July 2014 – Nevada Equine Assisted Therapy (NEAT)

When a child’s or teen’s behavior is no long ‘acting up’

Jul 31, 2014

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in ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Asperger’s, Children’s issues, Mental Health, ODD, PTSD, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Teens

Yes, all kids, at one time or another, misbehave. Even well behaved kids get tired, have a bad day or get pushed too hard and all of sudden we see a side of them that surprises us. But when is bad behavior a real mental health issue? This post talks about some of the signs…

Nice story about a program similar to ours…

Jul 31, 2014

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by

Laurie

in Addiction, ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Children’s issues, Depression, Mental Health, ODD, Other programs, PTSD, Teens

I always like seeing when other programs are doing good work with horses. This story out of Omaha, NE again shows how work with horses can help in so many ways. We work with children as young as 4, teens, adults and even seniors. Through work with horses we address challenges as diverse as eating…

Other options for dealing with ADHD

Jul 24, 2014

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by

Laurie

in ADHD, Asperger’s, Children’s issues, Mental Health, Teens

The number of kids diagnosed with ADHD are climbing (1 in 10) but it seems that we have not really come up with too many new or effective ways of addressing this often extremely challenging disorder. The most common treatment is a medication regime. Sadly finding the right combination of ‘meds’ that help a child…

Trust Your Gut

Jul 23, 2014

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by

Laurie

in ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Asperger’s, Autism, Bipolar, Children’s issues, Depression, Eating Disorders, Mental Health, OCD, Other challenges, PTSD, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Teens

Most all of us have heard this saying. The idea is that if we listen to our gut we are more in tune with our feelings. Well there may really be much more to this than we have thought. In an interesting article, it’s noted that there is “Mounting evidence that gut bacteria affect mood…

A Growing Teen Crisis

Jul 23, 2014

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by

Laurie

in Addiction, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Eating Disorders, Mental Illness, ODD, PTSD, Teens

A new survey finds that depression is the number 1 cause of illness and disability in teens worldwide. And, though the exact cause is difficult to pinpoint, “Mental health experts have identified a number of reasons for the rise, ranging from media to genetics”. In her article “Understanding and responding to the increase in teen depression,” Emily…

ADHD/PTSD What happens when they look the same

Jul 8, 2014

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by

Laurie

in Addiction, ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Children’s issues, Depression, Eating Disorders, FAS, Grief, Mental Health, ODD, Other challenges, PTSD, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Teens

I have written on this subject before. I have shared personal experiences; my dad dying when I was very young and being diagnosed with ADHD, only to be pretty sure from a place of adult perspective that I probably was suffering from PTSD. I have also shared that my guess is, many of the clients…

When chronological age does not match maturity

Jul 5, 2014

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by

Laurie

in ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Asperger’s, Bipolar, Children’s issues, FAS, Mental Health, OCD, ODD, PTSD, Reactive Attachment Disorder

One of the most common questions we ask children when we meet them is “how old are you?” We ask this as if it will give us magical insights into who the child is, but in reality it only tells us how many years ago the child was born. So many things influence a child’s…

Serious Consequences of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

Jul 5, 2014

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by

Laurie

in Addiction, ADHD, Children’s issues, FAS, Mental Health, Other challenges, PTSD, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Sensory processing issues

The damage done by prenatal alcohol exposure can be devastating. From low birth weight and birth complications to cognitive challenges, children exposed to drugs (including nicotine!) and/or alcohol while in the womb may carry the burden the rest of their lives. Added to the possible consequences is now balance and coordination problems. In a study…

Month: July 2014