#ADHD #EF Skill Development for Children and Adults #NC Resources

March 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

It’s a cool breezy day in North Carolina. I am pleased to be here talking with colleagues about executive function and cognitive-motor interventions for children, teens and adults with ADHD. Thank you warmly to all! I promised you all a few things.

1. Here is the slide show if you wish to download it to view it better. ADHD & EF LINK

2. We review a lot of practical strategies in this day long workshop. Many of the printables can be found on my pinterest.

3. Here is Freedomland from The Family Coach Method. The Family Coach Method is available in book and kindle formats.

4. If you have have families with children ages 3-10. Here is The Family Coach Starter Pack.  I take it to family homes the first day and we start to talk about the family culture, then we build a pond of better behavior in which to fish.  TFCM Starter Pack AUG 2012.

5. Here is a printable to help us teach specific skill sets by scaffolding, chunking and spelling out the discrete parts of the task.

For more explore this blog, you can search topics such as nutrition, ADHD, EF and more on the right hand side of the page.  Have a lovely day!

 

Filed Under: Behavior, Dr. Lynne, Education, Family, General, health, Nutrition, Parenting, Preschoolers, Schoolagers Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What? You have 12 children! How do you parent a tribe? Part II

March 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

On Parenting a Tribe

Ask me how many children I have. I’ll say, “Are you sitting down?”

It’s not that I think you’ll faint. It’s that I’m trying to prepare your ears for hearing the very large number I’m about to mention. That would be twelve.

You heard right. I have twelve children. There were no multiple births—just eight sons and four daughters, each born approximately two years apart from the last baby.

As magic tricks go, it’s not really magic. It’s more like biology. I’d venture to state, however, that on days I’m coping really well, it is kind of magical—or at the very least: miraculous. Did I mention I work full time as a communications writer for www.kars4kids.org?

Where I live, large families are the norm. That allows me a window on the art of raising an outsized clan. I have observed that large families vary greatly by nature. Some are harried, while others epitomize grace under pressure. Priorities too, differ from household to household.

In some homes, schoolwork tops the list of priorities. A mother or father may not care very much about the appearance of the home. Family members may be hard-pressed to find a clean pair of matching socks when getting dressed for work or for school. The children, however, always pull down top-notch grades.

Here, a choice is made. The parents choose to devote their time to educational pursuits with their children. But of necessity, something has to give, and that is an ordered household. These parents choose grades over order and have found a balance that works for them. To them, mess and chaos might as well be invisible.

At the other end of the spectrum is the large family home that could pass the white glove test. You can eat off the floor. The children, meanwhile, are left to their own devices in terms of their schoolwork. Here the operative standard is that an orderly home leads to sane work habits and academic success.

I watch these two types of households in practice and feel that neither of them really expresses my sensibilities. Order and cleanliness are as important to me as the academic success of my children. I want both.

With some trial and error, I have found my own household balance by applying common sense to personal management decisions. For example, I don’t thrill to the idea of dust kittens under the beds, but I can live with them for the short term. Food preparation surfaces in my kitchen, however, have to be scrupulously clean as do bathrooms.

Spotless laundry is another household task I deem critical. I have always believed in the maxim that clothes make the man (or woman). I want my family to look good. I also want to ensure my family never has to find the least dirty pair of socks in the hamper to put on in the morning. I try never to fall behind with the laundry.

In picking and choosing which household tasks to prioritize, I leave room for helping my children with their homework and spending leisure time with them, too. I may not spend as much time with my kids on their schoolwork as the mother next door, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. I think that kids will learn how to learn given a limited amount of guidance and encouragement. I don’t want to micromanage their learning. I only want to give them good study habits.

In finding workable solutions, I include my relationship with my spouse. To me, this is also part of parenting.  I want my children to see a marriage in good working order. I want them to have easy access to an example of spousal harmony right at home.

I can see where to someone else, all this may seem like just too much management. But it works just fine for us. My house is reasonably neat and my kids are near the top of their classes. I think the main issue in raising a family, whether large or small, is found in discovering the balance that works for you.

