A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Autism can be difficult to detect in very young children, although there is clear evidence that early detection and subsequent early intervention leads to a substantially better prognosis. This includes improved language and cognitive skills, social relationships and better adaptive functioning. There can also be less maladaptive behaviours, and an increased chance of successful inclusion [...]
Most states are either on school holidays this week, or are in their final week of term time. Term 2 is always a particularly hectic term - aren’t they all? - due to report writing pressures, and in some states the fact that this year, schools have had to squeeze ten weeks worth of stuff [...]
A group of New Orleans researchers found that children exposed to domestic violence are at risk for mental and physical illness due to a breakdown in their DNA. Dr. Stacy Drury, director of the Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Laboratory at Tulane University, and Dr. Katherine Theall, a Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine epidemiologist, led [...]
As a psychotherapist, I specialize in supporting women and men as they recover from working on the streets, in body rub parlours, brothels and as escorts. In the 12 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve found the vast majority grow up in desperation and deprivation, and become ensnared as adolescents within an exploitative machine that [...]
Quinn, an autistic boy, and the line of toys he made before falling asleep. Repeatedly stacking or lining up objects is a behavior commonly associated with autism. Credit: Wikipedia. Pregnant women who lived in close proximity to fields and farms where chemical pesticides were applied experienced a two-thirds increased risk of having a [...]
Do you jump to help the less fortunate, cry during sad movie scenes or tweet and post the latest topics and photos that excite or move you? If yes, you may be among the 20 percent of our population that is genetically predisposed to empathy. - Stony Brook Univ. via Empathy May Be Genetic.
Political controversies often use the suffix “gate“ to embellish their significance. In pop psychology, the equivalent is the made-up “syndrome”, which involves a combination of symptoms and circumstances to explain behaviours and reactions. The latest is “rushing women’s syndrome”, which former swimmer Lisa Curry used to explain her hormonal shifts leading to her divorce. But [...]
"This is a major concern. Antipsychotics are strong drugs with serious side effects such as obesity, diabetes and sedation, and these tend to be worse in young people. Despite this, these drugs are increasingly used in situations where other treatments may be safer and more appropriate," said Karanges. Use of the main ADHD medication Ritalin [...]
A single injection of Botox, which is typically used to improve the appearance of facial wrinkles, may be an effective treatment for depression. Investigators at the Hannover Medical School in Germany found that treating the facial muscles involved in emotion with Botox eases symptoms of depression."Our emotions are expressed by facial muscles, which in turn [...]
Outgoing Labor Senator Louise Pratt has used one of her final parliamentary speeches to call for the abolition of the school chaplaincy program, saying it is harming vulnerable gay and lesbian children. Senator Pratt said a survey found anti-gay chaplains had driven schoolchildren to self-harm and had told them to “pray the gay away”, claims [...]
