Students Articles

Listed by most recent articles first.

• So You’re Thinking about Giving Your Kids Music Lessons
  Let's be clear. There is such a thing as talent and a drive to make music. Some kids start ...
• A High School Project on Depression
  I tutor a number of students from my local high school, which offers a remarkable English course called Psychology and Literature. What an idea! Although I’d never heard of such a course at any other ...
• Depression and Teenage Identity Building
  One day of high school, I distinctly remember realizing that I had more friends who were taking some form of psychiatric medication than friends ...
• Three Faces of Depression
  Is depression a single thing? It seems to me that depression has many faces. One of the fascinating segments of my job as a private tutor ...
• ADHD and Marijuana
  Recent research shows that marijuana may relieve some of the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The debate rages on, but many people, both kids ...
• Might Schools Be Teaching ADHD?
  Tessa had the worst case of ADHD I’ve had to deal with in a long time. She was a high school junior who’d been ...
• Depression in Students
  Students may be particularly vulnerable to depression, with rates at around 14 percent according to one study in Dublin, Ireland. The background rate among the general ...
• Appreciating Our ADHD Students
  I’ve been sitting at a dining room table for almost two hours now, observing my son, Matt, as he works with a student. Matt’s ...
• Oh, Look! A Chicken!: A Teen’s Tips for Managing ADD
  I’m impressed by the tenth grader sitting across from me. Ginny was diagnosed with ADD when she was only ...
• Classroom Adaptations for ADHD Students
  Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a behavioral problem that starts during childhood and affects three to five percent of school-aged children. Children with ADHD may qualify for special education services under two laws: the Individuals ...
• Motivational Strategies for Children with ADHD
  Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can have problems getting work done. For example, kids with predominantly inattentive ADHD or combined type ADHD have difficulty sustaining their attention during a task, do not always ...
• Yes, You Should Go to Your Graduation
  From mid-May well into June, my corner of the world is celebrating one graduation after another. With four colleges, a state university, two community colleges ...
• Meeting the Needs of Special Needs Kids
  “I wish the system didn’t force me to be mean.” Jyl, the mom of a child with special needs, is in anguish. Not only is she managing her challenged – and challenging ...
• Where Did the Love Go? Growing Up and Growing Apart
  When I first met Joel he was 15, embattled with his parents, failing in school, and deeply, desperately in love. Bright, sensitive, and troubled by what he saw as an older generation that simply didn’t ...
• College Students: There’s a Banquet on the Bulletin Boards
  Rosalind Russell said it best in the movie Auntie Mame. She played an eccentric, flamboyant lady who truly loved life and lived it as she wished. Her most famous line? “Oh, darling -- life’s a ...
• Talking To Your Teens about Acquaintance Rape
  “How could this happen?” The mother on the other end of the phone is distraught. “My son came home a wreck. He said his girlfriend wouldn’t quit coming on to him no matter what he ...
• Teens and Internet Pornography
  What should parents do when they discover that their young teen or preteen has been looking at pornography sites online? And what does it mean? Based on a survey of online victimization conducted by the ...
• Cyberbullying and Teen Suicide
  The headline took my breath away. In a town close to mine, a 15-year-old had committed suicide due to cyberbullying. Described as a charming and well-liked young girl, she nonetheless crumbled when targeted ...
• Seeing Beneath the Surface with Your Teen
  Disclaimer: The characters from these vignettes are fictitious. They were derived from a composite of people and events for the purpose of representing real-life situations and psychological dilemmas which occur in families. Daniel’s Perspective Daniel was ...
• Sleep-Deprived Nation
  The student who asked to see me looks exhausted. I’m used to sleepy students. It’s an occupational hazard of teaching the 8:30 a.m. class. But I’ve been worried about this young man for several weeks. ...
• Bonding with Your Teen: A Hidden Opportunity
  This column is part of a series of vignettes representing themes common to families and adolescents. Different sides of a dilemma are presented – the parent’s point of view and the adolescent’s view. ...
• Teen Drinking: Limits vs. Punishment
  According to the National Institute of Health, drinking -- the drug of choice among youth -- plays a major role in death from injuries, and injuries are the leading cause of death for ...
• Does Your Teenager Want To Get Caught?
  Travis was 15. He’d always been a good kid – no trouble, unlike his brothers. His parents saw him as the perfect child. That’s ...
• Model Success To Create Successful Students
  I’m privileged to teach an upper-level psychology course to juniors and seniors at our state university. Their grades are good to great. They have chosen majors, taken advantage of internship opportunities, and started to ...
• When Your Kids Disappoint You
  As summer winds down, many parents longingly await school, yet dread the frustration and disappointment they feel regarding their kids and the resulting guilt over these reactions. Parents may have a clear vision of their children’s ...