These are ‘hot’ topics of interest

Understanding Moody Teenagers

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Moody Teenagers by Jim Forgan, Ph.D. “My teen son has a hard time showing emotions and has a hard time to make friendships. He has a hard time to feel happy and contented. He even has a hard time to do activities that he considers useless or are mentally or physically demanding. Help me figure out what is wrong with him!”

Moody Teenagers

It’s not uncommon for teenagers to be moody since they are a ball of changing hormones, have variable sleep patterns, and are vying for independence.  All this occurs while your teen is dealing with the pressures of school, social media, and exposure to drugs and porn.  As the mom wrote, her teen was withdrawn and his behavior changed within the past few months.  Prior to this he was a happier person and a decent student.

The Root Cause

Our testing revealed this teen was depressed.  Mom had wondered if he was depressed but thought looking down at him from the 30,000-foot view he had a good life.  He had an intact family, a cell phone, nice place to live, and he was doing well in school.  She thought, “What is there to be depressed about?” Testing revealed he had very strong feelings of inadequacy and was struggling with his identity.  He believed he was not in control of his outcomes so, “Why should he try?”

It took mom a while to get dad to recognize the struggle but after our results review meeting he understood additional support was needed.  Dad actually initiated the conversation with his teen by saying, “I feel that our relationship is strained. It may not bother you but it bothers me and if you would, I’d like you to meet with a counselor. I will as well because I need some help knowing how to help you and our family.”  The teen agreed to dad’s request.

Answers

School neuropsychological testing was the process which provided answers.  Call (561) 625 4125 if you are concerned about your child and would like understanding moody teenagers. Testing is completed in one day and we test children through young adults for autism, dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Our approach can help you.

Why is My Child So Slow?

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My Child is So Slow! By Megan Weiss, Ed.S. NCSP.

Eve’s nickname is “Eeyore” one parent told me.  She was feeling frustration when dealing with her child completing tasks slower than everyone else. Whether it was doing homework, completing simple household chores, or getting out the door in the morning, Eve was slow or the last one to go.  It required constant reminders and mom felt like she was always nagging.  She hypothesized her daughter was perhaps lazy, unmotivated, or did not understand what to do.  But what really perplexed this mom was that Eve was slow regardless of if the activity was something fun or routine. It could be getting ready for a fun day at the waterpark and she was still slow.

Why is my Child So Slow?

There are many reasons why a child is completing tasks at a much slower pace than their peers.

  • One reason is your child could have slower processing speed so even simple tasks will take them longer to complete. This can leave your child feeling overwhelmed, mentally fatigued, and discouraged.
  • Second, your child could have a weak working memory and struggle to keep track of the tasks they are assigned and often forget what to do next. This can especially be noticed if you give your child multiple tasks at once.
  • Third, your child may have weaker inhibition which means that they have a hard time resisting distractors. Your child could be cleaning their room and find something they misplaced and become distracted playing with this and not cleaning up.
  • Fourth, your child might have ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Presentation or what we used to call ADD.

What Could I Do?

Seek answers and understanding so you can do something different instead of becoming frustrated with your child and straining your relationship. A school neuropsychological evaluation will help you get to the root cause of why your child completing tasks so slowly. Our evaluations assess all of these potential causes and provide specific and helpful recommendations to improve your child’s functioning in the home and school settings.

Call us (561) 625 4125 to discuss your child and your needs.

Autism or Just an Awkward Kid?

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A concerned mom came to me seeking insights on her son’s behavior.  She explained, “Sometimes Joseph can seem zoned out and not always in tune with what it going on around him. He can be socially awkward at times. Joseph can also be so hyper focused on something like his hobby and interest. He can get easily bored and likes to be pretty active all of the time which is a good thing but sometimes it is hard for him to relax.” This mom wanted to know if her son might have autism, ADHD, or anxiety so she knew how to best support him.

Upon meeting Joseph for the first time, he presented as a well-groomed and athletic adolescent.  He was slightly rigid in his social mannerisms as if he had been taught skills such as greeting someone by looking them in the eye and shaking their hand.  While this was an appropriate behavior, his interaction came across as scripted or practiced. While talking with him I learned he had an advanced vocabulary and could converse about many different topics. He understood humor and could joke around. Joseph also understood idioms such as when I was referencing a told secret and said, “She let the cat out of the bag.” He understood what that meant.

