Tag

apps

Dec 05
15

Technology to Relieve Holiday Stress – Really?

By | NESCA Notes 2022

By Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS
Director of Consultation and Psychoeducational Counseling Services, NESCA

During this holiday season, life for most people gets a bit more hectic. Many of us feel more stressed, busy, and overwhelmed with everyday life as well as preparing for the holidays. Our children are stressed as well, as they feel our stress. Older students feel the end of semester stress of papers being due and final exams looming.

A client, who is a college student, called me the other day and said, “I am just so stressed and angry, I couldn’t wait ‘til my appointment. I am angry at nothing and everything. I am being hard on myself and others.” I reflected on these feelings, and we discussed that, at this time of year, many people feel more stress and have a “shorter fuse.” I reminded him that being angry at himself for being angry wasn’t the solution/remedy; that just intensifies the feeling. Instead, we talked about normalizing his feelings, remembering to focus on his breath, and have compassion. When we focus on our breath, we shift our attention away from the thoughts and feelings that make us spiral. This client plays video games, so introducing him to stress management apps/games was a “no brainer.” I reminded him to use the app at least once a day for a few minutes, especially during this holiday season. This practice helps him and can help all of us to establish a new habit of stress reduction to help us remember how to focus on our breath and shift our attention.

Since most adults and children are using technology daily, let’s focus on spending some of that screen time for managing our mental health and stress levels. Experiment with free versions of apps and find one that resonates with you or your children, then practice it every day. Make it a part of your daily routine for at least 5 minutes. Pick the time that works for you. It is something that can even be done as a family. We establish routines for reading at night, let’s establish a routine of stress management at night, whether it’s an app or another method. Prioritize the time; it will make all your lives better! This habit and skill development will ultimately help us develop stress management skills and be able to use them when we are stressed. The development of these skills also helps us feel less stressed in general. Instead of feeling stress during the holidays, let’s feel the joy, love, and gratitude that abounds.

Listed below are a sampling of several stress management apps related to mindfulness, emotional recognition and regulation, and anxiety/depression to help you and/or your children manage the stress of the upcoming holiday season. Hopefully one of them will resonate with you and your children so that you all may experience more resilience and peace when stress does happen.

Headspace (Children through Adult) is a mindfulness/meditation app that helps people reconnect with their breath. Headspace for Kids focuses on five areas: Calm, Focus, Kindness, Sleep, and Wake Up.

Calm (Children through Adult) is an app that focuses on mindfulness, yoga, guided meditation, breathing programs, improving focus, calming and relaxing music, and more.

Insight Timer (Children through Adult) is an app that includes lessons/classes, talks, music, and more on a variety of topics, such as mindfulness, stress reduction, achieving better sleep, anxiety, yoga, and other areas.

Super Better (Age 13 through Adult) is an app that uses games to build resilience, change mindset, emotional control, mental flexibility, achieve goals – even with challenges – and helps with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and more.

Mindshift CBT (Teens through Adult) is an app that focuses on anxiety reduction, including worry, perfectionism, social anxiety, panic, phobias, and more.

Breathe2Relax (Teens through Adult) is an app that focuses on diaphragmatic breathing and stress reduction.

Smiling Mind  (Ages 7 through 18) is part of a broader collection of tools/curriculum that focuses on mental health for children and adults (teachers and parent). It focuses on mindfulness, deep breathing, body scan, gratitude, and more.

Positive Penguins (Ages 4 through 11) is an app that helps children understand how their feelings and thoughts are connected and to develop more positive thinking.

Resilient Family, Happy Child (Ages 4 through Adult) is an app that uses simple mindfulness- based movement to support the development of resilience and self-regulation.

Mightier (Ages 6 through 14) is a biofeedback tool that uses a heart sensor to help children understand their emotions and teaches them calming strategies.

HeartMath (Ages PreK through Adult) is a company that has many tools, games, music, curriculum, books, and more that focu on stress reduction. They have biofeedback apps and desktop computer versions for single users, classes, or multiple clients. They all use a heart sensor. Inner Balance is the app it uses within the program.

