June 1st, 2013
By Pamela Berard
ADHD diagnosis rates continue to climb among school-aged children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a 2011-2012 study of children’s health issues, interviewing more than 76,000 parents nation-wide, and will release its report this spring. The New York Times used the agency’s raw data to compile results and reported a 16 percent rise in ADHD diagnosis since 2007 and a 41 percent increase in the past decade, with 11 percent of children overall having received an ADHD medical diagnosis. Approximately two-thirds of those with a current diagnosis are receiving prescriptions for stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall. The diagnosis [More]
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June 1st, 2013
By Jo Kadlecek
When Advocates for Autism Massachusetts (AFAM) organized its “Annual Autism and Acceptance Day” this past April at Boston’s State House, they wanted to achieve two things: a deeper acceptance of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and a push for legislation that assists those affected. The event – which drew nearly 200 state representatives, families and advocates – came just weeks after the Center for Disease Control released a new study, “Changes in Prevalence of Parent-Reported Autism Spectrum Disorder in School-aged Children: 2007 to 2011-2012.” The report, co-authored by the Health Resources and Services Administration, cited an increase of diagnosed [More]
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June 1st, 2013
By Rivkela Brodsky
Abused girls who go on to become mothers are more likely to have children with autism, suggests a new study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health. And women who experienced the most severe physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in childhood are 3.5 times more likely to have children with autism as women who didn’t experience any abuse, according to the study. While about two percent of women reported the most serious abuse, even women in the top 25 percent of abuse severity – which included mostly women who experienced more moderate levels of abuse – were 60 [More]
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June 1st, 2013
By Greg Hitchcock
A Swedish study links a child’s autism to his/her grandfather’s age at the time their grandchildren were born. The research conducted by Avi Reichenberg, Ph.D. and Andrew Adesman, M.D., concluded that men who fathered a child at the age of 50 or older were more likely to have a grandchild with autism, suggesting that the risk may be passed down through successive generations. Men who fathered a son at the age of 50 or older had a 67 percent higher risk of having a grandchild with Autism Spectrum Disorder compared to men who fathered a child as young adults. “These [More]
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June 1st, 2013
By Catherine Robertson Souter
In 2010, the Kaiser Foundation reported that children spend more than seven hours each day with entertainment media, including time on a computer at home or at school, playing video games, watching television or using a mobile device. If multitasking is taken into account, like texting while watching a show, that number climbs to more than 10 hours. According to Randy Kulman, Ph.D., president and clinical director of South County Child and Family Consultants in Wakefield, R.I., and author of “Train Your Brain for Success: A Teenager’s Guide to Executive Functions,” we have to accept that digital media is not [More]
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June 1st, 2013
By Paul Efthim PhD
“Body Shots: Hollywood and the Culture of Eating Disorders” By Emily Fox-Kales State University of New York Press Albany, N.Y., 2011 Media representations deliver subliminal messages Reviewed by Paul Efthim, Ph.D. In my clinical work with college students, the film I hear about most frequently is “Mean Girls,” the 2004 classic starring Lindsay Lohan. A number of my young female patients have watched it literally dozens of times and have committed large portions of dialogue to memory. They refer to the film as a hauntingly realistic portrayal of their own suffering at the hands of popular girls who cruelly employ [More]
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June 1st, 2013
By James K Luiselli EdD ABPP BCBA-D
“The Science of Attorney Advocacy: How Courtroom Behavior Affects Jury Decision Making” By Jessica D. Findley and Bruce D. Sales American Psychological Association Washington, D.C., 2012 Book is exhaustive survey of attorney behavior Reviewed by James K. Luiselli, Ed.D., ABPP, BCBA-D Some books address fascinating topics, provide stimulating reading but target a select audience. Such is the case with this book which, in the authors’ words, “is primarily intended to familiarize researchers in psychology, communications, linguistics, and social sciences with the trial strategies being exposed by trial commentators,” namely attorneys, law professors and jury consultants. As it turns out, the [More]
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June 1st, 2013
By Alan Bodnar Ph.D.
I learned about the marathon bombings somewhere on the New Jersey Turnpike when our daughter, who lives and works in Boston, called to say that she was safe. It was an odd way to check in but we assured her that we were safe as well and asked what else was new. Then out came the story that would have us transfixed for the rest of the week as it held the attention of the entire Boston area, the nation and the world. Whether you were standing along the marathon route as we usually did or traveling, there was nowhere [More]
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May 1st, 2013
By Phyllis Hanlon
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports that approximately 5.6 to 8 million Americans 65 and older have mental health or substance use disorders; those figures are expected to double in the next 15 years, precipitating a tremendous burden on an already overburdened health care system. Although community-based care is preferred, inpatient care still remains important as a line of defense in stabilizing individuals and creating long-term solutions. McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. has two separate geriatric psychiatry units, one serving individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and the other for patients with non-dementia related psychiatric diagnoses, according to Don Davidoff, [More]
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May 1st, 2013
By Pamela Berard
After initial controversy, the practice of prohibiting smoking in inpatient psychiatric facilities has taken hold. In decades past, many considered smoking one of the few indulgences allowed patients. So when psychiatric facilities began prohibiting tobacco about a decade ago, they faced resistance, and in some cases, lawsuits. The tide has turned: 2011 survey results from the Research Institute of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors show that of respondents, almost 80 percent of state psychiatric facilities prohibit smoking – up from about 40 percent in 2006. The culture has changed, says Massachusetts Department of Mental Health Commissioner [More]
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