Media
Lesson #5: Welcome Misbehavior: The Immature Expression Of Legitimate Feelings!
In Lesson #5: "Welcome Misbehavior: The Immature Expression Of Legitimate Feelings!" In this episode of 10 Lessons, Dr. Rick talks with The McCarthy family about misbehavior, how it often manifests as a result of children not having the means to express their legitimate feelings, and the importance of recognizing those feelings. He also discusses the 3 types of parenting patterns, the 3 types of behavior, and the importance of not ruling by emotions.
Show Notes
Media
Lesson #4: Please! Delay Kindergarten!
In Lesson #4: "Please! Delay Kindergarten!" For the child with autism, delaying kindergarten offers them an opportunity to make a full year of developmental progress as they get ready for the academic and social demands of school. In this episode Dr. Rick describes the 7 Habits of Highly Successful Kindergarteners and interviews two sets of parents who describe the creative ways they helped their children with autism and worked with the schools to promote those 7 habits. Sharing the diagnosis with classmates is also discussed.
Show Notes
Media
Lesson #2: The Whole Family Matters
In Lesson #2: "The Whole Family Matters: Parents who take care of themselves take better care of their families" In this episode, Dr. Rick interviews Dawn and Alex Ham-Kucharski. Dawn is an author with a new book, Autism from Diagnosis to Adulthood and Alex is Dawn and Rich Ham Kucharski’s son, a young adult with autism. The lesson in this episode is that the whole family matters. Dr. Rick, Dawn, and Alex explore the paradox that focusing too much on the needs of the child with autism is not the best way to meet the needs of the child with autism! The interview focuses on how to increase the ‘love charge’ of the family by nurturing the husband and wife relationship, acknowledging the three common sibling reactions to autism, and balancing the autistic child’s needs with the needs of the rest of the family. Both Dawn and Alex tell it like it is with all the ups and downs of coping with autism and its impact their family’s life.
Media
Lesson #1: When You Do What The Child Loves, The Child Will Love To Be With You
In Lesson #1: “When you do what the child loves, the child with autism will love to be with you.” Dr. Rick interviews Jeff and Heather about their daughter Kate and what it takes to get started with a successful intervention program. They share their struggles with grief and getting Kate’s diagnosis of autism, about trying out different therapies until they found what worked, and how intensive early intervention and playfulness (doing what the child loves) helped Kate to improve in her ability to form relationships and develop a sense of belonging with her friends and classmates. Dr. Rick introduces the key methods that help all children on the spectrum connect with others and grow developmentally.
Show Notes
Media
Exploring the Mind | 7 Ways Children's Storytelling Skills Impact Literacy Development
Join Assistant Professor Nicole Gardner-Neblett of the University of Michigan for her presentation on the importance of storytelling in the development of literacy skills, and learn some strategies for supporting young children as storytellers.
Did you know that by the time a child is two or three years old they can tell a simple story? These early storytelling skills can help children develop a strong foundation for building later reading and writing skills. Research suggests that opportunities to practice telling stories helps children develop stronger language skills and a better understanding of how stories are structured. This presentation reviews seven ways that young children's storytelling skills can impact their literacy development.
Nicole Gardner-Neblett, Ph.D., is a developmental psychologist whose work focuses on the individual and contextual factors that promote children’s language and literacy development. She adopts a strengths-based approach to understanding children’s development and identifying effective practices to transform the early learning experiences of young children. In particular, Dr. Gardner-Neblett’s work examines the oral narrative, or storytelling, skills of African American children and the implications for literacy development and educational practice.
Media
Legacies Project Oral History: Katherine Dawkins
Katherine Dawkins was born in 1932 in the Black Bottom neighborhood in Detroit. She had two children as a teenager, and recalls how that impacted her relationships with friends and family. She married her second husband, James Dawkins, in 1963. She has held various jobs, including switchboard operator at the Gotham Hotel and customer service representative at Harper Recreation Bowling Alley and Henry Ford Hospital. Late in life, Dawkins was inspired to return to school and she received her GED at age 79.
