Description: Perhaps you have heard about the alarming increases that are being observed in rates of self-harming behavior and suicidal thoughts and actions among teenagers. These stats are often discussed in relation to the question of whether they might be linked to recent generational jumps in use of social media and the attendant shifts in… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Disorders of Childhood
Psychosomatic: Considering the Socio-Cultural in Biopsychsocial Models
Description: A group of high school students in the same class all start to show similar symptoms or anxiety and nausea. The school they attend is temporarily closed and a search is undertaken for pollutants or contaminants that could have caused the reported symptoms. None are found though over the week the school is closed… Read more »
Psychology of COVID-19: Links to Adult ADHD?
Description: Over the past year with COVID-19 there has been a marked increase in the number of adults who are either revealed to have ADHD or in whom ADHD has emerged as they struggled with the broad array of issues such as social distancing, social isolation, and work and economic uncertainty associated with COVID-19. Does… Read more »
Issues in Criminal Responsibility: Psychology, Courts and Moral Insanity
Description: On April 23, 2018, Alex Minassian drove a rented truck into a group of pedestrians on Yonge Street in Toronto killing 10 of them and injuring even more. After his arrest Mr. Minassian admitted the actions with which he was charged. His lawyers are arguing that he should be found Not Criminally Responsible (NCR)… Read more »
Psychology of Covid-19: Stunting Children’s Social Growth?
Description: Have you heard of social referencing? Even very young infants do this. Basically, it involves looking at and reading another person’s face (facial expression) in order to find out what something that is around you means. Imagine a toddler sitting in a stroller beside a park bench that one of their parents is sitting… Read more »
Children, Disasters, Mental Health and Wellness: Issues with Bushfires
Description: In addition to this post I also posted today aboutthe issue of Seasonal Affective Disorder among those of us who live well north of the equator. While we reflect on SAD in our winter, we see stories of the issues of wildfires well south of the equator in Australia. Bushfires such as those experienced… Read more »
What do Changes in the Prevelance of Autism Mean?
Description: Ok there are two levels of engagement possible with this linked article. The first is epidemiological. Epidemiology is the study of the rates of things (illnesses, disorders, conditions) within populations. From an epidemiological perspective, when the incidence or rate of a disorder in a population changes (increases or decreases) there are number of key… Read more »
Autism, Epilepsy, and catnap2: Possible New Undertsandings
Description: Consider this well supported research finding. One third of individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are also diagnosed with epilepsy. Epilepsy is the unregulated firing of neurons in the brain, sometime limited to small brain areas (petite mal seizures) and sometime spreading throughout the entire brain (grand mal seizures). Folks with ASD are… Read more »
Refugee Distress and Mental Health: Trauma AND Other Factors
Description: Think about what sports of factors might be involved in how refugees cope with distress once they have arrived in a relatively safe place and are trying to get on with their lives. Certainly the potentially horrific stressful events they endured in their original homes and in their flight towards safety could be important… Read more »
Is “Everything Will Be OK” Good Advice for Anxious Children?
Description: Imagine that a small child that you know is telling you that they feel anxious about some situation or upcoming event. Think about what you might say to them. If one of the things that you might say to them involve some version of telling them not to worry because everything will be okay… Read more »
Books for Success!
