Screen Time For Young Children Needs Moderating

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Screen Time For Young Children Needs Moderating

Screen Time For Young Children Needs Moderating

Parents are facing a phenomenon they never experienced before; children having constant access to screens. Whether it is a computer screen or a phone screen or a television screen— most children from a young age have access to it.

Children from 8 and under spend nearly two and a half hours using electronics daily, and almost a third of children under 2 years of age have a television in their bedroom. Current studies indicate that too much time in front of screens can have serious behavioral, physical and emotional consequences. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children younger than 2 years of age.

The Concerns

The current concerns are multifaceted. Some concerns are about the mental effects and others are on the physical effects. For mental effects, it is perhaps the most noticeable in the staggering increase in childhood obesity. More than a third of American children are either overweight or obese. It is important to note that there can be other factors at play and it is hard to declare with certainty that the use of technology is the cause.

Another physical consequence seems to be more problems sleeping due to the use of technology before bed, which is associated with less sleep. Exposure to the light from screens can disrupt the circadian (natural day/night) rhythm by getting in the way of the normal production of melatonin.

In regard to children’s mental and emotional health, concerns revolve around the fact that frequent screen time can overstimulate the developing child’s brain. Children can exhibit irritability, anxiety, depression, excessive tantrums, and impairments at school, home or with peers. Some children even experience short-term memory problems and cognitive decline. The developing child’s brain gets wired to crave constant stimulation and the child has difficulty coping when the stimulation is withheld.

 

The Bottom Line

As parents, teachers, caregivers and role models, we can help children tremendously by setting good examples. Try to limit technology use for your young children and find non-electronic activities to engage in. There are tons of them! 

It is important to note that the long-term effects of young children using electronics have yet to be determined because this is such a new issue. However,  although we do not currently grasp a full understanding of its effects we can be responsible and apply a wise amount of caution for the future. Even if you let your young children use some technology try to keep it in moderation because like everything in life, the key is moderation. 

Our team of experienced Psychologists & Brain Injury professionals provide neuropsychological rehabilitation and treatment for individuals with brain injuries and other neurological impairments. Please feel free to contact us for any concerns or questions.

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Screen Time For Young Children Needs Moderating

Diagnosis of Adult-Onset ADHD

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Diagnosis of Adult-Onset ADHD

Diagnosis of Adult-Onset ADHD

Diagnosis of Adult-Onset ADHD

ADHD used to be understood as an illness exclusively experienced in childhood. However, Adult-Onset ADHD is raising questions about the brain disorder.

New data suggests that some people experience ADHD in adulthood without having been diagnosed with ADHD in childhood. Theories suggest that there may exist two distinct syndromes: adult-onset ADHD and childhood ADHD.  Researchers believe that childhood-onset and adulthood-onset of ADHD, may reflect different causes.  Adult-onset ADHD is not as clear as simply developing ADHD as an adult, though.

What Causes Adult-Onset ADHD?

More studies are needed to determine the nuances of this disorder.  It is unclear exactly what causes a late onset of ADHD.

It is possible that some people with symptoms of ADHD in adulthood do not have ADHD at all, but rather an unrelated mental health problem such as an addiction, or stress.

It is also possible that it is not a late onset of ADHD, but rather a concealed mental health issue during childhood.  One could have had some characteristics of ADHD, but didn’t meet the official criteria for a diagnosis in their youth. Thus, this would cause individuals to seek treatment for ADHD later on in life. There may have been signs during childhood that things weren’t going too well, but the symptoms and signs weren’t bad enough to go see a doctor until they were older.  Growing up, they may have had supportive environments that let them learn in creative ways, but as soon as those environments changed into holding down jobs with rigid deadlines and strict bosses, these individuals started experiencing symptoms more prominently, causing problems in their lives.

What is the understanding of Adult-Onset ADHD Now?

While an understanding of ADHD has evolved to include adult sufferers, there remains controversy around the diagnosis.

Even though the condition can look very different at different ages, the conventional wisdom remains that adults with ADHD also had it as children.

Much of the recent literature on adult ADHD is fresh, since it’s a relatively new diagnosis.

These findings raise questions, such as how to adequately treat adult patients, and how should clinicians evaluate adults who have no childhood history of ADHD.

What to Do If You Believe You Have ADHD

Dr. Gordon is an experienced ADHD expert. He is devoted to helping you learn more about ADHD and find solutions for each individual’s needs. Please feel free to contact Dr. Gordon at DrGordon@pathwaysna.com for any concerns or questions regarding ADHD about yourself, or a loved one.

Dr. Gordon is an experienced ADHD expert. He is devoted to helping you learn more about ADHD and find solutions for each individual’s needs. Please feel free to contact us for any concerns or questions regarding ADHD about yourself, or a loved one.

