#but the adhd makes it SO hard to coordinate it all and have motivation to do any of it!!! even if it's something i really WANT to do!!!!

[funkyplantguy]

hello if you're a writer and you have adhd i am gripping you by the throat and begging on my hands and knees for the secret to being consistent with writing.........i get like random bursts of motivation where i write like 50-70k in a single week and then 2 days later the thought of jotting down even a single word fills me with Dread. how do you do it. sobbing

[americanbolivian]

Meet ABC member Milenka Gutierrez Albarracin

Milenka co-founded and manages Todos Somos Bolivia, a non-profit supporting volunteer firefighters and animal refugees impacted by forest fires in Bolivia.

She is the LOFT Program Coordinator (Navegando Tu Futuro Académico y Profesional Program Lead, IBM SkillsBuild Partner Lead), academic and professional initiatives at the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, empowering the Latinx community.

Additionally, she founded Alba Designs LLC, a small business specializing in decorations and gifts.

Follow her: Instagram: Mily_galba

Todos Somos Bolivia: https://www.instagram.com/todossomosbolivia

Alba Designs LLC: https://www.instagram.com/albadesignsllc

“Hello, my name is Milenka Gutierrez Albarracin, and I proudly identify with the vibrant and culturally rich city of La Paz, Bolivia, where I was born and grew up biking its streets, climbing my grandma's trees, and sledding down its mountains. My parents are also from La Paz, grounding me deeply in its unique blend of history and tradition; growing up in a Villa (Villa Armonia, San Isidro Bajo), I loved going to the nearest tiendita for candy, to misa with my grandma pa bendecir al niño, knowing all the neighbors' kids, and playing with my cousins who lived super close. We are a very close large family, so we grew up with family parties, picnics, and travels. My roots extend further into the highlands, as my grandparents migrated from the Quechua and Aymara-speaking towns of Aucapata, Mecapaca, and Caracato, where as a kid I got to explore their mountains for fossils, played and fell in their rivers, picked fresh fruit, learned great survival skills, danced Morenada with the adults in the plazas during presets and shared delicious food with people from other towns. These connections have deeply influenced who I am today.

Growing up, I was immersed in the diverse cultural practices of the urban La Paz and the mixed indigenous heritages of my grandparents. This blend of city life and ancestral traditions instilled in me a profound respect for Bolivia's multicultural identity, the love and protection of its natural areas and animals, and the support and service of its people.

As I moved to the US when I was a teen along with my hard working single-divorced mother, my childhood and genetic ADHD influenced future choices. My love for rocks and animals became a love for science in general. After graduating high school I obtained my Bachelor's Degree in Neurobiology and Physiology at University of Maryland and went back to earn my Master's degree in Biochemistry. After a few years working in the lab and the medical field, I decided to combine my passions for science, research, and education, and I transitioned to teaching middle and high school science. What started as a need to continue learning science became a passion to bridge the gap between scientific exploration and academic advancement for my students. I wanted to make sure that they understood the interconnections between science (microbiology, chemistry, neurophysiology), their bodies, and the entire world and universe they lived in. I made my classes as interactive and open as possible, fostering their curiosity and motivation through initiatives such as Science Club, collaborating with NASA members, and establishing MakerSpace Stations with the support of my beloved principal Mrs. Durney and NIH.

Throughout my career, I have been committed to fostering STEM educational empowerment, promoting diversity and inclusion, and advocating for fair treatment and representation of the Latinx and Bolivian community. Currently, I serve as the LOFT Program Coordinator, Navegando Tu Futuro Académico y Profesional Program Lead, and IBM SkillsBuild Partner Lead at the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, where I play a pivotal role in supporting our Latinx community with free academic and professional programs and opportunities. My focus is on providing resources and avenues to Latinx youth for professional development, ensuring that individuals get inspired, prepared, and connected with a network of professionals, and find the tools and strategies they need to succeed in their chosen fields.

My family and heritage continues to shape my worldview and drives my passion for celebrating and preserving our cultural and environmental legacy. As a result, I co-founded and currently manage the community organization Todos Somos Bolivia (TSB). In 2019, amidst the devastating Amazon and Chiquitania Forest fires, my great friend Lizzett Uria and I founded TSB to support volunteer firefighters, animal refugees, and affected communities across Bolivia. Our organization continues to advocate for the protection and conservation of Bolivian forests, while also championing the rights of humans and animals affected by yearly man-made and climate change worsened fires and other catastrophes. We provide support and raise awareness through various media platforms, ensuring that needed help is provided to the forest rangers and firefighters mitigating protected forest areas and at the same time that these critical issues reach the public eye without bias. TSB supports firefighters, wild animal refugees, and local communities during the mitigation of these fires that devastate the Amazon and Chiquitania Forests during the driest months. Additionally, TSB extends its mission of care and support by providing essential supplies such as food, milk, rice, and toys to children's orphanages, elderly homes, and dog shelters throughout the Bolivian nation.

Finally, as a means to support family with their celebrations, I started creating a few little decorations and gifts and that ended up becoming my small company called Alba Designs LLC. What started during a baby shower with regalitos de plantitas, became a personalized merchandise store. I have been able to make special things for family, work with the general public, companies, organizations, public and private schools, and even help celebrate and honor Bolivian artists collaborating with the Foundation for Bolivian Artists, TRES MINUTOS Music Band, and the Oretea Brothers from Duende Camaron and MCO Guitars. This has all helped me to develop my free-style art and design while emphasizing my Bolivian heritage and supporting TSB with donations.

PS: Married for 13 years, together for 19 years with Luis Torrico Patch (Bass Player of TRES MINUTOS Band).”

— Milenka Gutierrez Albarracin

All images and copyright are reserved for Milenka Gutierrez Albarracin Ⓒ

[lovrre]

Could you do Eddie Munson with a stuttering partner who has adhd?

The presentation~

Summary: you’re very nervous about a presentation coming up and your boyfriend knows just what to do to motivate you.

Author note: sorry this took forever, I didn’t know if you wanted smut or not so it’s just fluff. Btw…REQUEST ARE OPEN!!

Word count: 1k

Warnings: nothing really there’s like one curse word just a little fluff

You were sitting at your desk in your room, coloring in the letter on your poster. Eddie sat a cross from you on your bed flipping through a magazine from off your dresser.

“These m-m-markers are dull as fuck” you say aggressively, dropping the marker down on the poster Board. “Do you got anymore?” Eddie asks, looking at your annoyed expression.

“Ya over there,” you say pointing to a shelf holding up a pink pencil case (the hard plastic glittery kind) Eddie places the pencil case down on the desk next to you.

“What’s bothering you y/n,” Eddie says, sitting on the edge of your desk. “It's This dumb ass p-p-presentation” you had been stressed all week about the presentation not just because you were scared you wouldn’t finish it but because you actually had to present it. Meaning, you would most likely stutter in front of the whole class. Everybody already knew you had a stutter, it used to be a lot nastier before your speech exercises. It’s still really hard for you to pronounce words that start with S or p, and occasionally, you hum on m’s, Not to mention it worsens when you're nervous.

“I don’t wanna p-p-p-present my-” you pause before attempting The next word. “Project so everyone can laugh at me” Eddies face falls a bit. “Have you asked the teacher if you can get a pass on this one ?” “Of course, I did and of course, she said no, MMMM-Mrs” you take a deep breath before continuing. “Mrs. Helton hates me”. Eddie stays silent for a second before talking,

“Let's practice then!” Eddie Announces

“No, thanks,” you say, shaking your head in disagreement. “Practice is good,” Eddie tells you, “I'm not doing it” you reply sternly

~~~

You stand against your room wall, poster in hand, while Eddie sits on the edge of the bed pretending to sit at a desk. “I don't wanna do this,” you say grudgingly. “Go on,” Eddie says, shooing you forward to continuing. You roll your eyes and continue “I decide to do m-m-my project on” you take a deep breath again hoping not to mess up the next sentence too much. Not that Eddie would care, he’s always understanding of your stutter and your struggles with ADHD. “On how colors coordinate with emotion in film,” in mm-Many movies, colors are used to portray emotion. Most commonly blue, yellow, and red.” You continue with the rest, but before you can finish Eddie starts clapping “LOOK AT YOU” Eddie says smiling ear to ear. You laugh and roll your eyes. “ SHHH BEFORE MY DAD HEARS YOU,” you say, quite yelling.

“Sorry, sorry,” Eddie says lowering his voice, “But you did really good at the “how the colors coordinate” part” “I did” you reply walking back to your desk. “You’re Not gonna finish?” Eddie asks, turning his head in the process.

“No forget it, I don’t think i-I-I-m gonna do it,” you say placing the poster on the desk before walking towards the mattress and plopping next to Eddie.

“Why not,” he asks, turning his head to face you. You don’t answer right away, still staring at the ceiling. “Because…” you say trailing off

“I think you should” Eddie interrupt, you turn to face him this time. “Hmm, I think I should……NOT” you say smiling to yourself.

“Are you really gonna make me bribe you?” Eddie asks, lifting a brow, “Am I?” You ask, pretending to be clueless.

“I’ll take you to Cherries?”

You instantly sit up, “are you serious!” Eddie nods, sitting up on his arms. “Pinky promise?” You say, extending Your smallest finger. Eddie does the same interlocking pinkies. “No, take b-b-backsies? Cherries is a serious P-p-promise”

“Cross my heart” he responds giving you a small smile and making an x gesture over his chest.

And cherries was a Big promise, and you mean Big. Not only was it the best ice cream place in the world with over 75 flavors. It also was 7 miles away, so you rarely got to go. But it was the place to go after a celebration.

“Ok then deal”

~~~~.

Today was the day of the presentation, and you were up next to present. Instead of listening to your classmates present like you probably should have. You were making up fake romantic scenarios in your head while mindlessly biting your nails. “Y/N” your teacher called making you jump. “Huh?” You say, still a little dazed, ripping your hand from your mouth, “it’s your turn to present”:

“Oh yea, sorry,” you say, picking up your poster that had been resting against the legs of your chair. You walk up to the front of the class and give your classmates a sarcastic simile that hides your lips. “I did my-” before you can finish your sentence, you see someone out of the corner of your eye. Eddie gave you a little wave through the window of the door. Your teacher follows your eyes and looks towards the door. Eddie quickly ducks down to hide.

You return to speaking, and you see a figure reappear in your peripheral. Instead of looking again, you continue with the presentation hoping not to get him caught. “Umm… I did my presentation on how colors coordinate with emotions in film” you show your poster and point to A drawn scene from a movie you colored in.

I don’t know if y-y-y-you guys have ever seen (A little lam) but in the mmm-movie. You take a deep breath “when Molly is happy everything is yellow, but after her lam dies everything is gray and monotone”.

You continue on with the rest of your presentation, you stutter a little here and there but pretty much smooth sailing. When you finish a couple of people clap, and you walk awkwardly to your chair, sitting down quickly.

