Mark Bertin's Blog, page 7
April 13, 2016
More to Happiness Than Momentary Moods
Not every mood occurs in response to experience. Some are driven by our own inner chemistry, but we often link outside causes to these haphazard states of mind.
January 26, 2016
Academic Planning for ADHD Starts Now
Winter may just be starting, but fall academic planning is only a few months away. Remember that grades are not the bottom line for academic planning. Some students get reasonable marks even while struggling significantly with ADHD, which can affect anything related to planning and organization. This includes writing, study habits, time management and far more. A strong school plan implements specific supports wherever we find ADHD, regardless of grades alone.
During school meetings, you can use the following checklist (a download is also available) to guide discussion about potential accommodations. Seek out both short-term solutions that adapt to your child's present skills and a long-term plan for independence. Include instruction for your child in both academic and organizational skills, or consider hiring a psychologist, coach, or tutor to help your child in these areas. Identify who will coordinate your child's plan at school, both as a resource for your child and as your own link for communication; often this will be a teacher, school psychologist, social worker, or guidance counselor.
Classroom accommodations
Preferential seating in the front of room, facing the teacher, and away from children who are particularly distracting
Minimization of distractions through a well-organized classroom, possibly with partitioned areas for independent work
Scheduled breaks and shorter periods of sustained effort
Prompting for transitions between activities
Written routines or visual schedules for nonreaders and supports with adherence to those routines
Frequent parent-teacher communication about schoolwork, along with an "early warning system" notifying you as soon as work is missed. If homework is missed or anything changes academically, it's easier to problem solve early.
Homework and organizational accommodations
Prompting your child to write down assignments, and not relying on online systems unless all teachers in the school are committed to using them daily
Plans for redirecting your child when off task
A daily organizational check-in for your child with a teacher or other staff member
Breaking up projects into daily portions and helping your child record the steps on a calendar, along with adult monitoring of progress for each step
Daily logistical support, such as how to get to classes without being late, managing books, and organizing a locker
Reminders to hand in homework and projects (or allowing them to be scanned and e-mailed directly to teachers)
Offering writing supports, such as outlines, and making them available whenever needed, across all subjects
Handwriting supports, such as allowing keyboarding, along with additional writing instruction
Supplying written notes for each class
Providing duplicate textbooks so one copy can be kept at home and the other at school
Modifying homework to ensure a reasonable workload per evening
Behavioral planning
Using reward-based behavioral plans, with positive feedback outweighing negative, and rewarding productive behaviors, such as self-checking schoolwork
Frequent communication with you regarding your child's behavior
Consistent routines in the classroom
Not utilizing punishments that involve loss of gym and recess time, since exercise often diminishes ADHD symptoms and kids with ADHD may need more breaks during the day
Testing modifications
Extending test time as needed. (Some children with ADHD rush regardless; extended time only helps those who work slowly.)
Testing away from distractions
Reading test instructions to your child
Providing writing supports
Checking for careless errors
Using alternate testing methods as needed (for example, oral versus written)
- Adapted from "Mindful Parenting for ADHD" released September 2015 by New Harbinger
During school meetings, you can use the following checklist (a download is also available) to guide discussion about potential accommodations. Seek out both short-term solutions that adapt to your child's present skills and a long-term plan for independence. Include instruction for your child in both academic and organizational skills, or consider hiring a psychologist, coach, or tutor to help your child in these areas. Identify who will coordinate your child's plan at school, both as a resource for your child and as your own link for communication; often this will be a teacher, school psychologist, social worker, or guidance counselor.
Classroom accommodations
Preferential seating in the front of room, facing the teacher, and away from children who are particularly distracting
Minimization of distractions through a well-organized classroom, possibly with partitioned areas for independent work
Scheduled breaks and shorter periods of sustained effort
Prompting for transitions between activities
Written routines or visual schedules for nonreaders and supports with adherence to those routines
Frequent parent-teacher communication about schoolwork, along with an "early warning system" notifying you as soon as work is missed. If homework is missed or anything changes academically, it's easier to problem solve early.
