Successful Treatment for High-Functioning Autism Spectrum

By sunrisertc|2024-03-04T16:59:09-06:00November 29th, 2011|Autism Spectrum / Aspergers|

Many programs that treat emotional and behavioral disorders will not accept students with high-functioning autism-spectrum disorders like Aspergerâ€™s Syndrome, referring those students instead to programs that deal exclusively with neurobiological issues. This effectively segregates young people with autism-spectrum disorders from other populations. â€œI think that in many cases, this is a mistakeâ€¦a missed opportunity,â€ says Utah-based psychotherapist, David Prior, LMFT. â€œMy preference is to judiciously mix different populations in a treatment setting so that patients are challenged to learn new styles of interacting with different kinds of people. This is especially true with spectrum disorders.â€

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Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving

By sunrisertc|2024-03-04T14:38:07-06:00November 21st, 2011|Life at Sunrise|

While gratitude has been long been celebrated as a spiritual and philosophical virtue, psychologists are discovering that an attitude of thanksgiving can also have a powerful, positive impact on psychological well being. Researchers credit the act of giving thanks with everything from stronger parent-child relationships and more satisfying friendships to better sex.

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Healthy Recreation Habits for When your Teen Comes Home

By sunrisertc|2024-03-04T16:59:13-06:00November 11th, 2011|Transition|

ccording to certified recreational therapist, Corey Hickman, todayâ€™s teens are experiencing a recreational crisis. â€œThe students I see nowadays typically engage in recreation almost exclusively from a seated position,â€ says Hickman, who is the residential life director for Sunrise RTC, a treatment program for adolescent girls with emotional and behavioral issues. â€œMany of our students arrive at Sunrise addicted to video games, television, or social media,â€ says Hickman, â€œwhich typically means that theyâ€™re not engaged in more physical or social forms of recreation.â€

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Lying and Adolescence

By sunrisertc|2024-03-04T16:20:20-06:00November 4th, 2011|Relationships|

NEVER TRUST AN ADOLESCENT! Okay, I should qualify that. In general, donâ€™t offer complete and unreserved trust to a teenager. Why not? For the same reason you shouldnâ€™t fully trust someone to fly a plane if theyâ€™ve never flown a plane before. Teens are a bit like untested pilots. They are in the cockpit of a powerful machine--namely their rapidly morphing bodies and brains--that is new, powerful, and a bit out of their control. Theyâ€™re still learning what all those levers and buttons do and how to navigate, steer, and land without crashing.

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ODD vs Normal Teen Arguing

By sunrisertc|2011-11-02T10:04:23-06:00November 2nd, 2011|Relationships|

Arguing, says Hinman, is not only normal adolescent behavior--itâ€™s developmentally necessary. Adolescence is a time of experimenting with and forging new levels of autonomy. Part of that process is learning how to express independent opinions that run contrary to those in authority. Your job is to help guide that behavior so that it evolves into normal adult independence, rather than chronic contrarianism or a disorder like ODD (oppositional defiant disorder). So as far as effective parenting goes, the question is not whether or not your adolescent will argue with you (they will), but how you should engage that behavior.

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