By Louise Kinross Becoming You is a new 35-page book about sexuality and disability produced at Holland Bloorview. Makumbu Lumbu (photo above), who identifies as non-binary and queer, says they really could have used it growing up. “Navigating adolescence while having disabilities is difficult as it is,” says the Humber...
By Louise Kinross As a lay person, you might imagine that autistic children have brains that work in similar ways. And that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) each have their own “signature” brain biology. After all, these conditions are known as brain-based disabilities....
Q: “My 15-year-old daughter is doing well enough in school, but it’s always by the skin of her teeth. I know her ADHD is getting in her way. Tests surprise her. She doesn’t seem to know how to prepare or study. What solutions have helped other teens prepare for exams?”—...
© 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_fe8409d616072aadbc26011da97ba94d .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Observational fear learning, sometimes called “observational threat learning,” is what happens when we use social cues to identify something as threatening or dangerous. Can children learn in this way? Absolutely. In fact, it’s...
Photo of Giseli Bignardi (right) with husband Rodolfo and son Cauã. By Louise Kinross Giseli Bignardi felt like a piece of her died when her son Cauã was diagnosed with autism at Holland Bloorview. But not for the reason you may think. “I realized I had fed the ableism in society,”...
On an episode of an ADHD-related podcast I recently heard, the guest shared a familiar backstory — one of lifelong frustration and sweet relief after receiving an ADHD diagnosis in adulthood. Diagnosed with ADHD in my early 30s, I knew this story all too well. Then, almost nonchalantly, the guest...
Congratulations on becoming a new mom! Here are 10 tips to help you navigate this exciting and challenging time:
Do you feeling tired or drained most of the time? Do you feel like running away? Do you struggle with procrastination? Does it take you longer to get things done these days? These are all signs of burnout, a state of physical and emotional exhaustion that women with ADHD experience...
Child teeth grinding, also known as bruxism, is a common condition where a child involuntarily clenches and grinds their teeth during sleep. While the exact cause of bruxism is not fully understood, it is thought to be related to a variety of factors, including stress, anxiety, malocclusion (misalignment of teeth),...
© 2008 – 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_cf22dfd10b244fcc6955133e0fd94322 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Preschool number activities often involve counting, but counting alone – naming numbers in the right order – isn’t enough. Children also need to develop “number sense,” an intuitive feeling for the...
Key takeaways for caregivers The transition to fatherhood is accompanied by changes in fathers’ brains and hormones. These changes are probably related to new activities and routines that fathers are involved in and develop. These brain-related and hormonal changes are functional: They support fathers’ sensitive responses to their infants’ needs....
© 2019-2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_123080fe53fd65fde3cfcb19ca46a4c3 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } What are the effects of violent video games? Do they contribute to the development of aggression? Do they increase a child’s risk of behavior problems? Researchers have debated these question for decades, and...
Hi, I’m over here checking every day for crocus in my garden….no crocus yet, but it is already time to plan for Spring Break. Hopefully by the time it gets here we will have daffodils. I’m looking forward to warmer weather so the kids can play outside. Many of our...
Key takeaways for caregivers of young girls going through puberty: Puberty is not a singular process, so girls’ feelings about each change will not be uniform. Parents can celebrate changes their daughters are excited about while also making space for negative feelings about other changes. Girls who feel more prepared...
I knew the IronMan World Championship course in St George would be hard… and it was. The 112 mile bike course had 7000 ft of climbing and the run featured unbroken climbs and descents that were several miles long. Shade was nearly nonexistent and the temp maxed out at 92...
I played a simple yet rousing guessing game recently that I kept thinking would be great for my students with ADHD and other learning differences. The game has many versions and names, including “Who Am I?” and Guess the Famous Person. We simply know it as the Tape Game. It’s...
© 2009 – 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_fde4b284c2605d937cc752f3a99a9794 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } By definition, colicky babies cry excessively and inconsolably. But why? Sometimes it’s because babies are suffering from a physical ailment — like allergies, migraine, or gastroesophageal reflux disease. In these cases, symptoms of...
Many of us are tired of worrying about COVID and just want our kids to get out there and learn and have fun. Others of us have a vulnerable family member or family member suffering from long COVID. We know that the chances of getting long COVID are very high...
© 2008 – 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_5338db9aa81f9e2ba94c8a9689a4a20b .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Night terrors in children — also known as “sleep terrors” — are sometimes confused with nightmares. Both cause distress and disrupt sleep, and though terrors are less common than nightmares, they...
© 2023 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved #author-byline-block_46f8b5c39faf960f5f682ac882de1f73 .author-byline-text{ font-size: 16px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); } Some children experience nightmares on a regular basis – once per week, or more. What can parents do to help kids cope? If your child has just awakened from a nightmare, and comes...