Homework and organizational accommodations
Prompting your child to write down assignments, and not relying on online systems unless all teachers in the school are committed to using them daily
Plans for redirecting your child when off task
A daily organizational check-in for your child with a teacher or other staff member
Breaking up projects into daily portions and helping your child record the steps on a calendar, along with adult monitoring of progress for each step
Daily logistical support, such as how to get to classes without being late, managing books, and organizing a locker
Reminders to hand in homework and projects (or allowing them to be scanned and e-mailed directly to teachers)
Offering writing supports, such as outlines, and making them available whenever needed, across all subjects
Handwriting supports, such as allowing keyboarding, along with additional writing instruction
Supplying written notes for each class
Providing duplicate textbooks so one copy can be kept at home and the other at school
Modifying homework to ensure a reasonable workload per evening
Behavioral planning
Using reward-based behavioral plans, with positive feedback outweighing negative, and rewarding productive behaviors, such as self-checking schoolwork
Frequent communication with you regarding your child's behavior
Consistent routines in the classroom
Not utilizing punishments that involve loss of gym and recess time, since exercise often diminishes ADHD symptoms and kids with ADHD may need more breaks during the day
Testing modifications
Extending test time as needed. (Some children with ADHD rush regardless; extended time only helps those who work slowly.)
Testing away from distractions
Reading test instructions to your child
Providing writing supports
Checking for careless errors
Using alternate testing methods as needed (for example, oral versus written)
- Adapted from "Mindful Parenting for ADHD" released September 2015 by New Harbinger
Academic Planning for ADHD Starts Now
Winter may just be starting, but fall academic planning is only a few months away. Remember that grades are not the bottom line for academic planning. Some students get reasonable marks even while struggling significantly with ADHD, which can affect anything related to planning and organization.
January 25, 2016
Academic Planning for ADHD Starts Now
For a child with ADHD, grades are not the bottom line for academic planning. Some students get reasonable marks even while struggling significantly.
January 21, 2016
Mind Your Toes, Manage Your Stress
A new study in the journal Biological Psychology suggests that people with better body awareness tend to feel less stressed. That's no surprise, perhaps, if you've already been practicing mindfulness, but may seem odd otherwise. Stress leads to a physiological response, such as increased heart rate or sweating. Participants who reported themselves less overwhelmed by a challenge also noticed their physical state sooner that others -- with brain scans suggesting they were able to reign in anxiety before it escalated.
This relatively simple idea illustrates a somewhat complex concept around stress management and mindfulness. In part, mindfulness practice develops attention -- for example, within a body scan we typically observe physical sensations from our toes gradually moving up to our head. But what's the actual benefit of knowing what's going on with our toes?
Start with the Body
Mindfulness is meant to be practical, and once again, this study shows why. The body scan practice monitors subtle physical shifts constantly occurring in our bodies. Observing in this way is not an abstraction; it's a useful approach to a less stressful life. Through practice and over time, we develop the awareness that stress-management experts in the study discovered for themselves.
Left unattended, stress often amplifies itself all day long. A thought or experience sets us off, and that affects our body and our mood. How our body feels and our emotional state affect how we think, thoughts lead to more thoughts, on and on. Awareness of that pattern, and actively choosing to step out of the cycle, makes a world of difference. Since it's far easier to settle ourselves when mildly stressed than after fight or flight takes over, body awareness can help.
Being aware of our bodies helps break the stress cycle. When under-aware of our physical experience, we may miss the first signs of stress. Of course it's not only about stress, since our body reflects our emotions and provides early warnings of many shifts in mood. Even more subtly, our body influences how we feel; for example, one recent study showed poor posture (in particular, the slouch used while staring at a phone) may make our mood worse. So being aware of what's up in our body can be one vital way of adjusting to and managing our lives.
With the body scan, we develop the capacity to notice our physical experience. Instead of following ourselves down the typical path, we practice pausing and perhaps redirecting ourselves out of our mental ruts. Or we manage to settle our racing hearts and minds before anxiety takes over. Catching the cycle early, we more easily adapt and redirect it. Try it today, and see what you find.
This relatively simple idea illustrates a somewhat complex concept around stress management and mindfulness. In part, mindfulness practice develops attention -- for example, within a body scan we typically observe physical sensations from our toes gradually moving up to our head. But what's the actual benefit of knowing what's going on with our toes?
Start with the Body
Mindfulness is meant to be practical, and once again, this study shows why. The body scan practice monitors subtle physical shifts constantly occurring in our bodies. Observing in this way is not an abstraction; it's a useful approach to a less stressful life. Through practice and over time, we develop the awareness that stress-management experts in the study discovered for themselves.
