ADD/ADHD

I was catching up on some reading this weekend and discovered a nice little article in the California Educator, our state (California Teachers Association/NEA magazine).  The post has a number of items that teachers/educators should know about ADD. 
This is the link to the direct article (digital version).
Text version of the article
California Teachers Association

Among the key ideas are:

• this is a brain disorder--it's not that the students are trying to be annoying
• larger class sizes make for more challenging circumstances for teachers
• ADD/ADHD is the most common behavior disorder among children
• self-regulation is a key deficit
• these kids need "wiggle time"
• article also covers teaching strategies, medication, and what life is like for someone who has the diagnosis

 Medline Plus reference and links on ADD

To learn more about ADD/ADHD, please visit the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder website at www.chadd.org or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

New Society for Neuroscience Website--

The Society for Neuroscience has created a wonderful resource that could potentially be utilized by those of us who can get our kids to the internet or for use during snow days or other cancellations.  It could also be used in a webquest.  Wonderful name as well:  "NERVE: Virtual Encycloportal."  I do believe they have engaged in creating a new word, a neologism. 

After the welcome page, the user is directed to this page where there are links to various themes including addiction, anatomy of the brain, and much more as you can see from the graphic on the left.

Each theme has numerous links to other resources that provide an incredible wealth of information and graphical representation of each topic.  One could literally spend days examining all the sites.

In fact, I will be starting my background research for my neuroscience, mental health, and sensation and perception units from this page.  There are just so many incredible resources. 

Do take the time to visit the site and search through the topics. 

Core Concepts in Neuroscience is a booklet that is downloadable for teachers and students to use.  Not only is there the booklet, but there is a short PowerPoint that you can download.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

DSM Revisions - Inside the Battle

In a way, this post is a companion to the previous one about Crazy Like Us. I think WIRED magazine does a consistently great job of writing compelling science articles. Their recent article "The Book of Woe" is a fascinating look into the politics, battles, philosophical perspectives, and arguments involved in the current DSM revision process. Reading and discussing the article could help students understand the complexity of how psychological disorders get defined and how that process of definition is informed by scientific and social factors. I fear that I'm making the article sound a bit dry - it really is a compelling, exciting, and somewhat depressing (to me) read.


posted by Rob McEntarffer

Crazy Like Us

I struggled every year to figure out how to best integrate cross-cultural psychology research into my classroom. It was too "big" and diverse to be relegated to a subtopic in Social psychology, but I had trouble finding enough good resources for each of the other chapters. Matsumoto's cross cultural texts are great but they can be overwhelming and much of what he dives in to goes far beyond what we talk about in high school psychology.

I think Ethan Watters's book Crazy Like Us might one good answer to this dilemma. (Full disclosure: Mr. Watters sent the authors of this blog a couple copies of the book to look at - thanks!). Mr. Watters summarizes his incredible research very effectively and accessibly (longest reference section I've seen in QUITE a while - he was VERY careful in his scholarship). Each of the sections of the book looks at the "spread" of a diagnostic model/paradigm into a specific culture, including:

• Anorexia in Hong Kong
• PTSD in Sri Lanka
• Schizophrenia in Zanzibar
• Depression in Japan

The most profound/sad/startling section to me was "The Wave that Brought PTSD to Sri Lanka." Watters carefully describes how well meaning (heroic, in many ways?) American psychologists descended on Sri Lanka after the tsunami to help with the expected epidemic of PTSD. Watters found good evidence that media blitz about PTSD may have created powerful expectations about the disorder, interfering with diagnosis and treatment. This focus ignored established cultural norms for dealing with stress and grief. Watters does a great job avoiding blame - he carefully walks us through how the DSM notions of mental illness may be influencing other cultures.

A blog post is far too short to discuss the ideas/issues raised in this book, all of which could be used to start great discussions in your classroom. I encourage you to get the book and take a look. I expect you'll be as intrigued, surprised, saddened, and reflective as the book made me.

Other notes: students might enjoy Ethan Watters appearance on the Daily Show and his publisher's website has other related resources.


posted by Rob McEntarffer

Music in Psychology Class--A Different Way to Approach Things

Most of us have seen the items on the listservs about lists of music that go with particular units.  Some of us use the music as a transition into class.  Some of use show the lyrics on the board/screen while the students listen to the song, adding observations or comments afterward.  A nice little combination, a free one, can be found on YouTube.com.

The first example here is The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel.  The poster has already printed the lyrics for you/us.  Some concept ideas include schema, the role of individual in society, perception,  states of consciousness, communication, hearing versus listening, and more.


