Children’s fidgeting has always been the bane of classroom teachers and parents alike. It has been regarded as one of the ”warning signs” of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as measured by so-called ”objective” rating scales used to diagnosed for ADHD, and is part of the diagnostic criteria in the psychiatrist’s bible The Diagnostic and...Read More
In the wake of the the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida yesterday, people are mourning the loss of so many innocent people, and questioning how these killings could have been prevented. While there is no conclusive evidence that the suspect was bullied, or was himself a bully, a new book is coming out next week...Read More
A new report by John Rogers, director of the Institute for Democracy, Education and Access at the University of California at Los Angeles, indicates that the divisiveness of the Trump era has sent student stress rates skyrocketing. More than half of the public school teachers surveyed reported ”high levels of stress and anxiety” in their students...Read More
I’ve been reading David Marshak’s latest book Evolutionary Parenting. In the book, David highlights the work of three mystics who devoted a great deal of their time and energy to envisioning new forms of education: Rudolf Steiner, Hazrat Inayat Khan, and Sri Aurobindo (some attention is also given to Montessori education). Each of these spiritual...Read More
I wrote an article, ”Why I Believe Attention Deficit Disorder is a Myth,” for the website The Kids in the House: The Ultimate Parenting Resource, on August 29, 2017. The Kids in the House is a site that offers 9,000 videos from experts and parents (who are the real experts!) on a wide...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
A blog post appeared today on the website, Motherly, which I wrote, that provides practical strategies to help kids focus. It is especially relevant to kids diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The tips I recommend include exercise, a nourishing diet, relaxation skills, talking to the child’s teacher about why fidgeting helps some kids focus,...Read More
Over the next month, 55+ million children and adolescents will be returning to their classrooms in public and private schools around the country. Out of this number, 6.4 million students have been diagnosed as having ADHD and most of them take psychostimulants or other drugs to control their symptoms. And while parents scurry around anxiously...Read More
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