I just commented on one of Marie’s blogs last week about this, “It's Not Always About Adoption!” I confessed to Marie that after 14 years of foster care and adoption I sometimes still cannot tell the difference between an adoption issue and a child issue. I made the wrong call today, a couple of times. Bring out the crow; I’ll eat it for supper. My 10-year-old daughter, adopted in November, was having quite a day. I thought her behavior was passive aggressive. Yup, I thought she was... more

Please offer your honest opinion as adoptive parents and as birthparents. Is it mean to deny an adopted child sugar? Would your answer be different if the child had plenty of sugar before entering your family as an older adopted child? Then would it be mean to deny the child sugar until adulthood? Would your answer be different if the child was a birth child? Honestly, I struggle with this issue. My teenage daughter entered our family as a four-year-old foster child and we adopted her at the age of six. Several years ago, we realized that sugar has a profound effect on her... more

My 14-year-old adopted daughter turned to me aghast. “Why are you trying to make me fail?” she asked. “Why are you accusing me of trying to make you fail Lyn,” I asked softly. “If I had not given you the cinnamon rolls what would you have done?”

“I would have waited until nobody was looking and I would have stolen them,” she actually responded honestly.

“Well Lyn, when you take things without asking, your parents don’t trust you. I don’t like what not trusting you does to our relationship. Therefore, I want you to have all the sugar you want so you are... more

A friend wanted to borrow a textbook that Lane used last semester for a college class. I asked him to find it for me. Although he had just finished the course in December, it might as well have been a year ago. He couldn’t find it; he even asked me if I had sold it on EBay already. I wish I was that far ahead of schedule but I am currently being pulled in too many directions. Then I asked Buck if he could help his brother look for the Psychology textbook because my friend needed it tomorrow. He appeared about 10 minutes later saying that it wasn’t in the room. That, of course, left... more

This study, coming out of Michigan State University, points to a growing body of research that says that low level lead exposure could be a factor in the increases in ADHD. This study was of 150 children in the Lansing area, and showed that the children with ADHD had higher levels of lead in their blood than those without ADHD.

Other studies have shown a link between low level lead exposure and lower IQs.

So, maybe we should be on the warpath about banning all toys from China and cleaning... more

Here’s yesterday’s observation on how healthy children and our special needs children handle change differently.

Yesterday during the church service our new pastor did something that hasn’t been done for a very long time (since two pastors back, over 7 years ago). She had the children all come up front for a Children’s Sermon. I watched as even the middle school-aged children nearly ran and break-neck speed to the front of the sanctuary. Of course, LuLu wanted to go, and we let her.

She immediately started ramping up anxiety wise and chattering.... more

LuLu is likely the most impulsive child I’ll ever meet. Watching her you can read nearly every though that flits through her brain, because she’s constantly reacting to them. In fact, I’m not sure how truly distracted or inattentive she is, if she can just keep these fleeting thoughts from running amok with her brain.

The hospital doc put LuLu on Clonidine. It is a medication we tried years ago and abandoned because of how incredibly drowsy it made her.... more

Whether your child’s food consumption can cause behavior problems or attention problems has long been a controversial topic especially between parents and physicians. You probably know parents who are convinced that sugar makes their child’s ADHD (attention Deficit hyper disorder) worse. There are those who have noticed changes in their child’s behavior after consuming certain processed foods or foods containing artificial dyes. You have probably talked to physicians or read about scientific studies denying any connection between ADHD or behaviors and food.... more

Preschoolers’ age 3 to 5 years, who are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), as well as a another disorder, such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder, or an anxiety disorder probably won’t respond to treatment with the stimulant methylphenidate. PATS (Preschoolers with ADHD Treatment Study) was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). While previous reports indicated that low doses of methylphenidate were safe to use at this age, the data analyzed suggested that increasing the dosage... more

Having met a young woman last night at a party who is attending Boston University, it’s only fitting that today I should run across an article from BU’s latest alumni publication, the Bostonian. The article, entitled The Hidden Costs of Malnutrition details the research done by Janina Galler into the effects of malnutrition upon children in Barbados.

Galler’s research over the last 30 years has shown that malnutrition did not seem to impact children’s IQs as much... more