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with ADHD. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

LET’S GET STARTED

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Diagnosis of Adult-Onset ADHD

What is CTE?

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What is CTE?

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What is CTE?

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repeated brain trauma.

The constant brain trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, including the build-up of an abnormal protein called tau.

These changes in the brain can begin months, years, or even decades after the last brain trauma.

How do you get CTE?

CTE includes both concussions that cause symptoms and subconcussive hits to the head that cause no symptoms.

CTE has been known to affect athletes in sports such as Football and Boxing.

At this time, the number or type of hits to the head needed to trigger degenerative changes to the brain is unknown.

Other factors such as genetics, may play a role in the development of CTE, because people without a history of repeated brain trauma can develop this disease.

What are the symptoms of CTE?

The symptoms of CTE include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, anxiety, suicidality, parkinsonism, and, eventually, progressive dementia.

These symptoms often begin years or decades after the last brain trauma.

How is CTE diagnosed?

Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed after death.

Researchers are working on finding biomarkers and other indicators to help detect it in the living, with further hope that such findings can help lead to potential treatments and a better understanding of CTE.

It is not clear how frequently people experience CTE related issues, but the risk of CTE is worrisome enough that it is important to focus on ways to reduce total overall exposure to repeated hits, such as limiting head-to-head contact.

Can CTE be cured? What can I do if I think I have CTE?

Unfortunately, there is no cure for CTE at this time.

Some of the symptoms of CTE like depression and anxiety, can be treated individually.

CTE develops early, soon after an injury, and it’s progressive.

If you believe you or a loved one may have CTE or other brain related injuries, please contact us.

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with CTE and other brain related injuries. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

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What is CTE?

ADHD Linked With Higher Rates Of Anxiety

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ADHD Linked With Higher Rates Of Anxiety

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ADHD Linked With Higher Rates Of Anxiety

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face an increased risk for anxiety, according to new research.

Anxiety disorder is common among children with ADHD. Recognizing and treating anxiety can lead to improved quality of life for patients and their families. The study demonstrated that children with ADHD had 2.2 times the risk of anxiety disorder and 2.7 times the risk of other mood disorders.

Questions Remain

It is important to note that the specific relationship among anxiety and ADHD is unclear. The study did not provide a comparison to peers without diagnoses of ADHD, because they do not possess data on standard peers.

However,  researchers posited that there could be several reasons for these results. One possible reason is based on genetics. Another reason is that one condition is an early manifestation of the other, or that the development of one increases the risk for the other.         

Going forward, an important area for further research is clarifying how mood and anxiety disorders may present in ADHD populations so that clinicians and families may screen, assess, and diagnose these disorders.

As for clinicians today, those who treat children with ADHD should be vigilant about screening for anxiety and mood symptoms. Recognizing these mental health disorders is the first important step toward treatment.           

Simple tools to combat Anxiety:

1. Taking a deep Breath:

Deep diaphragmatic breathing is a powerful anxiety-reducing technique because it activates the body’s relaxation response. It helps the body go from the fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic nervous system to the relaxed response of the parasympathetic nervous system.

A breathing exercise you can try is slowly inhaling for four seconds, holding your breath for four seconds, and then slowly exhaling for four seconds and repeat as many times you find necessary.

2. Positive Self-Talk:

Anxiety can produce a lot of negative chatter. That is why it is important to reassure yourself with positive coping statements. These statements vary widely because it depends on the individual, but the most important part is that it keeps you grounded and in a positive space.

3. Accepting Your Anxiety:

Acceptance is critical because trying to wrangle or eliminate anxiety often worsens it. Remember that anxiety is just a feeling that will subside. It is important to realize that accepting your anxiety doesn’t mean liking it or resigning yourself to a miserable existence, rather that you are able to go through the emotional turmoil and come out the other side.

It is important to note that these solutions are not the be all end all and that it is still important to seek professional help to fully deal with these issues.

LET’S GET STARTED

Dr. Gordon is an experienced ADHD expert. He is devoted to helping you learn more about ADHD and find solutions for each individual’s needs. Please feel free to contact us for any concerns or questions regarding ADHD about yourself, or a loved one.

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with ADHD. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

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ADHD Linked With Higher Rates Of Anxiety

Behavioral Management Video

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Behavioral Management Video

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with brain injuries. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

Contact Pathways Neuropsychology Associates for help today. We have treatment and solutions available for your neurological challenges.

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Behavioral Management Video

Differences In Brain Structure For Children With A.D.H.D

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Differences In Brain Structure For Children With A.D.H.D

Differences In Brain Structure For Children With A.D.H.D

Significant differences are present in the brains of those with and without A.D.H.D as early as preschool according to a new study published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

Changes include a smaller brain, and reductions in the size of several specific regions, including the frontal lobes. The magnitude of those reductions predicted how bad their A.D.H.D. is.