DreamyKid (Ages 9 through 18) is an app that uses guided visualizations, meditations, and affirmations related to mindfulness.

WellBeyond Meditation for Kids (Ages 4 through 8) is like DreamyKid but is geared towards younger kids with guided meditations, visualizations, and breathing exercises.

Breathe Think Do Sesame (Ages 2 through 5) is an app that helps children learn deep breathing, problem solving, an emotional vocabulary, positive thinking habits, and more through guided meditations, visualizations, stories, breathing exercises, and more.

Mindful Powers for Kids (Ages 5 through 10) Through play, games, stories, and more, kids learn about emotions, mindfulness, positive thinking, body scanning, and more. It uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a guiding principle of its platform.

 

About the Author

NESCA’s Director of Consultation and Psychoeducational Services Dot Lucci has been active in the fields of education, psychology, research and academia for over 30 years. She is a national consultant and speaker on program design and the inclusion of children and adolescents with special needs, especially those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Prior to joining NESCA, Ms. Lucci was the Principal of the Partners Program/EDCO Collaborative and previously the Program Director and Director of Consultation at MGH/Aspire for 13 years, where she built child, teen and young adult programs and established the 3-Ss (self-awareness, social competency and stress management) as the programming backbone. She also served as director of the Autism Support Center. Ms. Lucci was previously an elementary classroom teacher, special educator, researcher, school psychologist, college professor and director of public schools, a private special education school and an education collaborative.

Ms. Lucci directs NESCA’s consultation services to public and private schools, colleges and universities, businesses and community agencies. She also provides psychoeducational counseling directly to students and parents. Ms. Lucci’s clinical interests include mind-body practices, positive psychology, and the use of technology and biofeedback devices in the instruction of social and emotional learning, especially as they apply to neurodiverse individuals.

 

To book a consultation with Ms. Lucci or one of our many expert clinicians, complete NESCA’s online intake form. Indicate whether you are seeking an “evaluation” or “consultation” and your preferred clinician/consultant/service in the referral line.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

May 03
8

Cyberbullying and Autism Spectrum Disorders

By | NESCA Notes 2021

By Yvonne M. Asher, Ph.D. 
Pediatric Neuropsychologist

I recently had the opportunity to attend a webinar by Justin Patchin, Ph.D., one of the foremost cyberbullying researchers. I have used his work myself in designing both my master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation research, so it was wonderful to hear him speak. He began with a story about his childhood and some of the rules he was taught – don’t meet up with strangers that you meet online, don’t get into anyone’s car if you don’t know them well – lessons I was also taught as a child. These are the kind of rules that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often crave – black and white, clear, no middle ground. The online world, he argued, does not allow for such stark and rigid rules. Rather, he says, it calls for “guidelines.” Working with children with ASD, when I hear “guidelines,” I think, “grey,” “fuzzy,” and “it depends.” These can be some of the toughest situations for an individual who is not neurotypical.

I think he’s right. The online world is fast, fluid, ever-changing, and highly dependent on specific circumstances. It calls for the kind of flexible thinking and evaluation of context that kids with ASD are so often challenged by. Yet, as the adults parenting, educating, and supporting these young people, these are exactly the skills that they need. The online world is not going anywhere anytime soon, and it is not likely to slow down either.

Cyberbullying is one of the difficult online phenomena to manage, as youth who are bullied online are most frequently also bullied in “real life,” usually at school. The bullies are often peers they know and must see on a regular basis. For children with social challenges, navigating bullying that is occurring across settings is an especially difficult task. And the solution is not to take away technology. Now more than ever, children need access to technology for homework, classwork, enjoyable peer activities, and hobbies. Where does that leave us?

