During the past decade, a growing body of research has shown that air pollution harms older adults’ brains, contributing to cognitive decline and dementia. What hasn’t been clear is whether improving air quality would benefit brain health. Two studies published this year by researchers at six universities and the National Institute on Aging provide the… Continue reading Clearing Pollution Helps Clear the Fog of Aging — And May Cut the Risk of Dementia

The Ultimate Accessibility-Friendly Fall Bucket List I love a good list. It’s what keeps me both collected and adventurous – whimsically organized, if that’s a thing. Autumn is my favorite season for list-making. Perhaps it was all those starts to a new school year as a kid or simply because this season feels like it… Continue reading Accessibility-Friendly Fall Bucket List

The new school year is here and it is beginning to find its swing. Our kids are taking tests, and quizzes, and being assigned papers and projects. It’s happening! As parents, we often think about how to help our children who struggle with poor executive functioning skills such as time management, prioritization, starting a task,… Continue reading New School Year, New Executive Functioning Strategies

Does my Daughter Have ADHD? When you think about ADHD, your natural tendency may be to envision a little boy who falls out of his seat at school, or who asks a ton of questions while his teacher is presenting a lesson.  You may even imagine a teenage boy who is lost in his thoughts… Continue reading ADHD in Girls Going Unnoticed

Our teens are suffering. As a parent, it is heartbreaking to watch our (bigger) babies hurt so badly. In addition to normal teen angst, teens are grieving the loss of many in-person milestones that the pandemic made difficult, such as graduations, dances, proms, field trips, athletic games and tournaments, school plays and theater, and the… Continue reading Teenage Depression: What to Look For

Empathy is Great. But Respect is Better. Do you remember that movie Bubble Boy, about the kid (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who lived inside a big plastic bubble? It came out in 2001. It was terrible. The idea however, that we all travel around in our little bubbles of space, occasionally bumping into each other… Continue reading The Importance of Universal Respect

Never Underestimate the Power of a Cinnamon Roll On a sweltering morning in June less than two weeks after graduating college, I found myself alone, sitting crisscross applesauce on the floor of my 800-foot studio apartment in Manhattan surrounded by the bric-a-brac of Ikea furniture parts. I had one thousand Allen wrenches and no one… Continue reading Self-Care: Finding Self Care Wherever You Can

In any job there are certain tricks of the trade. When you work in IT like my spouse, you learn to think in code. When you teach high school English like I did, you learn a different kind of code – how to interpret silence and which body language translates to “I am texting under… Continue reading Why New People in Your Child’s Life are Hard (But Also Necessary)

Don’t Be Afraid to Ride the Wave of Anxiety As a divorcing mom of 3 and a psychologist who specializes in anxiety, I feel anxious every day. Ironic, right? I sit with and absorb other people’s anxiety, whether they are my patients, my children, my family or my friends. I don’t feel a high level… Continue reading Emotions and Parenting: Managing Anxiety

For Children with Special Needs, Telehealth Visits Are Here to Stay My son Charlie was born with a rare genetic condition which increases his chances of developing certain cancers in the kidneys and liver. For the early years of his life, he was required to get ultrasounds every three months and blood draws every six… Continue reading Telehealth Visits Are Here to Stay