MENTAL HEALTH TRENDSI recently gave a talk at a conference on the Emerging Trends with Mental Health and Developmental Disorders in Children & Adolescents. When we think of today’s younger generations, Gen Z or the newly coined Alphas, some may assume that the majority of these kids are confident, tech savvy, digital experts. However, when investigating the current trends and research, it is evident that children today are less optimistic, less happy, less satisfied with their live...

These Devices might be Smart, but we Must Be Smarter!In today's digital age, smartphones and other devices have become an integral part of our lives. While they offer numerous benefits, including connectivity, a sense of belonging and access to information, they also come with potential risks, especially for young children and adolescents. Based on my over 25 years of working with children, I would recommend delaying smartphones until high school around the age of 12 or 13. If your child alrea...

I recently contributed to a story on the Channel 10 program The Project about screentime and what effect this can have on children and adolescent's mental heath.The question of 'how much screentime is appropriate for my child or teen' is a topic I discuss every day with parents, children and teenagers. A 2021 poll found that it was the number one health concern for Australian parents' for their kids, ahead of cyberbyllying and diets. There was a study published in November 2023 in the N...

Neurodiversity is a term originally coined by Australian sociologist, Judy Singer, in the late-1990s. Neurodiversity has been referred to as  ‘’…the virtually infinite neuro-cognitive variability within Earth’s human population.? It points to the fact that every human has a unique nervous system with a unique combination of abilities and needs.”  Neurodiversity is the idea that there’s natural variation in how people’s brains work&nbs...