Unfortunately, Dr. Patchin did not give any practical advice for how to support individuals with autism around cyberbullying. I think that one important starting point is to help these individuals learn to check in with themselves. Time and time again, I hear from students, “I’m not really sure what was going on, but I think they were being mean.” (In fact, I hear this from children who are decidedly not on the autism spectrum, especially when bullying is occurring by older peers.) Bullying is hurtful (intentionally so), and recognizing that hurt is an important first step. Once children and adolescents identify that something is hurtful, adults can help and support them in navigating through the situation.

Whether bullying, cyberbullying, or a misunderstanding, it is important for adults to listen carefully when children come to us with social concerns. In addition, we must have a solid understanding of the online world in which students are living, learning, and engaging. Social media shifts rapidly, with new platforms becoming wildly popular in a matter of weeks. Working with youth requires us to keep as current as we can, making certain that we understand the “ins and outs” of each platform. It is also incumbent upon us to ensure that all children and adolescents (not just those with an autism diagnosis) learn guidelines that will allow them to safely make their way through a constantly evolving world of platforms, apps, and services. Safety online is as critical as safety in person.

 

About the Author

Dr. Yvonne M. Asher enjoys working with a wide range of children and teens, including those with autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays, learning disabilities, attention difficulties and executive functioning challenges. She often works with children whose complex profiles are not easily captured by a single label or diagnosis. She particularly enjoys working with young children and helping parents through their “first touch” with mental health care or developmental concerns.

Dr. Asher’s approach to assessment is gentle and supportive, and recognizes the importance of building rapport and trust. When working with young children, Dr. Asher incorporates play and “games” that allow children to complete standardized assessments in a fun and engaging environment.

Dr. Asher has extensive experience working in public, charter and religious schools, both as a classroom teacher and psychologist. She holds a master’s degree in education and continues to love working with educators. As a psychologist working in public schools, she gained invaluable experience with the IEP process from start to finish. She incorporates both her educational and psychological training when formulating recommendations to school teams.

Dr. Asher attended Swarthmore College and the Jewish Theological Seminary. She completed her doctoral degree at Suffolk University, where her dissertation looked at the impact of starting middle school on children’s social and emotional wellbeing. After graduating, she completed an intensive fellowship at the MGH Lurie Center for Autism, where she worked with a wide range of children, adolescents and young adults with autism and related disorders.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

To book an appointment with Dr. Yvonne Asher, please complete our Intake Form today. For more information about NESCA, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Feb 16
151

Executive Function Tools: The Calendar

By | NESCA Notes 2021

By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach, NESCA

When working with young adults and adolescents to build up executive function skills, my main goal is to find systems and strategies that are truly helpful, easily accessed and that will eventually be used independently. While there are many fabulous apps that have been developed to target specific organizational skills, such as medication management, creating to-do lists and taking notes, I would argue that the number one, most important tool is an accurate, up-to-date calendar. The format of a digital calendar provides three hugely important supports.

  1. Visual Map of Time – Time management is tricky, and for many of our students, the concept of time itself is quite abstract. A calendar that has chunks of time visually blocked out helps to concretize an abstract concept. Additionally, having a calendar can help students plan their work. If a student has five different assignments to work on in a given week, looking at a calendar to find available segments of time will often help them realize that leaving everything until the last minute will not be possible. Notably, this requires guidance at first. Asking students questions, such as, “how long does an assignment like this generally take you?” or “would that available hour on Tuesday give you enough time for your problem set?” will help them start to internally ask themselves the right questions.
  2. Built-in Notification Systems – Some students use the alarms on their phone as reminders that they need to complete academic or daily living tasks. For example, they may have an alarm at 7:00pm every evening as a prompt to take their medication. Digital calendar apps allow for notifications to be linked to an event or task. Sometimes a simple reminder 10 minutes before a meeting or class is plenty, and our students can arrive on time with that quick prompt. For other appointments, I have students set two separate notifications, one in the morning and one at the time they would need to start getting ready or prepared for an appointment. For example, if a student has a doctor’s appointment two months in the future, a student could benefit from setting a notification eight hours and 1 hour before the appointment. This way, they start their morning with an acute awareness of their responsibility that afternoon and are reminded again when they need to start getting ready to leave.
  3. Constant Access when Synced across Devices – Calendars, such as the Google Calendar, sync seamlessly across digital devices. The same calendar can be accessed from a phone, a tablet, a laptop or a desktop quickly and easily. Students can refer to their phone when they are out and about or their computer if they are focused in class.

