Tag: ideas for home

“How can my child be so smart, yet fail every subject?” This is a common question from parents of bright children. The answer: your child is smart, but scattered. Peg Dawson, international author and presenter on executive functioning, described the impact of executive functioning in her presentation to special education staff in the Federal Way Public Schools. Executive functions are

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One of the questions I’m frequently asked by our young clients and their parents is, “What other resources are out there for [insert their concern here]?” I chuckle at how obvious a topic this can be, especially for our blog, but seeking out other resources can be helpful. First and foremost: if you have any psychological concerns, of course seek

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Many of the kids we work with struggle with regulating their emotions. Inadequate emotion regulation can look different depending on the child and the situation. Often, we see kids get frustrated with a situation or peer. Sometimes kids may act out, throwing a tantrum, calling names or crying. Other times, we see them internalize their emotions by shutting down. Or even

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Boredom can be a good thing, and summer is a great time for it. This may seem counter-intuitive advice coming from a social skills coach for a program with a thriving (and awesome) summer camp program, but your kids need some boredom and unstructured time. Structured activities are beneficial, especially if you have concerns about your kids spending too much

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A psychologist at my first internship rotation hammered into all the students who would cross her path the concepts of developmental age and chronological age. She emphasized how important they would be in all of our future careers—she was right. But how are they important to parents? Chronological age is pretty straightforward: it is simply how physically old your child

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What is Dungeons & Dragons? Why does Aspiring Youth use it in one of our social skills groups? And why is it one of our most popular groups? While some of our students’ parents have played it themselves, many don’t really know what it’s all about. Read on if you’re either unfamiliar with the game or how we use it.

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Video games have grown up – as have those who play them (average gamer age is 35). Some classics like The Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Brothers are at least 30 years old, so it’s safe to say that video games are part of our culture. Despite this, I routinely encounter clinicians and parents who use the term “video

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Understanding behaviors can be… challenging. We often hear from parents and teachers: “She won’t stop doing it, even though I’ve asked her to stop.” “It doesn’t matter what punishment I give. He still does it.” To truly understand the behavior and how to change it, we need to know exactly what the challenging behavior looks like, what “triggers it”, and

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When I consult with parents about our Aspiring Youth groups, they often ask me why I use so many board and card games. Most Aspiring Youth participants are dealing with challenges from social anxiety or something called executive functioning (more below) – or a bit of both. With a little thoughtfulness, games help our students work on both. Given it’s the holidays, here are some

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