Autism, a devasting neurodevelopment disorder of unknown cause, has increased alarmingly in recent decades. A core feature of autism is impairment of social bonding – the ability to connect emotionally with other people. This is a basic drive that supports our survival. Its development is hardwired in the brain from birth, and is controlled by oxytocin. Administration of pitocin in labor may interfere with the function of oxytocin – and the ability to connect to other people – later in life. Continue Reading
The Myth of ADHD
Problems with attention and impulse control listed are very common, but not because everyone with these problems has a particular neurodevelopmental disorder – ADHD – for which they need a stimulant drug. These problems are a common symptom of many conditions, including depression, anxiety, inflammation, stress, just like a fever is a symptom of many kinds of illness. Continue Reading
Sensory Integration Issues
Sensory issues, sometimes referred to as Sensory Integration or Sensory Processing Disorder, tend to occur along with other issues. These are common in children with emotional dysregulation and in children with autism. Children can be much more sensitive (hypersensitive) or much less sensitive (hyposensitivity) to particular types of sensory input (noise, light, smell, taste, touch, Continue Reading
Learning Problems
There are many different types of learning problems. In fact, there are as many different types of learning problems as there are types of learners, multiplied by the number of types of learning. Okay, it’s impossible to calculate, but you get the idea. Lots and lots. The idea that someone has a condition, a “learning Continue Reading
Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a degenerative disease that begins late in life and causes increasingly widespread destruction of brain cells. People in the early stages may be aware of and concerned about changes in their ability to think and remember, although as the disease progresses they will become less aware of and concerned about their Continue Reading
What’s Up with all this ADHD?
Can so many children really have an attention disorder, for which they need to take medication every day, indefinitely? What is going on here? What if, the problem is not with the children, but with what we are expecting them to be able to do? What if young children are not supposed to be able Continue Reading
A Love Letter to So You Think You Can Dance
I’m not a big TV watcher. But there is one show I have watched without fail for the past eight seasons (I missed their first), and I’m so addicted to it that in those rare downtime moments when someone else might be playing solitaire, I’m searching for YouTube videos of scenes from it, and watching Continue Reading
Special Education ABCs
The educational program in public school is designed to be effective for most children. Some children, however, are not able to learn in the regular program and require a special instructional program or “special education services.” You as a parent or guardian have a right to refer your child to the district’s “special education committee” Continue Reading