You start fidgeting with your nails when your classmate across from you taps your shoulder. “You did fantastic!” she says smiling, exposing pink braces That matched with her quirky hair clips. “Thanks” you reply with a genuine smile before watching your next classmates go up to present.

~~~~~

When you get out of class, Eddie picks you up and spins you around. “You did so good,” he says after placing you back on the ground. You roll your eyes before speaking, “you’re so dramatic, all I did was read” you say trying hard not to smile. “I’m just happy you’re overcoming your fears,” he says quietly his eyes darting to your lips, You lean in for a kiss “thanks to you,” you say smiling against his lips.

“Oh my gosh eewww,” some random girl says in a preppy high-pitched voice. You quickly flip them off, not breaking the kiss.

~~~~

In the long line at cherries, you couldn’t help but smile ear to ear in anticipation of being the next’s one’s up. “Hi, welcome to cherries What can I get you today,” the lady says behind the counter in a high pitch southern accent. Before we get to say our orders, she starts back.

“If it’s hard to choose, I suggest the walnut Winkle or the berry cherry sorbet. If you don’t like any of those, we also have over 75 different flavors. Nana's banana, Rocky road, wacky walnut, very berry blueberry, Mono-“

“ we’ll willtake a sugar s’more in a waffle cone and swirl in a cup,” You says cutting The woman's list short, she smiles “ok that will be $5.36” Eddie hands her the money, A minute later she hands him the swirl in a cup and me the s’mores cone.

“It’s cute you know my order” Eddie says rubbing your head and messing up your hair.

You and Eddie sit on top of A picnic table close by, eating your ice cream. You give your ice cream another lick “ delicious” you hum closing your eyes land slowly shaking your head. Eddie puts down his now empty cup of ice cream. “You still aren’t finished?”, Eddie asks watching you take your time on your cone. “I actually wanna taste it, unlike you.” You say laughing, Eddie doesn’t say anything, just Silently admires you with a smile on his face. “What?” You say, quickly whipping cream off your face with your finger and putting it in your mouth.

“Just thinking about how much I gotta love you to wait in a 35-minute line for Damn ice cream ”

“a lot” you respond pecking him on the lips, “and don’t act like you don’t love this ice cream”

[dionysianfreak]

some spicy things I do in my practice because of ADHD

given that it's literally my brain, adhd takes over a lot of things in my life. it finds a way to wiggle into everything I do in both bad and good ways. it's just how it is being neurodivergent and it's just how life goes for me, but that doesn't mean it doesn't aid me in many ways. growing up we aren't taught about mental divergency. we're taught the abled and neurotypical way and that's it, but in truth neurodivergent people only struggle due to not having the resources to do things the way that'll let them work efficiently. so here is a list of ways my personal adhd effects my pagan practice and ways I incorporate it into my worship !

stimming

stimming ! i stim a LOT and sometimes, if the emotion I feel is strong enough, they turn to uncontrollable tics. this also means that when during things like rituals, I'll have to pause so I don't tic and ruin something. this is totally normal and okay ! I've never once had a problem with it, and the Gods just patiently waited for it to pass as it always does. we both know it's just something that happens and it's apart of me, it isn't something to be ashamed of or hide.

accepting stimming once I was diagnosed was also something I did as a devotional act to Dionysos ! instead of trying to mask or push down the urge to stim, I'd allow myself to just let it out. my stims vary between very overt to covert, and accepting the overt ones as normal was a feat worthy of devotion imo. you can also keep stim toys on your altar when you're not using them, if you wanted to.

time and schedules

consistent worship ????? never heard of her. same goes for offerings. sometimes I give 294894 offerings in a day and sometimes I've given one offering in a week, it just depends on my ever changing behavior. there's no need to be stuck on a schedule if you don't want to or even make one to begin with. when I first started out, I asked Hermès, Apollon, and Dionysos (who I worshipped at the time) if I should make a schedule and the no was so hard I haven't asked since. my worship is a part of my daily life, as just like I don't drive places every day I don't worship every day. both are still important in my life regardless if I'm actively doing it or not. if you stuggle with consistency, I urge you to speak with the Gods you worship and see if making things more fluid would help !

hyperfixation is also a pain in the ass sometimes, especially when it becomes something other than paganism. due to the free nature of my practice and that I've chosen to devote, it sometimes translates into "well I don't haveeee to do this" and suddenly poof, all the motivation is gone. it's VERY hard to come back when your brain is so wired on something else entirely, and I understand the feeling. during these times I personally do very small things to keep up. if I make dinner for myself, I'll offer a portion and eat with the Gods just to show that I'm participating even when I'm struggling to. the small things count.

RSD - Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria

my RSD is crippling in my life, and it's reach extends to paganism sometimes as well (if you're unaware, RSD is the extreme sensitivity to perceived rejection in any form). sometimes during readings I receive a card that I believe is saying something "negative". sometimes it's criticism, sometimes advice, sometimes it's a slap on the wrist, but no matter what it is in reality I'm at the mercy of my brain to interpret it. so this has lead to meltdowns, long depressive/anxious episodes, and crying fests when I think a deity is angry with me. it has gotten so bad before that delusions have appeared and made me believe false memories or feelings of hatred from the Gods.

it's so hard and I'm so sorry if anyone else has to deal with it. to help with this, I have to fight to remind myself that advice is not an attack. the Gods are trying to help me and, even if They were angry at me, I've made mistakes before and They've allowed me to grow from them. i also have a checklist of questions I ask myself to allow logic and reality back into my head. a few questions include "have i done anything recently that's worthy of anger from a God ?", "is this something that will last forever ?", and "is this a message that has something to teach me ?".

impulsiveness

ask most people with ADHD about being impulsive and you'll probably receive a nervous side glace. we're impulsive often, which can do a multitude of things in paganism. one, starting a devoting and never finishing it. i am SO guilty of this one, and it make me feel bad even now. i have plenty up unfinished plans, drawings, and other devotional items that look around and guilt me. I've been in this cycle for a year and I don't think I'll ever grow out of it, but from what I've noticed the Gods don't mind. doing some of a devotion is a wonderful feat, and the energy that took is a wonderful offering even if you don't finish it.

I'm sure other adhd people and probably some autistic people have been in the position of "I just discovered this new Deity and oh my god I NEED to worship them RIGHT NOW or I'll DIE". They're just SO COOL and you automatically feel a connection. then three weeks later you feel demotivated to worship Them and now you feel terrible about it. don't worry, me too. to help with this nowadays I personally honor for a bit then worship if the worship relationship doesn't involve any help between us. this is what I did with Pan, and it worked VERY well for me. i recognized our connection but I didn't feel the pressure to consistently worship Him.

back to the start of the second paragraph, if you're stuck in that situation just communicate with the Deity. it can be hard to admit you're wrong, especially with adhd. however, just sitting down and calling to Them to let them know how you feel and that you think you made a mistake is a huge communicative step !

demotivation

this. one. sucks. inbetween hyperfixations, being stressed out or anxious, going through a depressive episode, and more can cause very deep demotivation and loss of energy in people with ADHD and other disorders. sometimes I'll just lay in my floor with my headphones on for hours because I literally can't find the energy to get up. a lot of people worry that this directly conflicts with Paganism and would slow progress. i understand why it seems that way, especially since adhd is a very "GO FAST, DO THIS THING N O W" disorder. there's actually a few solutions here I can think of

devote your personal healing to the Gods as this can give your brain a "reward" and can help you personally feel better in many ways. after weeks without a shower, devote a bath to a Deity or maybe eat breakfast at Their altar if you haven't been eating much. allow Them to be your motivation

take a break entirely. paganism certrainly isn't a 24/7/365 commitment and your practice molds to your needs. if you're just absolutely knocked out and need rest, take a break. I've taken MANY breaks before. I've been forced on breaks too because the Gods noticed my mental health declining before I did. never feel ashamed for needing time for yourself

do multiple small things rather than big things. a little bit of your dinner when you eat, redecorate Their altar or space, listen to music that reminds you of Them, think of Them when you're out and about in case you see something. you can weave devotion into daily acts in order to reinforce mundane things you need to do and calm your mind about paganism.

and finally, miscellaneous list of other things I do that are too small for their own section.

if you need to keep track of divination readings, no need to write down every reading you've ever had in detail. you can voice record them as you go, take photos of the cards, or use apps like Labyrinthos that can act as a tarot log.

your altar doesn't need to look perfect, it should reflect your worship and your devotion to a Deity. this means if your altar looks like a mess, as mine ALWAYS do, it's perfectly okay ! clutter aesthetic altars are the most beautiful altars in my eyes, and they're so worthy of adoration. I've never once heard of a Deity disliking an altar, They appreciate our work to put in a space just for Them. let your altar look messy and wild as you want, altars don't need to be aesthetic or color coordinated

you see everywhere that many of us are devoted to one deity in particular or multiple, I fit in here too. i just wanted to say that you never have to devote to any Deity if you don't want to. you could worship when you need help from a specific Deity or worship a different deity every month. never feel like you have to tie yourself down just because other people feel comfortable doing so.

you don't have to celebrate every festival. it's okay to skip celebrations that don't really apply to you or are at an inconvenient time ! you could also reschedule if you find yourself wanting to celebrate but burnt out or busy.

[lyrebirdswrites]

Hiya Finn! I hope this isn't too personal of a question, but have you ever experienced any side effects from your ADHD medication and would you say it's still worth taking?

Hi anon! I do experience some side effects, but personally I find that the trade off is worth it. I’ll put my answer under the cut ^^

I’m not sure what type of medication you’re considering. I take concerta most days. If for some reason I don’t want the full twelve hour concerta dose, I also have short acting ritalin as a backup which only lasts for about four hours. I’ve had the prescriptions for three years now.

(cw for discussions of irregular eating habits)

The biggest side effect I have is that both meds kill my appetite. So it’s easy for me to forget to eat or skip meals while they’re in my system. Hunger becomes really easy to ignore, and it’s kind of a chore to prepare a meal for myself no matter how much I need to eat. My appetite does return when the medication wears off, though.

It’s an inconvenience, but I’m used to it by now, and as long as I’m careful not to skip a proper lunch it doesn’t negatively effect me. I try to have snacks and foods that don’t require a lot of prep on hand (eg trail mix at my desk, protein bars in my bag etc) as a way of circumventing the problem. I also keep my favourite foods stocked in the house; for example, even when I take a tablet I am always keen to eat dumplings, so I make sure there are at least store bought dumplings in the freezer. If all else fails I can usually fall back on those as something I am motivated to eat. And every once in a while I won’t take medication for a day or two specifically to eat a lot!

The only other side effect which comes to mind is that I find it hard to sleep while the medication is active. This is actually part of the reason I have the ritalin as a backup. If I sleep in and a twelve hour dose would keep me awake too long past bedtime, I’ll take the ritalin periodically throughout the day instead. Unfortunately I am mostly immune to naps unless I’m proper exhausted.

As for whether the meds are worth it—in my personal experience, they absolutely are. Being undiagnosed and unmedicated for so long led to what was definitely the lowest point of my life, and getting access to concerta was what really started to turn things around for me. I would have graduated high school with a much worse result if I didn’t have medication, and I probably couldn’t cope with uni at all without it. Nor would I be able to manage a personal passion project like The Long Con or the other fanfiction I write. Obviously meds are not a magic cure, I still have adhd and it still affects pretty much all areas of my life. But the medication is specifically helpful in allowing me to self regulate my attention span better. So when I sit down to study, or write, or practice piano, or bake muffins, or do literally anything that involves time and some degree of effort/coordination, I am far more capable of seeing that task through to the end than I used to be. That’s been life changing.

