Live Life Clearly Podcast EP 19: Conflict Resolution With Kids During Quarantine

Today is an interview with Dr. Sharon Saline.  She teaches us how to communicate and negotiate with our kids and teens by using Reflective Listening and giving them a sense of autonomy through Directed Free Choice.  We discuss how to get on the same page as your partner and meet in the middle with struggles you may be having during through the quarantine. Click logo below to read more.

Psych Central: How to Help Your Family Cope with Numbness and Isolation During COVID-19

Do you notice that your child or teen is feeling more frustrated and hopeless as the shelter-in-place directive continues? I’m hearing from so many families that things seem to be getting increasingly worse. With thousands of schools switching their grading systems to Pass/Fail, many kids are doing the minimal amount of homework to get by. Some may not be keeping up with hygienic routines. Others have reverted to less mature coping skills, erupting and arguing more than they typically do. What can you do to combat their numbness, hopelessness or regressive behaviors? Click logo below to read more.

22 News Mass Appeal: Advice on finding the right therapist for your child

(Mass Appeal) – This pandemic has put children through a lot emotionally. Clinical Psychologist Dr. Sharon Saline, of DrSharonSaline.com, joins us with advice on finding a therapist for your child if they are struggling. Dr. Saline says first parents must determine what’s typical behavior and what’s not – violence, extreme anxiety and talk of self harm should be considered out of the ordinary. The next step is to contact your pediatrician and ask them about referrals. The client-therapist relationship is very important, so make sure you set up a time to interview the therapist online. Dr. Saline noted that’s important to give the therapist a chance: the first few sessions are really “get-to-know-you” sessions. Click logo below to read more.

Psychology Today: Graduating Seniors with ADHD

It’s just not the senior spring semester you pictured. No in-person ceremonies, no senior week festivities and no special celebrations. For many seniors, school is (almost) over. Instead of participating in typical end-of-the-year traditions, having meaningful goodbyes with friends, you’re closing your computers and sitting in the same room as before. Of course, it’s disappointing and sad to experience the dramatic changes COVID-19 has wrought on our lives over these past few months. Whether you’re relieved that online school is over and happy to be finished with school or you’re missing an independent life and hanging out with your friends, it’s perfectly normal to have a wide range of reactions to the upheaval in your life. Click logo below to read more.

Navigating Re-integration for Kids with ADHD: Four Essential Tips

As things start to open up, we are now faced with dozens of new challenges. Kids want to see their friends, go to carry-out restaurants, be outside and have some fun. How can they safely socialize with peers, play outdoors or visit with extended family? For tweens and teens who are eager to experience “freedom” from parents, how can you monitor what they’re doing to make sure they are safe without being overly intrusive or micromanaging their activities? Kids with ADHD who struggle with impulsivity, emotional control and sound judgment have higher risks for abandoning their masks and social distancing guidelines in the service of doing what feels good RIGHT NOW. This is worrisome but actually manageable. The keys to successfully re-integrating are starting to re-engage slowly (with supervision) and keeping the COVID safety rules clear and simple.  Despite our desires to go back to ‘normal’ life, there’s still a lot of uncertainty in our world. Without a vaccine, wide-range testing and public cooperation around safety precautions, there remains a high risk for all of us in terms of contagion, even if the nice spring weather fools us into thinking we are safe. This means that there’s no real rush to re-integrate except in our kids’ minds. They are so fed up with being isolated, attending school online and missing their friends. It’s hard normally for kids with ADHD to be patient: now, it’s almost impossible. They want aspects of their lives back and you also want them to. It’s just a question of how, what and when. Plus, transitioning back into the world when there’s no dependable solution for combatting or managing COVID-19 is naturally anxiety-provoking. For kids with ADHD and anxiety, this can feel overwhelming.  Collaboration is the key to a successful transition for your family. Work together to create a plan that opens your family up in ways that feel safe to you but include some of their ideas and desires. As the adult, of course, you have the final say. Strategize with them about how to re-integrate in stages, so they can exercise their needs for autonomy and you can see if they are following your guidelines. 

Here are four tips for easing this transition in your family:

Use guided free choice:

Many kids, especially tweens and teens, really want some authority over their lives after having no space from their parents. Brainstorm ideas about how to transition and stay open to their ideas. Narrow these down to solutions you agree on. Create a list of appropriate activities and behaviors. Let them pick one of these to try. When kids exert choices over their lives, they feel a greater sense of maturity and responsibility. We want to nurture this right now. If they can’t follow through or refuse to work with you, then they are showing you that they aren’t ready for the freedom they say that they want. Going out and being with other people is an earned privilege.

Start slowly:

It will take some time to build your trust of their consistency and follow-through on your agreements. Decide in advance how you can monitor their actions without being a helicopter parent. Consider trying social interactions where you can see them: in your backyard, going to a park together, outside on the front steps. Are they wearing a mask? Are they staying six to eight feet apart? You can review how things went afterwards and appreciate their efforts when they cooperate.

