Recent Blog Posts from CNLD Testing & Therapy
How to Deal with Masking Exhaustion and Autism Burnout
Most people with autism use some form of masking to get through the day. This process helps them interact with other people, but it can be incredibly exhausting at times. …
What Does Neurodivergent Mean?
The term “neurodivergent” was coined back in 1998, but it didn’t become colloquialized until recent years. You may have heard people online refer to themselves as “neuro-spicy,” which means that …
Schedule Your Stress Early in the Day (You Read That Right!)
Stress is inevitable. We all feel it. We all try to ignore it. We all succumb to it eventually. Instead of letting your stress control your life, you can take …
Sleep Routine Tips for Hybrid Workers
More than half (58%) of working adults in America have hybrid work options available to them. The widespread stay-at-home orders during the early days of the pandemic catapulted the need …
Actionable Resolutions for Your Mental Health
Did you know that 80% of New Year’s resolutions don’t come to fruition? We all start the year with lofty goals, only to fall right back into old routines before …
Plan ahead for Your 2023 Mental Health Days
Does your employer offer mental health days? If so, now is the perfect time to plan for them! Most people think of mental health days as time off to take …
How to Improve Your Child’s Critical Thinking Skills
Oxford Languages defines critical thinking as “the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.” It is the ability to interpret a question or situation …
Mental Health Support for Foster Parents
Being a foster parent is incredibly rewarding, but it can take a toll on your mental health. You must provide a positive environment for trauma-informed recovery while facing the general …
Is Delayed Speech a Sign of Autism?
Are you worried about your child’s speech development? Not sure if you should pursue an autism screening? Early diagnosis is always ideal because it allows for early intervention. Children who …
Why Do I Get Sad in the Fall?
Some people love the shift from summer to fall. The crisp breeze in the air ignites their fondest memories. For others, the fall is a dreaded time of year. This …
Work/Life Balance Tips for Workaholics
Are you struggling to balance your work and personal life? Nearly half of working Americans (48%) consider themselves workaholics. Working from home further blurs the line between work and family, …
Executive Function Coaching for Brain Fog
Do you experience mental delays throughout the day? This could be anything from forgetting essential tasks to not remembering what you’re doing at the moment. Brain fog is prevalent in …
Dyslexia FAQs: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments
Dyslexia is the most prevalent learning disability among children and adults. It impacts school and daily life, often in unexpected ways. This comprehensive guide explains what dyslexia is, how its …
Stress Management Tips for Parents
Parenting is a stressful job. You’re on call 24 hours a day, and you still have to manage the rest of your life around your kids’ needs. Approximately 7.5 million …
Helping Your Child Handle School Anxiety
School is back in session and so is school anxiety. Many students are transitioning to in-person schooling this year after two years of virtual learning. They have limited social skills, …
How to Prepare for Seasonal Depression
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a common experience in fall and winter. The cold weather, limited sunlight and holiday stress create the perfect recipe for mental health trouble. If you’re …
How to Fix Brain Fog
Do you feel like your brain isn’t firing on all cylinders right now? Are you easily confused or frustrated because you’re having a hard time processing information? These are common …
How Autism Is Diagnosed
Not sure if your child has autism spectrum disorder? Think you may have autism as an adult, but you’ve never officially been diagnosed? A professional evaluation will answer all of …
Plan the Perfect Mental Wellness Staycation
Take a vacation? In this economy? Psssssssssh, please. A weekend beach getaway might not be in the cards right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your time off. …
25 Weeks to Better Mental Health – Mental Health Awareness Calendar
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we want to celebrate it by jumpstarting your mental health journey. There are tons of 30-day mental health calendars online, but the reality …
How to Get out of a Depression Rut
Do you feel stuck in a rut? Not sure when it’s going to end or how you’ll get out of it? Every depressive episode is different, but there are some …
How Long Should a Child’s Attention Span Be?
Children are known for having short attention spans, but how short is too short? Is your child just an excited kid with a lot on his mind, or is there …
Does My Child Have ADHD or Just High Energy?
Children are hyper by nature. Their minds are running a million miles an hour, and their bodies want to move just as fast. This is why some children with ADHD …
Can a Student Get an IEP for Test Anxiety?
Test anxiety has become increasingly common in America, especially with the increase in standardized testing requirements. As much as 20% of students experience high levels of test anxiety, and another …
What to Expect during Your ADHD Screening
Think your child has ADHD? Need an official diagnosis to pursue treatment and academic support? The ADHD screening process is a little different for everyone, depending on symptoms, age and …
Stress Management Tips That Focus on Solutions
You thought life would be easy peasy, but it turned out to be stressy depressy. What can you do to manage your stress and make a positive impact on your …
What Is Dyslexia and What are Some Symptoms?