Research shows us that building executive function skills requires direct instruction and the opportunity to practice (Semenov & Zelazo, 2019). While using a calendar may seem like a simple skill, many of the systems provided in high schools take away the opportunity for students to practice setting up and maintaining their own calendar. Online portals have calendars that are immediately synced to the teacher’s schedule with assignments and due dates already entered. Additionally, many of our students rely on their parents to keep track of any and all appointments (medical or otherwise), meetings and other scheduled activities. This means that when starting a more independent schedule – whether at a university, vocational program or first job – these students often find themselves overwhelmed by the deadlines and the number of responsibilities that they must track. I urge parents to slowly increase the number of appointment and activities that students are in charge of remembering on their own. Helping a student enter doctor or dentist appointments, vacation details, such as flight or bus times, and deadlines into their personal calendar helps them start to build this habit and provides opportunity for practice. We have the tools to help students make this transition more easily, and with small, intentional changes to expectations of responsibility and independence, we can provide students with tools in their back pockets so they are ready to support (and schedule) themselves!

References

Semenov A, D, Zelazo P, D: Mindful Family Routines and the Cultivation of Executive Function Skills in Childhood. Human Development 2019;63:112-131. doi: 10.1159/000503822

 

About the Author

Sophie Bellenis is a Licensed Occupational Therapist in Massachusetts, specializing in educational OT and functional life skills development. Bellenis joined NESCA in the fall of 2017 to offer community-based skills coaching services as a part of the Real-life Skills Program within NESCA’s Transition Services team. Bellenis graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with a focus on pediatrics and international program evaluation. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Having spent years delivering direct services at the elementary, middle school and high school levels, Bellenis has extensive background with school-based occupational therapy services.  She believes that individual sensory needs and visual skills must be taken into account to create comprehensive educational programming.

 

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Dec 22
150

Digital Literacy, Executive Function and Remote Learning

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L

Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach, NESCA

The experience of watching a small child who is only two or three years old pick up a smartphone, quickly type in a passcode (as they have memorized the pattern) and open up their favorite game can be jarring for adults who remember the days of dial-up internet and who learned to use technology as it staggeringly evolved. For many of today’s children, handheld electronics have always been a fundamental part of their world. Flipping between apps, using their pointer finger to manipulate games and opening a screen using facial recognition all feel like second nature to many in the current generation of school age children. We assume that children have higher digital literacy than we do and intrinsically understand technology in a way that many of us never will. But what do our children actually know? And, are they missing out on vastly important direct instruction when adults make an assumption that they are already tiny experts in the digital field?

Over the past six months, a time fraught with a monumental shift in education, I have worked one-on-one with a widely diverse group of learners. If I had to pinpoint one theme that comes up over and over, across ages, levels of ability and school systems, it is frustration, confusion and lack of problem-solving strategies as they relate to technology. Statements I have heard during this period of remote learning include:

  • “I don’t turn off my Chromebook. I lose everything, and I’m actually not quite sure that I know how to turn it back on.” – High school honors student
  • “I didn’t know that Google Slide and PowerPoint were different things. I lost so much trying to switch between them.” – High school senior
  • “Hardware or software? I didn’t realize there was a difference.” – Middle school student
  • “I just save my document with whatever my computer suggests as a title. I guess it does make it tricky to find things later.” – High school junior

As an occupational therapist focused on making sure our students can access their curriculum, comments like these teach me a few incredibly important lessons.