Left unattended, stress often amplifies itself all day long. A thought or experience sets us off, and that affects our body and our mood. How our body feels and our emotional state affect how we think, thoughts lead to more thoughts, on and on. Awareness of that pattern, and actively choosing to step out of the cycle, makes a world of difference. Since it's far easier to settle ourselves when mildly stressed than after fight or flight takes over, body awareness can help.
Being aware of our bodies helps break the stress cycle. When under-aware of our physical experience, we may miss the first signs of stress. Of course it's not only about stress, since our body reflects our emotions and provides early warnings of many shifts in mood. Even more subtly, our body influences how we feel; for example, one recent study showed poor posture (in particular, the slouch used while staring at a phone) may make our mood worse. So being aware of what's up in our body can be one vital way of adjusting to and managing our lives.
With the body scan, we develop the capacity to notice our physical experience. Instead of following ourselves down the typical path, we practice pausing and perhaps redirecting ourselves out of our mental ruts. Or we manage to settle our racing hearts and minds before anxiety takes over. Catching the cycle early, we more easily adapt and redirect it. Try it today, and see what you find.
Mind Your Toes, Manage Your Stress
Left unattended, stress often amplifies itself all day long. A thought or experience sets us off, and that affects our body and our mood. How our body feels and our emotional state affect how we think, thoughts lead to more thoughts, on and on.
January 20, 2016
Mind Your Toes, Manage Your Stress
What does body awareness have to do with stress management? Maybe more than you think.
October 27, 2015
Childhood Social Difficulties: The ADHD/Autism Relationship
One of the basic wishes most parents share is that their children get along, play, and interact well with others. Most often, these social abilities develop intuitively. But for children who instead struggle with peers, the earlier interventions start, the earlier they catch up. Since both ADHD and autism impact relationships, sorting out the 'why' behind social difficulties is often a first step towards figuring out how to best support this vital area of development.
Autism and Social Development
Autism is a disorder of child development in which social skills do not develop as expected. More severe impairment involves children who may barely interact with others around them, and have quite limited language. On the other end of the spectrum are fairly extroverted children who seek out others and often relate well with adults, yet have a hard time understanding how to get along with children.
Both social and communication abilities progress from infancy forward along predictable developmental paths. While there is much more to autism, what distinguishes it from ADHD and other developmental disorders are differences in social development. Autism is diagnosed by looking for these social delays along with communication differences and behavioral symptoms. Common findings include:
Social: Children with autism lag behind socially, with differences documented in some studies down to six weeks of age. By one year, without ever being taught, most children respond to name, engage in back and forth interaction, and understand gesture language such as pointing and waving -- so delays in these traits are red flags for autism. The ability to understand facial expressions, humor, and empathy all happen on their own during typical development, as does a desire to share interests, play with others, and to seek comfort when upset. Other common red flags include poor eye contact, limited facial affect, and delays in imaginative play and self-help skills. When development does not meet these milestones, social development should be evaluated by a professional.
Communication: Most children with autism have early delays in language, speaking later than peers; a few never speak much at all. Others develop more concrete language abilities well, such as a large vocabulary and the ability to form sentences. However, they lack the ability to understand 'pragmatics,' the non-verbal aspects of communication, and speaking may seem overly scripted, repetitive, or awkward. Pragmatics include details like reading facial expression, understanding tone and humor, and initiating and following along in conversation, as well as adapting how to speak across social situations (like teachers versus parents versus peers).
Behavior: Autism is also characterized by quirks in behavior, including repetitive physical motions, such as hand flapping or spinning in place, obsessive, and often unusual, interests or overly rigid thinking. Many have sensory concerns as well. However, a diagnosis of autism is made based on social and communication differences, not this type of behavioral symptom alone.
ADHD and the Social World
ADHD symptoms also impact social interactions, cause communication differences, and may lead to behavioral challenges. The best one-line description of ADHD may come from Dr. Russell Barkley who said, "ADHD is not a disorder of not knowing what to do, it is a disorder of not doing what you know." This concept also helps separate ADHD from autism, as children with ADHD typically know the social rules, they just don't know how to follow them yet.
Social: Children with ADHD usually recognize what they're supposed to do socially but in everyday life they don't yet have the ability to show it. Symptoms such as being distracted, impulsive and off task impact interactions directly. They may also cause kids to miss social cues they would otherwise understand - if only they could notice them in the first place. They don't attend to the details of the social world because ADHD gets in the way.