Katherine Dawkins was interviewed in partnership with the Museum of African American History of Detroit and Y Arts Detroit in 2010 as part of the Legacies Project.
Media
Legacies Project Oral History: Connie and Ethan Stewart
Connie Gibbon and Ethan Allen “Al” Stewart were married on August 31, 1948 in East Orange, New Jersey. Al had just completed his BA at MIT. They moved to Indiana for his job at Procter & Gamble. Within a few years Al started working for Ford Motor Company’s Saline plant and the couple moved to Ann Arbor. They had three children: Carol, Connie, and James. Connie organized a cooperative preschool with neighborhood mothers, and later in life she volunteered for Planned Parenthood, including serving as temporary director. They moved to Glacier Hills Retirement Community in 2004, and then Rochester, Minnesota to be closer to their son James. Al passed away on April 22, 2014.
Connie and Ethan Stewart were interviewed as part of an internship at Applied Safety and Ergonomics in Ann Arbor in 2008 as part of the Legacies Project.
Media
Author Event | Katherine Reynolds Lewis Discusses Her Book "The Good News About Bad Behavior"
A new and surprising problem has quietly been developing in the current generation of children: they are out of control. A recent study of first-graders found they could sit still for no more than three minutes, only a quarter of the time that their peers could in 1948. Government statistics show that half of all children will develop a mood or behavioral disorder or a substance addiction by age 18.
In the era of the helicopter parent, children seem to have lost the ability to regulate their behavior and emotions. Our time-honored methods of punishments and rewards haven't taught discipline -- they've undermined it.
Journalist Katherine Reynolds Lewis spent five years investigating this crisis: observing families at the dinner table, meeting educators who are transforming the school experience for kids with attention and mood disorders, studying psychological research, and looking introspectively at her own parenting habits.
Media
Bright Nights Community Forum | Postpartum Depression: What You Don't Expect When You're Expecting
Women frequently experience mild mood changes during or after pregnancy, but if these symptoms become severe, they require treatment. Often misunderstood and conflated with the “baby blues,” postpartum depression occurs in nearly 15 percent of women and can interfere with their ability to care for or bond with their babies. Although highly treatable, many women are reluctant to seek care for a variety of reasons including lack of information about the illness, misconceptions about its treatment, and shame due to stigma and societal pressures.
Samantha Shaw, MD, Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry at Michigan Medicine, gives a brief overview presentation reviewing the signs and symptoms of postpartum depression; treatment options; and strategies to avoid common “traps” of postpartum depression. The presentation is followed by questions and discussion with a panel of experts including Lisa Anderson, MSW, Social Worker, Michigan Medicine; Monica Starkman, MD, Associate Professor Emerita of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School.
This event was a partnership with the U-M Depression Center. For more information on the Center, visit their website or contact Stephanie Salazar, 232-0330, or sawaters@umich.edu
Media
Bright Nights Community Forum: The Adolescent Brain - Substance Use, Depression, and Recovery
Important features of brain development exist during the adolescent period, and this developmental phase matters when we talk about adolescent depression and substance use. Understanding these developmentally specific features of depression and substance use helps with parental monitoring, understanding, responding effectively to youth, as well as knowing more about what to expect and how to discern when more help is needed. It is common for parents to wonder, "are they just being a moody teenager?" or "isn't it normal to experiment with alcohol or drugs during adolescence?" Sometimes parents are unsure which condition, substance use or mental illness, is primary or what needs to be treated first.
In order to address these and other dilemmas in relation to dual diagnosis in adolescence, The University of Michigan Depression Center and the Ann Arbor District Library present a Bright Nights community forum entitled, “The Adolescent Brain: Substance Use, Depression, and Recovery”.
Dr. Joanna Quigley, Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry; Associate Medical Director for Child & Adolescent Services, Ambulatory Psychiatry & University of Michigan Addiction Treatment Services (UMATS), gives a brief overview presentation reviewing the signs and symptoms of adolescent depression; signs, symptoms and impact of substance use during adolescence; the intersection of these conditions; how they influence one another and what this can mean for long term development. She speaks about the importance of early intervention and prevention, as well as response focused on education and effective dialogue.