  1. Students are lacking information on the basics. The same student who is not sure how to turn off his Chromebook can quickly navigate Google Classroom without any support, both uploading files and opening modules with ease. We need to focus on teaching the fundamentals of technology. What are hardware and software and how to they interact? What options exist within the system preferences of a particular device? How is an iPad different from a Chromebook, a Windows laptop or a MacBook? Why do we need to power down devices sometimes? What are the downsides to never restarting a computer or updating an operating system?
  2. Successful digital organization does not come naturally. Students are typically taught specific systems for organizing physical space and materials, such as color-coded folders, binders and labels. Teaching students to organize their digital space and their digital materials is equally, if not even more, important. Learning to create folders for each class and systematic ways of labeling documents saves students time and energy, and this often decreases frustration in the moment.
  3. Academic and professional tools are not particularly intuitive (a stark contrast to entertainment tools). There are incredible programs designed to help students create presentations, synthesize data and put documents together. These include, but are not limited to, the Microsoft Suite and Google Workspace. These tools can be tricky to manipulate and many middle and high school students would benefit from taking an introductory course, watching online tutorials or working directly with teachers to explore their functionality before layering on assignments requiring competent use of the tools.
  4. Students are often completely unaware of their gaps in knowledge. This is potentially due to the fact that today’s students are so impressive when it comes to using technology for leisure purposes. They seamlessly transition from an iPad, to a Chromebook, to a Samsung phone and can access games or social media without difficulty on each device. Unfortunately, very few schools have programs focused on teaching computing skills or digital literacy in the academic context. Our students piece together enough information to get by for a short while, but often come up against challenges later. Students also may believe they have built competency because they have some exposure to a tool. For instance, I have worked with students who are building resumes and including claims such as, “Proficient in Excel, PowerPoint and Word” but score poorly when tested on these computer abilities.

So, what do can we do?

The first step towards ensuring that a child or adolescent has adequate digital literacy skills is to actually assess how much they already know. Some students do have these skills mastered and others will have unexpected deficits or gaps. This assessment can be done formally or informally. A starting point I often use is to sit down with a student at a computer and ask how they organize, how they navigate, how they save files, etc. I also like using online assessment resources, such as TypingClub.com and Northstar Digital Literacy.

Once the skills that a student needs to grow are identified, there are many opportunities available to teach them. A few options include:

  • Online courses in specific software programs. Sites, such as Coursera, LinkedIn and Udemy, have comprehensive courses focused on specific programs for all different levels of learners.
  • Free online videos. A quick search on YouTube often leads to short, accurate videos and tutorials filmed by teachers or professionals. If your student learns well through video format, these can be a great tool.
  • Ask your school for support. Often, students learn better with direct instruction. If a student’s team is aware of their lack of knowledge regarding technology, there are many professionals at school who may be able to teach these skills during a free period, study hall or meeting.

 

About the Author

Dr. Sophie Bellenis is a Licensed Occupational Therapist in Massachusetts, specializing in educational OT and functional life skills development. Dr. Bellenis joined NESCA in the fall of 2017 to offer community-based skills coaching services as a part of the Real-life Skills Program within NESCA’s Transition Services team. Dr. Bellenis graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with a focus on pediatrics and international program evaluation. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Having spent years delivering direct services at the elementary, middle school and high school levels, Dr. Bellenis has extensive background with school-based occupational therapy services.  She believes that individual sensory needs and visual skills must be taken into account to create comprehensive educational programming.

 

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

May 18
6

There’s an App for That!

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS

Director of Consultation and Psychoeducational Services, NESCA

In this time of “telehealth” and “remote learning” adults, teens and children are being bombarded with virtual platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts/Meets and more.  Some teachers and students are being asked to use Google Classroom, Blackboard and other classroom-based platforms for the first time. I am of the mindset that this virtual learning and health management approach will be with us even when this pandemic subsides and we “go back to normal.” I’m also afraid that the normal we knew won’t be the normal of the future.