Communication: One often overlooked aspect of ADHD is a relatively high risk of language delays. Yet even in the absence of an actual delay, ADHD may undermine communication. Children lose track of details, are overly talkative, interrupt, stray off topic, and have difficulty keeping track of information. They also may both speak and process information more slowly than peers - not a measure of intelligence, only of pacing. Unlike with autism, children with ADHD typically understand the pragmatic part of language; ADHD itself gets in the way.
Behavior: While not always, behavioral concerns frequently occur with ADHD. They involve not following social rules, such as acting impulsively, being overly silly or in other ways disrupting situations. When peers prefer sticking to one activity, having a short attention span for play may be disruptive all on its own. Lastly, the chronic challenges with organization and planning related to executive function that occur with ADHD have not been as clearly linked to autism alone. If a child with autism struggles significant with attention or executive function, ADHD may also be present.
Taking Action to Better Social Skills
The bottom line that distinguishes ADHD from autism is the ability to intuitively comprehend the social world. Delays in this area are the common thread among all diagnoses of autism, regardless of severity. Children with ADHD alone may struggle socially, but their intuitive understanding is intact - even if they cannot show it yet.
There are many situations where the distinction between ADHD and autism is not black and white, and a recent study suggests that an early diagnosis of ADHD sometimes delays recognition of autism. Challenging as it is not to know for certain whether ADHD, autism or both are present, from a child's perspective receiving appropriate intervention matters most. Often, getting started with a plan in and of itself helps sort out whether either diagnosis - or neither - is most appropriate. Thankfully, most social and communication interventions benefit children regardless of the diagnosis.
Seek comprehensive evaluation. Ask your school to evaluate your child's development, including language pragmatics, play and self-help skills. Or seek out a comprehensive evaluation outside of your school district. In addition to looking for developmental delays, having a secondary condition is common with both ADHD and autism (such as anxiety or motor delays), so screening for these 'comorbid' disorders is also important.
Understand the impact of ADHD. Any intervention that improves the symptoms of ADHD will also improve social abilities hindered by it. Comprehensive care for ADHD may mean individual- or parent-based behavioral therapy, social skills groups, medication, or various other evidence-based details. As a side note, misbehavior without seeming remorse doesn't always mean a child lacks empathy. Children with ADHD are often emotionally overwhelmed and immature, and don't know how to express remorse or react when they've done something wrong.
Start behavioral therapy and continue as long as symptoms persist. For autism, the foundation of intervention is behavioral therapy, often for far longer than happens in the real world. Behavioral programs do not only address disruptive behaviors; interventions such as applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy are the primary tools for teaching social skills.
Children with severe autism typically get intensive behavioral services, frequently in a self-contained classroom. With milder symptoms, children move into the mainstream or inclusion style classrooms, and behavioral interventions may become quite minimal. Yet one of the best predictors of outcome is when children receive ongoing behavioral therapy, regardless of severity of symptoms.
Think of it this way: If you want your child to be a concert pianist or a professional athlete, you'd have them practice hours a day. The same goes for social skills. As symptoms become milder therapies need not be so intensive, but the interventions continue until skills become fluent.
Add speech language therapy, if needed. By definition, if a child has autism they have communication challenges. However, it is difficult to measure language pragmatics through testing. Therefore, regardless of test scores, a child with autism will benefit from language services until proven otherwise by his own social success. With ADHD, also think about the possibility of language delays, and intervene when appropriate.
Address related conditions. As already noted, look out for coexisting conditions if progress slows. In addition, one common 'comorbidity' is having both autism and ADHD. When children already have compromised social and language abilities, adding ADHD to the mix makes it that much harder for them to succeed. Addressing ADHD may allow a child to focus, act less impulsively, and better access the skills they have developed through intervention, and goes a long way towards getting along with peers.
Consider academic placement. Mainstream classroom placement is always the goal, but not always best for everyone. Some kids prefer it, but others thrive in a more supported setting. Keeping up with mainstream demands and typically developing peers can be very stressful. Contained classrooms also allow for more intensive social pragmatic work, which may make mainstream placement easier down the road.
Academically, language and pragmatic delays often affect basic skills. For example, reading comprehension, making inferences, and writing can be impacted by ADHD or autism. Homework and in class assignments frequently require supports or modifications.
