Parenting Skills Archives

Partner with Your Child's Doctor: ADHD & Behavior

Partnering with Your Child’s Doctor: ADHD & Behavioral Concerns

August 6, 2022August 5, 2022

I recently connected with Dr. Nerissa Bauer, a wonderful behavioral pediatrician. While pediatricians offer general primary care services to children, behavioral pediatricians assist in specific difficulties, struggles, or deficiencies in the growth and development of a child. I asked her to share how you can work with a behavioral pediatrician when you have concerns about your child. Strategies to partner with your child’s doctor about ADHD and behavior concerns What should I do if I have concerns about my child’s behavior? … Read more

Nonverbal Communication – A Fun Introduction or Reminder for 4 to 8-year-olds

July 16, 2022July 15, 2022

I recently met Carolyn Combs, a children’s book author who writes beautiful stories about how children can learn by connecting with animals in nature. She shared with me how animals use non-verbal communication and how she uses these examples to teach children important lessons. I asked Carolyn to explain how parents and teachers can use her picture book to help children learn about and practice non-verbal communication. Enjoy! What’s This Tail Saying? An Interactive Book About Animal Communication By Carolyn … Read more

Does My Child Need Diagnostics?

April 22, 2022April 22, 2022

Supporting Children and Teens with ADHD, Coexisting Conditions, and ADHD-like Conditions When your child is struggling in school or at home, it’s often hard to determine what are “typical” behaviors or learning struggles and what is beyond what might be considered within the normal range. I asked licensed clinical psychologist and author Dr. Gene Carroccia to share his expertise to help parents determine when and how to seek support. Question: What are diagnostics? When should a parent consider getting diagnostic … Read more

Picky Eating and ADHD

March 25, 2022March 9, 2022

Picky eating and ADHD often go hand-in-hand. In fact, researchers at Duke University found a high correlation between selective eating problems and ADHD. Additionally, many children with ADHD are more predisposed to crave sugar due to the surge of dopamine that sugar delivers to the brain. Add emotional dysregulation, inflexibility, and sensory processing issues to the mix, and it can be extremely difficult to introduce healthier foods into a child’s diet. But there is hope! I recently connected with Dana … Read more

Mindfulness & Meditation for Adults with Jo Futerman

March 6, 2022

As more people reach out to me wanting to know more about incorporating mindfulness into their lives (as adults and in their role as parents), I decided to ask my friend and professional colleague Jo Futerman to share some of her knowledge. While we had similar training in learning about ADHD and Executive Function, she has taken a path that led her to develop a specialty in meditation and mindfulness for the past ten years. Using her training, she has … Read more

Mindfulness & Meditation for Students

January 18, 2022January 18, 2022

For all the negatives we know about Facebook, there are some positives. I recently heard from someone I went to high school. She responded to my January 5th post about my daughter teaching yoga to the students in her school after the recent fires here in Boulder, Colorado. Forty of the students in her school lost their homes, and many others were displaced due to severe smoke damage. Carly, and the other teachers, are doing their best to meet the … Read more

Growth and Self-Improvement Portfolio

January 7, 2022January 7, 2022

Sometimes, it’s hard to recognize how much growth and self-improvement your child has achieved each year. This is especially true when we focus so much on the challenges and stressors that we are working so hard to mitigate and improve. Children also have a difficult time recognizing that they have improved and achieved. They can sometimes feel as if someone keeps moving the goal post out further to mark success. As soon as they accomplish one marker, they are told to immediately … Read more

Make Your Bed with Skipper the Seal – Lessons from a Navy Seal

December 8, 2021December 6, 2021

Many of you may already be familiar with the book Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven, his inspiring graduation speech at the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement Day. Taking inspiration from the university’s slogan, “What starts here changes the world,” he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career but also throughout his life. I often reference this book … Read more

Initiation & Activation: 2 Exercises to Help Kids Focus

December 3, 2021November 29, 2021

In this article that I have written for the PESI Blog, I highlight two skills that we discuss in ADHD, Executive Function & Behavioral Challenges in the Classroom (co-authored with my daughter, Carly Wolf, M.Ed.). One of the most common struggles for students with ADHD or executive function challenges is staying focused on a specific accomplishment during a given time period. These students may have an especially hard time getting started or simply staying on task while other thoughts or external factors … Read more

Launching Into Young Adulthood...Ready or Not! by Chris Dendy

Launching Into Young Adulthood with ADHD…Ready or Not!

October 24, 2021October 12, 2021

It is an honor to have Chris Dendy and Ruth Hughes share about their new book to my PTS Coaching community. I have known both Chris and Ruth for many years through my involvement with National CHADD. They are each compassionate advocates and outstanding practitioners. Their new book, Launching into Young Adulthood with ADHD…Ready or Not! is full of guidance and strategies to help your preteens and teens develop the key life skills necessary for the adult world and identify … Read more

From Service Dog to SURFice dog

September 30, 2021September 23, 2021

From Surf Dog Ricochet “Each person who watches this inspirational video “From Service Dog to SURFice dog” finds an individual message that touches them on many levels, bringing them to tears. This story is about what we all want — to be encouraged to discover who we really are… to be accepted… to find our life purpose… and to be celebrated for being different. Ricochet pioneered the concept of canine-assisted surf therapy and adaptive surfing in 2009, when she made … Read more

ADHD is not a problem URL FB Image 8.28.21

ADHD is Not a Problem of KNOWING What To Do – It’s a Problem of DOING What You Know

September 10, 2021August 25, 2021

Ok, school started. Back to the grind. For some parents, it’s a relief to have the kids back to a routine. But for others, it’s a daily nightmare of prodding them along to reach the potential you know they have. I wish I had the magic bullet for you to convince your child that if they JUST create and stick to a realistic routine, stay off their devices, get enough sleep, eat well, and exercise, the year would go so smoothly! … Read more