Blog

  • From Struggle to Success: How Accommodations at School Can Transform Your Child’s Life

    From Struggle to Success: How Accommodations at School Can Transform Your Child’s Life

    Every student is unique: some children are naturally eager students who pick things up quickly. Some kids learn by doing. Some kids demonstrate fabulous talents in certain areas, but struggle significantly in other subjects. Some kids aim to please while others seem to enjoy chaos. Despite their personality differences, schools……

  • Are You an Extroverted-Introvert? Take This Quiz to Find Out!

    Are You an Extroverted-Introvert? Take This Quiz to Find Out!

    Note: This is just the title. There is no quiz. A while ago, four years I think, I was browsing YouTube for something to watch when I came across this video with the title “7 Signs You’re an Extroverted-Introvert!” When I saw this video, I snorted. There is no such……

  • Understanding Emotional Dysregulation in Looked-After Children: A Caregiver’s Perspective

    Understanding Emotional Dysregulation in Looked-After Children: A Caregiver’s Perspective

    What started as a fun karaoke night turned into one of the saddest tales I’ve ever experienced. The lyrics felt so sad and hopeless, and for the first time, I saw them without the masks they often wore. They let their guard down, and I felt the pain they had……

  • The good but breaking on the inside

    The good but breaking on the inside

    My parents are wonderful, and our family is harmonious — this is how most people view our family. “You are an independent child who needs no worrying over”, my parents would say about me. My mother would often recall the days after I was born after she commented on this……

  • Stand Up Against Smothering Anxiety

    Stand Up Against Smothering Anxiety

    I’ve had some anxiety growing up—the stress of exams and ever-growing workload—but never to a point where it prevented me from sleeping or other physical ailments. Actually, that’s me in denial. I have TMJ and acid reflux periodically, but stress and anxiety have become so prevalent in our society that……

  • The Role of Expectation Management in Success

    The Role of Expectation Management in Success

    At its core, expectation management is about aligning hopes with reality.  We’re taught to manage customers’ or employees’ expectations so they don’t become unwieldy, but the goal isn’t to settle for mediocrity; instead, it’s about being mutually transparent about what is realistically achievable.   Managing expectations is a vital skill that……

  • Are you biased and making assumptions? 

    Are you biased and making assumptions? 

    These are trick questions. Of course, you are. We all make assumptions, mostly subconsciously and automatically. They are mental shortcuts for our brains to help us learn and navigate the endless complexities of social interaction and decision-making in life. Assumptions are based on our past experiences or cultural influences, and……

  • People Danger is Real

    People Danger is Real

    The rat race starts young now! And it’s easy to get caught up in it.  As a parent of college-bound teens, I live the frenzy that often results from students (and parents) thinking that the rest of their lives are dictated by their college acceptance letters. High-achieving teens aim, at……

  • Advancing Behavioral Healthcare through VR & Machine Learning: A Conversation with Dr. Marc Lanovaz

    Advancing Behavioral Healthcare through VR & Machine Learning: A Conversation with Dr. Marc Lanovaz

    In this riveting interview, we have Dr. Marc Lanovaz, a University of Montreal professor at the forefront of integrating data science and machine learning in behavioral healthcare. We discuss the impact of cultural relevancy in behavior analysis, how machine learning can improve clinical decision-making in mental health, and a groundbreaking……

  • 2024 Can Be A Year For Healing

    2024 Can Be A Year For Healing

    My 2024 started with morning cycling and an afternoon 5-mile hike with family. My dad is the one in the picture below. This is what 80 can look like. My father has traveled every continent and still adventures. My kids nicknamed my dad “cheetah grandpa”👴 for obvious reasons.  He is……

  • 4 Steps to Creating Success

    4 Steps to Creating Success

    At a recent holiday gathering, a family member said his son “must go to one of the top 10 schools” to do well and have options in life. Like many well-meaning parents, this dad arranged a robust early reading and math instruction regimen, enrichment activities, and daily homework to build……

  • Does your economic output = your value? (The Source of Loneliness)

    Does your economic output = your value? (The Source of Loneliness)

    When I was little, my family moved every two or three years for my dad’s businesses, and each move killed my friendships and social life. Have you tried comforting your kids when they’re bullied or excluded? (Or maybe you know, from personal experience, how horrible it feels that you even……