Lastly, while social plans often focus on the classroom, unstructured time (such as recess or gym) is often most challenging. In class, social rules are basically "sit quietly and raise your hand when it's time to talk." On the playground social mores are far more fluid. Children may struggle or even be subject to bullying, and planning may require social interventions more during down time than during academics.
Offer full family support. ADHD and autism stress parents and strain marriages. Take the time to take care of yourself and your relationship. Seek out help where needed -- from other family members, from friends, or with a professional if necessary. Seek out support groups. And consider practicing mindfulness, one of the more proven interventions for managing stress, to build the strength and stability needed to manage when life feels challenging.
A version of this blog posting by Dr. Bertin also appeared in Additude Magazine.
Autism and Social Development
Autism is a disorder of child development in which social skills do not develop as expected. More severe impairment involves children who may barely interact with others around them, and have quite limited language. On the other end of the spectrum are fairly extroverted children who seek out others and often relate well with adults, yet have a hard time understanding how to get along with children.
Both social and communication abilities progress from infancy forward along predictable developmental paths. While there is much more to autism, what distinguishes it from ADHD and other developmental disorders are differences in social development. Autism is diagnosed by looking for these social delays along with communication differences and behavioral symptoms. Common findings include:
Social: Children with autism lag behind socially, with differences documented in some studies down to six weeks of age. By one year, without ever being taught, most children respond to name, engage in back and forth interaction, and understand gesture language such as pointing and waving -- so delays in these traits are red flags for autism. The ability to understand facial expressions, humor, and empathy all happen on their own during typical development, as does a desire to share interests, play with others, and to seek comfort when upset. Other common red flags include poor eye contact, limited facial affect, and delays in imaginative play and self-help skills. When development does not meet these milestones, social development should be evaluated by a professional.
Communication: Most children with autism have early delays in language, speaking later than peers; a few never speak much at all. Others develop more concrete language abilities well, such as a large vocabulary and the ability to form sentences. However, they lack the ability to understand 'pragmatics,' the non-verbal aspects of communication, and speaking may seem overly scripted, repetitive, or awkward. Pragmatics include details like reading facial expression, understanding tone and humor, and initiating and following along in conversation, as well as adapting how to speak across social situations (like teachers versus parents versus peers).
Behavior: Autism is also characterized by quirks in behavior, including repetitive physical motions, such as hand flapping or spinning in place, obsessive, and often unusual, interests or overly rigid thinking. Many have sensory concerns as well. However, a diagnosis of autism is made based on social and communication differences, not this type of behavioral symptom alone.
ADHD and the Social World
ADHD symptoms also impact social interactions, cause communication differences, and may lead to behavioral challenges. The best one-line description of ADHD may come from Dr. Russell Barkley who said, "ADHD is not a disorder of not knowing what to do, it is a disorder of not doing what you know." This concept also helps separate ADHD from autism, as children with ADHD typically know the social rules, they just don't know how to follow them yet.
Social: Children with ADHD usually recognize what they're supposed to do socially but in everyday life they don't yet have the ability to show it. Symptoms such as being distracted, impulsive and off task impact interactions directly. They may also cause kids to miss social cues they would otherwise understand - if only they could notice them in the first place. They don't attend to the details of the social world because ADHD gets in the way.
Communication: One often overlooked aspect of ADHD is a relatively high risk of language delays. Yet even in the absence of an actual delay, ADHD may undermine communication. Children lose track of details, are overly talkative, interrupt, stray off topic, and have difficulty keeping track of information. They also may both speak and process information more slowly than peers - not a measure of intelligence, only of pacing. Unlike with autism, children with ADHD typically understand the pragmatic part of language; ADHD itself gets in the way.
Behavior: While not always, behavioral concerns frequently occur with ADHD. They involve not following social rules, such as acting impulsively, being overly silly or in other ways disrupting situations. When peers prefer sticking to one activity, having a short attention span for play may be disruptive all on its own. Lastly, the chronic challenges with organization and planning related to executive function that occur with ADHD have not been as clearly linked to autism alone. If a child with autism struggles significant with attention or executive function, ADHD may also be present.
Taking Action to Better Social Skills
The bottom line that distinguishes ADHD from autism is the ability to intuitively comprehend the social world. Delays in this area are the common thread among all diagnoses of autism, regardless of severity. Children with ADHD alone may struggle socially, but their intuitive understanding is intact - even if they cannot show it yet.
