought that a book for educators on this topic...Read More

A new report published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics indicates that children who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are more than three times as likely to develop ADHD than kids with other injuries.  This finding raises some critical questions for me.  First, ADHD is typically described as a neurobiological disorder of genetic origin. ...Read More

A recent study that has appeared in the journal NeuroImage:Clinical, reports that subjects who had been treated with methylphenidate (Ritalin) before the age of 16, had significantly lower levels of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) as adults, compared with subjects who had started methylphenidate therapy after age 23, and subjects who had never taken psychostimulants....Read More

New research by a group of European psychiatrists and neuroscientists suggests that a large proportion of individuals diagnosed with ADHD may in fact be suffering from disruptions in their circadian rhythms leading to sleep problems which may be at the core of the ADHD diagnosis. Presenting their findings at  European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress, held in...Read More

I have a new article on the site MiddleWeb, which focuses on the importance of understanding recent brain research and how it can inform the creation of ”brain friendly” practices for young adolescents.  I was a junior high school teacher, a professor of courses in childhood and adolescent development, and a consultant to middle schools,...Read More