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

When we are faced with news or experience of loss, whether physical or perceived, we respond with shock and disbelief. We then experience all of the emotions that flood us while we are trying to accept a reality that we did not want. As parents, when our child or children are diagnosed with a medical… Continue reading Unexpected Diagnoses: Grieving the Loss of What You Thought Your Life Would Be

My Teen with Special Needs/Disability is Interested in Dating Teens are teens, regardless of special needs/disability or not. Puberty hits, sparks start flying and we, as parents, have no idea how to handle this new phase in your adolescent’s life.  Within the special needs community, there is controversy as to whether dating is a good… Continue reading Teen Dating for Adolescents with Disabilities

What a Difference a Decade Makes Ten years ago, our new family of three went on our first beach vacation. Like most Tennesseans, we hit I-65 and headed south and did not stop until we hit the ocean somewhere along the Florida coast. But unlike most Tennesseans, we had a seven-month-old son, Charlie, who was… Continue reading The Difference a Decade Makes

Over the years, I’ve worked with many parents who have children with meltdowns or behaviors that are overwhelming and constant. Parents often come to me with the question of, “How can I change my child?” My answer is usually not that gratifying in that my approach is to focus on what the child needs and… Continue reading Emotions and Parenting: Why Do My Children Trigger Me?