[giftedsupport]

Special Needs of Gifted Children

If you’re the parent of a gifted child, then you probably feel very proud of your child and his academic accomplishments -- and rightfully so! Gifted children have so much to offer, and a great deal of potential. Teachers often regard them favorably, and parents beam with pride as they watch their child excel in many different academic subjects.

To an outsider, it would seem that nothing is difficult for gifted children. After all, these overachievers breeze through assignments and easily grasp concepts that confound their classmates. What could be hard for the gifted? The truth is, though, gifted children have their own unique set of needs, and since most people don’t fully realize or acknowledge these needs, gifted children can often struggle in nonacademic areas. Ironically, since so many people view these children as natural achievers, it can be even more difficult for them to receive the special assistance they need in areas not directly related to academic performance. There are five specific special needs common to children who are identified as gifted: 

1. Interpersonal Relationships with Peers

It is not uncommon for gifted children to find it difficult to relate to others. They are intelligent enough to recognize that they are different than most children, and therefore, they often view themselves as separate somehow. This can make interpersonal relationships challenging. As a parent, it’s important to realize the truth in your child’s observation and relate to it. Denying that he is different from his classmates will only confuse your child, thus making the situation worse. Instead, talk to your child about the differences amongst all people. Teach your child to celebrate these differences and to be proud of his individuality. It is often easier for these children to relate to adults than their peers. Teach your gifted child that he can learn from his peers. He can teach them his academic interests and learn about sports or art from them.

2. Attention

Gifted children often have trouble paying attention in class and are sometimes misdiagnosed with ADD or ADHD. Although it’s possible for a gifted child to have these disorders, careful diagnostic measures must be taken since gifted children who are under-challenged in school often mimic the same symptoms as a child with an attention-deficit problem. When gifted children aren’t provided with engaging, challenging material, they naturally become bored and look for other things to occupy their minds or simply daydream to pass the time. These are not behaviors that should be punished, but rather a sign that your gifted child requires advanced learning opportunities to stimulate her cognitive abilities.  If your child is exhibiting signs of ADD or ADHD but is consistently scoring high on classroom assessments or standardized tests, then she may just be in need of an enrichment program or advanced placement. Talk to your child as well as her teacher to gain a better understanding of the situation. If you suspect that your child is bored with the existing curriculum, then advocate on her behalf for a more challenging academic experience to meet her special needs.

3. Motivation

Gifted children can also display a lack of motivation for some of the same reasons that they exhibit attention problems. When children aren’t challenged, then they can’t grow. As a result, they become bored and fidgety. If this boredom becomes part of their daily routine, then children will simply give up hope that school will ever provide them with an avenue for exploring curiosities or trying new things. When this hope no longer exists, children lose the motivation to participate in classroom activities and may lose the desire to attend school at all. If your gifted child begins to show signs of disinterest when it comes to school, then you need to take action to ensure he is provided with a more engaging, challenging curriculum. Talk to the special needs director at your child’s school to find out what programs and options are available to you. 

4. Performance Anxiety

Gifted children quickly become used to excelling in school. They respond to the praise of their parents and teachers, and sometimes begin over-identifying with their performance. Combine this with an emotional intelligence deficit, and you have a recipe for performance anxiety. Children who strongly identify with their performance will inevitably fear failure and as a result, avoid taking risks and shy away from any activity they perceive as too challenging. They may avoid difficult assignments or tasks for fear of disappointing their teachers or parents. Of course, such avoidance behaviors will eventually inhibit your gifted child’s growth and deprive her of necessary learning experiences and life skills such as persistence and resilience. 

In addition, children who equate their performance with their self-worth often become perfectionists and struggle to perform to their own ideal standard, often setting bars for themselves that are too high and becoming angry, upset, or even depressed when they fail to meet their own expectations. Instead of seeing mistakes as learning experiences, these children view academic failures as very personal. Any perceived sense of failure has the potential to damage these children’s self-esteems. Thus, it’s important that parents talk to their gifted children about the important difference between a person’s performance and their value as a human being. Avoid being overly critical of your child’s scores on assignments and tests, and help children realize that everyone makes mistakes, even gifted individuals. When your gifted child does make a mistake -- as she inevitably will -- be sure to help her embrace the learning experience that the mistake offers.

5. Verbal Communication

Verbal communication can also be a special needs area for many gifted students. Specialists theorize that the spoken word can be difficult for these children because they have the added task of translating the complex ideas in their heads into language that others can understand. This process can lead to abnormal hesitation when speaking, stuttering, and frustration on the part of the child and sometimes those around him as well. To help your gifted child develop good verbal communication skills, encourage him to think through what he’s going to say before he says it. Demonstrate the process for him, and let him know that it’s perfectly normal to pause before answering a question. Realize that despite your efforts, verbal communication may not ever be one of your child’s strengths. Instead of focusing on this weak area, celebrate all of your child’s natural talents, and provide him with plenty of ways to express himself nonverbally. Gifted children commonly love to write, for instance, and many of them are artistically talented as well. Be sure to provide necessary materials such as journals, paper, and art supplies, so that your child has every opportunity to explore other avenues of communication.

As you strive to help meet the special needs of your gifted child, realize that you’re not alone. There are people who can help you provide the resources and support your child needs. Start with your child’s school. Talk to his teacher, the special needs coordinator, and the administrator to discover special programs that may be available for your gifted child. You may also find a support group for gifted children and their parents in your community. If not, consider joining an online community such as Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page or a gifted student group like Davidson Institute for Talent Development. Such support groups can help you find additional resources and discuss your child’s special needs with other parents who truly understand your plight and can help.

(source)

[99thpercentile]

4/29/18 - 5/5/18

autism log

filter?? I don’t know her

being able to FEEL that I’m not currently coordinated enough to do a simple series of motions (stand up put down hoodie put down bag don’t drop anything). plan out how I’m gonna do them, go slow and concentrate rly hard while doing them, manage to put the things down without dropping them but also knock my glasses off in the process

this is related to being watched while I move and so is possibly an anxiety thing? am so much clumsier when I feel watched

autistic friend sits on back of bench bc is uncomfortable normal way me: “oo, that’s a good idea.” [copies]

u interfered with my script and I’m failing to improvise so now this interaction is coming off way ruder than I intended

like the concept of tank tops but whenever I wear them I’m uncomfortable as shit because bare underarms with no cloth between is a bad feel

unconsciously make a rule that the questions for the quiz my partner and I are writing need to cycle through the 4 categories in turn. when she starts adding several questions from the same category in one block, must change. would’ve been unbearable to leave it.

indenting needs to be consistent even though the professor doesn’t care about it

indenting needs to be consistent even for the lines I’m gonna dELETE LATER

communicate in meme format bc how else are you gonna say things? without using scripts?

this is tedious and my adhd brain is Displeased but if I let someone else do it they’re gonna do it Wrong, so. I gotta

want comforting hum of desktop computer on in the background even if I’m not planning on using it for anything specific

adhd log

I should study for the upcoming quiz during my break

on the way to class after break

ah shit

20 minutes late for class because I got caught up trying to find the perfect outfit and could not break focus until I had

forget twice that I’d gotten my phone out to text my dad before I successfully text him

record nd things under the wrong fckin category and only see later

have argument, have huge rsd reaction

lose focus on what friend is saying during conversation again

hyperfocus on coding project. project partner arrives, cannot break focus for pleasantries until I get thing to work

that very thing I mentioned to avoid in my advice for teaching adhd students, where all the parts requiring brainwork are done but I still need to invest time to complete the assignment. motivation killed

[salmenzo]

Weekly Update - Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Commitment - Conviction - Consideration

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.

Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Good Morning,

I hope that everyone enjoyed the long weekend and took time to remember the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  I am not sure there has been a time in recent history where his work and commitment to equality resonated more.  As I shared on Thursday, the Town usually coordinates a wonderful ceremony in which our students, myself, and the Mayor participate.  Unfortunately, due to the restrictions of COVID-19, we are unable to hold the ceremony.  To not forget the significant accomplishments and contributions of Dr. King, Jr. in our nation and in the world, the Town has put together some reflections that will be posted on our website, the Town website, and Public Access Channel 19.

Here is a Press Release from the Mayor.

Here is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Packet - 1 18 21.  

COVID-19 Vaccination Update

As I shared in my update Friday, it is the intention of the Town to begin to vaccinate school personnel as soon as possible.  I did receive the statement below from the Commissioner's Office on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Public Health.  Each district received this twice.

Re: Critical update regarding Connecticut’s Vaccine Implementation Phase 1b

Dear Connecticut School Leadership,

Thank you for your patience as the State rolls out the COVID-19 Vaccine to its residents. This email is meant to clarify a number of aspects of the vaccine roll-out.

Throughout much of the summer and fall, the planning assumption was that teachers and other educational staff would be part of “Phase 1b” as frontline essential workers. This is still the case – however, given the current composition of Phase 1b, which also includes those 75+ years of age, 65-74 years of age, and 16-64 with comorbidities, there are a large number of individuals in this phase of distribution. There is currently not enough vaccine for all members of this group, so we will be focusing on individuals 75+ to start, and adding in others in the coming days and weeks.

As such, we are asking that teachers and other school staff not schedule vaccine appointments at this time. We understand this is a change of plans for many. If existing appointments have been secured, they can be kept. If they have not, then we ask that teachers and other education sector employees hold off on scheduling clinics until further announcements have been made from the State.

We understand that these changes to plans are frustrating, but also appreciate everyone’s support in helping ensure our initial roll-out of vaccines is targeted at those residents who are facing the highest burden of infection and death from the COVID-19 crisis.

In short:

+ The focus of our roll-out is currently on people over 75 years of age

+ Teachers and other school staff should not schedule appointments

+ Teachers and other school staff with appointments can keep these

+ We look forward to a future time when everyone can get vaccinated

If you have any questions, please email COVID19.DPH@ct.gov.  Your e-mail will be distributed to the appropriate contact person based on the nature of the question.

 Thank you,

Connecticut Department of Public Health

With this stated, we will continue to work collaboratively with the Wallingford Health Department and keep you posted.

Budget Update

Tomorrow evening at 6 p.m., I will present the Central Office 2021-2022 Budget Proposal to the Board of Education.  I want to thank the entire team for all of their hard work in pulling this presentation together.  I especially want to thank Karen Veilleux, Danielle Bellizzi, Aimee Turner, and Carrie LaTorre for helping finalize the Budget Introduction.  I also want to extend thanks to David Bryant, Dominic Barone, Marc Deptula, and James Bondi, and their teams for their hard work as well.  

As I always say, the budget process is a marathon.  Please do not get too excited about the initial presentation.  I do believe that it is a strong budget that has no negative impact on students.  I am confident that the Board of Education will move through the process successfully and present to the Mayor their budget of which we will all be proud.

I will include the link for tomorrow night’s meeting in my parent communication this afternoon that you all receive as well.  Please feel free to tune in.

Commitment - Conviction - Consideration

I wanted to offer a special “shout out” to the Voluntary Distance Learning Teachers this week.  You have really done an incredible job keeping students engaged and learning.  To honor you, we compiled this short video in your honor.  Thank you again!