Varda Epstein is a mother of 12 children, a blogger, and a communications writer at Kars4Kids, the car donation charity.

Filed Under: Behavior, Development, Dr. Lynne, Education, Family, General Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

What? You have 12 children! How do you parent a tribe? PART I

March 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

For the past three years, I have been working with an international writer for whom I have developed a frallegial fondness. Her name is Varda Epstein, she is a writer/editor for parenting/educational editorial content. We have worked on a few educational pieces together and more recently, she became a communications writer for Kars4kids a non-profit that supports children’s education and activities.

Now, a side note. Even though I have the good fortune of traveling in the US and even to Europe to speak about Cognitive-Motor interventions for children with #ADHD, #SPD #OCD etc, write books and Play Math with children, my primary job is mom (actually, chauffeur).

The activity I spend more time doing than anything else at this stage is driving our children and their friends to their preferred activities.  My car usually looks like this.

Even though I only bore two children, there are usually 7 kids in my car. On weekends there are teens strewn on the couch in the upstairs loft.  My husband is a saint. He embraces the chaos but always calls for the scoop, so he can prepare himself,  before he pulls into the drive-way, “Where’s the herd?” Our teens travel as a herd everywhere, our 14 year old is the lead mare. My husband I consider ourselves, wranglers:). We live a happy, sometimes hectic life, for which I have deep gratitude.

So, back to the story (now the context will make some sense). One day Varda and I are passing editorial back and forth and there is a new byline at the bottom. It says, mother of 12. My defensive (limbic) brain thinks in a flash how much it would hurt to bear 12 children, so I rationalize, “Varda, must be a step-mom.” The next email is a direct hit. “Varda, do you really have 12 kids?” “Ah, you noticed,” she replied. Then, like a teenager I required clarification, “Did those 12 children come out of your body?”  “Indeed they did, it’s biology,” Varda quipped. Without hesitation, I asked her, “How do you parent a tribe?”  This is her answer.

 

Filed Under: Behavior, Development, Dr. Lynne, Education, Family, General, Parenting Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Get Out Of The Discipline Trap – Free audio show

January 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

STRAIGHT UP WITH CHRIS

CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO

We all have expectations at work and at home but unfortunately, we often do not set one another up for success by establishing expectations and teaching skill sets. This usually leads to being reactive versus proactive. Join me and my guest Dr. Lynne Kenney who will discuss her five proactive ways to get your kids to do as expected. I am sure the same five ways can be applied at the work environment with equal efficiency. Dr. Lynne Kenney is a mother of two, a practicing pediatric psychologist in Scottsdale, AZ, and the creator of The Family Coach Method. Her NEW co-authored book Time-In not Time-Out will be available this Fall on Kindle. Join us on Thursday at 3 PM West–6 PM East to listen to her advice and ask her your specific questions.

More shows with Chris

Filed Under: Brain Train, Development, Dr. Lynne, Education, General, Parenting, Problems/Solutions, Schoolagers Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Back To School: Do you have systems?

August 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

In many parts of the country, families are preparing for back to school. That means getting back to routines, stocking your pantry and getting ready for homework.  I’m spending time with families organizing their playrooms, labeling their pantries and helping them with “systems” consistent morning and evening routines, establishing time for homework, and cleaning out all the toys that now just clutter rather than engage.

The Confident Mom has a practical Back To School Survival Guide to get you started.

For $9 her Daily Household Planner is not to be missed. I print out each week’s page and hang them on my fridge.
The Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner

Our Back To School Printables can help as well.

Remember an organized home leads to an organized brain.

If you have tips, solutions and resources tweet me @drlynnekenney and we’ll all help enhance family life together!

Happy Back To School!

Filed Under: Behavior, Brain Train, Development, Dr. Lynne, Education, exercise, Family, General, health, Parenting Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Back To School: An Organized Home Sets Your Family Up For Success!

August 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

With the plethora of valuable websites now a days, all one has to do it type “back to school tips” in the google search bar and your off and running. As a pediatric Psychologist who works in the homes of wonderful families with challenging children, I wish to help you clean out your home before school begins. WHAT? You may be saying, “I have clothing and supplies to purchase, back to school night and more.” But I promise you, if you take a day or two to get your home in order, your school year will go so much smoother!

