Dear Readers: I am very pleased to report that I will be chairing a discussion at the upcoming Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry  (aacap.org) in New York regarding a concept that is very present in a lot of conditions that children present very early in life, and also up to adulthood: "Cognitive Rigidity". This concept is very difficult to describe, as it has not been studied much in the scientific arena in naturalistic settings, such as your living rooms, meal times, wake up times, dress up times, and going to bed times. If you are a parent who has a child who has specific ways to "doing things", such as "drinking from the blue cup only", or "wearing the same shirt over and over again", or "if routine is broken, your child will have a melt down", or "my way or the highway" early in life, you may know what "Cognitive Rigidity" is.

There are many reasons why children show such need for "sameness", or for things being a "certain way", or they may show emotional meltdowns and oppositional behaviors. They may experience anxiety, a mood condition, difficulty in modulating their emotions (sometimes also due to Attention Deficit Disorder), and they may have cognitive limitations as well. It is rare to talk about "how children think", as parents and clinicians talk and work more on children's behaviors and their "disorders" and "symptoms". This is why it is my opinion that it is important for parents to discuss with their clinicians, and with their physicians the manner in which they think, and how their child thinks as well.

We are having Parenting Groups in my office in various times of the week and days to discuss how parents can learn more about "how their children think" in order to develop strategies to communicate and to solve problems by using their children's language as well. This, according to Dr. Ross Greene, the Harvard psychologist who wrote several books, such as "The Explosive Child", may lead to better success in diminishing oppositional behaviors and other symptoms that young children show early in life. If you are interested in learning more about this topic, and in participating in the Parenting Classes, please, do not hesitate to call our office at 954-341-4441 or to write to our Website for more information. Sincerely, Vera Joffe, Ph.D.