Voluntary Distance Learning - Thank You Video

Here are the latest spotlights from parents.  Thanks again to all the staff for their hard work in these challenging times.

Karen Ruszkowski is a kindergarten teacher at Moses Y Beach School. She is the perfect example of the master educator. Her virtual classroom comprises twenty students, and she continually exercises a warm, nurturing virtual 

environment. Obviously, this is not an easy task. Her lessons are well developed and she implements them so easily that the lessons inspire students to achieve. She is able to engage the students, motivate them, and encourage them to go beyond the stated objectives.Ms. Ruszkowski has provided the students in her classroom with an excellent beginning as they journey through their formal education. Our family is indeed thankful for her efforts, and we are grateful that our little man has Karen Ruszkowski as his teacher!

I really want you to know that Kristen Wynus and her staff have been absolutely amazing with the Wallingford Transition Program. I don't want to see this team of teachers & staff to go unnoticed! PLEASE!  As you know, this program is not run like a traditional classroom. Times have been extremely difficult on all....but I'd say even more challenging for our Transition team & students! Please do not forget about this amazing program and Kristen Wynus who runs it! She deserves SO much credit! 

I am writing to give praise to many teachers & staff at Cook Hill Elementary.

Our daughter is in first grade in Mrs. Sorrentino’s class. When we heard that was who she was having this year, I can’t tell you how many people said “oh you’re so lucky.” We have quickly learned as to why people say that! She has been amazingly adaptive and innovative in navigating this new educational journey. As a parent who was frequently in the classroom last year, I very much wish I could be in there again to lend a hand. However, she has fostered and maintained an amazing relationship even from a distance with the parents of the class. To me, that speaks volumes as to what kind of educator she is. Communication has always remained open from day one.

In addition, the para in our class, Mrs. Knight, has really bonded with my daughter over her love of art. There isn’t a day that we don’t hear about Mrs. Knight from Sophia.

Lastly, I have to mention many staff at Cook Hill in which I think play an integral role in our positive in person learning experience this year. Principal Friend has been working tirelessly and her efforts have not gone unnoticed. In addition, the friendly faces at the pickup loop every day have helped to make the drop off/pickup process run very smoothly. I would particularly like to mention Mrs. Niezgorksi who goes out of her way to say hello to my younger daughter in the car every day.

Our daughter’s love for school is literally infectious. She could not wait to get back to in person learning and I commend everyone involved who had a hand in making that successful. Our family is incredibly appreciative of everything Dr. Menzo and the board of education have done to keep the elementary age children in school as long as they can safely do so.

I would like to say that Mrs. Stewart has been nothing short of AMAZING! My son is doing in-person learning with her, and she is such a special, happy, helpful, understanding and FUN teacher. He looks forward to going to school everyday, and asks why he can't also go on weekends! Haha. We love Mrs. Stewart! 

My daughter is in Mrs. Kusza’s 1st grade class at STEVENS. She has made an extremely challenging year seem very normal. She loves going to school everyday. She is learning a ton, and never talks about or is sad about any of the new restrictions from Covid. I sincerely believe this is due to the great work of the Stevens staff and especially Mrs. Kusza. She is always kind and upbeat. She follows safety protocols, while still differentiating and pulling small groups. She seamlessly transitioned into distance learning after a positive case in her class. She was well equipped and well prepared for this transition with all the work and practice they had done in school. 

I am a working teacher in another district and I cannot express what a weight it is off my shoulders to send [my daughter] to Mrs. Kusza’s class each day knowing she will be safe, loved, and taught well each day. Thank you for all the work the district, school and Mrs. Kusza has put into keeping this year as safe and normal as possible. 

We would like to thank and show our appreciation for our son's first grade teacher Mrs. Cartier. As parents we were nervous that our son wasn't going to be engaged and learn.  He was diagnosed with adhd last year and school was rough. Last year distance learning became a struggle but we survived. With Mrs. Cartier she has our son engaged, learning and thriving. She has the patience of a saint and is very caring and attentive. The live learning is amazing and his teacher doesn't lean on the parents to help much at all. We were afraid we would be sitting with our child everyday to assist him but Mrs. Cartier has everything under control.

Make it a great week!

Sal

Dr. Salvatore F. Menzo

Superintendent

Email - smenzo@wallingfordschools.org

Twitter - @SalMenzo

Wallingford Public School District

 Wallingford Public School System Mission

To inspire through innovative and engaging experiences that lead all learners to pursue and discover their personal best.

 THE INFORMATION IN THIS TRANSMISSION IS PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL AND INTENDED ONLY FOR THE RECIPIENT LISTED ABOVE.  If you have received this transmission in error, please NOTIFY ME IMMEDIATELY BY E-MAIL AND DELETE THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE. Responses provided by this E-Mail are SIMILAR to ordinary telephone or face-to-face conversations.

[thoughtfulpaperback]

Television and White People problems I cant relate to

I might make people mad, but I am just gonna say it. A good half the time I cannot relate to the problems and motivations of white people on TV. But I am going to list some scenarios that I cannot relate to

1. Unaffectionate Parents/parents that arent around much/parents who are strict = bad parents who ruin thier children

Listen purposefully withholding affection from your child as a manipulation tactic does equal bad parent. Never allowing your child to make meaningful connections outside of the home as a way to control them = abusive parent. But like shows like Gilmore Girls have the main character and side characters acting as if she has been horribly scarred by thier parents not letting them listen to rock or run around and dirtying an expensive dress. Or they excuse or justify a characters bad behavior because thier parents aren't around (usually these are rich characters).

I am a working class Latina and I always felt this was total BS. My grandparents were not affectionate people. There were no hugs or I love yous after the age of 5. Both worked long days and I was constantly left in charge of my siblings. I wasnt allowed to wear makeup until after I was 15 (I didnt start wearing it until I was 18) and when I did my grandpa constantly made comments like "what do you have on you face?" "Only ugly women have to wear makeup!" "If God wanted your nails to change color every month he would have made it so they could without that junk (nail polish)!". I wasnt allowed to listen to rap music. If my grandma bought me an outfit I wasnt allowed to do anything to get it dirty

I wasnt allowed to stay the night at a friends house until I was in high school and even then my grandparents preferred people stayed the night at our house versus me going to someone elses.

Guess what...I am fine. I never was rebellious. I knew they loved me. I knew they cared. I wasnt a teen parent. I can tell people I love them. I am affectionate with people I am close to. I graduated college. I was a good, friendly, well adjusted kid. All of my Latina friends were too. But like every other white "bad kid" or "jerk" is that way because of thier parents supposed lack of interest.

Listen I get the validity of loneliness or even anger at feeling as if your parents are not interested in you. I am just saying it is something that is not in my experience, so I have a hard time relating to it even though it is a very common troupe.

2. Cutting out family members/estranged family.

Ok so my Latina self has never, ever understood this movie plotline. Like I have extended family who may not even be related to me that are big idiots, which everyone recognizes, but I still see them at all the family events because it is rude not to invite them when they are family. Like we do not stand physically abusive people in my family. But that is what you have to be in order to be cut off from us. Stupid? A Mooch? Toxic? Prejudiced? A very annoying drunk? All those things are okay warrant toleration because you are family. And again this is extended family. In movies or shows where the child has cut off the parents from thier life or that make snide remarks or talk back to them...OMG not only can I not relate but I cannot even process.

Again I am not saying that people should have to tolerate any behavior which causes them anxiety or makes them uncomfortable. But like the idea of ever cutting out my grandparents or even my mother completely out of my life is unimaginable. Right not agree with the things they do or say, and I may not make an effort to reach out to my mom, but I will never purposefully avoid or talk bad about them to any one. And believe me my mom is pretty toxic but I would never hinder her ability to reach me if she needs me. I will no longer go out of my way to please her, but moving away having children and not letting her be part of thier lives. Nope not doing it.

Most of my latino friends live in multi-generational homes (grandparent, great-parents, parents, self and thier children). So just the idea that your grandparents or parents live in a different home than you was hard enough to wrap my mind around while watching TV. The idea that you moved across the country to get away from your family unimaginable.

Again not condemning any one who does that just explaining why minded just cant relate.

3. 18=Adult and going crazy

I am 25 (I think, I forget) years old. I am a virgin, I didnt have a sip of alcohol until I was 23 or right when I turned 24 (again I forget). I've never had a boyfriend. I have only been on like 3 dates with 1 person. I still ask my grandparents permission to go places, I tell them my plans and who I am with. I do this unprompted. My grandparents dont demand that I do it. I just do.

Dont get the wrong idea, I have had lots of fun. I lived on the dorms as a college freshman, I made lots of friends and was in multiple clubs, played intramural sports, worked as an activities coordinator at the college and hung out with friends. I've gone to concerts, I've traveled to multiple countries and studied abroad. I vacation with friends.

Like I could never relate to teenagers or college kids on television as a teen and I still can't as an adult. Dont get me wrong freshman year of college I met the Wild kids all testing thier boundaries and exploring thier sexuality now that they were out of the house.

But that just wasnt me. I didnt feel the need to. I didnt want to drink (my house wasnt anti alcohol or anything like that). I didnt want to experience getting drunk or trying drugs. I didnt have the need or urge to do anything sexual with anyone. It wasnt because I was ashamed of my body, saving myself for marriage, or emotionally scarred by my grandparents about the subject. I just didnt want to. My grandma always tells people when they ask her how she raised me to be such a good kid (although thinking on it I should resent being called a kid at age 25) that my brother and just came out perfect or the closest thing to perfect. Like I am not saying that to claim that I am, but just to give y'all the idea of how non wild I am.

18 was a wierd age for me. I was exploring mostly myself as an individual seperate from my family. Figuring out what I liked because when you live with so many people you kind of blend interests. Sometimes I dont know if I actually like an activities that I frequently do or if I frequently do it because one of my siblings likes it.

Making friends outside of family. I always had friends growing up but my closest friends were my siblings and cousins. College was the beginning of meeting people from different backgrounds and becoming friends based on common interests rather than out of convenience. A great transition to my next unrelateable troupe.

3. Peer Pressure and letting bullies get away with it.

So like for the longest time, TV made it seem like it was hard to stand up to bullies, like it was Big deal and hard decision to stand up for someone else. Like to an extent some more recent shows still do it (Glee for one). And I just cant relate.

I never cared what other kids thought of me. I was always secure in who I was and happy with myself. While I wanted to please my family, i never felt pressured to please anyone else to to follow the mass consensus on what is cool or not. I also could never stand a bully.

In elementary school I flipped over my shared desk when my desk mate called the new girl (who was on medications that made her fall asleep during class a re***d) and told him that if him and the entire class that if they have a problem with her then they can fight me and I am obviously not kidding. (My very first outburst and threat of violence). In the 7th grade a couple of girls were harassing a girl in the bathroom for telling thier secrets. Even though it wasnt any of my business and these girls were known for actually fighting other girls, I still told them that they were being stupid and to leave her alone. Which earned me a shove against the wall and a "you want to fight me?". To which I stupidly responded "I am not afraid of you" which was a huge lie.

