Dr. Mariëtte Hofstede – Psychologist

Do you have problems with learning, behaviour, emotions or performance?

Does your child have learning, behaviour, emotional or performance problems?

Do you suspect intellectual giftedness? Cialis Super Active: the new era of a powerful tool in a man’s sexual arsenal

Are you in distress or bereaved?

Services for children, adolescents and adults. Hair Regrowth: How Propecia May Be Able to Help You

Synopsis of Services

Assessment and diagnosis of disorders, learning needs and vocational needs

Counselling and assessment services for educational, vocational, behavioural, performance and emotional difficulties.
Learning disabilities, reading disability, ADHD, developmental delay, autism and giftedness.
Assessment of strengths and needs.
Recommendations for accommodations to tests, exams and professional licensing exams.
Mental health disorders: anxiety, depression, trauma, bereavement, etc.

Counselling to help you gain control

Performance enhancement.
Management of anxiety and depression.
Coping strategies for learning disabilities, ADHD, autism and organizational skills.

Professional development services for psychologists and educators

Psychological assessment.
Systems approaches to the prevention of academic and mental health problems.
Supervision for psychologists and psychological associates.

Ten-year-old Paul has a stomach ache and asks to stay home from school. When he is at school, he asks his teacher repeatedly to call home for his mother to pick him up early because he is not well. He worries that his mother might get kidnapped or hurt. Fourteen-year-old Samantha frequently stays home from school after her parents leave for work. She tells them that it is a “rough school” and “too dangerous.” Some might say these students are showing “school phobia,” while in fact their avoidance of school is their attempt to reunite with the parent or caregiver. Their recurring symptoms are signs of separation anxiety.

Separation anxiety begins before age 18. It causes significant distress or interference with children’s functioning at school, socially, and in other important areas of their lives. Developmentally, separation fears are normal in infants and toddlers. It is not uncommon for four-year-olds to cling to their parent or cry on the first day of Junior Kindergarten. But, by school age, children usually overcome their fears of separation.

By middle childhood, expect your child to be able to go to school without a fuss. He or she should be able to remain at school or with a caregiver without making non-emergency calls to a parent. Your child should have no problems returning to school in September or after a holiday, despite their anticipation or excitement or disappointment or concern.

Adolescents will deny feeling anxious about separation. However, reluctance to leave home and avoidance of independent activities, particularly school, could indicate separation anxiety. An adolescent showing separation anxiety will need therapy.

Children at any age, who believe that their parent might come to harm or leave them, could develop separation anxiety. Their worries can become overwhelming when a parent is ill with a life-limiting illness, or when parents are separating, or when one parent has died. Where it is realistic, reassure your child about their continuing contact with you, or alternate arrangements in your absence. Nolvadex Kopen: Helpen de voordelen echt? Werkt het echt?

If your child is showing signs of separation anxiety, consider whether their fear is more severe than the situation would warrant. If so, you need to take action:

Keep to a consistent morning routine.
Get advice from your family physician on symptoms of illness that require staying at home; otherwise, send the child to school.
If you are fearful about your child being separated from you, seek professional advice on ways to keep your child safe while allowing them age-appropriate independence.
Advise the child’s teacher of the problem and enlist his or her help with the daily transition into school.
Keep in regular contact with the child’s teacher to monitor her progress at school.

Teachers can help too:

Provide consistent arrival routines in the classroom.
Provide incentives for arriving on time and for good attendance, like rewards or special responsibilities for “early birds.”
Establish clear rules about phoning home only in emergencies.
Maintain a positive focus with the child, and praise them for their progress.
Pair the child with a classmate buddy to meet him in the playground and come into class together.
Document the fearful behaviours and their frequency for discussion with the parents.

Cognitive behaviour therapy is an effective treatment for separation anxiety. This work engages the child in discussions about their specific fears and beliefs. It helps the child to tell when a fear is not so scary after all, and how to cope when it is scary. The therapy is geared to the child’s development. Viagra super active: Hier is de realiteit betreffende het originele erectiele disfunctie geneesmiddel

Psychologists are regulated health care professionals who treat separation anxiety, often using cognitive behaviour therapy. Psychologists in private practice receive referrals directly from parents. They can provide valuable treatment to children and advice to parents and teachers.

Dr. Mariëtte Hofstede, Psychologist

Reaching your achievement potential

February is the month of “the winter blahs.” Children, too, get the blahs, especially when activities are largely restricted to indoors, with limited opportunities to get out and socialize. But when do the winter blahs turn into the more serious problem of depression in children? How can parents tell the difference? And, what can you do if your child is depressed?

Feeling sad, unhappy, bored, or “down” are common experiences for children and adults alike; but most children bounce back quickly. It is only when a number of symptoms of depression persist for two weeks or more that a child might be considered to be clinically depressed.

Symptoms of depression in children include:

A depressed or irritable mood
Lose interest or pleasure in almost all activities
Loss of appetite, weight loss, or failure to make expected weight gains
Sleep too much or have problems sleeping, or show fatigue or loss of energy
Motor agitation, or reduced motor activity
Children might blame themselves or call themselves “stupid” for small mistakes
Think frequently about death or suicide
Younger children are more likely to complain about stomach aches or other ailments and fears
Adolescents are more likely to become sulky, overly emotional, and withdrawn, or to get in trouble for antisocial behaviours
Girls are likely to show sadness or to withdraw from normal activities
Boys are more likely to show aggressive behaviours

You are likely to see some of these symptoms in your child at some time, but one symptom does not mean your child is depressed. A professional diagnosis by a Psychologist, Psychological Associate, or Psychiatrist is needed.

