Debate Over Applied Behavior Analysis At A Crossroads

For many years Applied Behavior Analysis has been the go-to treatment for children with autism. Recently a debate about it has emerged. This article presents a balanced view of both sides of this issue. Click here to read full article. 

The Truth About Caffeine and ADHD

Since people with ADHD benefit from stimulant medication and coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant, it has caused many people to wonder whether they could substitute caffeine for Ritalin. Probably not: to get the same amount of stimulant from caffeine as you would from Ritalin would probably make most people too jittery and nervous. However, there has been very little solid research on using caffeine as part of the treatment for ADHD. The surveys that have been done have suggested that responses by people with ADHD to caffeine are individualized, so at the present time the suggestion is to take your Ritalin and then experiment with whether caffeine helps or hinders you, and if it helps, determine how much caffeine is optimal for you. Click here to read full article. 

Don’t Diss the Early-Marrieds

For many years it has been believed that waiting until you were a little older made you more mature and more likely to have a lasting marriage. However, this recent study comparing those Christians who married between 21 and 23 versus Christians who married when they were closer to 30 contradicts that belief and says that early Christian marriages today can be very stable and healthy (people who marry in their teens continue to have higher risk). So if you do premarital counseling don’t automatically assume that encouraging couples to wait until later to marry will necessarily lead to a more stable marriage. Click here to read full article. 

 Bipolar & Impulsivity: Why (and How) I Wait to Make Important Decisions

People with bipolar disorder can make impulsive decisions, especially when they’re having a manic or hypomanic episode, but like us all, they can make impulsive decisions even between episodes. Here is how one person with bipolar disorder helps herself reduce impulsive decisions. Click here to read full article. 

Dating Apps or the Church: A Valentine’s Day Opportunity

I have never used dating apps, as I imagine some of you have not either. This article introduces us to the current world of dating, and all the issues related to it, that some of your clients may be experiencing. I do agree with the author that possibly the church could provide a positive alternative to what the world has to offer if we applied our minds to coming up with some creative solutions. Click here to read full article. 

Higher Risk of Mortality With Autism, ADHD

A metanalysis found that those with either Autism Spectrum Disorder or ADHD have about twice the mortality risk as those without these disorders. Some of those higher risks come from drowning, pedestrian-auto crashes, suicide, seizure disorders, and other medical conditions associated with ASD that can lead to a shorter life expectancy. There is also higher risks for developing substance use disorders, especially with ADHD. Click here to read full article. 

Long Covid Sufferers Are Struggling With Exercise

If you have clients suffering from “long COVID” and they complain about having trouble getting back into exercise, there seems to be some medical reasons for this. This article explains what some of those reasons may be. As to the question of whether such people should continue to try exercising, the situation is too recent to have a definitive answer. Click here to read full article. 

Long COVID Symptoms Linked to Effects on Vagus Nerve

One more piece of information on “long COVID.” The vagus nerve goes from our brain to our body and to several organs and systems, so if COVID changes the vagus nerve, it explains many of the symptoms associated with long COVID. Click here to read full article. 

Low-Intensity Care Options Flop for Self-Harm Prevention

When people have suicidal thoughts, there has been hope that some low-intensity care options might keep such people safe but not require much therapist’ time. This study found that one low-intensity option (case management and usual care) did not decrease the rate of serious self-harm. A second low-cost intervention (on-line DBT) actually increased the frequency of self-harm. The article suggests that some modification of these low-cost interventions might still be effective in reducing the rate of self-harm, but the specific interventions used in this study were not effective on their own. Click here to read full article. 

Driving While Baked? Inside the High-Tech Quest to Find Out

Now that 18 states have legalized recreational use of marijuana, the incidence of driving while impaired has significantly increased. Although driving while marijuana-impaired is not as dangerous as driving while drunk, marijuana does impair driving in at least three ways, including reaction time, processing speed, and visuo-spatial perception. And because pot is stored in tissues and doesn’t just circulate in the blood like alcohol does, it sometimes can cause impairment long after the last dose of marijuana is used. This article describes some of the problems confronting police now that marijuana is being legalized in more states. Click here to read full article. 

What Kids with ADHD Need to Learn

A school superintendent who is also the mother of a child with ADHD writes this article about the kinds of changes that can help her child and others with ADHD to learn best. These changes would definitely be a challenge for the typical teacher to provide, but they seem like they are worthwhile considering. Click here to read full article. 

7 Things Female Porn Users Wish Their Pastors Understood

Most pastors are unaware of the number of women in their church who struggle with porn because, as studies have shown, female Christian porn users have twice the level of shame as male users have. This article might be a good one to share with your pastor. Click here to read full article. 

What to know about the KF94 mask

With so many counterfeit COVID masks being sold, and the fact that the ones we can get from the U.S. government (if they ever arrive) are made in China, it would be helpful to know where we can get good masks and masks not made in China. This article tells you how to get good masks made in South Korea that are reportedly comfortable and have 94% filtration. Click here to read full article. 

 COVID Infection Linked to Slew of Mental Health Conditions

Having a COVID infection, even if one did not go to the hospital, has been linked with a 60% increase in anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and substance abuse disorders. This was true even if the persons had had no previous mental health diagnosis. So if you’re seeing new clients for problems that had never been problems for them before, you can reassure them that this is true for many people. Click here to read full article. 

High Global Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women

A very sad statistic: about ¼ of women experience partner violence sometime in their lives. Click here to read full article. 

Best wishes for the coming week!

Henry Virkler