This article has been republished with permission. The original article, published on April 16th, 2025, can be viewed here. For more information about Behavioral Health News, please email dminot@mhnews.org. Behavioral health challenges continue to be a pervasive issue that impacts children and their families. According to the 2022-2023 National Survey of Children’s Health, over 25%…
By Hongmarie Martinez, PsyD, Licensed Psychologist | Behavior Therapy Associates | Somerset, New Jersey Do you notice that you or your child has challenges with some or all of the following areas: sustaining attention, staying on task, task initiation, planning, follow-through, time management, organization, restlessness, and/or impulse control? If so, it may be helpful to…
Independent Evaluations: What Are They and When Do You Need Them? 2 of 4 Written by Dr. Rory Panter, Licensed Psychologist In some instances, students display problematic behaviors that interfere with their ability to learn the skills they need to be successful. In such cases, a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) should be conducted by a…
by Michael C. Selbst, Ph.D., BCBA-D & Ashley M. Zultanky, Psy.D. Do you or someone you know have difficulties in the following areas? Difficulties in any of these areas can significantly impact one’s functioning at home, in school, in the workplace, in social relationships, and within the community. Specifically, these can contribute to missing assignments, poor school…
At this time, let’s revisit the question presented at the beginning. Recall the exasperated parent asking, “Why can’t you just do what I told you to do?” On the surface, it appears that the difference lies between hearing and listening. Hearing involves the registration of sound waves through the eardrum which stimulates particular parts of…
To help move from abstract concepts to skills, let’s look at impulsivity. Impulsivity can be looked at as a deficit in inhibition and impulse control, otherwise known as delayed gratification. Delayed gratification is waiting for a larger or higher quality reward in lieu of a lower quality, smaller reward. Identifying delayed gratification brings about behavior…
Overall, ADHD symptoms suggest difficulties with executive functioning, and may highlight that ADHD is partially a disorder of executive functioning. Executive functioning consists of three areas: working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control. Working memory is where information is manipulated or transformed in conscious awareness. Working memory is utilized if you are recalling a mental…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) most recent survey data in 2011, there were 8.8% of children ages 4 to 17 diagnosed with ADHD, which was an increase from 2007, with 7.2% of children diagnosed with ADHD. Males are more frequently diagnosed with ADHD in both children and adults compared to…
An Assessment of ADHD Symptoms How we diagnose ADHD symptoms Assessment of children suspected of ADHD should be conducted according to best practice. This includes gathering medical, developmental, social, and educational information, reviewing educational and medical records, in addition to previous evaluations, interviewing parents, teachers, other professionals who have worked with the child, and, when…
What Is ADHD? This and other questions of a similar vein are often asked by exasperated parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) when they find their child doing something other than what was asked. Although parents, in general, may experience these issues, parents of a child diagnosed with ADHD may find themselves…