My childhood friends who werent related to me were usually the people who nobody wanted to be friends with. Mostly kids werent considered "able" or were too "annoying". I hated the idea of people being shunned because they werent "able" or because they didnt have a concept of volume control, personal space, or the ability to read a room) or because we were related. I straight up yelled at a guy in the middle school lunch room because he was saying that I was so nice for hanging out with the special kids especialky Bob (not his real name) because everyone hated him for not being able to shut up or go away. Bob has asperger's syndrome or was adhd I honestly dont remember. He had an assigned aid and would get too close to people and once he started talking he wouldnt stop so classes were hard for him and making friends was hard to.

In 9th grade band class I stood up and called out the drum section for laughing and calling the drum majors (a Male and a female) a f*g, ugly crack baby, and other slurs while they were conducting and then told the substitute that I refused to continue playing until they were sent to the principles and dealt with accordingly. I then walked out and put my instrument away very loudly in front of the band and pulled a chair up behind the drum majors so I could glare the entire class down while they played.

In 10th grade a made a huge scene when a guy thought he'd be cute by saying that the only reason my friends and i were doing well in Spanish class was because we were "sucking mr.------ balls". I stood up and shredded into him about how that accusation was basically calling mr.----- a pedophile and that it showed how much of a sexist pig he was that he has to basically accuse successful ladies of having to used sex to be successful because that is easier for his ego than admitting his laziness inattentiveness, and bad attitude are the reason he is failing a class about his first Language.

I also yelled at a girl in the middle of the school grounds for saying there should be a holocaust for gay people.

Apparently I am the queen of making a scene. I list these things not a bragging thing, but because they werent hard for me. Most of were just reactive. I never understood why TV made doing the right thing seem like it was so hard and that you were being a freaking martyr.

I was never bullied. I knew that kids didnt like me but no one every messed with me or harrassed me the way they did other people. Doing the right thing did not make my life harder. Standing up for people wasnt some herculean task that took like two days of thinking and emotional preparation. The "majority" of people allowing mean spirited people to harrassed others never swayed me to let it go. Indifference was never an option in my mind.

So I was always really frustrated by characters who didnt automatically help a person who was being harrased. It is my least favorite TV or movie plotline. And again I can't relate.

Again this isnt to bash on anyone or to suggest that making a scene or putting yourself at risk are the only ways of helping others and standing up for others.

[raiseveganus]

Possible Health Benefits From Video Games (In Moderation) You Won’t Believe

Surprisingly, there are certain possible health benefits from video games (in moderation) that you wont believe. Read on to know more…

Ask any kid between the ages of 8 and 18, and they swear (on your life!) that video games are actually good for them. Before you roll your eyes and dismiss their favorite activity as more unnecessary brain-rotting rubbish, consider that your child could be right. In a way. Hear me out.

Game disorders can be a concern for some parents, and I believe all kids should have their screen time monitored and restricted to some extent. But keeping your children away from the game altogether might be a bit too extreme for you. In this day and age, gaming can be a preparation for the upcoming high-tech society run by savvy humanoids. So what can you do? Moderate, instead of ban! There are plenty of good reasons for gaming, and these ones don’t come from your kids!

Credits: LightField Studios/ Shutterstock Possible Health Benefits From Video Games (In Moderation) You Won’t Believe

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Possible Health Benefits From Video Games (In Moderation) You Won’t Believe

1. Helps with Stress, Anxiety, And Depression

There’s been a long debate over whether depression and anxiety are a root cause or can exacerbate a case of depression. Images of gamers as basement-dwelling anti-social nerds certainly doesn’t help. But some recent research shows the opposite is true. Video games offer a distraction from the noise and chaos of the world around you, by keeping your brain engaged on multiple levels and move the focus away from the source of anxiety or stress.

In fact, video games are so successful a distraction, that de-stressing apps like Happify and Headspace use distraction games and point-scoring, to teach meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy skills.

With anything that involves your kids though, there is no one truth that applies to every child. And there is always research that contrasts the findings of other data. For instance, the use of smartphones has been linked to an increase in anxiety and depression among children.

So whatever you decide, observe your child closely, follow your gut and make your own decision: in the end you, as a parent, often know best.

2. Helps Keep Your Brain Fit

Multi-tasking is a tough skill to master. But studies show that kids who play 30 minutes of action adventure games a day develop better multitasking skills than kids who play casual games. Video games are designed to be immersive, and the faster-paced the game is, the faster your decision-making processes will get. Add to that, the constantly reinforced connection between your child’s brain and hands can improve hand-eye coordination, and cooperation between different areas of the brain. That can help your child become a better, faster multi tasker, too!

(Pssst…here’s an idea: let your teen earn gaming minutes by applying their multi-tasking powers to dirty dishes and KonMari laundry folding)

3. Helps With Concentration

I’m as guilty of it as the next parent. My kids have the attention span of a fruit fly, and I catch myself thinking, “I was definitely never that spacey at their age. Must be the video games.” But nope. Research point to the hours in front of the video game as actually improving concentration skills, especially, as we’ve already mentioned, for children with ADHD, who may struggle with an inability to concentrate, if they are over-stimulated, or not stimulated enough.

Of course, video games, like everything else, should be used in moderation. Mix up your gameplay, and avoid focusing too hard on a single game, to prevent a child from burning out or developing a video game addiction while encouraging concentration skills.

4. Encourages Exercise

Want your child to appreciate the great outdoors more? Get him a video game! No really. The success of motion-based games like Wii Sports has actually been shown to boost confidence, and encourage kids to learn new physical skills, even in the most reluctant athletes. And real-time games like Pokemon Go and it’s many iterations encourage your child to go outside and play, and connect with other players, too!

5. Helps Build Confidence

It’s true that too much obsessing over a single game may indicate an underlying problem. Especially when it comes at the cost of other hobbies and interests your child used to enjoy. But often, taking part in video games is a huge confidence boost. In moderation, it’s a hobby like any other and comes with its own skill set, language, and community. If your child struggles socially with peers, mastering the latest video game can give him a way to connect.

6. Improves Social Skills

The persistent image of the gamer as a loner/loser does not always apply. Creating a social environment around gaming is easy. Kids love to show off what they’re passionate about. If you’re finding your child’s gaming habits are keeping her away from social activities, work around it. Institute a family game policy, and keep the games in shared areas in the house. If your child would rather play video games than sports, have them invite friends over. Video games, when shared with everyone, are a great way to learn fairness and co-operation.

Sidenote: I have discovered that as an adult, I still have a long way to go when it comes to losing gracefully from my children.

7. Encourages Persistence And Problem Solving

One of the more positive aspects of video gaming is that because games are designed to keep you playing, your child can learn problem-solving skills in a fun way. Video games have been shown to improve problem-solving and stress management in children. They may also be vital in encouraging habits of persistence. These are transferable skills that go way beyond the scope of a video game!

With all these benefits, what can you do to ensure healthy gaming habits in your kids? Follow these steps to avoid burning out, or developing a video game addiction or disorder.

1. Set Reasonable Limits

With the glut of screen time our kids are getting these days, setting reasonable time constraints on how much screen time they get isn’t a bad idea. Consider the age of the child and the amount of time they already spend at a screen, thanks to school, friends, or other sources. You may also consider using screen time as a reward for chores, or good behavior.

2. Monitor What They’re Doing

I’m not asking you to spy on your kid or watch them play for hours at a time. But keep an eye on things. Talk to your child about their video game use, what games they’re playing, and what they’re interested in. It allows you to stay on top of what’s motivating your child’s playing, and stop any problems before they develop. Plus, kids love sharing their interests!

3. Mix Up Gameplay

This doesn’t mean buying every console on the market. But having a variety of games available, and turning games into a family activity, helps avoid the selfish, antisocial behaviors that can lead to problems. Keep a variety of games and game types around, and get everyone in the house playing!

4. Encourage Gaming As A Social Activity

Speaking of everyone playing along. A family challenge is a great way to keep games social and public. Try a weekly Wii-Fit challenge, or ask your child to teach you to play his favorite. Reinforcing that games are meant to be social, and for everyone, fosters healthy habits that avoid aggression when the game is taken away. It’s also an excellent chance for you to bond over your embarrassment, which the kids will love.

Love them or hate them, video games are a part of our kids’ lives. And like anything else, there are upsides and downsides. But by embracing and getting engaged with your child’s video game habits, you can prevent problems, and encourage all the useful skills a child can pick up from a few minutes a day with a video game console.

What is your take on possible health benefits from video games (in moderation) ? Let me know in the comments below.

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[adhd-n-ib]

ib & grades anon follow up

so sorry this got super long! i know reading with ADHD can be hell so if it’s too much that’s understandable <3 please just let me know and i can rephrase or something.

so i’ve been struggling with various mental illnesses from a young age - i’ve gone on to do research about them in the past years and gradually learned what i was actually suffering from - i’ve never talked much about them though because of my social anxiety and stigmas i’m afraid of… people don’t always seem very accepting and sometimes show a little stigma about things which doesn’t make you so keen to share with them

i was pulled in by the ib coordinator for my school to talk about grades which were decent first semester but started going downhill second semester. during that meeting i explained why it had become more difficult for me to keep my grades up; she told me that i was gifted ( actually i guess i am, i was a member of a talent search in elementary for gifted youth but still ) and that it was because i didn’t know how to study because i never had to, but i went on to emphasize how it had been problems with attention and such lately. eventually they recommended i get ADHD testing as have multiple other people recently.

no follow up meetings have been made other than one short one for everyone after scheduling for next year where she and a guidance counselor said it may not be a good idea for me to do all of IB due to anxiety; i guess i kind of collapsed under all the pressure but i’d really like to follow through with ib because the program seems to actually be enjoyable and challenging and would help me get into a good college which is a big goal of mine.

a few months later my mom brought me to the doctor because she realized it seemed like i had adhd; there i was diagnosed with depression and anxiety by my family doctor ( SAD, GAD, possibly a few others oh boy ) that would warrant medication which my parents did not want me to use, things ive known about and researched for years but been afraid / uncomfortable bringing up due to misunderstanding. the doctor said she didn’t think it was adhd and we could talk again later but nothing’s really happened and local psychologists are booked. looking back i guess adhd might have been to blame for some of my problems and it’s actually kind of releiving, though of course i still have to wait and see for the official diagnosis if it comes, but the school year is ending soon and if i bomb summer school i’ll lose any chances i have at fixing grades this year if i haven’t already. i’m afraid things won’t get sorted out that soon with meds and dosages etc.

i dont know how much my parents, the coordinator and my teachers have been communicating this school year and even then if they’ll be understanding and accommodating for me. 

i’ve been hoping for straight As with a little buffer for possible EOC loss but it looks like i won’t be able to meet any of my grade goals at this rate. i’d be willing to do summer school and use up my study hall and lunch periods or anything to replace those grades if i could, though i’m not sure if i could handle it. im afraid the illnesses that have been holding me back for years won’t relent much and i’ll be stuck in a rut for the rest of my life. i don’t want to see my dreams of a high quality college and a good transcript disappear if i can help it.

thank you so much for this blog and being willing to take time to help! it’s hard to find those who understand AND are willing to listen and help <3

-------------------- 

hiya! thank u for sharing your story, you sound really motivated and thats fantastic! 

That being said, I think you need to realize that as a whole, going to a good college doesn’t solely rely on your transcript, and while it is absolutely an important part of what you want to achieve, sometimes its okay to step back and not put as much pressure on yourself! Having Straight A’s is fantastic, but its not mandatory for getting into a good college, especially when the classes you are taking are much more difficult than most. 

