These are ‘hot’ topics of interest

Parents’ Quick Start Guide to Autism

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Parents’ Quick Guide to Autism Interventions.

When your child has autism, navigating intervention options can be confusing and overwhelming when trying to act quickly but wisely to help your loved one. If you don’t know the best interventions to use or when to use them, you may feel stuck. Unintentionally, you might delay your child’s access to essential and timely interventions.  Or, you may act in haste and spend your precious time and resources on interventions that are ineffective or even potentially harmful to your child. We want to help you avoid these pitfalls, by guiding you to the most up-to-date research on autism-focused interventions and highlighting a few parent-friendly interventions that can help you and your child enjoy some shared accomplishments sooner rather than later.

What works for Autism

A number of professional organizations have done the hard work of sorting through what works and what does not work for you. A recent report provided by the National Clearing House for Autism Evidence Based Practices summarizes 28 practices that research has demonstrated are the most effective interventions for people with autism. These are the primary supports to use to help your child. This comprehensive resource describes the positive outcomes reported in the reviewed studies, the age groups that benefited from them, and who successfully delivered the interventions.  You can locate the complete guide at: www.ncaep.fpg.unc.edu/research-resources.

Evidence Based Practices

Knowing there are twenty-eight evidence-based practices for teaching skills at different ages is important.  You can start with parent-friendly practices that you can confidently and safely use on your own.  One recommended practice to start using now to increase your child’s skills and independence are “Visual Supports.” A visual support is a tool that will help your child understand and navigate the social world better.  Since using and understanding spoken language is challenging for children with autism, visuals are a great way to “show” instead of “tell” your child what to do.  This and many more interventions are discussed in my new book, Parent’s Quick Start Guide to Autism available on Amazon.

Dr. Forgan is a licensed school psychologist and tests kids for autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other issues. Call (561) 625 4125.

Executive Functioning In Smart but Scattered Kids

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Executive functioning is an umbrella term for many different activities of the brain that orchestrate goal-directed action. Executive functions include your child’s ability to: focus, decide what is important, set goals, use prior knowledge, initiate action, manage time, self-monitor performance, use self restraint, and remain flexible.

Executive Functioning Difficulties Look Like This

Imagine you have an eight-year-old son and he is a hot mess. When he arrives home from school he leaves his shoes in the middle of the kitchen and his book bag in the middle of the foyer. At some point he makes himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The bread bag is left open, the lid is off the peanut butter jar, a sticky knife slathered with peanut butter and drips of jelly are on the counter. When you find him gaming, there’s a sea of crumbs on his chair and the family dog has licked his plate clean. This boy has executive functioning difficulties.

Executive functions help modulate our attention, effort, and emotion so that we can plan, organize, and respond independently, consistently, and predictably. Having well developed executive functions helps children regulate their behavior in social settings and their output on academic tasks. These are smart kids who get the big picture but lack follow through on many important details.  Your child might need you to act as his or her executive assistant.

Support Your Child

To help your child provide scaffolding of skills which are provide temporary supports as your child’s executive functioning skills evolve.  Do enough to support but not enable your child.  Second, help create systems of support such as checklists, technology reminders, following a consistent schedule, and organizing materials.  Third, sustain your child’s strengths as our strengths often become our careers and passions in life.  Learn more in my book The Disorganized, Impulsive Child: Solutions for Parenting Kids with Executive Functioning Difficulties.

Test Your Child’s Executive Functioning

Executive functioning difficulties often co-occur with ADHD and learning disabilities.  We can test your child’s executive functioning and provide specific solutions to help at home and in school.  Dr. Forgan is a licensed school psychologist and certified dyslexia testing specialist and can help you at (561) 625 4125.

Benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Kids

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of counseling used to treat a number of psychological and behavioral conditions that commonly occur in children including: Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Depression, and Autism.

What is Cognitive Behavior Therapy?

Research suggests that typically developing children ages seven and older are reported to benefit most from CBT. CBT can be a very welcomed treatment with benefits for your whole family. The core principle of CBT is the premise that unhealthy thinking patterns can lead to unhealthy behavior patterns. CBT focuses on the cognitive factors that cannot be observed (unhealthy, irrational and obtrusive thoughts), but are known to serve as triggers for the unhelpful, and sometimes harmful, behaviors we experience.

