Blog

Special Exam Conditions for Students With Dyslexia

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

I recently read the story of a South Australian Year 12 student with dyslexia – a student who had his request for extra time in exams denied by the South Australian Certificate of Education review panel.

I was immediately struck by how common this story is and how easily the boy in this story could have been many of the students that I have come to know.

Despite the prevalence of dyslexia (recent figures estimate that one in twenty individuals are dyslexic), there are still a lot of misconceptions about this disorder and what individuals with dyslexia can and cannot do.

Many people believe that those with dyslexia are completely illiterate and there are even those (educators included) who don’t believe that dyslexia exists at all!

Cannabis use and Psychosis in Adolescents

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

Recent news of a teenager charged with the murder of one of Melbourne’s homeless citizens has many people worried. News has speculated that the accused young man had recently started using cannabis, and this changed his behaviour.

It’s important to remember that media portrayals of mental illness tend to be inflammatory, and can often imply a causal link between drug use, mental illness and crime.

Nevertheless, it’s a timely reminder for parents and their adolescents to improve their awareness of evidence-based research in the area of cannabis use. There is an association between cannabis use and mental illness, but it’s not a causal link.

This means that cannabis use has not been shown to directly ‘cause’ mental illness, but there is a potential for it to exacerbate difficulties in someone who is already vulnerable to mental illness.

The Benefits of Stress

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

“Stress is bad for you! Too much of it will kill you!”

Google a few vague symptoms and the word ‘stress’ and simply wait for the words ‘cancer’ and ‘death’ to flash up on your screen…!

Stressing about stress is getting out of hand…

But there is actually another way to think about stress. There is an alternate, but equally true reality in which stress can make a positive influence in our lives.

An article I read suggests that it’s not stress itself, but stressing about stressing which is zapping our happiness, and detracting from our peak performance. The researchers were from Yale (Alicia Crum & Peter Salovey) and Harvard alumni (Shawn Achor), so I’m confident that they know a thing or two about stress.

Crum and Salovey found that by changing someone’s perception of the stress that they were under, they could actually change how stress affected them physically.

Summer Holiday Programs for Kids

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

Summer holidays are just around the corner! If your plan is to stay in Melbourne, there is no need to worry about what to do with the kids as there are lots of fun holiday programs for kids of all ages and interests.

Here are some of my favourites:

How to Facilitate Group Work in the Classroom

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

From early primary school to university, there are many pros and cons of asking students to work in groups. Before you consider asking the students in your class to work together, it’s important to have a careful think as to what your objectives are and whether the children might learn better through a different format.

Below are some ideas to help you better facilitate group work in the classroom and ensure you (and the students!) are getting the most out of the activity…

“But I’ve tried EVERYTHING!” – Rethinking Strategies to Manage Difficult Behaviour

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

Whether it is tantrums, anxiety, defiance or any other number of problem behaviours, you want to try everything you possibly can to help your child overcome challenges and thrive.

But trying EVERYTHING in a short space of time is often what tends to happen when desperate parents seek advice from other parents, friends, teachers and professionals…

The common story goes something like this:

“Jack was throwing tantrums and becoming easily upset by small things. We have tried reward charts, time-out, getting him to play more sport, arranging playdates with other children, changing his diet, getting him to bed earlier, giving him more time and attention, talking to his teacher…”

And often the outcome is this:

“Some of the things we tried worked a little bit but he can still get really upset and angry. We’re at our wits end!”

Many of the things you are putting in place might be useful but it is important to think things through before deciding to implement changes in your child’s life.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Childhood Trauma – How to Help Children Who Have Suffered From a Traumatic Event

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

Many children will experience fearful situations, but they also have remarkable resilience and an ability to bounce back.

The experience of a traumatic event itself (such as a death or accident) does not necessarily mean that your child will experience any ongoing symptoms. However, in some cases where children struggle with the experience of a trauma, Psychologists look to the following guidelines for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the DSM-5*:

The Importance of Being Grateful

by Deborah Jepsen

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. and this got me thinking about gratitude and how wonderful it feels to be thankful and appreciative, even for the small things we experience in everyday life.

And it turns out there is a growing body of research which shows there are many psychological benefits to being grateful, including feeling happier and lowering stress, depression and anxiety.

And of course feeling good about helping others feel good too!

Not only that, there is also scientific evidence that expressing genuine gratitude on a daily basis can improve physical health as well by improving quality of sleep, cardiovascular (heart) health and immune function.

Premature Babies

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

Sunday 17th November was World Prematurity Day. A baby is considered to be preterm or premature if born before 37 weeks gestation.

Each year 15 million babies are born prematurely worldwide and about 25,000 of these babies are born in Australia.

Currently, up to 50% of Victorian preterm infants suffer from one or more developmental difficulties in early childhood.

Premature birth can be associated with multiple traumatic experiences for both mum and baby, which means that parents are at an increased risk of poor coping, anxiety and depression.

Practical tips for Parents of Premmies: How to help yourself, or someone you love

Read more

Toys For All Children

by Melbourne Child Psychology & School Psychology Services

Last week, a group of concerned parents in Australia launched a campaign to end gender-specific marketing of toys and to promote the idea that all toys are for all children. The Play Unlimited Group is calling on toy manufacturers and retailers to stop labelling and marketing products as being either for boys or girls.

Similar campaigns have been launched in Europe, and some have been well received by the public. Another parent-led campaign, Let Toys Be Toys, asked retailers in the UK and Ireland to stop limiting children’s interests by promoting some toys as only suitable for girls, and others only for boys. They have achieved great success and big companies such as Toys R Us, Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Debenhams, have agreed to start phasing out gender-specific signage and marketing.

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