Sinatra did it his way – over and over and over

Interesting tidbit I noted from eCanada Now:

A new memoir about Frank Sinatra written by wife, Barbara Sinatra, claims that he may have had obsessive-compulsive disorder. The memoir stated that the singer took as many as twelve showers a day because he was so obsessed with being clean.

Executive Dysfunction: He could never find a pencil or pen

When my son was younger – and back in the days when we didn’t have a diagnosis called “Executive Dysfunction” – I used to refer to him as the “absent-minded professor” or more often, as just “terminally disorganized.”  One of his major challenges as a student was that he never seemed to have a pencil or pen in school.

Each night I would dutifully check to ensure that he had pencils and pens in his book bag.  I’d even send in extra boxes of pens and pencils for him to leave in school.  But each day, he’d wind up asking his teachers or classmates for a pen because he could never find his.

Somewhere there was a black hole in the universe where all his pens were going.

Read more

Holidays stress is upon us!

Later today, my kids and I will be decorating a Christmas tree for my husband.  We’re looking forward to it as we have many ornaments packed away that each remind us of special relatives, friends,  family times, and events.  But it wasn’t always this way, and I remember how stressful holiday times can be for parents of young children.  So as a reminder to parents who are already stressing over holiday plans and whether their children will have meltdowns while at Grandma’s, here are some tips that may help you:

Keep Your Child in Their Routine as Much as Possible

• Create a calendar or routine for them for the holiday break.   Each night, review the next day’s plan(s) with your child. Each morning, remind your child of the day’s plans.
• Keep your child in their sleep routine as much as possible.
• Remember that many of our kids do not do well with changes in routine or unexpected changes in plans.

Don’t Schedule Too Much

• Some mothers tell me that they tell their child, “We’re going on errands… we have to go to A, B, C, and D this afternoon”  but they haven’t actually worked out the order of errands so that they can tell their child in advance. If you don’t have a clear plan, you can’t prepare your child, so make sure you’ve done your planning.
• If you really can’t be sure of a plan, you can prepare your child by saying something like, “I’m not sure which we will do second – we’ll decide after the first one, okay?”
• Don’t plan too much for one day. Planning to take your child on four errands is most likely a suicide mission, as few children can handle that much running around.   Do you really need to take the child on all those errands?

Remember to Schedule “Down Time” for Both Your Child and You

• Too much stimulation can lead to behavioral and emotional dysregulation, an increase in tics, and all kinds of symptom exacerbation – on your part as well as theirs!
• If you really need to take your child on so many errands, plan some breaks between errands and tell your child about the planned break in advance, e.g., “After we get done with the second errand,  how about if we take a break and go get some pizza?”

Be Prepared to Cut Errands or Outings Short

• If you see your child is getting over-stimulated or over-tired, quit while you’re ahead.
• Give the child a graceful explanation, e.g., “I thought I could do this all, but you know what — I’m exhausted. Let’s go home.”  Yes, it means you didn’t get everything done, but if you’ve prevented a meltdown, that may outweigh the benefits of the errands.  You’re also teaching your child to monitor themselves and to recognize that when they’re too tired, they need to rest, even if it means changing plans.

Read more

Trouble waking up?

Ever have trouble waking your child up? You might relate to this:

FDA issues warnings to marketers of unapproved ‘chelation’ products

On October 14, the FDA warned eight companies that their over-the-counter (OTC) chelation products are unapproved drugs and devices and that it is a violation of federal law to make unproven claims about these products. There are no FDA-approved OTC chelation products.

You can read the FDA press release here.   Although I realize that some parents may reasonably argue that saying something is “unproved” doesn’t mean it is “disproved,” remember that many OTC products are not without their own dangers.

Next Page »