TFCM GET ORGANIZED Checklist RLS CLICK LEFT for a printable checklist related to this article.

Start the year off with a fresh clean well-organized home.  It’s quite difficult for children to clear the summer cobwebs out of their brains and dive into the school-year ready-to-learn if they live in a messy home.  If your home is a mess there’s likely a good reason, it may be that you live in overwhelm with ADHD, you may resist throwing things away due to a touch of OCD or you may just have other things you’d rather do, like write parenting articles. Hmm, who’s like that?

HERE WE GO!

Step 1:  Visually scan your space. Right now, from where you are sitting simply look around. Where does it feel organized? What feels cluttered? Is your home a setting in which you feel your family finds peace and can thrive?

Step 2:  Consider what changes you would like in the space. What do you see with your own eyes that you’d like to change? If you are doing the ten minute at a time method, that’s where you start. Each day. Super simple, eh?

Let’s consider planning for longer-term organization.  When you think about improving the organization of your home, which rooms come to mind? Are you thinking kitchen, laundry room, and kid’s rooms? What about drawers, study areas and that old garage.

Step 3:  Make a plan. Getting organized is about getting out of thinking, ruminating, worrying and procrastinating and into taking action. Consider www.listplanit.com to help you with your organizing needs.

  1. Make a list of areas you want to work on in priority order
  2. Start with the areas that bother you the most
  3. Write down exactly what you’d like to be better about the specific room
  4. List major areas of change for each room
  5. Draw out placement of large items
  6. Do a quick survey of storage items that you may wish to bring into your environment
  7. Write down which spaces you will work on which day
  8. Create a checklist for each room so that you’ll be able to monitor and celebrate your success
  9. Keep your notes in ONE binder
  10. Keep notes of all that you do, so you can maintain your success over time

Step 4:  Engage the Tribe.

  • Get help: Friends, family, neighbors, your kids
  • Make it a family game or activity, assign one room to each kid, play “Trading Spaces”
  • Designate family relationship rewards – When we finish a room we will go for a bike ride, or paint a picture or have a BAR-B-Q
  • Take note of every 10-minute block you and your friends work to re-engineer your home (you’ll be amazed at what you can do!)
  • Finish one project before starting another

Step 5: You have to discard stuff you don’t use to clear out the clutter.  I know it’s hard.

HARD TO THROW IT AWAY? ASK YOURSELF:

  • When did I use this last?
  • When will I use it again?
  • Do I really need more then one of certain items?
  • Do I know someone who will get better use out of it?
  • Does it work? Is it worth repairing?
  • Does it fit RIGHT NOW?
  • If I am going to keep it, does it belong where I found it?
  • How hard would it be to replace it in the future if I needed it?

Step 6: Use storage items you already own to group by category and item.

  • Use baby food jars for nuts, screws, paper clips, loose change, etc.
  • Use film canisters for pins, buttons, tacks, etc.
  • Use old Tupperware
  • Use extra silverware trays
  • Use hooks
  • Use tape
  • Use old shoe boxes
  • Use clean pasta sauce jars
  • Use hat boxes
  • Use jewelry boxes
  • Line bathroom drawers with hand towels for easy clean-up

Step 7: Enjoy newly organized spaces.

So happy to see you taking charge of your living space. You’ll love your newly organized home and your school year will be off to a much brighter start!

If you’re motivated for more visit www.listplanit.com, orgjunkie.com and read Meryl Starr’s The Home Organizing Workbook and The Personal Organizing Workbook.

More Back To School Resources Can Be Found On:

www.schoolfamily.com

www.famzoo.com

www.myjobchart.com

www.listplanit.com

www.additudemag.com

Filed Under: Behavior, Brain Train, Development, Dr. Lynne, Education, Family, General, Mind Garden, Parenting, parentverse, Problems/Solutions Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BACK TO SCHOOL: Help Your Children with Schedules and Daily Routines

August 1, 2012 By 1 Comment

In our neck of the woods, Back To School is right around the corner. So we’re refining our am and pm routines. You may wish to give it a go as well!