The cognitive behavioral methods backed by research are those that systematically and simultaneously address unhealthy thinking patterns by helping the learner:

  • Understand thoughts are automatic but changeable
  • Recognize distorted (irrational, unrealistic) or catastrophic (worse-case scenario) thoughts
  • Evaluate these thoughts in terms of reality (e.g., how true is…?, how likely is it…?)
  • Reframe thoughts based on this evaluation (e.g., what is more likely?)
  • Problem solve situations based on this evaluation (e.g., If it is likely…, then I can)
  • Increase confidence in the ability to problem solve over time (Last time, I was able to…)

It also address unhealthy behavior patterns using some of the following methods:

  • Cognitive Restructuring: replacing irrational thoughts with more balanced ones
  • Containment: Setting parameters around when and where negative emotions and behaviors will be processed and addressed
  • Graded Exposure: Facing fearful situations in a gradual and therapeutic way over time
  • Successive Approximation: breaking down complex tasks into smaller more attainable steps to build confidence and self-efficacy along the way

Where do I found a counselor?

Check PsychologyToday.com or the South Florida Association of Christian Counselors for local counselors. When you talk with a counselor, specifically ask if he or she offers cognitive behavior therapy.  While we don’t offer it, we do offer dyslexia, learning disability, IQ, anxiety, depression, and ADHD/ADD testing.  Visit JimForgan.com or call (561) 625 4125.

Help Me Help My Child

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Help me help my child is a theme of many parents we work with.  Like many parents, you want to know if something is wrong with your child and what you can do to help. That’s our specialty.

Cathy came to us and her first grade son was struggling with his behavior in school and at home.  It seemed like everyday the teacher sent a negative report home about him causing trouble. She had already eliminated junk food from his diet. He was taking a focus vitamin she purchased online but neither made much of a difference. She wanted to know if her child’s behavior was developmental or something else.  Cathy did not want to punish her son for something he could not control.

Our school neuropsychological testing assessed his attention, concentration, memory, language, fine motor control, intelligence, and learning to look for a root cause for his difficulty. Some children have poor behavior due to not understanding directions and others process information slower and miss key details.  Some children act out because of an underlying learning disability.  We uncovered Cathy’s son had neuropsychological weaknesses in attention and processing speed and were able to recommend specific strategies to help at home and in school.

Our testing gave Cathy a better understanding of her child so she could provide targeted support.  This saved her valuable time and likely preserved her son’s self-esteem.  Some kids with prolonged behavior issues develop low self-esteem and view themselves as a bad boy or girl. With her new approach Cathy and her husband helped her son have a remarkable turn around in school and at home.

We can help you help your child. We test kids for dyslexia, behavior issues, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and much more.  Call us (561) 625 4125.

Three Ways to Start School Strong

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Most kids start school with the intention of having a great year but sometimes their intentions don’t match their actions and kids start to struggle.  After all, what kid wants to go to school and face hardship after hardship? Some kids struggle academically while others have social struggles.  Either way, these struggles can leave your child feeling frustrated, developing a negative school attitude, and interfering with your child’s performance. Consider these three ways to start school strong.

Know Your Child’s Teacher(s)

First, get to know your child’s teacher(s). This is especially important if your child has an IEP or 504 Plan because you want the teacher to know how to best help your child.  All parents should consider writing the teacher(s) a short letter explaining your child’s strengths and needs.  I was a classroom teacher and when I received letters from parents it helped me understand and support your child faster.  I knew if a child was a worrier, had math struggles, a history of bullying, as well as kids’ strengths.

Teachers also appreciate it when you volunteer your time or resources to help the class.  Teachers usually have copying, laminating, bulletin boards, and many other tasks that you could help them with. When you volunteer in your child’s class, you get to know the teacher and other students.  These opportunities can help you help your child by having the inside scoop.  Teachers also appreciate it when you donate materials such as copy paper, books, or supplies.  It seems in schools there is always a short supply of copy paper.

Build Your Child’s Mindset

Second, build your child’s mindset that he or she can do hard things with effort.  Teach your child to have grit which is sticking with a task until completion.  Notice the small things that your child does that took effort.  If it took effort for your child to pick up pinecones in the yard before it is mowed, comment on how he stuck with a task that was boring and took effort.  Ask him what he was saying to himself as he worked. Did he say, “This sucks” or “I can do it and I’m helping my mom.”  Hopefully the latter and then say, “Can you tell yourself that when you have a hard task in school?”

Routines Are Important

Third, create routines and seek proactive support.  Kids perform best when they have a predictable daily routine that includes being organized.  Establish a homework schedule, have a consistent place for the backpack, keep use technology to set getting ready in the morning reminders.  Having these reduces stress and saves time.  Finally, when you see your child struggle, contact a tutor, counselor, or skills coach such as www.BeyondBooksmart.com.

We can help you help find out why your child struggles and give real solutions to help. Call(561) 625 4125.