The thing is though, is that you sound like you genuinely enjoy the courses, which is the most important thing, so rather than not doing it maybe think about taking an alternative approach to these classes. If you can, talk to your parents and figure out exactly how much they've been talking to your teachers/coordinator, and then you may want to inquire about having a meeting with all three to really get it figured out. What you’re doing now doesn’t seem to be working in your favor, and while re-trying it in summer school may help a bit, not making a single change to whats happening isn’t going to help out as much as you might hope, so really sitting down and working out a plan is probably your best bet!

So yea, i think that will probably help!!!! Also its no problem!! thats what we made the blog for :D 

[artbysulla-blog]

Where To Go For Necessary Aspects For Iso Xp Probiotic Protein

The Basics On Fast Methods In New Zealand Grass Fed Whey Protein Canada

Tips To Help You With Your Fitness Needs

Sticking to a good exercise program can have profound effects on a person's health. It's a topic with a lot of things to learn to get started, so it is a little difficult to figure out where to begin. Here is some great advice to help you know where to begin. Keep your exercise routine interesting by doing different exercises. You can help your body workout to its maximum potential, rather than get used to the same exercises over and over again. On the practical, physical side, you should know that using the same exercises all the time becomes less and less effective as your muscles grow acclimated to the experience. Flex as much as you can during all of your weight training efforts. This will reduce your risk of suffering an injury and help your butt get a great workout. Holding this position keeps your spine more stable. m broke Start of slowly by just adding a few minutes of exercise here and there such as walking. This will establish the habit of doing exercise before work. As time passes, you can amplify your workout time. It can be tough to stay motivated when dieting. It's important to see progress to keep yourself going. Hang on to some of your snug-fitting clothes and try them on occasionally instead of constantly weighing yourself on the scale. Step into these clothes on a weekly basis. As they become looser and looser, you'll actually be able to feel how your diet is improving your appearance and your life. Contact skills will benefit your volleyball game. The optimum method to do this is by engaging in foosball. Foosball requires keen skills to win against an opponent; more specifically great hand-eye coordination. While you are playing a fun game of Foosball, you're also building useful skills for playing volleyball. Lightly exercise muscle groups that you worked out heavily the day before. Do not exert the same amount of effort on your muscles as you would during a regular workout. Always make sure that you are not over-training when it comes to your exercise routine. One way to check for over-training is to measure your pulse as soon as you get up on the day after a workout. Try an invigorating workout outdoors. Get outside, and hike on a nature path. Run on the beach. Play tennis, or climb stairs. You get exercise and fun combined into one, and that is definitely a good thing. Exposure to the outdoors lowers stress levels and improves your clarity of mind. Exercise with your pet. While they may seem cuter when they are fat, it is just as important for your animals to stay fit. According to scientific data, there are quite a bit of overweight pets. In fact, 35% of pets have weight issues. Therefore, exercising with your pet can help you both get in shape. Even just walking your dog can give both of you exercise. As mentioned before, this advice is great for making real progress towards ultimate fitness. Use them as a solid foundation, and build upon them to help you achieve your fitness goals. Good health takes time, so by putting these tips into good use on a regular basis, you will eventually experience results.

Getting The Answers For Efficient Canada Strategies

Deidre takes responsibility but feels foolish for trusting this person. She feels used. Neither of them mentioned anything about smuggling drugs. ‘Deidre’s been arrested…and she’s been convicted of trying to smuggle 50 kg of cocaine on a flight from Peru,’ er friend told me. But if prison was tough, it was nothing compared to dealing with the Canadian embassy in Lima. One of the women who tricked Deidre into the drug smuggling got out of the country and so they took my daughter’s passport. The embassy claimed she was a flight risk and then destroyed her passport in Ottawa. I’m not sure how someone can be a flight risk when they’re in Whey Protein jail. Deidre Rankin, also known as Gia Rogers, as a young girl with her mom, Fern Rankin. At the time she went on the trip, she was getting out of an abusive relationship and was attacked by the father of her youngest child. ‘I wasn’t in the right mindset,’ she told me. ‘I just knew I had to get out of there.

For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://canoe.com/news/national/moms-nightmare-id-ask-trudeau-if-my-daughter-is-any-less-canadian-than-yours/wcm/98152ca1-c0d5-4ba1-904d-455cb2762ca8

What You Must Know About Vitamins And Minerals

Nutrients are essential to your health. Your body is fueled by carbohydrates, but vitamins keep your systems functioning. Make sure you and your family members are getting enough nutrients. Keep reading to learn how to make your diet healthier. To make sure your workout routine is paying off the greatest rewards, take your vitamins daily. When you are well nourished, your body can recover quickly from workouts, burn fat and build muscle more efficiently. For your body to use vitamins, they need to be synthesized. So, be aware of the reaction minerals and vitamins have when taken together. For instance, iron can be hard to absorb because of calcium. Try to avoid dairy or a calcium supplement within half an hour of taking iron. To ensure that you are getting the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals, try to eat a healthy, balanced diet. Try to consume at least five fruit and veggie portions daily along with a bit of protein. Supplements can make up for anything you are missing. Calcium helps build and maintain strong bones. Without vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium fully. You can get vitamin D through food, of course, as well as supplements or just spending time in the sun. Your body will easily absorb calcium when you receive these things. Any supplements with fat in them needs to be taken along with food. Some examples of supplements that must be taken with a meal include vitamins E, K and A. Foods that contain fat will help this. To boost red blood cells, get more iron. These cells are most important; they carry oxygen to each cell in your body. Women need more iron than men, and often vitamin supplements that are specifically for women will have extra iron. Iron deficiency often causes exhaustion and breathing problems. If you happen to be looking for a lifestyle change to promote better health during these times where medical costs are through the roof whether insured or not, try adding some vitamins and minerals to your daily routines. Any vitamins will certainly add to your healthy diet to improve the way you feel and make those visits to the doctor few and far between for only a few dollars each month. To reduce the chances of heart disease, boost your vision and keep your skin from aging prematurely, try vitamin A. However, large doses can be toxic, so do not exceed the RDA for this vitamin. Carrots, squash, and dark leafy greens are great sources of Vitamin A. Refrain from consuming prenatal vitamins when you pass menopause. This type of vitamin supplement can encourage hair and nail growth. While women before menopause can do this safely there is too much iron for a woman past menopause. Citrus fruits can be a great source of vitamin C. Supplements are perfect for those who do not receive the recommended daily allowance in their food. This vitamin is potent and can help with treating skin infections, acne, stomach ulcers, gum disease, and colds. In addition, some studies have shown that vitamin C can aid those suffering from ADHD, Alzheimers disease, and dementia. As you can see, vitamins are essential for your body! Regardless of your age, nutrition is vital. Everyone in your family can be healthy and strong if you use the advice above concerning vitamins.

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Benefits of Martial Arts for Kids With Learning and Attention Issues

I came across a great article in understood.org which I’ve also found to be a useful parenting resource. 

At Earthway we've been teaching martial arts to kids with attention and learning issues like ADD and ADHD for years and years. While we aren't physicians or therapists, we've personally seen the advances these students make and their parents often credit their martial arts classes.

Here are the nine key points from the article:

What Martial Arts Can Offer Kids With Learning and Attention Issues

There are lots of reasons martial arts can be a good match for kids with learning and attention issues. Here are nine potential benefits:

They focus on individual growth, not on team competition. Many kids with learning and attention issues struggle with the pressure of having to compete with other kids. So traditional sports may not appeal to them. But in martial arts, the focus is on self-improvement. There’s no “letting down the team.”      

They offer concrete, attainable goals. Some kids with learning and attention issues may feel like they never “win” at anything. In martial arts, kids work at their own pace. They’re awarded a different colored belt every time they reach a new skill level. This can boost self-esteem and keep them motivated.      

Routines are broken down into manageable chunks. A technique or form in martial arts can have dozens of different movements. But kids learn gradually, repeating and adding steps as they go. They learn to anticipate which step comes next and eventually put everything together into fluid movements. All of this gives working memory a workout, but in a way that kids may find manageable.      

They emphasize self-control and concentration. Attention is central to martial arts. Kids must stay focused to learn and to perform. When a child’s focus drifts, instructors will often ask them to take the “ready stance.” This position allows them to reset and ready themselves for what’s next.      

They can help with coordination. The deliberate, repetitive movements of martial arts can help kids develop a better feel for their body in space, which can be useful to kids who struggle with motor skills. This may also help some kids understand the power of the mind over the body, which some find to be valuable for kids with ADHD.      

They provide structure and clear expectations for behavior. Good martial arts instructors have clear rules and constantly reinforce them. They also emphasize good behavior in and out of class. Some even send kids home with behavior charts their parents must sign. (If you like this idea, here are printable behavior contracts you can try.)      

They can provide a safe outlet for excess energy. Contrary to what some might expect, martial arts don’t encourage violent behavior. In fact, instructors often emphasize that fighting is a last resort. At the same time, kicking and karate chopping can allow kids to work out frustration or anger, while also practicing self-control.      

The environment is accepting and communal. Respect is a core value in martial arts. Students are expected to show it for their instructor and their peers. Negativity is generally not tolerated in class, and students are encouraged to support each other.      

They’re just plain cool! Kids with learning and attention issues can often feel awkward or socially out of the loop. But lots of kids think martial arts are cool. It’s hard not to feel special when you’re wearing martial arts gear and breaking boards in half.

Go HERE for the full article

If you’re interested in learning more about martial arts for your child, email me at brittantbush@earthwayma.com or register online, we’ll be happy to answer your questions and set you up with a free pre-evaluaton if you like.