Dyslexia is the most common learning disability in the United States. In fact, you probably know at least one person who has dyslexia. What are the symptoms for dyslexia, and …
Will ADHD Go away with Time?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects people from every age group and every walk of life. ADHD is often associated with younger age groups, but there are plenty of adults …
Winter Mental Health Tips for Holiday Gatherings
Family gatherings and holiday events aren’t exciting for everyone. In many cases, the mere thought of seeing family for the holidays is enough to induce a panic attack. If you’re …
Are Therapy Sessions Confidential?
In order for therapy to truly be effective, you need to be vulnerable during your therapy sessions. This may mean sharing secrets or talking about past experience that you’ve never …
How to Overcome Test Anxiety
If you or your child suffers from test anxiety, getting through school may feel impossible. Anywhere from 10% to 40% of students experience some form of test anxiety, according to …
What Causes Test Anxiety?
Most students face some nervousness before a test, but for many, those nerves become debilitating. This is when general nervousness crosses the line into test anxiety. If you or your …
What Does an Educational Advocate Do?
Educational advocates play a vital role in helping parents and students access academic accommodations. There are many resources that students with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, intellectual delays, and …
How Do I Know If My Child Is Dyslexic?
Worried about your child’s reading and writing skills? Feel like your child isn’t developing at the same pace as their peers? These are common reasons parents seek dyslexia testing. In …
Why It’s OK to Go to Bed Angry
Long ago, someone made a rule that couples should “never go to bed angry.” While that may work for some situations, most deep discussions cannot be neatly packaged into an …
Couples Conflict Resolution: How to Stop Circular Arguments
“We have the same argument over and over.” This is one of the most common statements we hear in couples therapy sessions. If it feels like your fights never go …
Does Anxiety Treatment Work without Medication?
Over 40 million adults in America have anxiety, but only 36.9% of them receive treatment. Most forms of anxiety are highly treatable, either with counseling, with medication, or with a …
Does Mental Health Affect Physical Health?
Let’s face it. You’ve been ignoring your mental health needs. “I don’t want to work on my anxiety, so I’ll just deal with it for now.” But what happens when …
How to Get Better Sleep for Better Mental Health
Did you know that a good night of sleep could actually improve your mental health? Approximately 35% of American adults get less than seven hours of sleep per night, and …
What Atypical Got Wrong about Autism – Part 2
In the first part of our Atypical review, we discussed the accurate ways Netflix portrayed autism spectrum disorder in their hit show. There were some notable missteps though that are …
Is Atypical an Accurate Representation of Autism?
Netflix recently released the fourth and final season of Atypical. The show highlights one character’s transition into adulthood and how autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts that journey. The question is: …
Are ADHD and ADD the Same Thing?
ADHD and ADD have become part of our everyday language, but there was a time when people with attention disorders went undiagnosed and underserved. Once known as hyperkinetic impulse disorder, …
Autism FAQs: Diagnosis and Autism Treatment
In our autism FAQs series, we’ve already discussed Autism Causes and Symptoms. Now we’re going to look at how autism is diagnosed, how to treat autism, and how to cure …
Autism FAQs: Autism Symptoms and Causes
Autism didn’t become an official diagnosis until the 1980’s, and researchers are still trying to demystify the condition 30 years later. There have been many advancements in the way autism …
How to Reduce Screen Time and Boost Your Mental Health
In the first part of this discussion, we explored the mental health effects of screen time on children and adults. Some screen exposure is unavoidable, such as work obligations or …
How Does Screen Exposure Affect Mental Health?
Screen time is inherently bad for your mental health, but in the post-pandemic world, it’s mostly unavoidable. Many adults, teens and children have shifted to working from home or taking …
Psychological Testing vs. Neuropsychological Testing – What’s the Difference?
The terms psychological testing and neuropsychological testing are often used interchangeably, but they involve different evaluation approaches. Both types of assessments are designed to help a person understand the underlying …
What to Expect at Your First Therapy Session
If you’re seeing a therapist for the first time, you may be apprehensive about the process. How does therapy work? What should you expect at your first therapy session? Is …
Special Education Plans: IEP vs. IEE vs. 504 Plans
Do you think your child needs special education services? Do you feel like your child’s school is not sufficiently accommodating his or her environmental and academic needs? Your child may …
Is Teletherapy as Effective as In-Person Therapy?
Teletherapy has become increasingly popular over the last few years. What started as a convenient alternative to in-person therapy has become a mental health staple in the COVID-19 pandemic. CNLD …
How to Cope with Mental Health Struggles during COVID-19
The COVID-19 outbreak marks an unprecedented time in world history. You are living through a global pandemic, all while trying to maintain a sense of normality. It’s no wonder your …
Can Learning Disabilities Be Cured?