There are many situations where the distinction between ADHD and autism is not black and white, and a recent study suggests that an early diagnosis of ADHD sometimes delays recognition of autism. Challenging as it is not to know for certain whether ADHD, autism or both are present, from a child's perspective receiving appropriate intervention matters most. Often, getting started with a plan in and of itself helps sort out whether either diagnosis - or neither - is most appropriate. Thankfully, most social and communication interventions benefit children regardless of the diagnosis.
Seek comprehensive evaluation. Ask your school to evaluate your child's development, including language pragmatics, play and self-help skills. Or seek out a comprehensive evaluation outside of your school district. In addition to looking for developmental delays, having a secondary condition is common with both ADHD and autism (such as anxiety or motor delays), so screening for these 'comorbid' disorders is also important.
Understand the impact of ADHD. Any intervention that improves the symptoms of ADHD will also improve social abilities hindered by it. Comprehensive care for ADHD may mean individual- or parent-based behavioral therapy, social skills groups, medication, or various other evidence-based details. As a side note, misbehavior without seeming remorse doesn't always mean a child lacks empathy. Children with ADHD are often emotionally overwhelmed and immature, and don't know how to express remorse or react when they've done something wrong.
Start behavioral therapy and continue as long as symptoms persist. For autism, the foundation of intervention is behavioral therapy, often for far longer than happens in the real world. Behavioral programs do not only address disruptive behaviors; interventions such as applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy are the primary tools for teaching social skills.
Children with severe autism typically get intensive behavioral services, frequently in a self-contained classroom. With milder symptoms, children move into the mainstream or inclusion style classrooms, and behavioral interventions may become quite minimal. Yet one of the best predictors of outcome is when children receive ongoing behavioral therapy, regardless of severity of symptoms.
Think of it this way: If you want your child to be a concert pianist or a professional athlete, you'd have them practice hours a day. The same goes for social skills. As symptoms become milder therapies need not be so intensive, but the interventions continue until skills become fluent.
Add speech language therapy, if needed. By definition, if a child has autism they have communication challenges. However, it is difficult to measure language pragmatics through testing. Therefore, regardless of test scores, a child with autism will benefit from language services until proven otherwise by his own social success. With ADHD, also think about the possibility of language delays, and intervene when appropriate.
Address related conditions. As already noted, look out for coexisting conditions if progress slows. In addition, one common 'comorbidity' is having both autism and ADHD. When children already have compromised social and language abilities, adding ADHD to the mix makes it that much harder for them to succeed. Addressing ADHD may allow a child to focus, act less impulsively, and better access the skills they have developed through intervention, and goes a long way towards getting along with peers.
Consider academic placement. Mainstream classroom placement is always the goal, but not always best for everyone. Some kids prefer it, but others thrive in a more supported setting. Keeping up with mainstream demands and typically developing peers can be very stressful. Contained classrooms also allow for more intensive social pragmatic work, which may make mainstream placement easier down the road.
Academically, language and pragmatic delays often affect basic skills. For example, reading comprehension, making inferences, and writing can be impacted by ADHD or autism. Homework and in class assignments frequently require supports or modifications.
Lastly, while social plans often focus on the classroom, unstructured time (such as recess or gym) is often most challenging. In class, social rules are basically "sit quietly and raise your hand when it's time to talk." On the playground social mores are far more fluid. Children may struggle or even be subject to bullying, and planning may require social interventions more during down time than during academics.
Offer full family support. ADHD and autism stress parents and strain marriages. Take the time to take care of yourself and your relationship. Seek out help where needed -- from other family members, from friends, or with a professional if necessary. Seek out support groups. And consider practicing mindfulness, one of the more proven interventions for managing stress, to build the strength and stability needed to manage when life feels challenging.
A version of this blog posting by Dr. Bertin also appeared in Additude Magazine.
Childhood Social Difficulties: The ADHD/Autism Relationship
One of the basic wishes most parents share is that their children get along, play, and interact well with others. Most often, these social abilities develop intuitively. But for children who instead struggle with peers, the earlier interventions start, the earlier they catch up. Since both ADHD and autism impact relationships, sorting out the 'why' behind social difficulties is often a first step towards figuring out how to best support this vital area of development.
October 26, 2015
Understanding Childhood Social Difficulties
One of the basic wishes most parents share is that their children get along, play, and interact well with others. For children who instead struggle with their peers, the earlier interventions start, the earlier they can catch up. Since both ADHD and autism impact relationships, sorting out the ‘why’ often guides what to do next.
