My "take" on "back to school" gifts for teachers? A gift card to Staples...or wait until the first week of school and ask her what s/he needs. Teachers spend a great deal of their own money for your kid's education. If you can't trust them with a gift card, why in the world would you trust them with your kids' education and social-emotional development? They don't need more trinkets.
Want to know more about the products that contain Triclosan? Click on this link to learn more. The article has a link within it for the Household Products Database. Check it out.
Be aware of these products. Gee, really, all you have to do is read the label. It's dangerous because it contributes to resistance to antibiotics. May be more of a problem for your kids than you, but let's control the controllable, right?
For the Momma who asked about her daughter with bipolar disorder, here's the link to the book, The Bipolar Child which is now in the 3rd Edition. It offers a really great understanding of the essence of pediatric bipolar disorder. Also, check out The Bipolar Teen. Adolescents with bipolar disorder have unique needs. It's important to stay ahead of their developmental stage so you can anticipate "the next step".
For the woman with the coworker who "snorts" his significant mucus "all day long" and she wretches from the sound of it, here's the product I referenced. On the page, it's the first product from the left. Your coworker is certain to be suffering from "related" misery secondary to all that "stuff". Approach with caution. Although you're trying to help, it might be easy to "step into it". You know what I mean.
A Momma called in to ask how she can tell if her teen son with autism is making behavioral and academic progress in his new school which is a non-public school for teens with his profile. She has never had him evaluated by a private clinician.
I recommended that she get a special education attorney who can help her to get an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). Privately practicing psychologists do not have to abide by the policies that dictate what school psychologists can do.
I suspect that Momma doesn't really know much about her son's learning profile or the triggers for his behavior because she has been operating on school district data.
School districts conduct eligibility evaluations and not diagnostic assessments. They're responsible for determining your child's eligibility for a school-district offered program. They're limited to tell you only certain information and cannot make all of the recommendations they might otherwise make because the school district will have to pay for them if they don't offer the service.
Other resources that will help Momma include.
1. This is what it it takes to diagnose autism. This is a blog post I wrote that outlines the assessment plan to comprehensively evaluate kids with autism.
2. The special education assessment. This article addresses the issues around school-based versus private evaluations. There's a lot to know!
You can't advocate for your child if you don't have the knowledge.