Blog

Susan Traylor says “When they see the cross on the table, they know someone has died.” The ‘they’ she is talking about are the many folks experiencing homelessness in our small community of Tarpon Springs, Florida. A few weeks ago, the cross was on the table for Terry. I knew him by sight but never knew his name. I observed him over the past few years quite often in a state that makes most people not only uncomfortable, but anxious and fearful as he argued with someone only he could see. He...

Michelle Esrick’s powerful and impactful TedTalk about her personal journey making her film Cracked Up . View at https://www.crackedupmovie.com/tedtalk In Cracked Up , director Michelle Esrick’s Award-winning documentary, we witness the impact that childhood trauma can have across a lifetime through the incredibly courageous and personal story of comedian, actor and Saturday Night Live legend Darrell Hammond. Renowned for his impressions of Bill Clinton, Sean Connery and hundreds more,...

Vitiligo is a disease that affects almost 3 million Brazilians and consists of the loss of skin color in certain body areas. Although there are numerous treatments to fight the condition, the most difficult aspect to cope with is other people’s prejudice toward those who suffer from it. João Stanganelli, now 64, began to show signs of vitiligo at 38. He worked in the gastronomy industry, but, due to a heart problem, his life radically changed last year. However, João didn’t allow this...

A majority of parents rarely, if ever, discuss race/ethnicity, gender, class or other categories of social identity with their kids, according to a new, nationally representative survey of more than 6,000 parents conducted by Sesame Workshop and NORC at the University of Chicago. The researchers behind Sesame Street say the fact that so many families aren't talking about these issues is a problem because children are hard-wired to notice differences at a young age — and they're asking...

Parents also have the power to prevent bullying by changing family dynamics. They may not know it, and they may not know how to do it.

Results come from survey by Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation Earlier this year, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation , in partnership with California’s Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission , surveyed 485 Californians, ages 13 to 24, about mental health, access to mental health services, and what they’d like to see in that area in California. The resulting report, “ California Youth Mental Health: Understanding Resource Availability and Preferences ,” was...

By Courtney E. Martin, The New York Times, September 24, 2019 When you hear the word “caregiver,” what image comes to mind? Most likely it is a woman in her 40s — someone tucking her children in with a phone call to her aging mother before bed. And in fact, this isn’t inaccurate. But did you know that of the 40 million family caregivers in America, nearly half of them are men? According to Jean Accius of AARP, these once invisible men are starting to “come out” publicly. Dr. Accius has...

On a sunny day in April, I drove to Head-Royce School in the hills of Oakland, California, to join circle time in Bret Turner ’s first-grade classroom. I had asked Turner if I could sit in on some lessons after reading an article he wrote describing how he teaches about some surprising topics -- like race and class -- in an elementary school classroom. I wanted to see what that looked like and what kind of conversations first-graders at this private school would have around such complicated...

"The reality of my own “adverse childhood experiences” is just catching up with me at age 73. My guess is I’m not alone."

By Joan L. Luby, Rebecca Tillman, Deanna M. Barch, JAMA Network Open, September 18, 2019 Question: Is there developmental timing and regional specificity to the associations among adverse childhood experiences, caregiver support, and structural brain development in childhood? Findings: This cohort study of 211 children and their caregivers during 4 waves of neuroimaging and behavioral assessments from preschool to adolescence found an association between the interaction of preschool adverse...

By Christina Bethell, Jennifer Jones, Narangerel Gombojav, et al., JAMA Pediatrics, September 9, 2019 Question : Are positive childhood experiences (PCEs) associated with adult depression and/or poor mental health (D/PMH) and adult-reported social and emotional support (ARSES) independent from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)? Findings : In this cross-sectional study, adults reporting higher PCEs had lower odds of D/PMH and greater ARSES after accounting for ACEs. The associations of...

By Juli Fraga, National Public Radio, September 8, 2019 "Before I became a dad, the thought of struggling to soothe my crying baby terrified me," says Yaka Oyo, 37, a new father who lives in New York City. Like many first-time parents, Oyo worried he would misread his newborn baby's cues. "I pictured myself pleading with my baby saying, 'What do you want?' " Oyo's anxieties are common to many first-time mothers and fathers. One reason parents-to-be sign up for prenatal classes is to have...