1. Managing Your Child's Transition to Adulthood
2. Transition to Adulthood: Home Modifications for Adults with Special Needs
3. Special Needs Checklist: How Disability-Friendly is Your City?
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Here are three articles to help broach the topic of helping your child or young adult to transition to adulthood. Enjoy!
1. Managing Your Child's Transition to Adulthood 2. Transition to Adulthood: Home Modifications for Adults with Special Needs 3. Special Needs Checklist: How Disability-Friendly is Your City? These TedTalks are a collection of talks to enjoy before welcoming a new little life into the world.
Enjoy! Parents are often hungry for advice on how to raise their children, seeking guidance on how to prompt kids to follow through with such everyday responsibilities such as doing chores and completing their homework, as well as insights on the best ways to help them stave off unhealthy behaviors, such as too much screen time and substance use. These scientifically supported sites and programs are among psychology's best for helping parents raise their kids. 1. InfoAboutKids.org This website is a clearinghouse of behavioral science on children and adolescents, developed by the Consortium of Science-Based Information on Children, Youth, and Families. Geared towards parents, educators, and behavioral health specialists, the site covers common parenting concerns, such as difficulties, drug and alcohol use, puberty, and much more. Every resource has been vetted by psychologists to ensure its advice is based on solid research and is bias-free. Perhaps most useful of all, the site can help parents determine for themselves which childhood behaviors are part of normal development and which might need a psychologist's attention. 2. EffectiveChildTherapy.org This website offers information on the symptoms of and treatment for behavioral and mental health problems in children and adolescents. In addition, Effective Child Therapy showcases the strong science behind today's successful treatments. 3. Act Raising Safe Kids Program Developed by APA's Violence Prevention Office, this eight-week class teaches positive parenting skills to parents of young children to foster safe, stable, and healthy environments and relationships that prevent children's exposure to abuse and adversities. Parents can also find tips on how to handle typical situations that they may encounter with their children such as bullying and tantrums. 4. Effective Parenting: The ABC's of Child Rearing This free online parenting course was devloped by Alan E. Kazdin, Ph.D, former APA President and Director of the Yale Parenting Center. This course provides 20 how-to videos explaining parenting techniques that address problem behaviors at both home and school. Kazdin instructs parents on the importance of speaking to their children in a calm or playful tone and allowing kids to make choices whenever possible. Scores of studies back these approaches. 5. Resilience Booster: Parent Tip Tool Developed by APA's Children, Youth, and Families Office and its Office on Socioeconomic Status, this site provides parents and caregivers with tips on how to boost children's resilience in the face of adverse experiences. This site is organized around the various places where children spend their time and outlines how each environment can help build resilience among children living in poverty. April is Autism Awareness Month! As a clinical psychologist who specializes in working with children and teenagers on the autism spectrum, I read and wanted to share these four blog posts that I found helpful and well-written. Thank you to a reader of the blog who informed me of these blogs.
Helping Asperger's Teens to Survive and Thrive: 15 Key Steps How to Create a Backyard Sanctuary for Kids with Disabilities 15 Behavioral Strategies for Children on the Autism Spectrum For Teachers and Educators: Strategies for Working with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder I came across several good articles about topics that concern having a child with special needs. I thought that they were useful and wanted to share what I found.
For Parents/Caregivers: 1. Creating a Home Where Your Child Can Thrive with a Disability 2. How to Create an Autism-Friendly Environment for Kids 3. Discipline Strategies for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder 4. 20 Tips for Keeping Your Child with Special Needs Safe in Your Home 5. 6 Tax Tips for Parents of Children with Special Needs 6. The Best Activities for Special Needs 7. Autism in the Teen Years: What to Expect, How to Help For Teachers: 1. Teaching Children with Developmental Disabilities, Classroom Ideas 2. Teacher Resources for Special Needs Recently, I received an email from a reader of this blog who provided resources that they have found useful in helping parents of children with special needs. I appreciate their generosity in sharing these sites with me, and with their permission, I am sharing them with you. I hope that these resources are helpful to any parent, caregiver, or professional who works with or raises a child with special needs.