A perennial favorite of my students is the Green Day song, Basketcase.  This song questions the writer's sanity while he is reaching out for help.  Some great psych idea are used including "neurosis," perception/misperception, therapy, dream interpretation, the role of drugs in interpreting reality, and more. 




As with anything from the internet, I would caution that you view everything first prior to sharing it with your students.  While they may be superficially mature and sophisticated, they are still children and we have an obligation to screen and contextualize everything we do with them.  Also, each community has different standards--what may be usable and successful in one class may not work in another school. 

There will be more of these posts coming up with some of my personal favorites.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

What to Say & Not Say to Someone With Depression

Great article I found while perusing Slate.com--this link is from Health.com. The original info is from http://www.depressionalliance.org/. Excellent advice.

Posted by Chuck Schalllhorn

Depression Awareness Month

October is National Depression Screening Month, with the 7th of the month being the National Depression Day of Awareness.  Below are some resources to assist the classroom teacher. 

PsychCentral
John Grohol
Post about the National Day of Screening


PsychCentral Depression screening test
18 questions with an online score with recommendations

Mayo Clinic
The Mayo Clinic site has a tremendous set of resources which include background, Q/A about depression types, links to other disorders, video clips to describe depression, expert answers, expert blog with research updates and much more.

The new issue of Educational Leadership (publication of ASCD) has an article entitled, "Responding to a Student's Depression" in the October 2010 issue.  You can read it online if you are a member.  The article has a nice chart with one column for symptoms and another column for how those symptoms would manifest themselves at school.

Mental Health America
information, help, action for many disorders

Army website on the topic and related resources for military members and mental health issues

Real Warriors program encouraging those who need help to ask for it along with many resources

In terms of depression screening quizzes online, there are dozens.  Here are links to a few:
Depression-Screening dot org
The Wakefield Questionnaire
WebMD diagnosis and tests page

Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Autism Awareness Day and Month

Autism affects 1 in 100 children; 1 in 70 boys.  April is Autism Awareness Month and today, April 2 is Autism Awareness Day.  As we move in time, there are larger numbers of students who have some aspect of the disorder.


Autism Speaks.Org Site that assists families with their children who have autism.  They also provide information about autism along with links related to research, how to support, and how to become involved in the fight against autism.


Cafepress Site for Autism Awareness

The Autism Society

Seven-Year-Old Schizophrenic and Oprah

Back in October of 2009, Oprah devoted a show to childhood schizophrenia. The primary storyline involved a young seven-year-old girl exhibiting a number of schizophrenic symptoms and how her families meets the challenges of this girl's disability.

At http://www.oprah.com/showinfo/Exclusive-The-7-Year-Old-Schizophrenic you will find a number of video clips and articles surrounding this little girl. If anyone has developed handouts and/or discussion questions based on these clips, please leave a comment below.

Schizophrenia.com

Schizophrenia.com at http://www.schizophrenia.com is one of the better websites for information on schizophrenia. Listed below are the the many links from the site.

Schizophrenia Information

• Schizophrenia Overview
• Symptoms/Diagnosis
  
• Causes & Prevention
• Internet-Based Videos
  
• Schizophrenia Brain Pictures
  
• Schizophrenia Treatments
• Schizophrenia Success Stories
  
• Support Groups
• Frequently Asked Questions
  
• Recovery & Resources
• Assisted & Involuntary Treatment
• Managing Depression
  
• Preventing Suicide
• Schizophrenia Biology & Genetics
  
• Good Schizophrenia Books
  
• Good Schizophrenia Videos
  
• Famous People & Schizophrenia
  
• Join Research & Studies
  
• Facts and Statistics
  
• Poverty, Crime & Violence
• Schizophrenia Advocacy
  
• History of Schizophrenia
  
• Events & Conferences

Abnormal Case Studies

Published back in 2000, Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life (11e) by Robert Carson, James Butcher, and Susan Mineka from Allyn and Bacon, included three cases studies on the book's website. Each case study includes a detailed case history with written and audio interviews.

Unfortunately, the case studies are designed as an assignment for students in an Abnormal Psychology course using the text, so answers are not included. Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

The three case studies from Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life can be found at http://www.abacon.com/carson/case/index.html

The Hidden Paintings of Shirley A. Mason (a.k.a. Sybil)

In researching sites to include in the Midnight Postings for the Abnormal Psychology Unit, I came across a posting entitled "The Hidden Paintings of Shirley A. Mason - Sybil" at http://www.hiddenpaintings.com/. The site includes 24 paintings from Mason which, according to the website, were done prior to meeting Dr. Wilbur as well as during her therapy years.

