How can I ensure social media safety for students with special needs?
January 10, 2013
Q: At the therapeutic day school where I work, we’ve been encountering a number of internet and social media issues with our students (all kids with emotional/behavioral special needs). I would love to get your thoughts and ideas on how to best educate our kids and their parents on how to understand and appropriately use […]
December 16, 2012
Q: I am the mother of a 5 year old, an 8 year old and a 12 year old. I am numb with grief, fear, and rage… yes, rage. Rage at myself and at my society, more than anything else. I am numb, but not immobile. Last night I went through all of our DVDs […]
November 15, 2012
Q: Our 18-year-old son started playing video games at age 9 and became addicted gradually. We struggled with him over the years to limit the time he was online. It became the center of his world, especially when he hit puberty and was dealing with insecurity, anxiety, and depression. The games became more and more […]
September 7, 2012
Q: I found out that my 15-year-old daughter has a profile on a social network site where she has pornographic conversations with boys. Is this normal teenage behavior? How can I get through to her without driving her further into secrecy?
August 22, 2012
Q: My 16-year-old son loves playing role-play games on the Internet. We recently became concerned, though, when we found out that the plots often involve torture. We are wondering why he is attracted to this kind of play and if there are any long or short term risks we should know about. We wonder if […]
July 31, 2012
Q: We have stopped our 17-year-old daughter from using Facebook a number of times due to angry and inappropriate postings. We put unrecognizable passwords in, but she keeps creating or restarting Facebook pages. I believe she has one now, and I can’t find it. She has probably blocked me. Is there any way of totally […]
July 24, 2012
Q: My 14 year old son has been anticipating the release of the new Batman movie ever since he saw the trailer last year. He pre-ordered his tickets for opening weekend and was all set to go with friends when he heard about the theater shooting at the midnight showing in Aurora Colorado. The news […]
June 14, 2012
Q: I live in a big city with my 3 year old son and 1 year old daughter, and I’ve noticed that children who live in such cities spend a lot of time playing on cement playgrounds and on the Web. I know that spending time in nature is good for children’s development, but how […]
May 8, 2012
Q: My 10-year-old son will be starting middle school in the fall. So far, he has had a pretty sheltered, drama-free experience at a great elementary school. I want him to be aware that bullying goes on and that he needs to tell someone if anything like that ever happens to him. I have thought […]
May 3, 2012
Q: My son is 15 and displays symptoms of video game addiction, including lying and sneaking to try to gain access. He has Asperger’s and ADHD, and regardless of what medication regimen we try, the gaming obsession remains. I recently asked the psychiatrist to hospitalize him and treat him as they would other addicts, but […]