Sincerely,

Brittany Bush Program Director/Instructor Earthway Martial Arts

[justinkaiz-blog1]

Best Brain Supplements: 2015-2016 | hubpages

The Brain Supplements Market Brain supplements are becoming more popular as adults are looking for focus and concentration boosts. Just as protein supplements can be great for bodybuilding, brain supplements can help support improved brain function and overall productivity. Overall interest in brain supplementation, "smart pills," and study drugs has been increasing at a faster pace during the last five years. Since ancient days, mankind has relied on the use of supplements for improving brain capacity and cognitive abilities. The ancient Greeks relied on blackberries and fish oil, the Romans used pumpkin seeds and the Chinese relied on herbs, wholegrain and nuts. Modern research shows how certain dietary products help improve learning power, concentration ability, and decision making in human beings. The 21st century ushered forward pre-formulated energy drinks and shots meant to provide more exact boosts in energy. This was to take the next leap, as more and more students and professionals were relying on caffeinated products (such as tea, coffee and colas) to improve productivity and efficiency. Brain supplementation takes the concept to its next natural progression. Brain supplements are further refined, and easier to consume, forms of prior substances. By using powerful ingredients that have clinical research showing potential improvements in memory, retention, focus, and concentration, certain brain supplements are able to support short-term and long-term benefits for brain function. Below, we will quickly summarize the prominent benefits of using brain supplements: Improving Cognitive Abilities The most common use of brain supplements is to improve cognitive functioning and abilities. Top brain supplements give concentration and focus boosts within a short span of time after taking the supplement. However, some of the effects of brain supplementation is not instantaneous. Researchers do believe that use of certain vitamins and herbs may have positive effects on logic and memory. Effective brain supplements help increase activity within the brain and speed up the thinking process. For example, certain ingredients combine with the blood stream to release dopamine and other hormones that increase alertness and aid the mind from tuning out during information capture and retention (such as when learning inside a classroom or viewing a presentation). Brain supplements may also increase communication and coordination between the right and the left hemispheres of the human brain. This not only improves learning, but also helps in the communication of ideas and speech. Sharpens Memory Memory is closely associated with learning capabilities of the brain. Brain supplements can help improve and increase brain functions pertaining to memory. This includes formation of new memory, improving the short-term and the long-term memory. In addition, supplements may provide an adequate dosage of anti-oxidants to prevent the brain from damaging, when its performance is improved. Certain ingredients improve the human brain's ability to convert random clusters of data in to meaningful information, thereby speeding up the decision-making process. Other ingredients may ensure that the brain is not damaged during the process and that the flow of oxygen in to the brain cells is maintained at an improved level. For Motivation Purposes Synaptic plasticity is the ability of the learning and the memory functions of go here the brain to function at optimum levels. However, without the right amount of concentration, will power and mental energies, even a substantial increase in the synaptic plasticity is unlikely to yield any favorable outcome. The use of only majority-caffeinated stimulants, such as tea and coffee, will only provide short-term improvement in concentration at the cost of possibly damaging health. Using pharmaceutical stimulants off-script may also be very detrimental for health. For students and professionals experiencing brain fog after a few minutes or hours of study, research or work, brain supplements help increase motivation and improve the clarity of thought. Retaining concentration, and ultimately motivation, is one of the most difficult tasks. Limidax XR Rating: 5 out of 5 I have Limidax as my number 1, because of all the brain supplements I've tried, that's the one I liked the most, and take pretty much everyday. Limidax has ten powerful ingredients, backed with clinical studies to help boost focus, concentration, and memory. Initially, Limidax was created to help reduce the abuse of pharmaceutical drugs by non-ADHD individuals on campuses, but has since become used by many more groups of people. This includes professionals at Fortune 500 companies, stay-at-home parents, night-shift workers, people who who are looking for herbal remedies, and many more. The product is not like a multivitamin that you just take and don't feel any difference. Most people feel the product working within 30 minutes of digestion. It is also one of the very, very few products that exist over-the-counter that includes micro-encapsulation technology. Basically, key ingredients are micro-encapsulated so that the effects of the product can last up to 12 hours, instead of the 1 to 4 hours that most other products last. The attention to detail, and the fact that the company openly shares clinical research, is what initially got me really interested in the product ... See the full Limidax review. Alpha Brain Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Alpha Brain is perhaps the best known brain supplement due to the massive advertising budget, and deals with certain well-known individuals. Created by Onnit Labs, the product is marketed as a brain supplement and a sort of dream enhancer, although it has been attacked as making unsubstantiated claims and seems to be a hit-or-miss product, with most reviewers seeming to agree it misses the mark. The product continues to undergo formulation changes, and the most recent formula seems that have upset many of the initial followers who had liked the product. Alpha Brain does also cost ... See the full Alpha Brain review. Neurofuse Rating: 3 out of 5 Neurofuse is a brain supplement that is marketed as a product that was specially created by Harvard students who were looking for an edge over their peers in a very competitive environment. The product has been panned by many reviewers, and holds neutral to low reviews across the internet. Hard to cancel subscriptions, and un-satisfactory customer service doesn't seem to be helping. However, there are some individuals who really like the blend. Although, Neurofuse just recently took out the ingredient Pikatropin, which had heavily advertised as its key differentiator in past marketing pushes ... See full Neurofuse review. Why do I only mention the Top 3, and then group the rest together? Well, it's because I don't think it's really worth anything to have a Top 5 or Top 10 list when it comes to brain supplements. I have a Top 3 because I understand that each person is unique. So, it's worth mentioning two additional products that I think have great potential. Then, I mention the rest as a group, because they are mostly products that I wouldn't personally recommend. But, I believe every product is worth mentioning, because it is ultimately your choice. Other Brain Supplements I've Reviewed Below is the complete and continuously updating list of brain supplements that I have reviewed. Cebria Review Cebria used to be more popular in the past. I believe its just not been receiving the marketing push it once did. Perhaps the marketers for the product were happy with the initial success they saw in sales. There are a couple of aspects of this product that led me to award it a low rating of 2 out of 5 stars. First and most importantly, I just can't seem to verify major parts of the claims that the product makes. Whether it's about the parent company of the product (Cebria is a product manufactured by Cebria, LLC, but the website reflects a "Thera Botanics" label, and is actually developed by Ever-Neuro Pharma, which makes certain claims that is hard to back up, since their "Neuro-Pep-12" is difficult to comment on when the research just can't be found or verified. Furthermore, online reviews do seem negative, with customers complaining about how the company does wrap users in an auto-ship (that some didn't know about), and where they jack up the price 400% after the first charge for a month in advance. Read my full Cebria Review for yourself. Just make sure to exercise your own due diligence. Neuroflexyn Review Where to begin with this product and company? Definitely a messy past. When Neuroflexyn first hit the market, the advertising and marketing angle that consumers found about the product was sketchy and misleading to say the least. Based on the company behind Neuroflexyn (Perform Vita), the marketing angle was due to a rogue affiliate who they were cutting ties with. Yet, the boost in sales at the time was already in place. The affiliate was heavily advertising Neuroflexyn as "Viagra for the Brain" and making unbacked claims such as "Sky-rocket concentration by 312%." In addition, there were adulterated (fake) Forbes articles and tweets that Neuroflexyn was the smart pill on which the Limitless pill was based. Regardless, the blend does seem a little weak. Many of the ingredients have research which is inconclusive, or ingredients which are not found in the proper dosages to potentially use various research studies to back the product. This all led to my ultimate assignment grade of a 3 out of 5 stars. This review is of course based on my belief (and hope) that the company is telling the truth when they do say they had nothing to do with this supposed affiliate. If it does ever turn out that they endorsed such unethical acts, my rating would drop to an absolute 0. Please feel welcome to read the full Neuroflexyn review. Disclaimers and Information: All products and brands found on this website are trademark of their respective companies. The information is intended for educational purposes only and and does not constitute professional, medical or healthcare advice or diagnosis, and may not be used as such. The information on this site is not reviewed by a medical professional, and is only to be used at your own risk. Always consult your doctor before using any supplements. Earnings Disclaimer: The writer of this article does have financial incentive for writing reviews (i.e. via any ads on this page and across the writer's account).

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New Post has been published on Webpostingpro

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SK Gaming Escape A Challenge From TyLoo at StarSeries S3 CS:GO Finals

SK Gaming defeated TyLoo in a 16-12 Mirage to kick off their SL i-League StarSeries Season 3 campaign.

In the closest

In shape of the match to this point, SK Gaming has survived a venture from TyLoo. Though the rating line wasn’t ultimately worryingly near for SK, there were some annoying moments for the Brazilian side.

Regardless of playing with an incredibly new roster, and also a stand-in changing their top performing participant, TyLoo put up a robust T facet on Mirage, contesting the first 1/2 at some point of and at one point starting up an 8-five lead that SK has been capable of carrying back to 8-7. It wasn’t till the very last rounds that SK had been sooner or later able to pull away.

Although the squad may be thrilled with the victory,

It does possibly foretell hassle for the SK squad. Anticipated to be extensive favorites in opposition to TyLoo, the fit turned into nearer than might have been Predicted, at the same time as the Brazilian group appears to nevertheless be struggling to regain the dominance they as soon as claimed on Mirage.

With the Swiss device in the region, neither crew will play again on day one, giving both the opportunity to evaluate and pop out stronger on day two.

ADHD and Video Games – The Pros and Cons of Electronic Gaming

Nowadays, there is a lot of controversy over ADHD and video games. Is it ok to let a toddler with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Ailment play these video games? Are there any capability benefits? In this newsletter, you will find out about the professionals and cons, so that you can make the pleasant decision to your infant.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and video games were the challenge in the latest information story wherein a boy who had been playing a violent video game shot and killed his father. Did the violence in the online game worsen the aggressive urges of the boy and force him over the edge or become it more likely that there has been an abusive detail in the domestic and the daddy-son dynamic? For the reason that single father is useless and the boy turned into simplest ten years old, we may additionally by no means absolutely realize the reality.

What we do recognize approximately ADHD and video games is that those video games can get worse hyperactivity and foster aggression,

Especially whilst an infant is gambling violent games. The quick-converting, ever-flickering pictures on the display may additionally heighten a baby’s need for steady simulation. Worse but, playing video games also can cause dependency. In reality, international locations like Korea, in reality, have dependency remedy centers designed to deal with this growing trouble. Even though dependency is commonly characterized through a substance that causes physical withdrawal signs when removed from the addict’s existence, gaming is taken into consideration addictive as it drastically increases dopamine manufacturing (the feel-excellent neurotransmitter) in the mind. while children are forced to forestall playing these games, they may revel in something similar to feeling depressed.

Of course, there are aspects of any controversy.

Supporters of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and video games say gambling them can help children with ADHD discover ways to focus and sit down nevertheless even as they play. They also agree with that gamers broaden exceptional hand-eye coordination that may serve them nicely in technology associated jobs within the future.

Something your beliefs, here are a few hints in case you intend your infant to play those video games. To begin with, impose a time restrict. some parents most effective permit children to play video games on weekends and best if their school paintings have been executed. 2d, maintain your child far from violent video games and be aware of their scores.

Motivating Employees – Motivating the Challenge Driven Employee

Most suitable leaders and personnel are influenced internally through hard themselves to enhance their very own abilities, revel in, and productivity. Internal motivation may be very effective while the gift and may be without difficulty quashed by using micromanagement and useless delegation. The important thing to keeping mission-inspired people at their excellent is to expand your business enterprise way of life to inspire autonomy and professional improvement across the board.

Building a project

Motivating subculture may be tough for some entrepreneurs. The identical self-assurance and power to do things right that make an entrepreneur a hit also can make it difficult to consider personnel to work on their very own. But, if you plan to grow your enterprise, you may rely upon your staff to do things properly on their personal. correct employees will now not handiest cowl the duties that you don’t have time for, But can even contribute their own know-how and competencies to pressure the achievement of your challenge.

True leaders are masters of the delegation  

Telling employees what desires to be accomplished But no longer how to do it. Set clear goals inside the task descriptions for every role, honestly communicate those objectives to your workforce, then get out of the manner and allow them to paintings. Get to know each worker’s man or woman abilities and talents. Assign duties as a result and inspire your staff to utilize their capabilities. Also, discover which regions your employees want to enhance and broaden opportunities for them to do so. For instance, most people desire they were better at public talking. Don’t forget to begin a lunchtime Toastmasters club on your body of workers or to sponsor your employee’s memberships to an established club. The better your employee’s ability units, the extra they are able to contribute to developing the commercial enterprise.

For that personnel who’re particularly task-pushed

It’s miles even extra important to encourage them to push their limits. Be cautious not to burden those workers with too many mundane obligations. Provide them assignments that permit them to show off their abilities and develop new ones. allow them to recognize how plenty their abilities and willingness to enhance are preferred…Then get out of their way!

