Bullying and Ostracizing Tied to Depression and Anxiety in Special Needs Children
Children with special needs have always been a favorite target for bullying and teasing. It’s easy to see why – they’re different. Being different is generally not seen as a good thing when you’re a child in elementary or middle school. Except for the occasional rebel, most children don’t…
Mike Wallace’s Contribution to Our Understanding of Depression
“I didnt know what was the matter with me. All I knew was that I was feeling lower than a snake’s belly…I remember we used to go to restaurants, and I’d say ‘Everybody’s pointing at me, the cheat, the fraud, the fake. You really believe these things! Astonishing!” Mike…
Surviving Holiday Parties When You Have Social Anxiety
HealthDay News — Socializing is a major part of the holiday season, but many people find it difficult.If you suffer anxiety or feel tongue-tied at festive gatherings, here are some helpful tips from Martin Antony, a psychology professor at Ryerson University in Toronto.First, some advice about making conversation. Smile…
A Tale of Two Afterschool Programs, Part 1
When my son started elementary school a couple of years ago, I was delighted to find that there was day care on the school grounds. He was in morning kindergarten, so he went there after school at 11 AM. I wasn’t crazy about how small the day care room…
A Tale of Two Afterschool Programs, Part 2
As I recounted in Part I of this series, I came to the conclusion last fall that the after school program my son was attending was not suitable for him, and probably not for any child who was imperfect in any way. It certainly was not suitable for a…
Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
I’m reading “Green Eggs and Ham” to my son Lawrence before bed. Actually, he’s reading it to me, which is very exciting. He’s doing really well. I only have to help him with about one word out of ten. I read way ahead of my level when I was…
Does my son have ADHD?
Around January this year, my husband and I got the dreaded summons from our son’s kindergarten teacher to meet with her about a problem with Lawrence. It was not a complete surprise – she had told us that she had some concerns. Lawrence was having some mild behavioral problems,…
Dysthymia (Persistent Depressive Disorder)
For much of my childhood and young adulthood, I suffered from depression. Although I did have some periods of major depression, the bulk of the time my depression was a type called dysthymia. Dysthymia is also known as “persistent depressive disorder.” Dysthymia is a low-grade form of depression that lasts…
School or Daycare Avoidance/Refusal Part Two
My son Lawrence started kindergarten this school year. He was in a wonderful preschool the past two years, where he thrived. Of course we were concerned that he would have a little trouble adjusting to starting kindergarten, but while we got the “trouble adjusting” part right, we got the…
School Avoidance/School Refusal
Last week my son wanted to play hooky from kindergarten. As I was getting him ready for school, he said, “Mommy, my stomach hurts,” trying to look as pathetic as possible. I had a feeling that the problem wasn’t his stomach, but might have been connected with the fact…