Making the Most of Summer Part 1 - Strategies for Parents! Children cherish the summer time. They wait all year for the season when they can stay home and play with their friends. For them, summer is a time of exploring, swimming pools, sports, video games, bike riding and no home work! But for parents, [...]
Ensuring Your Child's Access to Education About the Author How to Ensure Your Child's Access to an Appropriate Education was written by Mary Ekdahl, Ph.D. She is a licensed psychologist and co-founder of Arkansas Families First, LLC. Dr. Ekdahl specializes in psycho-educational testing for learning disorders, as well as testing and treatment of [...]
The Truth About ADHD was written by Adam H. Benton, Ph.D.
Managing children’s behavior in public is a timeless struggle for parents. Having a child throw a major temper tantrum or act out in a public place, like Wal-Mart or Chili’s, is a horrifying event that most parents experience at least once, if not repeatedly with preschool and elementary children. It does not have to be [...]
Social Media, Internet and Youth: Tips for Parents As mental health professionals, we’ve come to view social media use as a modern developmental task in which all youth should become proficient. Most teens can be taught to use social media responsibly just like most learn to drive responsibly. As with driving, it takes education, supervised [...]
Is Your Cell Phone Coming Between You and Your Children? by Adam Benton, Ph.D. and Mary Ekdahl, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologists at Arkansas Families First, LLC. Children, smartphones, and social media have made the news again, but not in the way you might think! This time it is not about the risk of online predators, too [...]
It's the Holiday Season: So, Where’s The Magic? A dreamstime.com photo The holiday season can bring up many emotions. For parents, Christmas can also bring pressure from many different directions: family gatherings, finding the “right” gifts, and creating special memories and traditions that our children will cherish for years to come. So what [...]
Parenting "Troubled Children": Some "Unspeakable" Honesties ADHD, OCD, ODD, Sensory Issues, Anxiety, Autism Spectrum Disorders…whatever diagnosis it’s called in your child’s case, all you really know is that it’s painful. Painful, upsetting, guilt-ridden, and exhausting. Even the simplest of routines become difficult with your child. The most menial tasks become unmanageable. [...]
How is ADHD tested? Dreamstime.com There are essentially three ways to get your child assessed for ADHD. They'll be outline here in the order of complexity. For mild, uncomplicated cases, the first one will suffice, but for more severe or more complicated cases, the final two options will likely be more effective [...]
Attention Deficit Disorder Pic from Dreamstime.com ADHD or ADD "is the most common neurobehavioral disorder of childhood, effecting 5-8% of children. It can profoundly effect the academic achievement, well-being, and social interactions of children. The primary symptoms of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, algthough not all children with ADHD display all [...]