Share important facts:

This generation has the world at their fingertips. They can research anything they want to know and often they do. But they are also susceptible to misinformation and rumors. Stay informed about the latest COVID safety recommendations and how the virus is spread. Share these basic facts with your kids (and the sources with tweens and teens who may doubt you). This will help reduce their anxiety and give you a chance to answer their questions. Talk about what recommendations make sense for your family, regardless of what other people are doing. Remind them that people have different levels of comfort with risk and we need to respect that.

Plan for setbacks:

Rather than being surprised when kids violate your guidelines and beginning World War 3, predict and explore the difficulties you foresee. Ask them to do the same. Discuss possible consequences for their choices in terms of accountability and learning new skills. If your teen son drives other kids in his car without your permission, even if they kept their masks on, then maybe he’s not ready to drive alone yet. He’ll need to sanitize the car and have friends over the backyard for a week or two to hang out until he re-establishes your trust. If your sixth grader goes rollerblading and you spot her whizzing by without her mask, then maybe she’s not ready for excursions to the park like that and has to practice activities with her mask on. Be prepared for times when your son or daughter comes up with the most creative ways to work around the rules as only kids with ADHD can do. If this happens, take a deep breath, wait to respond until everybody’s cooled down and then have a calm conversation. Go back to your agreement and review the family’s guidelines. Hang in there. With your practice, you’ll figure this out!

Grown & Flown: Psychologist Offers 5 Ways to Help Reduce Your Family’s Stress and Anxiety

This new “normal” isn’t anything we’re accustomed to. With school closures, social distancing, working from home, job lay-offs and 24/7 family time, everybody is making huge adjustments to the massive disruption wrought by this crisis. While we adults struggle to wrap our brains around these changes, it’s even harder for children and teens who may not understand why they are home. They’re now separated from friends, family, school, and extracurriculars. They feel ripped off and lack a sense of control about their lives. And then there’s the worry. We’re concerned for our loved ones while simultaneously feeling helpless to protect them and ourselves. Click the logo below to read on!

Sheryl’s Podcouch Episode 025 – What Your Child with ADHD Wishes You Knew with Dr. Sharon Saline

Dr. Sharon Saline a clinical psychologist in private practice in Massachusetts who is a top expert in how ADHD, learning disabilities and mental health issues affect children, teens and families. Dr. Saline has worked extensively with schools on mental health issues in the classroom, interpreting psychological evaluations and improving teacher/parent communication. Her unique perspective, namely growing up in a household with a sibling who wrestled with untreated ADHD, combined with decades of clinical expertise, assists her in guiding families from the maze of emotions, conflict and stress toward successful dialog, interventions and connection. Click logo below to read more.

Parenting Impossible Podcast EP 50: Making a Long-Term Plan

It’s been months since many of us across the nation have had to change our way of life. It’s a difficult time for everyone, but having a child with special needs comes with additional obstacles. In this edition of Parenting Impossible, Annette speaks with licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Sharon Saline. Dr. Saline is a top expert on ADHD, anxiety, learning differences and mental health challenges and their impact on school and family dynamics. Annette and Dr. Saline begin their conversation with a discussion about school cancellations and the added difficulties children with neurodiversity are facing during these unprecedented times. Some of these issues include missing their friends, lacking classroom cues from other students, and harboring feelings of anxiety, hopelessness, and anger. Click logo below to read more and listen.

22 News Mass Appeal: Insight on helping kids cope with insecurity

(Mass Appeal) – The COVID-19 pandemic has turned lives upside down and it’s leaving many kids feeling more and more insecure. Clinical Psychologist Dr. Sharon Saline of DrSharonSaline.com, joined us with advice on helping children remember who they are. First, stated Dr. Saline, is normalize their feelings. Uncertainty is really the norm because we are separated from so many aspects of normal life. It’s reassuring to let them know the feelings they are experiencing are normal. Next, help them recall memories of who they are with pictures and video. They are currently unable to participate in the activities that define them, whether it be school, sports, chess club – all of this is on hold. Looking back on past accomplishments can help them stay in touch with who they are. Finally, pay attention to what they are doing well and don’t skimp on the hugs! Click logo below to read more.

Psychology Today: 5 COVID-19 Survival Tips for Teens and Young Adults with ADHD

Is the continuing COVID-19 shelter-in-place getting you down? Do you feel like you are losing your independent identity and morphing back into a younger self? You are not alone. Many older teens and young adults with ADHD feel increasingly frustrated, lost, worried, or depressed. Unsure of the future and unhappy with the present, it’s hard to know what to do or where to go. Here are some comments I’ve been hearing lately. Do any of these sound familiar? Click logo below to read more.