According to the Symposium on Neurodiveristy, "neurological differences are to be recognized and respected as any other human variation."  This supports the idea that Autistic people do not represent a disease that needs to be cured or even a puzzle that needs to be solved; on the contrary, they simply represent a "variation in human wiring" that produces a different thinker, communicator, or problem solver.

Initial research studies are small and have provided more questions than answers. Evidence of CBD benefits for conditions such as anxiety or ADD is mostly anecdotal and needs to be studied more before we can feel safe offering it as a solution.

We are grossly underestimating the impact of training our early childhood educators in emotional development, behavioral therapy, and parent/teacher communication. Emotional wellness begins at home, but schools can and should make a difference.

While scheduled activities are important for children, free play is more important. Now is the time to deliberately put nature play into our children’s lives.

When it comes to making a difference in the mental health of our children and ourselves, the first step is awareness. Because it is certain that we are not going to solve this problem with pharmaceuticals, it is important that we focus on seemingly small (though not always simple) interventions that can be achieved without a prescription.

Children ages 6-18 years spend about one quarter of their life in school, more time than any other place except home. It is critical that parents, administrators, teachers, and community members work together to ensure that our schools are safe harbors for a child’s self-esteem, and a place where they can learn to get ready for the world without feeling fear or humiliation.

It is time to talk about therapy. When I recommend counseling there is often a simultaneous groan from both parent and child. I think that is because there are a lot of misconceptions out there about counseling and how it works. In this article, we’ll look at some of those misconceptions and see how they stack up against the facts.

As previously emphasized, mental illness is both treatable and preventable, and these strategies help with both. It does not take daily yoga, expensive therapies, or soothing aromatherapy to create an environment that fosters emotional wellness. It is a lot more basic than that.

When it comes to making a difference in the mental health of our children and ourselves, the first step is awareness. Because it is certain that we are not going to solve this problem with pharmaceuticals, it is important that we focus on seemingly small, but not always simple, interventions that can be achieved without a prescription!