WORDS OF WISDOM

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."

MOTHER TERESA

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.

G.K. Chesterton

Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.

Pope John Paul II

If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.

— Mark Twain

DATING APPS FINALLY TARGET THIS IGNORED COMMUNITY OF 70 MILLION

This article talks about a new set of apps for singles who are on the Autism Disorder Spectrum. ASD individuals often have greater than normal difficulties making small talk, meeting new people, expressing emotions, reading social cues, and decide when to tell a dating partner they are on the spectrum. Some of these dating apps also have coaches to help ASD individuals to learn how to pick up on social cues. Click here to read full article. 

Autism Screening Test for Toddlers Wins on Accuracy

The earlier autism can be identified the earlier interventions can begin, often resulting in less impairment in later life. This new tool, tested on some 13,000 infants between 12 and 24 months, has some impressive validity scores. Click here to read full article. 

Real-Life Tips from Four Long-Term [Bipolar] Couples

As you probably know, marriages often dissolve once bipolar disorder appears. Here are some suggestions for having an enduring relationship even though one of the partners in each relationship has bipolar disorder. Click here to read full article. 

How TikTok has become a dangerous breeding ground for mental disorders

Some of you may have seen signs of this in your counseling practices. Many “mental health influencers,” often teens or young adult women with no mental health training, are racking up thousands, and in some cases millions of views of themselves giving out mental health information. Among other things, these apps often encourage young people to diagnose themselves with a variety of mental disorders. Click here to read full article. 

Tavistock gender clinic ‘not safe’ for children, NHS report finds

For some time, many of us have believed that the gender-altering methods being promoted at the Tavistock Clinic in Great Britain and similar methods being advocated in the U.S. should be labeled as experimental techniques and should be subject to more long-term studies before being widely recommended to children and teens. Those who disagreed with these recommendations were often criticized as being transphobic and out of step with modern gender theory. Now a major study by the National Health Service (the department that oversees all the health services in Great Britain), has concluded following an investigation that the London clinic known for recommending puberty blockers for children suffering from gender dysphoria and encouraging teenagers to undergo surgeries to remove their genitals or breasts was found to be operating outside of NHS safeguards. See article for further details. Click here to read full article. 

Wisconsin Teachers Instructed to Hide Students’ Gender Identities from Parents

While this U.S. training of schoolteachers came before the above NHS report was published, it indicates that the woke philosophy of gender identity is still alive and well in some parts of the U.S. “Teachers in the Eau Claire Area School District in central Wisconsin received a training that focused on safe spaces, gender identity, microaggressions, and oppression. According to one of the trainers, parents who disagree with their kids about gender identity issues are guilty of a form of “abuse…..Critics of the training sessions called the instruction “blatant disregard for the parents and guardians of our community’s children,’ and they said it sends the message that schools are in control of children, not parents and families.” Click here to read full article. 

Whistleblowing teacher blows lid on indoctrination in Ohio

And the indoctrination is not just in Wisconsin schools. This article, while focusing on Ohio schools, suggests the indoctrination is being propagated far more widely in schools throughout the U.S. Click here to read full article. 

4 Benefits of Family Dinner Together

This article reminds us of ideas that most of us know, but in the hurry of present culture, we may have forgotten. Click here to read full article. 

Homeschool Mom Sticks to a Tight Budget of $860 Each Month to Feed Her Family of 11

With inflation at close to 8%, many families must economize in whatever ways they can. Here is how one homeschool mother is doing something that most of us think would be impossible. Click here to read full article. 

Does Virtual Reality Stunt Kids’ Development?

This is a question that every concerned parent probably has. We may soon have some answers to that question, as explained in this article. Click here to read full article. 

Fall Back? Spring Ahead? How About Neither, Experts Say.

This article, by Tara Parker Pope, is in the New York Times, so some of you may not be able to access it. To briefly summarize, the studies on both options (switching twice a year or staying on the same time schedule throughout the year) have yielded different results, so arguments can be made in favor of both choices. So people and leaders may continue to argue back and forth and no change may be made, or some tragic event may galvanize the country into adopting one option or the other. 

