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Autistic child paired with service dog allows boy a degree of freedom, sense of hope

Link: Dog
A young autistic boy has found comfort in a canine friend, which may symbolize a possible solution for other families with similar struggles.

Studies: Early behavioral problems don't imperil academic careers

Link Behavior

Kindergartners with behavioral problems do as well academically in elementary school as their peers and the brains of children with attention-deficit disorders develop normally but just more slowly than those of their peers, according to two new studies published today in separate journals. "I think these may become landmark findings, forcing us to ask whether these acting-out kinds of problems are secondary to the inappropriate maturity expectations that some educators place on young children as soon as they enter classrooms," said Sharon Landesman Ramey, Georgetown University Center on Health and Education director, who was not involved with either study.

A Place Where Troubled Kids Can Turn Their Lives Around

Link: Foundation School

They were sent to the Foundation School in Largo as a last resort. Nobody else could handle them, let alone figure out why they were so disturbed. Some had even been expelled from pre-kindergarten because teachers could not get them to be quiet or stay in their seats or stop picking on their peers. They scowled at classmates and cursed their teachers, always bucking for a fight.

CNN.com: Knowing your 'action' style could lead to success

Link: Oprah

If at first you don't succeed ... ask yourself, Am I an otter? A squirrel? A mouse? The answer could spell the difference between things going swimmingly and squeaking to a halt. Find your own winning style based on a system developed by a woman who has struggled with severe dyslexia, and who grew up determined to understand and defend the different ways in which people go about solving problems.

NY Times: A Place to Go When a Child Really Refuses Food

Link: Feeding Disorders

Dr. Manikam, a clinical psychologist who has been treating feeding disorders for 19 years, listens to such stories with a gentle neutrality. He remembers the girl’s mother weeping as she explained what this strange ritual was doing to their family; if she or her husband ventured into the room, even enough to cast a shadow, the girl would stop eating, so they would wait, frozen, outside. The three of them — mother, father and child — were trapped in a “real triad problem,” he said, but “they were really good people, for all that.”

Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Guide to Effective Treatment

Link: OCD Treatment
As adults, we recall our childhood days of avoiding stepping on cracks or repeatedly asking our parents "if we are there yet." Repetitive play, superstitions, and ritualistic games are normal parts of childhood. Yet some parents are faced with the issue of their child's ritualistic behaviors becoming a problem."
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by intrusive, troubling thoughts (obsessions), and repetitive, ritualistic behaviors. Repetitive and ritualistic behavior is aimed at reducing anxiety typically brought on by unwanted, intrusive thoughts. Individuals with OCD experience time-consuming obsessions and compulsions (although some children only experience one) that significantly impair functioning and/or cause distress. OCD occurs about equally in boys and girls and begins in childhood 80% of the time. Without treatment, OCD persists into adulthood and is associated with long-term negative outcomes such as reduced social functioning.

Coaching Freedom From Early Childhood Separation Anxiety

A mother writes: We’re having all kinds of trouble with our five year old daughter. She won’t leave my side and continues to obsess over my leaving the house or her having to go to school. I feel trapped by her separation anxiety. Help!

Separation is one of the most pivotal, and potentially problematic, developmental steps in early childhood. While some young children proudly ascend the steps of growth, others become terrified by the prospect. Worries about starting school, troubles sleeping in their own bed, and startle responses when a parent leaves the room, are common to the separation-challenged child. Parents often feel captive by the child’s shadowing anxiety, held hostage by demands to announce whereabouts, accommodate to rituals, and relinquish adult needs.

Helping Older Children Conquer Separation Problems

A mother writes: Our 11 year old daughter never wants to sleep away from home. She turns down sleepover invitations from friends and tells us she never wants to leave home. We think she has separation anxiety. Any suggestions?

One of the more frustrating and confusing dilemmas of parenthood occurs when children’s path towards independence is thwarted by separation issues. Fears, anxiety, or apprehension over some dreaded experience grips children’s will, interfering with their ability to assume the normal expectations for their age. Sleeping by themselves, sleepovers at a friend’s house, sleep away camps, or other opportunities that entail overnights away from home, are passed up. Parents vacillate between worry and exasperation as they watch their children persistently avoid the steps that are so important to future emotional independence.

The Fine Art of Helping At-Risk Kids | Connect for Kids

Link: The Fine Art of Helping At-Risk Kids | Connect for Kids.

Darius* was one angry boy. Before the Art Therapy Connection, the troubled nine-year-old hardly spoke, but regularly communicated his bottled-up rage by throwing chairs at anyone in his path. He was failing math and unable to read at his grade level.

But about seven months after starting a unique art therapy program in the Chicago Public Schools, Darius was able to proudly show his art therapist his report card with Bs and Cs. The Art Therapy Connection helps children and teens in danger of failing or dropping out of school by encouraging them to create art and safely communicate their thoughts and feelings. By using art therapy as a means of self-expression and self-discovery, students can have a more successful school year. The Art Therapy Connection works to increase concentration levels, self-esteem and self-control, as well as enhance interpersonal skills and defuse angry feelings.

ScienceDaily -- Children Health issues library

Link: ScienceDaily -- Browse Topics: Health - Children's Health - Children's health issues - from obesity and weightloss to learnin disabilities and parenting tips.

Learn valuable parenting tips and information on parenting toddlers through teens. Find out about children's health issues such as learning disabilities, weight problems and other common health problems with children.