Emotions - MyHope

Go Ahead and Ask: Dinner Table Behavior

Question: My 3-year old daughter has a diagnosis of PDD-NOS. She is a very sweet child and is learning new things every day, although she isn’t quite talking yet. Our biggest problem right now is dinner time – she absolutely refuses to sit at the table with the family. She starts screaming and I end […]

Supporting Persistence in Children with Developmental Disabilities

“Persistence,” “mastery motivation,” “goal-directedness,” “causality,” “agency” are all terms that can be applied to understanding how an individual perceives his or her competence in impacting the environment or responding to task demands. Although the terminology differs depending upon one’s theoretical orientation, there is consensus across conceptual fields on the following concepts: (1) The processes of […]

Techniques for Reducing Problem Behaviors

I. GENERAL INTERVENTION GUIDELINES 1. Always try these techniques at home first, where you have greater control over your environment. 2. Be prepared for your child’s behavior to get worse before it gets better. 3. These techniques become more effective over repeated, consistent use. 4. The best way to judge whether the intervention is working […]

How to Employ Intervention Techniques for Reducing Problem Behavior

Step 1. REINFORCING THE ABSENCE OF A NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR 1. Clearly define the negative behavior and begin the assessment process to determine the function, frequency, duration, antecedents and consequences, etc. 2. When you observe the child doing anything but the negative behavior, provide additional attention, tangible objects, stimulation, or escape from tasks or environments. Use […]

Autism and the Family

Autism is clearly a disorder that affects the functioning of the child with the diagnosis. It also profoundly affects the entire family — parents, siblings, and the extended family. Recognizing and coping with these effects is an important process for family members not only to care effectively for the child with autism, but also for […]

Surviving Mental Illness

If you’ve ever wondered how to effectively deal with mental illness, Jessie Close has a lot to tell you. Her new book, Resilience: Two Sisters and a Story of Mental Illness, offers a heartbreaking, honest description of her 40 years of personal experience. Jessie, the sister of actress Glenn Close, has experienced decades of great […]

Don’t Let Imposter Syndrome Hold You Back

Does this sound familiar? You love your boss, the CEO. He’s the smartest, fairest, least ego, most supportive leader you’ve ever worked for, and you trust his judgment – business and otherwise – completely. And you love your career, which has provided many opportunities to work on cool projects, with teams of knowledgeable individuals, to […]

7 Ways to Rock the Second Half of Your Career

Find yourself sliding down that slippery slope from engaged, curious, enthusiastic professional to defensive, change-resistant, entitled old geezer? At best, it’s really hard to deliver your best stuff when you’ve got a big neon “Stop All This Change Stuff Now!” sign flashing on your forehead. At worst, you may actually be putting your job in […]