It is more common for an A.D.H.D. diagnosis to be made when children have trouble in school, rather than in the preschool years. That’s partly because there are few demands for most 3-year-olds to sit still and focus, and it is considered developmentally normal to be somewhat boisterous at that age. 

This study has contributed to the belief in the biological basis of A.D.H.D. However, what matters most is how the brain grows and changes; it’s the trajectory that needs to be understood, and which will help project future function and target help.

How Where The Four And Five Year Old Kids Coaxed Into Taking This Fancy Brain Scans?

Dr. Mahone’s team would bring the children in for practice sessions in a mock scanner, which looks and sounds just like a regular M.R.I. machine. If the child has trouble holding still, they can practice with a motion detector worn on the forehead, while watching a favorite movie that shuts off if the child moves.

It is important to acknowledge that the need to stay still for the scans may mean that the study included only children with more moderate symptoms.

The Takeaway

This is the first comprehensive study to have used M.R.I. scans on the brains of children as young as 4 with A.D.H.D. symptoms. This is a descriptive study that cannot establish cause and effect. But looking at these children’s brains as they change over time will be very important in providing invaluable data that allows us to learn more about children with A.D.H.D.

This study and others like it may help to identify A.D.H.D earlier on and start behavioral interventions as early as possible to improve outcomes.

Dr. Gordon is an experienced ADHD expert. He is devoted to helping you learn more about ADHD and find solutions for each individual’s needs. Please feel free to contact us for any concerns or questions regarding ADHD about yourself, or a loved one.

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with ADHD. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

LET’S GET STARTED

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Differences In Brain Structure For Children With A.D.H.D

Brain Trauma Linked To Secondary ADHD

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Brain Trauma Linked To Secondary ADHD

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Brain Trauma Linked To Secondary ADHD

According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, children who experience a severe head injury may struggle with secondary ADHD as they grow older.

What is Secondary ADHD?

Secondary ADHD relates to symptoms that fall out of the three core ADHD symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity and attention-deficit disorder. 

The following are Secondary symptoms of ADHD:

• Irritability

• Forgetfulness

• Disorganization

• Low frustration tolerance

• Emotional lability

• Temper tantrums and aggressive, defiant behavior

• Problems with visual and/or auditory perception

• Learning difficulties

• Impaired social relationships with parents, teachers, friends

What did the Study Demonstrate? 

The study showed that children who sustained a severe traumatic brain injury are three times more likely to develop ADHD by the time they begin middle school.

To be clear, we are not talking about a simple concussion.  This type of brain injury is more severe than a concussion, and one that prompted at least one night spent in the hospital. 

This form of injury to the central nervous system and the brain, in particular, may cause the brain to not function as well as before.

This study does not answer whether the ADHD is present from the time of the head injury or whether it develops over time.

Children playing contact sports should not necessarily draw any conclusions from this study and should understand that this information is still new. Regardless, It is important to remember that concussion recovery is very different than more severe brain injury recovery. 

Just because a child has experienced a concussion and has some attention problems that doesn’t mean that those problems won’t resolve over time. It is important to be aware that the risk is not as great compared to more severe injuries. However, doctors parents and educators should keep a close watch on kids who suffered a severe head injury early in childhood, even years after the injury.

Dr. Gordon is an experienced ADHD expert. He is devoted to helping you learn more about ADHD and find solutions for each individual’s needs. Please feel free to contact us for any concerns or questions regarding ADHD about yourself, or a loved one.

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with ADHD. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

LET’S GET STARTED

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Brain Trauma Linked To Secondary ADHD

The Kazdin Technique

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The Kazdin Technique

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The Kazdin Technique

According to the Kazdin technique, punishment alone does not change bad behavior and teach a new more appropriate behavior. Even gentle punishments, like time-out, or reasoning, does not work by itself.

The fundamental principle in the Kazdin technique is to positively reinforce a behavior you want to see until the negative behavior is replaced. It can be applied to all children but it can be especially helpful if your child has ADHD.

Applied behavior analysis focuses on 3 steps in changing behavior:

1) What comes before the behavior

2) How you craft the behavior

3) What you do at the end, after the behavior occurs

One of the most important tools in getting your child to behave in a certain manner is the appearance of choice. The appearance of choice increases the likelihood of compliance.

For example, if you are trying to get your child to brush their teeth, you can give them the option of eating a snack then brushing, or playing a game then brushing. The appearance of choice is there but brushing is inevitable.

Dealing with the behavior itself.

If you are seeking compliance and it is achieved, you praise the behavior, or use ‘positive attention’.

You also should try and have the child practice the behavioral changes in order to lock in the habits. The change can usually take about one to three weeks to take hold.