With this in mind I began to think that with all the time some of us have on our hands, wouldn’t it be interesting to “assess” or evaluate the variety of apps that are out there now (and there are tons!)? A middle schooler could do the research with some guidance from parents, teachers, IT professionals or others from their schools. In many middle schools, students are being taught how to critically analyze social media and news reports; why not extend this critical eye to apps? For instance, have your middle schooler research apps that address a variety of topics, such as executive functioning areas (i.e. time management, distraction, organization, etc.), social-emotional well-being and so on. With some guiding questions, help from adults and a way to tally or track data, they could decide which app they think would help them best and why. A sample list of questions may include:

  • What problem am I trying to solve?
  • What need am I trying to fill?
  • When was the app created?
  • Who created it?
  • Who was it created for?
  • How many positive reviews?
  • How many negative reviews?
  • What platform does it use?
  • How much does it cost?
  • What features does it have? Do they solve my problem?
  • How easy is it to operate initially and once I get it set up?
  • Will it work with the other programs I have running?

There are many other questions that one could ask to “evaluate” an app to help solve a specific problem. Your child and you can generate your own questions to add to this list then download and try your top choice. Try it for at least a couple of weeks and create a rating scale to evaluate its helpfulness in solving the problem. If you are satisfied, then no need to try another one. If not, download another one and repeat the procedure.

Here’s a list of various apps that address EF needs. There are many more, and these are in no particular order.

 

Scheduling/Calendar/To Do/Reminders

Pocket Informant

Forgetful

Built-in Calendar App on your smartphone

MemoCal Lite

Visual Schedule Planner

Choice Works

Pocket Picture Planner

Can Plan

30/30

Toodledo

Jot Free

My Homework

 

Time

Time Timer

Giant Timer

Time Meter Time Tracker

 

Social-emotional

Calm

Breathe2Relax

Sosh

Smiling Mind

The Social Express

Stop. Breathe. Think

Hidden Curriculum

Middle School Confidential

Model Me

Take A Chill

emotionary

 

About the Author

NESCA’s Director of Consultation and Psychoeducational Services Dot Lucci has been active in the fields of education, psychology, research and academia for over 30 years. She is a national consultant and speaker on program design and the inclusion of children and adolescents with special needs, especially those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Prior to joining NESCA, Ms. Lucci was the Principal of the Partners Program/EDCO Collaborative and previously the Program Director and Director of Consultation at MGH/Aspire for 13 years, where she built child, teen and young adult programs and established the 3-Ss (self-awareness, social competency and stress management) as the programming backbone. She also served as director of the Autism Support Center. Ms. Lucci was previously an elementary classroom teacher, special educator, researcher, school psychologist, college professor and director of public schools, a private special education school and an education collaborative.

Ms. Lucci directs NESCA’s consultation services to public and private schools, colleges and universities, businesses and community agencies. She also provides psychoeducational counseling directly to students and parents. Ms. Lucci’s clinical interests include mind-body practices, positive psychology, and the use of technology and biofeedback devices in the instruction of social and emotional learning, especially as they apply to neurodiverse individuals.

 

To book a consultation with Ms. Lucci or one of our many expert neuropsychologists, complete NESCA’s online intake form. Indicate whether you are seeking an “evaluation” or “consultation” and your preferred clinician/consultant in the referral line.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

Apr 02
4

Modern Parenting – Part 3: Sarahah, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Oh My! Navigating the Wide World of Apps

By | NESCA Notes 2018

 

By: Jacki Reinert, Psy.D., LMHC
Pediatric Neuropsychology Post-Doctoral Fellow

I recently had the opportunity to co-evaluate a young woman in high school who was recently suspended from school due to ongoing peer conflicts with classmates on a social media app called Sarahah. What initially started as an innocent question soon escalated into an online battle, fueled by a misunderstanding and magnified by an impulsive decision to post a verbal threat. Since that time, Sarahah has popped up in my social media feeds, particularly among parents, educators, and therapists on Facebook. Well-intentioned adults are scrambling to learn more about the app, how they can protect their children, clients, and students from the dangers of yet another social media platform which promotes anonymous bullying. This phenomenon highlights the significant and misguided, albeit well-intentioned, approach adults use to conceptualize social media and adolescent usage. It is March 2018, and Sarahah has been unavailable for download on iTunes for approximately two months. Teens have already begun to move on to the next app, while adults are only more recently learning about the obsolete app.

