Do children with ADHD need visuals to relax them? Absolutely!!!

I do not know about you, but I love pools, swimmimg in them, looking at the sun glsiten on them, hanging my feet in them, whatever.

Think of a visual for your child or teenager with ADHD, so when he thinks about it, he will feel more relaxed. When I think about a pool, I feel much more relaxed.

Why does your child need to feel more relaxed? Children and teenagers with ADHD often experience anxiety concerning interacting with their peers, completing their school work and/or homework, asking questions in class, among many other reasons. If you have them draw a picture, find a picture on the Internet, or have them explain a specific visual to you that helps them to feel more relaxed, it will arguably be easier for them to overcopme a specific obstacle.

Do you think that  thinking about a visual would relax your child or teenager with ADHD?

A Little Help from my Readers?

I would like to ask for your help.

I am trying to gauge the age range of the children of the parents who read my Tweets and/or my blog, as well as the age range of the children in the classrooms where you teach.

Please let me know especially if your children and/or your students are from 13-17 years old.

Also, if you are children or teenagers and you are reading my Tweets and/or my blog, please let me know your age, as well.

Thank you so much to all of my readers for your help!

Sincerely,

Dr. Rapoport 

When your Teenager with ADHD Starts High School…..

When your teenager with ADHD starts high school, he may immediately see changes in the number of choices that are available to him each day in school. For example, in middle school, everyone had to go to the lunch room, and in fact, teachers routinely checked each of the students to see if they had gone to the lunch room.

In high school, it is arguably rare that a teacher or an aide checks to see if students go to the cafeteria to eat their food. The other day, a teenager told me that he had not gone to the cafeteria on the first two days of high school. I asked him why he had not gone. He told me that he had not gone because he was nervous about not knowing where to sit. Then I asked him whether that meant that he had not eaten lunch. He then told me that he had not eaten lunch and that he only had had a small snack all day. He was famished!

I tried to convince him to at least try to go to the cafeteria the next day, if for no other reason than to find out where to sit. Has anyone had a similar experience with their teenager with ADHD?

I Usually Do Not Include Articles from About.com, but this One about Keeping a Contact Log may Help you Out

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/specialeducation/a/contactlog.htm

FINALLY!!!! According to Education Week, The Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Finalized Regulations Pertaining to Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities!

Please read this article, courtesy of Education Week

 

Rules Finally Issued on Infants, Toddlers With Disabilities

By Nirvi Shah on September 6, 2011 12:12 PM| Leave a comment|4 Recommendations

UPDATED
Six years after the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act was renewed, the U.S. Department of Education today finalized regulations that address how to work with infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.
Babies and toddlers with disabilities come under the law's Part C program, a $436 million program that serves about 340,000 children through age 2 who have developmental delays or a diagnosed physical or mental condition that has a high probability of leading to a developmental delay.
The regulations cover essentially the whole of Part C, including how quickly children must be identified and referred to those who can work with them, what language they should be evaluated in, and whether parents should be consulted before their insurance is tapped to pay for some of the services. (That's why the regulations are more than 900 pages long.)
Some highlights:

• Children must be referred to the Part C program "as soon as possible but in no case more than seven days" after identification.
• The new regulations clarify the transition requirements that apply to children receiving services as they move to preschool, kindergarten or elementary school.
• The regulations clarify when and what transition requirements apply to toddlers with disabilities, including toddlers in a state that elects to offer services beyond the age of 3. "Children are so young," said Deborah Zeigler, the associate executive director of policy and advocacy services for the Council for Exceptional Children. "The timelines are important."
• Also, the Education Department said the regulations have been revised to include the law's existing "maintenance of effort" requirements (which govern how much states and school districts spend on students with disabilities from year to year). But the agency will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking on these provisions and give the public a chance to comment on the proposal. That's important because whenever there are new regulations, there are expenses. "We certainly kept that in mind as we were developing these," said Ruth E. Ryder, deputy director of the Education Department's Office of Special Education Programs. "We feel like the benefit to children and families greatly outweighs any cost."
• States must get a parent's permission before requiring a parent to enroll in a public benefits or an insurance program for services for their child or if the use of funds from a public benefits or insurance program imposes certain costs on the parent. When the regulations were offered up for comment, this particular issue drew many comments. "It was a big issue—a big issue that needed clarification," said Mary Louise Dirrigl, director of the Office of Policy and Planning IDEA Team.
• Another area that needed clarifying was what language to use when evaluating a very young child, Ms. Dirrigl said. The regulations now say that those evaluating a child can use either the native language of the child or his or her parents.

Separately today, the Education Department is proposing new regulations regarding when a state or district wants to use a child's or parent's public benefits or insurance to pay for services under the IDEA.

BREAKING NEWS!!!! "12 Ways To Be More Search Savvy" (EVERYONE (Including Myself!) Can Use Help Searching Even if you Think that you are the Most Resourceful!

Breaking News!!

If you are a child, a teenager or an adult either with ADHD or helping someone to do research and/or to write papers who has ADHD, PLEASE look at this very helpful article!

http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/09/cracking-the-code-to-the-best-google-search/

It is the First Day of School: How are YOU doing? Are you Nervous? Are you Relaxed? Let's Talk

The first day of school is oftentimes an anxiety-provoking situation for parents. I remember feeling both nervous, as well as a sense of loss. (If my own children are reading this entry, is what I am saying a surprise to you guys?) I know what you are thinking...Come on, Dr. Rapoport, my children are coming home in six or seven hours!

That being said, my feelings on the first day of school were always based on thinking that my children's responses to what happened or what did not happen in school would be a harbinger of things to come. If something happened on the first day of school, would they come to me for advice, or just prefer to figure it out for themselves? As much as I wanted my children to be independent, I also wanted them to come to me for advice.

There is often a fine line between independence and dependence, which I am sure I crossed when it was not such a good idea, as you may have, as well.

That being said, I always felt that I was on a see saw between trying to figure out what I THOUGHT was good for my children and what was ACTUALLY good for them.

The first day of school is a good day to think in a proactive way of how you will respond and NOT react to your children with ADHD's behavior, questions and issues.

Let me know....