A client says, “I can’t get started.” That is an important clinical observation. It is also incredibly ambiguous. How many possible diagnoses or explanations have already flashed through your mind? Difficulty initiating tasks is frequently associated with ADHD. But “I can’t get started” is not an ADHD symptom with only one possible meaning. It is a description of an experience—and many different processes can produce that experience. What Does “I Can’t Get Started” Actually M

For a time, children with chronic irritability, severe emotional outbursts, and dramatic shifts in behavior were increasingly diagnosed with pediatric bipolar disorder. The reasoning seemed plausible. These children could be intensely reactive, impulsive, aggressive, distractible, and difficult to settle. Their emotions sometimes appeared to shift rapidly. Because irritability can occur during mania, some clinicians began to view this pattern as a childhood version of bipolar

We always talk about how to do an assessment, but what about how to end the testing?

Psychology has some troubling aspects in its history, including asylums, electric shock therapies, and non-regulated experimentation. It's important to acknowledge that when we learn better, we do better. However, this doesn't mean we shouldn't know about and respect the origins of our current practices.

It might never be ADHD. When is the assessment not correct?

When evaluating young children for possible learning difficulties, it's important to understand the categories defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA). This legislation provides a framework for identifying specific types of learning disabilities, which are critical for determining eligibility for special education services. While we are covering how IDEA defines these areas today, it’s also important to keep in mind that the schoo