Postscript: The Senate just unanimously passed a bill to make Daylight Savings Time permanent. It now needs to be passed in the House and signed by the President to be enacted. Those of you who remember the 1970s may remember that Congress passed legislation then because of the energy crisis to make Daylight Savings Time permanent year around. The law was implemented for one year, and then public dissatisfaction (on some days in the winter the sun did not rise until 8 a.m., that the law was revoked because of public dissatisfaction. Click here to read full article. 

Searching for the “Upside” of Bipolar

Even though bipolar disorder presents difficulties for persons and their loved ones, there are also some “upsides” to having bipolar disorder, as this article discusses. Click here to read full article. 

Mom of Miracle Preemie Writes Touching Book on Helping Families Experiencing Premature Birth

If you know of a family, or are counseling a family with a premature baby, this article and the book this mother wrote might be an encouragement. Click here to read full article. 

Meet a Real-Life Tarzan Who Lived 40 Years Isolated in the Jungle

This story isn’t related to counseling, but I thought some of you might be interested in spending five minutes viewing the life of Lang, who was raised by his father in the jungle, believing the Vietnam war had never ended. Click here to read full article. 

Dietary Fiber Tied to Lower Dementia Risk

There are many different causes of dementia and there is much still to learn, but this study, which followed a few thousand people for more than 20 years, found that diets high is soluble fiber resulted in lower dementia risk. Click here to read full article. 

“I Am an Excellent Starter. The Trouble Is Finishing.”

People with ADHD often lose motivation partway through tasks, and leave many projects partially completed. Here’s an article by a person with ADHD with five tips she uses to help her work on tasks until they’re  completed. Click here to read full article. 

FDA Clears Once-Weekly Transdermal Patch for Alzheimer’s

There has never been a treatment for Alzheimer’s that seemed to make a difference. Here is the first treatment that does seem to have some efficacy in slowing the pace of Alzheimer’s progression. Click here to read full article. 

Shocking Sexual Content in School Books??? A Step-by-Step Plan for Speaking Up

Parents have a right to be upset for the sexual content that children are being exposed to in some of our schools. This article gives specific examples, and then gives practical steps that parents can take to ask school officials to replace those books with books that have age-appropriate sexual education materials instead (no, starting a riot at a school board meeting isn’t a recommended technique). Click here to read full article. 

Literature for Children with ADHD and Learning Disabilities

If you’re working with a parent who has a child with ADHD or a learning disability and they would like suggestions for books to read to their child or activities to do with them, this article might be helpful to them. Click here to read full article. 

Association of Screen Time With Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Children 12 Years or Younger: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

This meta-analysis found there was a small but significant relationship between the amount of time children spent watching screens and both externalizing (e.g., aggression, inattention) and internalizing (e.g., anxiety, depression) behavior problems. Click here to read full article. 

All in the Family? Genetics & Bipolar

Bipolar disorder is considered a highly heritable disorder. But there are lifestyle factors that can increase or decrease the risk of bipolar developing, and how serious the symptoms become. This article talks about the heritability of the disorder and actions individuals can take to increase or decrease the expression of the illness. Click here to read full article. 

Brain Regeneration: Why It’s Real and How to Do It

For many years doctors believed, and we were told, that once a brain cell died, there was no replacing it. But cognitive neuroscientists in the last 30 years have shown that neurogenesis (developing new brain cells) can occur. This article lists 7 things that have been shown to enhance neurogenesis. Click here to read full article. 

How to Overcome 9 of the Most Common Bad Habits

Much of our behavior is governed by habits we have developed. Some of those habits are helpful and some are not. Here are some suggestions about 9 of the most common bad habits and some suggestions on how to overcome them. Click here to read full article. 

Lithium Linked to Dementia Prevention

People with bipolar disorder frequently are given lithium for treatment. One of the challenges is that lithium has a very narrow therapeutic window, so its challenging not to be taking too high or too low a dose. One motivation for using lithium rather than an alternative is that it does reduce the likelihood of suicide, which is 15 times more common with bipolar patients than with the normal population. But this article identifies two other benefits: it results in lower frequency of both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Click here to read full article. 

“Working Memory vs. Short-Term Memory: What’s the Difference?”

This is a brief article (probably only 90 seconds to read) that explains the difference between working memory versus short-term memory and why understanding that is important. Although the article is written for an ADHD audience, the information applies to all of us.

I look forward to seeing some of you at the webinar next week on “Preparing Yourself and Your Clients for a Fulfilling Retirement.”

God bless,

Henry Virkler