Palo Alto Parenting Solutions | Marriage, Family & Art Therapist, Adoption, ADHD, Asperger’s, Anxiety, Behavior, Depression

Specialities

ADHD
Anyone who is a parent knows that parenting is probably the most challenging job one can do. Parenting a child with special challenges like adhd makes the parenting even more difficult. Adhd is a neurobiological disorder and the most common psychiatric disorder among children. Symptoms may show up as early as pre-school, or may not be noticed until later when educational and social demands increase.

Your child may have difficulty controlling impulsive behavior, be irritable and short-tempered, or prone to tantrums. In school your child may have difficulty organizing assignments, controlling impulsive behavior, focusing or have trouble making or keeping friends.

Although individuals with adhd can be very successful in life, without appropriate identification and treatment, adhd can have serious consequences like school failure, depression, conduct disorder, failed relationships, and substance abuse. Early identification and treatment are extremely important.

Palo Alto Parenting Solutions can help.

Adoption
Bringing a child into a family where once there was only longing, is the dream of so many waiting parents. As the child begins to settle into the family there can be a new set of challenges. Parents may begin to notice difficulties their child is experiencing as the child adjusts to the new environment. Or, problems may not appear until some years after the adoption. The root may be the result of anything from early trauma that was not previously known to the school environment with new educational and social demands.

Palo Alto Parenting Solutions is experienced working with adoptive children and their families. Together we can uncover the feelings beneath the behaviors, and work to bring about the changes and closeness the family needs to thrive.

Anxiety
Anxiety, or excessive worry, afflicts millions of children. Although we tend to fantasize childhood as a carefree existence, for some it is anything but that. The roots of this disorder are often hidden. There could be a genetic component, a traumatic event, or continuing trauma. You may see school refusal, excessive nail biting, difficulty going or staying asleep, nightmares or bedwetting. For some you may see repetitive actions like hand washing, or counting. These are just a few of the behaviors that can alert you to your child’s pain.

Working with your child, we'll help them to identify their fear triggers, and learn tools to successfully work through their anxieties so they may begin to feel more confident in themselves and their ability to manage their environment.

Asperger’s / Spectrum Disorders
Imagine being in a world where you feel anxious, stressed or sad most of the time. A place where no one seems to understand you or the way you see things, and you can’t tell them what is different. As hard as these feelings are for adults, they are that much more frightening and difficult for children who don’t have the words or insight to tell us how they feel. Instead, their behaviors act as a cry for help.

These children often strive to communicate with others but are driven away because their behavior may seem awkward or aloof. They may retreat into solitary pursuits rather than risk the hurt often associated in reaching out to people.

It is important for the child with Asperger’s Syndrome to know they are being listened to, that someone hears what they are saying and is there to help.

At Palo Alto Parenting Solutions we will teach your child social skills and tools to reduce anxiety and open them to the warmth that can be found in social interaction. We’ll work with you and other family members to help bring understanding and order to what may be a chaotic home life.

Depression
Depression isn’t supposed to happen in childhood, but we know it does.

Millions of children each year exhibit signs of depression. Relatively few get treatment. The root causes for depression are deep and varied. They could be physiological or situational. The one constant is the hurt. Seeing your child sad, showing little joy or interest in the things they used to like , or being irritable, or anxious, is heartbreaking.

We can help you determine if your child is depressed and the best course of treatment. Working together we can help your child thrive.

Call us for appointment.

Parent Coaching
If your home has become a battlefield in a war you never knew you signed on for, and you find yourself an unwilling combatant, it is time to seek help.

There is no relationship more important to your child’s wellbeing than the one with you, the parents. Too often the stress of handling an irritable or out of control child can take a toll on all of the relationships in the family, especially the one between spouses. For that reason it is important that parents become aware of the minefields they unknowingly encounter, and learn ways to carefully disarm them while maintaining a strong and unified voice.

We can help you attain not only a truce, but a lasting peace.

Together we can provide your child with strong, clear and realistic expectations and boundaries to help bring back balance and peace to your family relationships.