Some common misconception adults have about social media is that they need to know each of the apps that teens are using, an impossible feat considering the speed with which they become popular, trend on iTunes, and quickly become a relic of the past. As digitally competent adults, we are better served by understanding the types of social media apps teens use, how to talk to kids about which apps they should steer clear of and why.

Generally, there are four types of social media apps that are currently trending, moving adolescents away from typical texting to new social platforms. The first are new texting platforms, which include WhatsApp, KikMessanger, Telegram, and GroupMe. These types of apps allow teen to group chat for free in virtual “private chat rooms.” Live streaming group chats are also popular because they allow multiple people to participate in a group “FaceTime” experience. Apps that offer these experiences are HouseParty, Live.ly, and Live.me.

Microblogging is another popular social media platform which allows teens to quickly post relevant information. Examples of this are classified into platforms such as Twitter or Tumblr, which allow teens to share text, GIFs, and videos, and photo-based microblogging, such as Snapchat, Instagram, and the now-defunct Vine. Of these, photo and video-based apps are more popular.

Lastly, there has been a huge shift from identifiable users to anonymous platforms, which include Yik Yak, Saraha, Spillit, Secret, Whisper, and AskFm, as well as meet-up and online dating apps. These apps include Monkey, Meet.me, Omegle, Yubo, and Tinder. Apps that promote anonymity are arguably the most dangerous, primarily because people (adults and adolescents) are more likely to say things online that they would never say to someone face-to-face, increasing cyberbullying. In a nationally-representative sample of 5,700 middle and high school students, the Cyberbullying Research Center found that over the last ten years, 27% of students had been cyberbullied at some point in their life. Further, anonymous social media apps and increased incidents of cyberbullying have been linked to multiple teen suicides around the globe.

As I mentioned in a previous post (http://www.nesca-news.com/2018/03/modern-parenting-part-2-what-are.html), talking to teens about their digital footprints is the first step in opening a social media dialogue about expected behaviors when using social media as a member of an online community, and the ramifications associated with engaging with others online. As a social media consumer, I have found CommonSense Media to be the best spot to access relevant information about not only apps but also other types of media, including movies and video games.

Research conducted by CommonSense Media highlights misconceptions about age-appropriateness for apps; they often compare what parents think is an appropriate age for specific apps, what kids think, and what the specialists think. For example, Snapchat is one of the most popular apps currently used by teens. Parents think it is appropriate for kids ages 14 and up, while kids think ages 12 and up is okay. CommonSense Media recommends users ages 16 and up. What about Instagram? Parents, 14 and up, kids say 12 and up, and CommonSense Media? Ages 15 and up.

So, who’s right? When is it appropriate for a kid to use Instagram? A one-size-fits all approach is likely to mismatch kids, particularly those who may have complex cognitive or social-emotional profiles, with the appropriate social media platforms. Join me next week to learn more about how to start social media conversations with kids, pitfalls adults can make, and when to seek advice from a professional.

Read the rest of this series:

Modern Parenting – Part 1: A Heartfelt Series of Social Media Tips

Modern Parenting – Part 2: What are Digital Footprints and Where Do They Lead?

 

About the Author:

Dr. Jacki Reinert is a Pediatric Neuropsychology Postdoctoral Fellow who joined NESCA in September 2017. Dr. Reinert assists with neuropsychological and psychological (projective) assessments in the Newton office and will join the Londonderry office in March 2018. In addition to assisting with neuropsychological evaluations, Dr. Reinert co-facilitates parent-child groups and provides clinical consultation. Before joining NESCA Dr. Reinert worked in a variety of clinical settings, including therapeutic schools, residential treatment programs and in community mental health. She has comprehensive training in psychological assessment, conducting testing with children, adolescents, and transitional-aged adults with complex trauma.

 

To book a consultation with one of our many expert neuropsychologists, complete NESCA’s online intake form.

 

 

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.