Equipping Young People to Choose Non-Violence

“The continued need for comprehensive and co-ordinated policies to address the disadvantaged and troubled familial, social and cultural experiences of many young people will always be critical in dealing with many aspects of societal violence. To expect individual young people to be able to always choose ‘non-violent’ approaches just through individual work without cognisance being given to the bigger picture of their lives is unrealistic.”

Bullyproofing – Four Steps to Build Your Daughter’s Personal Power

“Bully behavior occurs in overt forms, such as hitting, name calling, and teasing as well as through relational aggression – a virulent style of bullying most prevalent among girls, in which relationships are manipulated to settle grudges. This more covert style of rumor spreading and social exclusion is bred by the round-the-clock availability of popular social networking sites… Even when the final school bells rings, many young girls deal with relational aggression 24/7.”

Incorporating Music into Speech and Language Therapy for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders – An Interview with Dr. Hayoung Lim

“Children with ASD appear to have intact pattern perception and production ability. They also tend to follow the Gestalt style of language acquisition which is based on the pattern perception. In parallel, all of the musical behaviors require pattern perception and production; and these abilities are commonly found in children with ASD. It follows that patterns in music can facilitate the Gestalt style of language acquisition and the consequent speech- language development in children with ASD.”

“One should never underestimate the capabilities of children with special needs or their creativity.” – An Interview with Johanne Hanko

“…one of my favorite games [in the book] is ‘Contemporary Music or Drawing Music’ (activity #80, page 103) because I was told not to use this game with children with differentiated capacities or in mainstream classes because it would lead to failure: ‘Children in special education and elementary school children cannot compose,’ I was told. Well I can tell you this is not true. I was amazed to see the creativity of some of the children, while all came up with something different and interesting; some compositions were quite beautiful. One should never underestimate the capabilities of children with special needs and their creativity.”

Misunderstood “Misbehaviour” – Understanding Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) Syndrome in Children

“Many parents tell us that they have struggled to find a diagnosis that ‘makes sense’ of their child’s development and behaviour. Often they have read the descriptions of PDA and comment on how it is ‘like reading my child’s life story’. These parents don’t just want a label for their child – although they are often criticised for just that – but they want a way of understanding him or her. With understanding, they can then move forward knowing the best ways in which to manage their children, encourage them to be less anxious and reduce some of the outbursts that are having an impact on all of the family.”