As with anything on the Internet, I was a bit skeptical when I first discovered the website and its format didn't help my skepticism. There is previous little explaining the authenticity of the paintings and the address to order prints appears to be a residential house outside of Miami, FL. While I seriously question why someone would go through all the effort to present such a hoax, I still haven't been convinced. If anyone has further knowledge on this website, please leave a comment below.

MedicineNet.Com Slide Shows

MedicineNet.Com has put together over 27 different slide shows on various medical issues. Each show includes pictures and basic dialog surrounding the topic area. Below is a listing of slide shows specific to abnormal psychology.

Phobias
http://www.medicinenet.com/phobias_picture_slideshow/article.htm

Bipolar Disorders
http://www.medicinenet.com/bipolar_disorder_overview_pictures_slideshow/article.htm

ADHD in Adults
http://www.medicinenet.com/adhd_in_adults_pictures_slideshow/article.htm

Depression
http://www.medicinenet.com/depression_overview_pictures_slideshow/article.htm

ADHD in Children
http://www.medicinenet.com/adhd_children_pictures_slideshow/article.htm

For more information on MedicineNet.Com's slide shows go to http://www.medicinenet.com/slideshows/article.htm MedicineNet.com's homepage is located at http://www.medicinenet.com/slideshows/article.htm

ABC Nightline Segment on OCD

On 02/15/2010, ABC's Nightline did a short (8:56) segment entitled "The Dirty Work of Keeping Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Check" by John Donvan and Steven Baker.

The video clip and website, which can be found at http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/ocd-recovery-program/story?id=9822908, includes various aspects of OCD and its therapy

What You Need to Know about OCD

International OCD Foundation had developed a 24 page brochure entitled "What You Need to Know About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder". The information can be downloaded as a PDF file or viewed online.

The brochure can be found at http://www.ocfoundation.org/uploadedFiles/WhatYouNeed_09.pdf and the homepage for the International OCD Foundation is at http://www.ocfoundation.org/

AllPsych Online: The Virtual Psychology Classroom

AllPsych Online website has a large section on Psychiatric Disorders. Over 60 psychiatric disorders are detailed including the etiology, symptoms, treatments options and prognosis for each.

Below you will find links to the major disorders in the DSM within the AllPsych website. The homepage for psychiatric disorders can be found at http://allpsych.com/disorders/index.html with the homepage for AllPsych Online at http://allpsych.com/

Categories

• Psychiatric Disorders Home

• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV)

• Disorder Index / DSM-IV Codes

• Adjustment Disorders

• Anxiety Disorders

• Dissociative Disorders

• Eating Disorders

• Impulse-Control Disorders

• Mood Disorders

• Sexual Disorders

• Sleep Disorders

• Psychotic Disorders

• Sexual Dysfunctions

• Somatoform Disorders

• Substance Disorders

• Personality Disorders

National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

The Department of Veteran Affairs established the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the late 1980's. For the past twenty years the center for PTSD has provided assistance to both veterans, the public and researchers.

While their website is designed primarily for veterans and their families, much can be of use in studying anxiety disorders. The whole website has a wealth of information, but be sure to check out the section entitled, "Veterans and the General Public". A few of the fact sheets come in a PDF format for easy printing.

The National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is located at
http://www.ptsd.va.gov/index.asp

OCD Online Screening Quiz

Dr Grohol's PsychCentral includes a twenty question online Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder quiz. After answering the questions, participants are given a score of the likelihood of them having OCD.

While the quiz is not meant to be a diagnostic tool, it can give students a good perspective of OCD. The OCD online quiz can be found at http://psychcentral.com/ocdquiz.htm

The homepage for PsychCentral is at http://psychcentral.com/

Anxiety Disorders Association of America

The website for the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) includes basic information about the various anxiety disorders. Make it a point to check out the "Understanding Anxiety" section which includes information on the symptoms, treatment and research for each disorder. Also, make it a point to read through the personal stories in the "Living with Anxiety" area.

The home page for the ADAA can be found at http://www.adaa.org/

Phobia Puzzles

Yesterday, the Midnight posting concerned the many, many online lists of phobias. Today we center in on possible uses of those lists in class.

Below you will find a number of links to different types of phobia puzzles.

New York Times Crossword Puzzle: "What are You Afraid of?"
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/xwords/20011015.html

Two short crossword puzzles on Phobias
http://www.flocabulary.com/crosswordpuzzles/phobiacross1.pdf
http://www.flocabulary.com/crosswordpuzzles/phobiacross2bank.pdf

Phobia Word Search
http://www.cluesearchpuzzles.com/PHOBIAS.html

Online Phobia word find
http://officediversions.com/games/word-search/phobia-names-1.html