1. Understanding Dyslexia and How to Help Children Who Have It 2. The Importance of Self-Esteem for Kids With Learning and Attention Issues 3. Parenting Tips for ADHD: Do’s and Don’ts 4. How to Create an Autism-Friendly Environment for Kids 5. How to Discuss Puberty with Your Child Who Has Special Needs 6. Creating the Optimal Environment for a Kid with ADHD 7. Teens with ADHD: Recognizing Signs of Depression 8. ADHD and Addiction - What is the Risk? 9. Teaching the Person with Autism How to Drive 10. How to Prepare Your Child with Special Needs for the Back-to-School Transition Here are some books which discuss welcoming a new sibling to your child and family.
1. Olivia: A Guide to Being a Big Sister by Natalie Shaw
2. Henry is a Big Brother by Alyssa Satin
3. Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
4. 101 Things To Do With Baby by Jan Ormerod
5. The Berenstain Bears' New Baby by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Sometimes reading a good book helps with everyday issues. When children read, they can be self-reflective without experiencing the anxiety they might feel talking about their own situation. Here are some books for young children on family diversity. 1. The Family Book by Todd Parr
2. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
3. Gloria Goes to Gay Pride by Leslea Newman
Starting college, students usually have expectations about college life long before they actually leave home. Some freshmen eagerly look forward to college and experiencing more freedom and adventure. Other students may be enthusiastic about college initially, but then discover that their actual experience falls short of their expectations. They don’t feel comfortable, happy, or secure in their new environment. There are still other students who know that leaving home will be hard and dread the thought of saying good-bye to their friends and family, dread the idea of packing and going to college. Nearly every individual encounters challenging experiences at the beginning of college that they did not anticipate. The transition to college, a generally positive experience, can produce stress and place demands that can lead to varying emotions including sadness, loneliness, and worry. These feelings are typical and part of the normal developmental transition to college. Changes to Expect in the First Year of College
Many students welcome the freedom to make their own decisions about what they want to do each day while in college and other students struggle with this level of freedom. Freshmen must decide when and how to study, socialize with new acquaintances, become involved in activities, exercise, manage their finances, and make time to eat and sleep. Students are faced, often for the first time, with the need to take more initiative to address responsibilities, such as scheduling their classes, buying personal items, making appointments to take care of health needs, asking professors and staff for help, and doing laundry. Freshmen have to adjust to new surroundings and negotiate conflicts with new roommates. Frequent calls home from freshmen are common, especially during the first few months away at college. It may be very hard to say goodbye at the end of holiday or semester breaks. It may also be difficult to re-adjust to rules at home, such as curfews, chores or responsibilities for younger siblings. It is important to point out that parents also need to adjust during this period. Many students leave high school boyfriends or girlfriends when they go to college. There may be disagreement about whether it is okay to make new friends or see other people. One, or both, partners may struggle with feeling lonely, sad, or jealous, especially if the other partner seems to be happier and adjusting better. Easing the Transition: · Reach out to others in your dorm. You are likely to find that you are not the only one who is sad and upset. Your R.A. (Resident Adviser) is a good resource to talk to and to help you figure out how to cope. Upperclassmen may also be good people to turn to. They might want to share their experiences with you as well what they did to cope. · Join campus organizations and clubs that appeal to you. These activities do not have to be a perfect match for you, but can still help you to meet and interact with others who share similar interests and/or may also be looking to meet friends outside the dorm environment. It helps to get more involved! · Make an extra effort to take care of yourself, including making time to rest, eat balanced meals, exercise and avoid abusing alcohol or drugs. Try to develop a manageable schedule, including identifying your optimal place and time in the day to study. · Adjust your expectations if things are not working out as you planned. For example, your roommate might not be your best friend. You may need to initiate conversations about conflict over personal space and living habits. Try to give yourself some time to adjust. Recognize that relationships take time to develop (e.g. most students’ friendships from home formed over a period of years), and that your surroundings will become more familiar over time. · Seek out resources on campus that can help you address problems and get support, both academically and personally. These varied resources include your adviser, professors, your RA, and other university services such as the Counseling Center and the Student Services Center, Each of these resources will also assist in connecting you with other helpful resources on campus. With school ending in the Bay Area this week, I have been asked by several parents for ideas of what to do with their children over the summer vacation. So enjoy the freedom of summer with some of these fun activities in the Bay Area:
101 Things To Do with Kids in the Bay Area 50 Things to Do with Kids Best of the Peninsula Best Cheap Activities with Kids on the Peninsula I hope you and your child have a fun, playful summer enjoying the Bay Area! |
Miranda J. Gabriel, Psy.D.A licensed clinical psychologist providing psychotherapy to children, teens, and adults in the San Francisco Bay Area. Categories
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