What are Positive Opposites?

Positive opposites are behaviors that are the exact opposite of problem behaviors.

For example, leaving a mess is a problem behavior whereas cleaning up, is the opposite of the problem behavior.

Whenever you want to get rid of something, think of what you want in its place.

For example, if your child’s behavior is running in the house, you want to replace it with walking in the house.

Research shows trying to suppress certain behaviors by using guilt or control will lead to escape behavior on the part of the child. It will lead them to avoid you as soon as they get home from school and it will model negative interactions toward you.

Reasoning With Your Child

It is also important to reason with your child because it changes how they process things and think. But while it may help problem-solving, it is not influential in changing their behavior.

Dr. Gordon is an experienced ADHD expert. He is devoted to helping you learn more about ADHD and find solutions for each individual’s needs. Please feel free to contact us for any concerns or questions regarding ADHD about yourself, or a loved one.

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with ADHD. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

LET’S GET STARTED

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The Kazdin Technique

Early Detection for Dyslexia

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Early Detection for Dyslexia

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Early Detection for Dyslexia

It is important to diagnose students struggling with dyslexia early on. Dyslexia is a learning disability that can significantly impact a child’s academic success.

The critical timeframe for early intervention services is between Kindergarten and first grade. Many of the interventions for dyslexia appear to be most effective in early childhood because it provides children with Dyslexia, access to accommodations that level the playing field.

What Happens When Dyslexia Goes Undiagnosed

When Dyslexia goes undiagnosed,  it can cause reading and achievement gaps to widen significantly by the time the student reaches high school. The severity of these gaps may cause the student to feel so negatively about school that he or she chooses to drop out.

It also can impact future accommodations, such as extended time, on tests such as the SAT and licensing examinations. Oftentimes, requests are denied because the student did not have evidence of an “early developmental history “ of the disorder or did not have documentation of receiving formal accommodations throughout school. An early diagnosis will prevent these types of dilemmas from occurring.

Early Intervention Services For Those With Dyslexia

Early intervention services are highly effective and can support children in closing the achievement gap, developing a positive self-concept, enjoying reading and school, and reaching their maximum academic potential. It is critical that children receive early intervention services in Kindergarten or first grade, which give them the greatest chance at personal and academic success.  Studies demonstrate that children who receive services during this timeframe have lost or greatly reduce their reading and achievement gaps between themselves and their peers.

It is vital to diagnose dyslexia in children as early as possible. If parents notice that their young child demonstrates a weakness in reading that may require support services, such as tutoring, the parents should consider a psycho-educational evaluation, as this will document the developmental history of the difficulty, as well as assist in the child receiving formal accommodations at school.

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with Dyslexia. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

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Early Detection for Dyslexia

Does My Child Have Dyslexia?

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Does My Child Have Dyslexia?

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Does My Child Have Dyslexia?

Although one in five children have dyslexia, it is often poorly understood and misdiagnosed. This is because dyslexia is often mistaken as a general intellectual disability. To the contrary, dyslexia is a very specific disorder that relates only to decoding and reading words. Those with dyslexia are not deficient in sensory capabilities, nor in ability in comprehension and higher level reasoning skills.

These distinctions are important because a proper diagnosis is crucial in providing the right resources for your child. Once treated, children with dyslexia can thrive in school in beyond. While a professional diagnosis is essential, here is a list of early signs to watch out for in deciding whether your child might have dyslexia:

Delay in speaking

Children with dyslexia will have a delay in speech development, albeit a modest one. While most children beginning seeking first words around twelve months of age, those with dyslexia may not begin speaking first words until fifteen to twenty-four months. Delays in speech may mean many things, so this alone is not sufficient for a diagnosis.

Difficulties in pronunciation

While minor speech problems are found in many children, dyslexic children may have significant problems with word pronunciation as compared to age matched peers. Sometimes pronunciation difficulties do not appear until later in life when vocabulary becomes more complex. Moreover, some children will have difficulties understanding similarities between words. This can lead to deficits understanding rhymes with dyslexic children not understanding which words rhyme and which do not.

Children with dyslexia may also have problems mastering the alphabet in school. Recognition of individual letters and associating specific sounds with those letters are essential for reading development. Delays in any of these areas raise the possibility of dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a localized disorder relating to word phonology and recognition. When an accurate diagnosis is made, proper treatment and strategies may allow children to succeed in school and adults thrive in the workplace.

If you are suspicious that you or loved one has dyslexia, contact Pathways today for a comprehensive evaluation. It is time to alleviate frustrations and get on the right track.

The Pathways team of professionals has helped thousands of people with Dyslexia. We are Dedicated to effective and compassionate care for individuals with neurological challenges.

LET’S GET STARTED

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Does My Child Have Dyslexia?