A new study reported in the journal Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, revealed that the youngest children in any given grade are more likely to do poorly on standardized tests, and more likely to be prescribed stimulant medications for ADHD compared to older students at the same grade level.  The...Read More

A new study reported in The Journal of Pediatrics, reports that exercise may benefit children with ADHD.  In this study, kids with ADHD were matched with a same-age, same-socio-economic status group of “normal” children.  The groups engaged in two experimental conditions:  one day then engaged in 20 minutes of quiet reading, and the next day...Read More

For almost two decades now, I’ve been criticizing the diagnosis of ADHD and the use of Ritalin and other psychostimulants with children (see, for example, my book The Myth of the ADD Child).  Now, a new report in The New York Times today, says that physicians are starting to prescribe these drugs to poor children...Read More

The October, 2012 issue of Educational Leadership, the flagship journal of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), in an issue dedicated to “Students Who Challenge Us,” features my article “First, Discover Their Strengths,” which highlights many of the ideas discussed in my forthcoming book Neurodiversity in the Classroom:  Strength-Based Strategies to Help Students with Special Needs...Read More

An article in the latest APA Monitor (the monthly news magazine of the American Psychological Association), reveals that budget cutbacks nationwide and a growing focus on academic learning, has resulted in fewer school psychologists being available to help children and adolescents with social, emotional, and behavioral problems.  The National Association for School Psychologists (NASP) recommends one school psychologist for...Read More