Working with Asperger Syndrome in the Classroom – An Interview with former Teaching Assistant and JKP author, Gill D. Ansell

“As a Teaching Assistant I felt able to work closely with the students with AS; to get to know them as a person; to get to see the world the way they see it and from there develop strategies to help individuals. Sometimes, I tried new strategies which in reality were just ideas I had which I thought could work with a particular individual – that’s why it is important to know the student as an individual.”

ADHD’s Genetic Link: 5 Implications for Organizing ADD/ADHD Children – by Cheryl Carter

“The Lancet medical journal recently revealed that ADHD children have a gene that predisposes them to ADHD. Their “findings provide genetic evidence of an increased rate of large CNVs in individuals with ADHD and suggest that ADHD is not purely a social construct.” In a nutshell, the presence of CNV proves that ADHD is not the result of poor parenting, unstructured environment, too much sugar or a myriad of other reasons. This research proves what many have known all along — that ADHD may run in families. This has far reaching implications for families with ADHD. Given the genetic link, chances are either one or both parents may have ADHD. This has at least five interesting implications for most families, particularly in regard to organization and time management:”

‘Creative Care and the Capacity to Play’ – An excerpt from The Creative Arts in Dementia Care, by Jill Hayes with Sarah Povey

“In working in dementia care we need often to let ourselves become foolish, unconventional, stop making sense. I have been thrilled to meet staff who at the drop of a hat will dress up, play the guitar, sing uproariously…or who have the capacity to sit quietly with someone without an agenda. It is this joy of the crazy and the still, this lightness of being, which is refreshing and life-promoting in the work that we do. We can play with balloons, blow bubbles, doodle, improvise. We don’t have to make a finished product. By creatively and somatically being with a person we can instil a sense of safety, of physical and emotional security.”