When Rewards Stop Working: Rethinking Motivation in Kids
Sticker charts, treasure boxes, screen time tokens—many parents have tried them all. And sometimes, those rewards work for a while… until they don’t. One day your child is racing to earn that extra bedtime book, and the next, they couldn’t care less. If you’ve found yourself wondering why rewards seem to lose their power—or never […]
Play Therapy and ADHD: Meeting Kids Where They Are
For children with ADHD, the world often moves too fast—or not fast enough. They maystruggle with sitting still, following directions, managing emotions, or feeling successful inenvironments that expect constant self-control. These challenges can lead to frustration, frequentcorrections, and a sense of being “too much.” Play therapy offers an alternative: a space wherethe child isn’t expected […]
Navigating the Back-to-School Transition: Supporting Students with Autism
As the summer break winds down and the school bells ring in a new academic year, students across the country face the challenge of transitioning back into their school routines. For many, this shift is simply a matter of adjusting to new schedules and re-establishing daily habits. However, for students with autism, this transition can […]
Parenting and Mental Health During COVID19
It’s easy to get caught up in the “magic” you see on Facebook that other families are creating. These families are eating dinner at the table together, baking 42 cakes, helping their child with homework with beautiful Pinterest-worthy set ups, and art projects to put in the windows for walkers in the neighborhood. Then, there […]
The Mental Health Connection Between Parents and Children
The old saying goes that apples do not fall far from their tree, and we see this idiom play out in the traits and features of our children. Some of this is due to the environment we share with our children, or the “nurture” part of nature and nurture, and part is due to genetics. […]
The Mental Health Toll of COVID19
At this point, it is likely an understatement to say that we are in unsettling, trying, and stressful times. With what felt like very little warning, our global economy has ground to a halt, disrupting almost every aspect of daily life. School, work, social gatherings, and regularly scheduled appointments have been altered, modified, or canceled […]
Introduction to Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT): What is It and How Can It Help You Parent Your Child?
One of the major goals of parenting is the socialization of children, during which parents teach their children to cope with the stresses of life in socially appropriate ways. At certain developmental ages, (i.e. temper tantrums in toddlers or adolescent rebellion), negative and disruptive displays of behavior are fleeting and considered “normal.” When these behaviors […]
Maintaining Mental Health in a Crisis
We are currently in a crisis, including threat to our health and well being, economic insecurities, and major disruptions to our routine. This crisis state increases our chances of depression, anxiety, and physical health complaints, and those who have a mental health condition, including ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, or mood disruptions are particularly vulnerable to […]
Resilience, and Why It Matters Now
Things are pretty stressful right now – and likely, that is an understatement. Worries about health, the economy, logistics related to school and work, adapting to a brand new work style and environment, and major routine disruptions have rapidly become our new normal, and coping is probably at the very bottom of everyone’s to-do list. […]
All About Telehealth
If there is a phrase to sum up what we are all going through right now, it is “unprecedented times.” At the same time that we are experiencing increasing uncertainty, upheaval to our work and school routines, and rapid adjustments to expectations economically, socially, and for recreation, we are also faced with increasing isolation and […]