Students

Anxiety is a term that is often used in everyday conversation to describe our children, ourselves, or others around us. Anxiety is an emotion coupled with feelings of uneasiness, worry, and intrusive thoughts which may occur as a response to a present or perceived threat. When individuals feel anxious, they may experience physical symptoms such as an increased heart rate, sweating, increase in temperature, uneasy stomach, or restlessness. When anxious, thoughts may race through your mind that are difficult to...

Masking (sometimes referred to as camouflaging) is the tendency to suppress certain behaviors that might be related to neurodivergence. The term is most often used in the context of ADHD or Autistic individuals. If you are interested in learning more about neurodivergence, feel free to check out my other blog post: What is Neurodiversity #TipsToBloom. In summary: a neurodivergent individual diverges from the dominant social standards of typical neurocognitive functioning (they might have ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, or Down Syndrome). The...

Happy Pride Month! Pride month is the perfect time to reflect on our use of inclusive language in all aspects of our lives including parenting. Whether you know if your child identifies as 2SLGBTQIA+ or not, there are a few things you can do to make them feel more comfortable with sharing their identity, and supporting their peers as well. This includes language that includes various gender identities, diverse families, and romantic partners. Spectrum: Waterloo Regions Rainbow Community Space has recently...

The term neurodiversity describes the natural cognitive differences between individuals, including brain function and behavioral traits. Just like racial, gender, and cultural diversity, variations in neurotypes are natural and valuable forms of human diversity!  Someone who is neurodivergent diverges from the dominant social standards of typical neurocognitive functioning. These differences might include:  -ADHD -Autism -Dyslexia -Dyspraxia -Down Syndrome Contrary to the term neurodivergent, the term neurotypical refers to an individual whose neurocognitive functioning falls within the societal standards of typical. If your family includes individuals who are...

Guest Post By: Alyssa Sinicropi November 20th is National Child Day in Canada and World Children’s Day across the globe. This date commemorates when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and when they adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. While the United Nations set a universal standard for human rights in 1948 with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, children’s legal rights were recognized...