Do you have a family schedule? Don’t worry if you don’t…we’ll create one together.  And don’t be nervous at the very idea of actually scheduling your rambunctious family. My purpose right now is to help you observe the patterns of your life and see where we can make them more clear for your little ones. (If it helps the grown-ups too – that’s just extra credit!)

Do you know what happens in your family Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday? You may be pleasantly surprised to realize that some things happen at regular intervals. Your family schedule is the visual template of where you are and where you go each day: Mondays we go to school, after school we play soccer, then we come home for dinner and dive into our evening activities; Tuesdays after school we go to the park; Wednesday we stay home; Friday we play ball in the driveway after dinner.

Your family schedule establishes your daily rhythm. One big advantage to having a family schedule that everyone can look at is that you won’t have to keep reminding everyone what they need to prepare for. It will be right in front of them, all the time. It is a simple, powerful tool for your children to develop self-responsibility. Sometimes getting on track, taking on responsibility and getting through the day can be frustrating for children.

One tool I really like to help your children with their internal feelings and behavioral control is the Choiceworks Visual Communication System. Designed by a mom to support her child’s ABA program, this product is good for all kids ages 3-8. KiddyCharts is also a big help, you can personalize them for each of your children.

Within your daily schedule are your family routines. Your routines add order to your life. Routines help children with mastery, skill development and feelings of accomplishment.  A tool I use in many different ways is  Deck Of Chores. These cards are high quality, they come in a well-constructed holder and they are diverse to meet the needs of many families. You can hang them, post them and discuss them. Hope this gets you into daily routines with your kids!

Here is a printable to help you with your weekly schedules as well.

Simply click on the link below to download and print, these are forms I use in my every day practice with terrific families likes yours.

The Family Coach Weekly Calendar

Filed Under: Behavior, Brain Train, Dr. Lynne, Family, General, Parenting, Preschoolers, Schoolagers Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Family Coach Tools Printable

April 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Recently, a mom who had read The Family Coach Method told me, “I am so grateful for all these new tools, I wish I had these for our children years ago.”  As an author and mom, this is heartwarming. After 27 years of working with families, I’ve learned two important lessons:

1. Listen to the parents, as equals. Parents know a ton about their own kids. We need to harness their knowledge and bring their brain-based skills “front of mind.”

2. Provide actionable tools. Make them easy to use.

If you have The Family Coach Method Book, here is a printable for your binder. It lists the pages and the tools you will find in the book. Feel free to print it out, just click and print.

If you wish to purchase the online media companion to the book. It’s on SALE for $129.00 20 hours of parent training in lessons, video and audio.

Happy family to you today!


Filed Under: Behavior, Brain Train, Development, Dr. Lynne, Education, exercise, Family, General, health, Nutrition, Parenting, parentverse, Preschoolers, Schoolagers Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What is Brain Training?

February 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Cognitive training or brain training consists of a variety of exercises designed to help improve functioning in areas such as sustaining attention, thinking before acting, visual and auditory processing, listening, reading – areas in which ADHD individuals often experience difficulties. Modalities include computer work, person to person motor-cognition work and neurofeedback.

If an individual is having attentional or learning problems, tutoring or drill and practice in academic areas are often not effective. The principle underlying cognitive brain training is to help improve the “core” abilities and self-control necessary before an individual can function successfully academically. The exercises “drill for skill” directly in the areas where basic specific cognitive difficulties occur. Brain Training is like exercise for the brain with specific exercises for specific neuropsych findings or deficits.

The key is to build neuronal connections. Activities that include a motor and cognitive component may work best but the research is not to a degree that one can assert Brain Training is yet an Evidence Based Treatment. In a few years, we’ll surely know more.

Research is ongoing as to what forms of brain training are effective. The key is to personalize your choice of program. The methodology of the program needs to meet the needs of your child. Does your child have attention challenges? Is their issue inhibition? Reading social cues? Staying on topic? Dyslexia?

Some programs include Luminosity,  Captain’s Log, COGMED, MC2, Brain Gym and Brain Builder. If your child has not had a neuropsychological or executive function evaluation that may be a first step.

