Written by Dr. John Carosso The question: I was recently asked an excellent question from a parent with an adorable, nonverbal child with autism. The concern is that the kiddo does not seem to understand consequences such as time-out, and loss of privilege has little impact. The aggression reportedly often stems from, for example, a […]
Written by Dr. John Carosso Go ahead, you can admit it; it’s kinda scary… On one hand you’re excited for the start of summer and to have far more access to your kids. If you’re a SAHM, then you’re home all day with the little darlings and the sky is the limit in terms of […]
Written by Dr. John Carosso A parent on Facebook asked a good question regarding the difficulty of her other children, the siblings of her special needs child, not understanding the difference in discipline between them and their brother, and how this causes dissension and frustration. In addition, from other parents, there has been concern expressed […]
Written by Dr. John Carosso Okay, this is the final segment of this blog series on ADHD. We started out with a discussion of what causes ADHD (disturbance of the prefrontal lobe) and the negative impact on executive functioning. We then moved into specific strategies to enhance executive functioning, and some more general interventions to […]
Written by Dr. John Carosso Where’d we leave off? We left off with the discussion of ADHD being a disorder within the pre-frontal cortex that manifests in deficiencies in what’s called ‘executive functioning’. The more a parent can externalize these executive functions, and help the child carry-out the pre-frontal cortex duties in the child’s natural […]
Written by Dr. John Carosso Is ADHD just a bunch of symptoms? We tend to describe and explain ADHD by its outward appearance and core symptoms: impulsivity, hyperactivity, and distractibility. However, that does not explain ‘what is ADHD’ or what causes the disorder. Let’s dig deeper If we look beyond and beneath the signs and […]
Written by Dr. John Carosso Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas and Holiday Season. I hope you find this annual 'Wonderful Counselor' post to be comforting and that it helps to refocus what this Holiday is really all about. What I’m expected to do… As a psychologist, I’m expected to talk about traditional and […]
Written by Dr. John Carosso Did you see that movie? The Incredibles is a great flick; probably one of the best animated movies. This family starts out as this dysfunctional unit who can’t communicate, are at-odds with one another, feeling no confidence or competence, but end-up coming together as a fighting force ready to take […]
Written by Dr. John Carosso Taking away video-games (or TV, or a toy…) doesn’t work? Say it ain’t so!! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the tried-and-true discipline method of taking away video-games, a favorite toy, or whatever else is largely ineffective and, in fact, counter-productive. How can that be, you ask, […]
Written by Dr. John Carosso The Controversy Recently it was reported that James Harrison (Pittsburgh Steeler) took his kid's trophies because they were not 'earned'. This sparked an interesting debate. Point, counter-point, and nuances As would be expected, as with most issues, there is not necessarily a straight-forward 'right or wrong' answer given that certain […]