Building a challenge-pushed lifestyle is crucial to the boom of your business concept. The stronger your team of workers is of the skills that pressure achievement, the more potent your business will be. As an entrepreneur, the percentages are that you may relate to venture-driven motivation better than any of the alternative motivators. Think about the environment required so one can be the Most effective, and construct your enterprise tradition around these ideas.

How to Use Room Escape Games for Team Building

Room breakout video games are not just for amusing and enjoyment. Several companies use the room to break out activities for crew constructing to interrupt verbal exchange boundaries that exist in the workplace.

The goal of team constructing is to inspire employees and prepare them to solve enterprise issues together and effectively. Allow’s check one-of-a-kind break out room’s activities which are a laugh and educating on the identical time.

An Exciting escape Room Recreation That Allows in group building

The most thrilling Sport in breakout room is the hungry zombie. Your team is locked in a room with a hungry zombie who is tied with a series. After every five mins, the chain gets released via one foot and the hungry zombie is capable of flow further to capture you.

The entire duration of Recreation play is around one hour and through the stop of time, the hungry zombie is able to reach each nook of the room. The room is full of clues and you’re required to clear up puzzles/riddles to find the important thing to the locked door and get away from the room together with your crew individuals.

To escape the room and shop themselves from the hungry zombie, contributors want to do the subsequent:

Speak

Communique is the important thing to locating hidden clues quickly. The contributors have to work in corporations of 2-three to find hidden clues in the rooms. They want to preserve the crew informed always with a view to use the facts and the hidden clues to liberate the secret of the hidden key.

break out room games foster communique between the personnel (participants) and encourages them to paintings collectively to win the sport and escape the room. The interest also teaches them the significance of cooperation without which the whole group will fail.

Assume out of the Container

The crew building games require you to Think out of the Field as it’s miles something you have got by no means experienced. The time is right to unleash your idea potential and search for clues that will help you resolve puzzles and riddles.

get away room video games have a unique setup. Besides, taking far from the recurring workplace work, these activities put you in a situation in which you need to make use of the information available, are trying to find guidelines, thoughts from other members and see what works.

Take Lead or Follow

The getaway room games deliver all a level gambling subject wherein your supervisor would be just a player such as you. The group building unleashes your leadership ability and you might be required to take leadership in certain conditions to steer your group out of the room.

At some stage in the game, you may also encounter a situation while there can be one or more leaders.

In such situations, the team individuals need to consult and determine who must lead without developing a struggle. Accordingly, those rooms get away activities educate the team to paintings collectively without developing a fuss over management issues.

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New Post has been published on Healthy Food and Remedies

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Dopamine Deficiency And Your Mental Health

If you wake up every morning and feel like “the thrill is gone,” you may have a dopamine deficiency. Dopamine is the main brain chemical responsible for making us feel motivated. Low levels of dopamine can manifest in some very disruptive ways. It can leave you feeling fatigued, apathetic, moody and unable to concentrate. Just as importantly, it plays a role in many mental disorders including depression, addiction of all kinds, Parkinson’s disease, ADHD, and schizophrenia. Understanding how dopamine affects your life is a key to taking control of this neurotransmitter — instead of letting it take control of you.

What Is Dopamine?

Dopamine is considered one of the “feel good” neurotransmitters, along with serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. It has several distinct major functions. It’s been called the “motivation molecule” for providing the drive and focus you need to be productive. It’s also been called the “reward chemical” since it’s in charge of your brain’s pleasure-reward system (1, 2). Dopamine plays a role in numerous brain functions involving mood, sleep, learning, the ability to focus and concentrate, motor control, and working memory.

What Does Dopamine Do?

Understanding dopamine’s functions is a work in progress. Over 110,000 research papers have been written about it, yet scientists are still trying to determine exactly what it does (3). Here are some of the known functions of dopamine: Dopamine is crucial to the feeling of motivation you need to work towards both long-term and short-term goals. It delivers a feeling of satisfaction when you’ve accomplished what you set out to do. Dopamine is released when your needs are about to be met (4).

Dopamine helped our ancestors survive by giving them an energy boost when presented with a great opportunity, such as locating a new source of food. You wouldn’t think we’d need to be motivated to find food, yet alarmingly, lab mice with dopamine deficiency are so unmotivated they starve to death — even when food is readily available (5). Our modern lifestyle doesn’t provide the same opportunities for dopamine boosts that our ancestors experienced, like hunting down dinner. But we still seek dopamine because of the way it makes us feel — alive and excited.

There are both healthy and unhealthy ways to get a dopamine lift. You can boost your dopamine watching or playing sports, learning something new, finishing a project, or landing a new account at work. Any form of accomplishment that gives you that “Yes, I did it!” feeling will increase dopamine. The unhealthy way to stimulate dopamine production is with addictive substances of all kinds.

Low Dopamine Symptoms

Dopamine deficiency sucks the zest out of life. It can leave you feeling apathetic, hopeless, and joyless. It makes it hard to start things and even harder to finish them. Common low dopamine symptoms include:

Fatigue

Lack of motivation

Inability to experience pleasure

Insomnia

Hard time getting going in the morning

Mood swings

Forgetfulness

Memory loss

Inability to focus and concentrate

Inability to connect with others

Low libido

Sugar cravings

Caffeine cravings

Inability to handle stress

Inability to lose weight

Dopamine Deficiency Related Disorders

When dopamine levels are out of balance, they can be an important factor in many mental health and other systemic disorders. Here are some of the most common conditions that have a dopamine deficiency connection.

Low Dopamine And Depression

Depression is usually thought of as due to a lack of serotonin, another “feel good” brain chemical. But there’s a growing body of evidence that dopamine deficiency is the underlying cause of depression for many people instead. This explains why selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) — depression medications that work by increasing serotonin — work for only 40 percent of those who use them (6). Bupropion (Wellbutrin) is an antidepressant that works by addressing low dopamine for those who have not been helped by SSRIs (7). There’s a difference in the symptoms of depression experienced by those with serotonin versus dopamine deficiency. Dopamine-based depression expresses itself as lethargy and lack of enjoyment of life, while serotonin-based depression tends to be accompanied by anxiety (8).

The Dopamine Addiction Connection

People low in dopamine are more prone to addictions of all kinds (9). People with dopamine addictions often rely on caffeine, sugar, smoking, or other stimulants to boost their energy, focus, and drive. What they are really doing is self-medicating to increase their dopamine levels. Using self-destructive behaviors to overcome dopamine deficiency can lead to addictions of all kinds — video games, shopping, gambling, sex, money, power, alcohol, and drugs.

Dopamine And Parkinson’s Disease

When dopamine-generating brain cells in one specific part of the brain die, it leads to Parkinson’s, a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Parkinson’s usually starts with a slight tremor in one hand. Patients gradually lose their ability to regulate their movements and emotions (10). There is no cure but so far the most effective treatment is levodopa, a natural compound that converts into dopamine (11).

ADHD And Dopamine

The underlying cause of ADHD is still unknown. But it is widely accepted that the root cause of ADHD is probably an abnormality in dopamine function. This seems logical since dopamine is critical for maintaining focus. Most ADHD medications are based on the “dopamine deficiency” theory. Prescription medications used to treat ADHD are believed to work by increasing the release of dopamine and norepinephrine while slowing down their rate of reabsorption (12).

Schizophrenia And Dopamine

The cause of schizophrenia is unknown, but genetics and environmental factors are believed to play a role (13). One prevailing theory is that it’s caused by an overactive dopamine system (14, 15). Supporting evidence for this theory is that the best drugs to treat schizophrenia symptoms resemble dopamine and block dopamine receptors (16). However, these medications can take days to work, which indicates that the exact mechanism is not yet fully understood (17).

Dopamine Deficiency Symptoms In Fibromyalgia And Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Both fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are associated with low dopamine levels (18). Low dopamine symptoms experienced by FMS and CFS patients include brain fog, achy muscles, poor concentration, tremors, poor balance and coordination, and walking abnormalities.

How To Increase Dopamine Levels Naturally

If you experience signs of low dopamine, you don’t have to live with it. There are several lifestyle changes that can increase dopamine naturally.

Dopamine Foods

The amino acid tyrosine is a precursor of dopamine. Tyrosine-rich foods provide the basic building blocks for dopamine production. Phenylalanine is an amino acid that converts into tyrosine.

Virtually all animal products are good sources of both tyrosine and phenylalanine. Here are some other foods known to increase dopamine (19,20,21,22):

Legumes

Almonds, sesame and pumpkin seeds

Apples, avocados, bananas, watermelon

Beets, green leafy vegetables, sea vegetables

Chocolate

Coffee and green tea

Oatmeal

Turmeric

Wheat germ

Dopamine Supplements

Dopamine is a serious medicine used in emergency situations like heart attacks and shock. So while actual dopamine supplements are not available, there are many dopamine boosting supplements you can try. The most obvious dopamine supplement to consider is l-tyrosine. Without it, you can’t make dopamine. Even if you think you get plenty of l-tyrosine in your diet, you may not be converting it effectively.

There are several forms of tyrosine supplements available. Dopamine used by the brain must be produced in the brain, so it’s important that any dopamine enhancing supplement you take gets into the brain. That’s why we recommend acetyl-l-tyrosine, an absorbable form that can readily cross the blood-brain barrier (23). Next, look into vitamin D, magnesium, and omega-3 essential fatty acids. Deficiencies of all three are extremely common, and each can contribute to dopamine deficiency (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29). Lastly, you can look into taking a dopamine enhancing supplement. Here are some supplements proven to increase dopamine:

Mucuna pruriens (velvet bean or cowhage) (30)

Phosphatidylserine (31)

Ginkgo biloba (32)

L-theanine (33)

S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e) (34)

Bacopa monnieri (35)

Curcumin (36)

Some dopamine supplements contain phenylethylamine, the precursor of tyrosine, but we don’t recommend them. Phenylethylamine is pretty useless for increasing dopamine levels. Once it reaches your brain it has a half-life of only 30 seconds (37, 38).

Activities That Boost Dopamine Levels

Any activity that makes you feel happy and relaxed increases dopamine. Physical exercise increases dopamine and other feel-good neurotransmitters and is responsible for what’s known as “runner’s high” (39). Get a therapeutic massage. It can boost dopamine by over 30 percent (40). Meditation increases dopamine. So do mind-focusing hobbies like knitting, home repair, gardening, painting, photography, or woodworking (41, 42). Playing and listening to music you enjoy releases dopamine (43). Engage in “seeking and finding” activities. This emulates the hunt that provided our ancestors with their dopamine boosts. Take on new challenges and set small milestones. Accomplishing goals, even small ones, trains your brain to release dopamine.

For more information on increasing your levels of dopamine, read this article “How to Increase Dopamine Naturally.”

Overcoming Dopamine Deficiency: The Bottom Line

Dopamine deficiency can sap the joy from life. It also plays a role in many mental health conditions, including depression and addictive behaviors. Make appropriate lifestyle changes to increase your dopamine levels.

Eat a diet high in dopamine boosting foods.

Get plenty of physical exercise.

Engage in stress-reducing activities.

Take appropriate dopamine enhancing supplements.