If you need to know more about the specific skills you wish to enhance in your child, a neuropsychologist can do an assessment of executive function. Here’s an excellent book on the topic executive function.

Don’t forget exercise is brain training. Activities that involve motor control and thinking at the same time build brain connections. Some activities to consider include: XBox Dance Dance Revolution, karate, double dutch jump rope, yoga, hackey sac, swimming and tennis. Getting up, out and moving in any way possible is good for everyone.

Filed Under: Behavior, Brain Train, Development, Dr. Lynne, exercise, Parenting, Schoolagers Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Self-Control and Self-Regulation in Children and Teens

February 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The topic this week for many parents and teachers has been teaching self-regulation and self-control.

I. Louise Sattler and I discussed this topic as it applies to bullying and social relationships.

Parents and teachers are wondering what steps to take to help children, tweens and teens develop the internal modulation skills and social-emotional skills to treat themselves and others with respect and dignity. When we develop and collaborate in home and classroom cultures that require dignity and respect, children learn to manage their behaviors in a way that includes others, maintains interpersonal boundaries and reduces words and behaviors that cause emotional and physical harm. Today we talk about teaching self-observation skills and mood management to raise children who are thoughtful and kind, not cruel toward self and others.

II. Then Linda Frankenbach and I explored aspects of self-control as they apply to teen eating and family dynamics on FITSMIMOMS.

Do you have kids who eat too much and don’t exercise enough but roll their eyes whenever you start talking about health?  Kids and teens typically don’t “get it” when caregivers warn about diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or other health problems linked with being overweight. So what do they care about, and how can you use their natural instincts and ways-of-thinking to help motivate them to take better care of themselves?

III. Today Eric Jensen’s newsletter was on The Myth of Self-Control.

More solid resources from Eric Jensen for parents and teachers.

Casey BJ, Somerville LH, Gotlib IH, Ayduk O, Franklin NT, Askren MK, Jonides, J, Berman MG, Wilson NL, Teslovich T, Glover G, Zayas V, Mischel W, Shoda Y. (2011) Behavioral and neural correlates of delay of gratification 40 years later. Proc. Natl Acad Sci U S A. Sep 6;108(36):14998-5003

Eigsti, IM, et al. (2006) Predicting cognitive control from preschool to late adolescence and young adulthood. Psychol Sci 17:478e484.

Gailliot MT, Baumeister RF, DeWall CN, Maner JK, Plant EA, Tice DM, Brewer LE, Schmeichel BJ. (2007) Self-control relies on glucose as a limited energy source: willpower is more than a metaphor. J Pers Soc Psychol. Feb;92(2):325-36

Hare TA, Tottenham N, Davidson MC, Glover GH, Casey BJ (2005) Contributions of amygdala and striatal activity in emotion regulation. Biol Psychiatry 57:624

Kubzansky LD, Martin LT, Buka SL (2009) Early manifestations of personality and adult health: A life course perspective. Health Psychol 28:125.

Metcalfe J, Mischel W (1999) A hot/cool-system analysis of delay of gratification: dynamics of willpower. Psychol Rev 106:3.

Mischel W, Shoda Y, Peake PK (1988) The nature of adolescent competencies predicted by preschool delay of gratification. J Pers Soc Psychol 54:687.

Mischel W, Shoda Y, Rodriguez MI (1989) Delay of gratification in children. Science 244:933.

Moffitt TE, et al. (2011) A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:2693.

Posne MI, Rothbart MK (2000) Developing mechanisms of self-regulation. Dev. Psychopathol 12:427.

Rothbart MK, Ahadi SA (1994) Temperament and the development of personality. J Abnorm Psychol 103:55e66.

Somerville LH, Casey BJ (2010) Developmental neurobiology of cognitive control and motivational systems. Curr Opin Neurobiol 20:236e241.

Follow the #LoveShouldnothurt campaign with #411 voices.

Filed Under: Behavior, Brain Train, Development, Dr. Lynne, Family, General, Parenting, Preschoolers, Schoolagers, Teens Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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