What can parents do to help their children to cope with the winter blahs and to prevent depression in their children?

Try to catch your child doing something good, and praise him or her for it. Depressed children have to be told that they do some things right, and be encouraged to keep up the good work.
As much as possible, try to maintain stability in the family. Stick with your household routines, bedtimes, and rules. If you have a change in your family or your routines, tell your children what the change is and why it is happening. Tell them what will happen to them and what they will be doing that is different.
Make sure that your child gets enough physical exercise and recreational activities. Physical activities help us to produce endorphins, a chemical in the brain that has been related to feeling good. Check out your local recreation centre for activities of interest to your child that he or she could join. Help your child to invite a friend so they can go together. Encourage the reluctant child to “try once.”
Ask your child what he or she will be doing when he or she feels better. Try to engage your child in that activity. By doing something enjoyable, the child will soon start to feel better. Your child doesn’t have to feel better before doing something enjoyable. Doing an enjoyable activity will lead the child to feeling better.
If you are concerned that your child shows persistent symptoms of depression, consult with your family physician or a Psychologist.

Stress occurs when

The experience is that:

The perceived demands of the situation are greater than the perceived resources (or ways of coping) and
The outcome is deemed to be important

Symptoms of Stress

W Withdrawal

A Anxiety

M Misbehaviour

I Illness

Coping Strategies

A Adapt

D Discuss

A Activities

P Play / relax

T Teach coping strategies

Anxiety markers – the F words: Fear, Failure, Fool

Listen for your child saying these words to describe himself or herself.

Coping Strategies

Scheduling and time management
Organizers to track the schedule
Organizers to track necessary equipment
Ask, what would a good problem-solver do?
Knowing when to take a break
Knowing when to get back on task!

A Parent’s mission:

Don’t allow your child’s stress to interfere with reaching his or her achievement potential at school, in extra-curricular pursuits, or socially.

Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder, known as ADHD or ADD has received much attention in schools, clinics, and the media. Educators and parents who hear about this disorder might wonder whether their child or student might have ADHD.

Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder is a diagnosis that must be made by a qualified Psychologist, Psychological Associate, Psychiatrist, or Pediatrician.

These points can assist educators and parents in determining whether to refer a child for assessment and diagnosis:

Many of the symptoms of ADHD are also present in other childhood disorders, such as depression and anxiety disorder. The real cause of the symptoms must be determined through a diagnostic assessment.
Medical problems could interfere with a child’s attention and concentration. Be sure to get a medical examination that considers a wide range of causes of the symptoms.
ADHD symptoms, such as restlessness and inability concentrate, may occur as a reaction to various life stresses, such as separation of parents, death in the family, family violence, or financial strain. The symptoms may also be seen in children who have been abused. ADHD might not be the cause.
ADHD is a separate disorder from learning disabilities, although a student might have both disorders. Neither one causes the other.
Onset of the symptoms in adolescence is likely related to a different disorder.
A child must show the full range of symptoms of ADHD in at least 2 different settings, such as home and school, in order to be diagnosed with ADHD. Symptoms limited to one setting likely reflect a different disorder.
Youngsters who have the predominantly inattentive type of ADHD do not show excessive motor restlessness.

An assessment for ADHD usually includes questionnaires for parents and teachers to complete to describe the child’s functioning, as well as a complete developmental history. School reports from the elementary grades are helpful. Questionnaires take about 20 minutes to complete and are critical to gaining a complete picture of a child’s symptoms in various settings from people who know him or her best.

Further information is available through:

C.H.A.D.D., the support and advocacy group for parents of children with ADHD

http://www.attentiondeficitdisorder.ws/links/resourcesincanada.html

Teach ADHD, a resource from the Hospital for Sick Children

http://www.teachadhd.ca/Pages/default.aspx

Learning Disabilities occur when

Average abilities essential for thinking and reasoning
An impairment in one or more psychological processes related to learning:
- Phonological processing
- Memory and attention
- Processing speed
- Language processing
- Perceptual-motor processing
- Visual-spatial processing
- Executive functions (e.g. planning, monitoring, and metacognitive abilities)
Interfering with the acquisition and use of one or more of:
- Oral language (e.g. listening, speaking, understanding)
- Reading (e.g. decoding, comprehension)
- Written language (e.g. spelling, written expression)
- Mathematics (e.g. computation, problem solving)
May also cause difficulties with organizational skills, social perception, and social interaction.

Definition from the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario

http://www.Idao.ca

Developmental Disabilities occur when

Substantial limitations in functioning characterized by:

Significantly below average intellectual functioning
Concurrent deficits or impairment in adaptive functioning in at least two areas:
- Communication
- Self-care
- Home living
- Social / interpersonal skills
- Use of community resources
- Self-direction
- Functional academic skills
- Work
- Leisure activities
- Health care
- Safety
Onset is before age 18 years
Different levels of severity can be diagnosed

Further information is available from AAMR

http://www.aamr.org/About_AAMR/index.html

Other Learning Disorders Not Included in the Above Diagnoses

Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, and others
Reading Disorder, Mathematics Disorder, Disorder of Written Language
Developmental Coordination Disorder
Expressive Language Disorder, Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder, Phonological Disorder
Motivation problems and other clinical disorders

Contacts

Address

9 Fernwood Park Avenue

Toronto, ON

M4E 3E8

Phone

main

fax 416-690-9407

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