Learning disabilities affect all areas of life, not just education. Difficulty reading, writing and processing information can result in mental health challenges, social dilemmas, and daily frustrations. If you’ve gone …
Ann Arbor Psychotherapy: Supporting a Grieving Friend or Family Member
Often friends and family do not know how to support someone who is grieving, it can be uncomfortable, and many people lack the tools to know where to start. Psychologists …
Ann Arbor Psychotherapy: Let’s Talk About Depression
Have you ever heard people say, “I feel depressed today” or “Man, I’m so depressed right now!” – many people use the word “depressed” in casual conversation without understanding what …
Mental Health in Ann Arbor: What is Schizophrenia?
Have you ever wondered what is Schizophrenia? It is common to have heard about Schizophrenia but to not know much about it. Schizophrenia originates from the Greek language and was …
Autism in Ann Arbor: The Disappearance of Asperger’s Syndrome
Where did Asperger’s syndrome go? For years people were diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, considered by many to be a “less severe” version of Autism. In 2013, Asperger’s syndrome was removed …
Ann Arbor Lifestyle: Making Realistic Resolutions and Goals
The New Year tends to be a time when people decide to make resolutions, start the year with a blank slate and work towards new goals. Deciding what resolutions to …
Ann Arbor Neuropsychology: Exercise and Brain Health
Doctors continually tell patients how important exercise is for physical health and disease prevention. Research tells us exercising decreases the likelihood of heart disease, stroke, obesity, cancer, and diabetes. But …
Executive Function Coaching in Ann Arbor: Can Your Brain Really Multitask?
Recently, multitasking has become a popular buzzword, many people consider their ability to multitask a strength and a skill. Most everyone tries to multitask at some point during their day. …
Ann Arbor Psychotherapy: Meditation for Stress and Anxiety
Did you know that meditation can help you manage your stress, anxiety and make you more productive? Meditation can positively impact your mental health by increasing mindfulness, reducing stress, rumination …
Ann Arbor Psychotherapy: Managing Stress in Your Life
Stress can affect your physical body, your thoughts, feelings and actions. It can be the reason for your headaches, sleep problems and why you feel overwhelmed, unable to focus or …
Ann Arbor Psychotherapy: Why Do We Act the Way We Do?
We often wonder why we do the things we do, why we act in certain ways and what guides our interactions with others. There are different theories regarding human behavior …
Depression in Ann Arbor: College Students and Depression
College students are dealing with a lot of big life changes and transitions. Many times, they are experiencing new levels of stress and anxiety, and do not always know how …
ADHD in Ann Arbor: What is ADHD? Evolution in Understanding Over Time
Many individuals are confused about what is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. At CNLD, we utilize the work of various researchers in the field to help explain. One individual who provides …
Transgender and Gender Nonconforming in Ann Arbor: New Guidelines for Treatment
Transgender and gender nonconforming individuals experience severe discrimination that has a significant effect on mental health leading to high rates of depression and suicide. Unfortunately, people in the trans community …
Ann Arbor Learning Disabilities and ADHD: Local School Showing Informative Film
Next month, Emerson School in Ann Arbor will be one of the first to screen the film NORMAL ISN’T REAL – Succeeding with Learning Disabilities and ADHD. It will be shown …
Ann Arbor Executive Function Coaching: Do Extracurricular Activities improve Executive Functioning?
Dr. Lisa Woodcock-Burroughs, Ph.D., Assistant Director Youth from many backgrounds participate in extracurricular activities such as sports, clubs, music, dance, etc. Among high school students, this participation has been linked …
Ann Arbor Neuropsychology: Working Memory- Limitations
Working Memory- Limitations: Short-term memory is believed to hold 7 to 9 pieces of information, while working memory is thought to hold 3 to 5 elements of new information. …
Ann Arbor Neuropsychology: Working Memory- What is it?
Tips for Understanding Working Memory: Confusion exists regarding the difference between short-term memory and working memory. Some psychologists believe they are one and the same. Other psychologists differentiate between short-term …
ADHD In Ann Arbor: Parenting a Child with ADHD
Parenting a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is no easy feat. In addition to the typical trials of being a parent, children with ADHD can have school and home …
Ann Arbor Executive Function Coaching: Coach’s Tip
When you have an upcoming exam, consider making a study plan. “Many days. Many ways.” is a helpful way to remember your overall goals for studying. Think about a variety …
Ann Arbor Neuropsychology: Metaphors for the Brain
In the 1960s, a “cognitive revolution” occurred in psychology whereby the computer metaphor for brain function was introduced. Think of this metaphor as a simplified way of understanding how the …
