On How Low Can You Go: 4 years for ADHD meds or 2 years for time out

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The minimum age for treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children has been lowered to 4 years of age by the American Academy of Pediatrics, according to this item in the current issue of the Brown University Child & Adolescent Psychopharmacological Letter. Thanks Kellye, ARNP, for bringing this to our attention.
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At what age to use particular interventions with children comes up frequently in consultations with parents. Consider the question of when to use time out. Therapists drawing on any of several discipline programs will often use two years of age as the earliest time out can be used. Yet some care providers consider that as highly inappropriate for children that young (or for children any age). Of course, there can be an enormous difference developmentally between a child at just two to a few months later when closer to three. Two children the same age can vary tremendously in terms of their development and readiness for certain experiences. There is always a judgement call to make and still controversy to be found.
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To have pediatricians operating with a lower minimum age in mind for treating children with medication and hearing about it from parents will take some getting used to for some therapists. That controversy, too, is hardly resolved. -gw

On the Use of the iPad As an Assistive Technology For Children With Autism: Show and tell

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At our last meeting Catharine demonstrated the use of an iPad as an assitive technology for children with special needs in her classroom. The particular app was the Art of Glow. We were all mesmerized. -gw
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Turn-taking was amazing


A child with down syndrome was skilled at matching


I show them the video of themselves being a good student

On Autism, ADHD & Disruptive Behavior: Triumvirate for services

http://sunfieldcenter.com/
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Are autism, ADHD, and disruptive behavior the Big Three concerns for child mental health these days? I was looking at the website for an Ann Arbor MI-based agency that markets itself by invoking these concerns. Certainly these have been topics we have been addressing consistently in our monthly consultations, too. By the way, I really like the description used on the Sunfield site for Parent Child Interaction Therapy. -gw
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Parenting is not always easy, particularly when a child’s temperament negatively affects his or her ability to adapt to the demands of daily life. Parents of children with behavioral difficulties, often experience increased frustration and higher levels of depression, particularly mothers. Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an empirically-supported treatment approach designed to help parents manage problem behaviors while building a stronger relationship with their child.

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http://sunfieldcenter.com/for-families/blog/parent-child-interaction-therapy/

On ADD 200 Years From Now: You would never be called someone with a disorder.

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They do respond to context, and they do respond to medication, but the sad thing is they get labeled with a disorder instead of with a temperamental variation that doesn't match the absolutely sick environment we're having people grow [up] in. "You gotta go there, so you'll take this pill." That's what I tell people. Whenever I prescribe medication for ADD, I say, "Look, if you were 200 years from now, you would never be called someone with a disorder. You'd be mentored by somebody, and you'd be learning, you know, by example. And that would be all fine. You wouldn't be sitting in a classroom until you are 18 years of age, for God's sake, sitting on your butt. You just wouldn't. And no one would think you had a disorder."

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I was only able to attend two hours of a webinar offered on campus at Kitsap Mental Health Services. Anita said I would enjoy every minute of it. She was right. Dan Siegel's presentation offered many insights as cutting to the quick as this one on Attention Deficit Disorder. It was in a section of the day-long training that addressed temperament, the biological differences -- the hard-wiring -- that we enter the world wtth. -gw

On Meeting Anita: The luxury of a month-long assesment of a child

We do something a little unusual at our meetings. We do video as it relates generally to our work and post it on our blog. We're all on first name basis here. Meet Anita. -gw

I started to notice children's reactions when their parents came to pick them up


We had a whole month with the child


The rocking helped the body to calm down