My school neuropsychological testing with Joseph revealed two main contributing factors.  First, he had low cognitive flexibility which is a fancy term for flexible thinking.  His mental rigidity contributed to him being a blacker and whiter thinker. He saw things his way which created his social awkwardness. The second factor was slower processing speed which helped explain why he seemed zoned out at times.  In certain situations Joseph quickly used up his mental fuel which resulted in mental fatigue. When his occurred he disengaged and seemed out of touch with what was going on around him.

I helped create a plan and recommended certain exercises he could do to improve these areas.  Call (561) 625 4125 if you are concerned about your child and would like understanding and answers. We test kids and young adults ages two* through college. Check out my books if you want to learn more about ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or dysgraphia.

*Autism testing is the only testing which starts at age 2.

Three Step Process for College Planning

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Planning for college does not have to wait until the senior year.  Students obtain better outcomes when college planning starts in tenth or eleventh grade.  A rising junior student I recently worked wanted to attend a large state university but he had not yet accomplished anything to position himself as a competitive applicant.  During our interview he revealed he did not participate in any school clubs, student government, sports, or arts.  He was not working or volunteering.  This put him at a disadvantage.

First Step

Working with a college planner helps students accomplish three important steps. First, resume building.  College applicants submit a resume as part of the admission process.  Teens benefit from coaching on the best activities to become involved with to include on their resume. Most college admissions officers prefer a well-rounded individual as compared to a one dimensional book worm.

Second Step

A second important step is test preparation.  Have you heard that test scores are often optional and don’t really matter for college admission? That’s not exactly true.  When applying to highly competitive universities the admission officer examines applications and when two applicants are equal on paper, the one with test scores has the admission edge. Thus, your student needs test preparation for the ACT and SAT tests.

Third Step

A third step to preparing for college is crafting an amazing essay.  Admission officers really read every applicant’s essay. They look for a distinguisher that captures the essence of the teen and how they will contribute to making the university a better institution.  Thus, participating in essay workshops and working with an expert essay college planner helps to best position your student.

Class 101 College Planning Made Simple

I recommend the one-to-one college planning services of Class 101 North Palm Beach.  They provide ten college planning services which includes the three in this article to give your student an edge in the competitive college admission process.

We test high school students who need ACT and SAT accommodations such as extended time, stop the clock brain breaks, and small group testing.  Call (561) 625 4125 to discuss your child.

Is it Autism, ADHD, or Both?

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A parent recently brought her 10-year-old child to me to answer the question, “Is it Autism, ADHD, or Both?” Her son was having difficulty in school with friendships, concentrating, transitioning, and his teacher was labeling him as a problem child. This parent tried to find answers on Dr Google but was left feeling more confused than clear. She wanted answers to know how to help her child and stop the downward spiral.

Autism and ADHD Characteristics

Autism and ADHD share many overlapping characteristics such as difficulty concentrating, friendship struggles, rigidity, quirky behaviors, and emotional dysregulation. Two key features of identifying autism include looking for a child’s restricted interest and repetitive behaviors as these often interfere with social skills.

Ongoing Restricted Interests

A restricted interest is an interest that is unusually strong and hyper focused to the extent the child only wants to discuss, play, or research the topic. This boy had heightened interest, but they changed about every month. He obsessed about Legos, then Fortnite, and then Star Wars.  These short intense, and then move on, interests were unlike a child with autism who would rather have one extended hyper focused interest such as planets.

Self-Stimulating Behavior

Many children with autism also have repetitive behaviors or self-stimulating behaviors. These could be hand motions when they get excited or moving their body in a certain way. This boy’s movements were related to low impulse control rather than the same repetitive behavior.

Tests of Social Perception

In addition to looking at symptoms via interview and rating scales, we completed interactive tests of social perception. We assessed if he could recognize a child’s facial affect and understand another child’s frame of reference.

The overall conclusion was this boy had ADHD, which interfered with his ability to concentrate, maintain his impulses, and was the root cause of friendship difficulty. Other kids rejected him due to his unpredictable behavior and intense emotional reactions.v We created recommendations to help him learn to regulate his attention and emotions. The parents also shared the testing results with the school for an accommodation plan.

I’ve written books on autism and ADHD for parents like you and you can find them on Amazon .

Call (561) 625 4125 to discuss your child.