Special needs summer camps are specialized programs designed for children and young adults with a range of disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, Down syndrome, and other developmental or physical challenges.
I'm very sensitive to sound, so the smallest noises can be distracting. Silence is sometimes loud for me. After the diagnosis, Sussman's parents switched him to a school that specialized in helping students with learning differences. His mom also started playing brown noise to help him relax or fall asleep, after she read that low-frequency (lo-fi), deep rumbling sounds-like heavy machinery or strong rainfall-can soothe those with ADHD.
In today's fast-paced world, stress and anxiety have become constant companions for many of us. It may feel impossible to get out from under our fears, worries, and other distressing thoughts. That's why learning how to get grounded is so important. Keep reading to discover seven quick and easy grounding techniques to reduce anxiety and help you enjoy a more peaceful, joyful life.
For many of us, that compulsive need to touch isn't about poor impulse control. It's about confirmation. It's about making sure the world around us is real, solid, tangible - because somewhere along the line, we learned that the emotional landscape we navigated wasn't.
Polyvagal theory, introduced in 1994 by psychologist Stephen Porges, highlights the role of the autonomic nervous system in regulating our health and behavior. Our lived experience of engaging with the world is impacted by external environmental cues, internal physical sensations, and relational experiences (e.g., an impression of connection, safety, and trust between individuals). Neuroception is our body's unconscious surveillance system that shifts us into one of three autonomic states needed to respond to a situation: rest-and-digest (social and safe), fight-or-flight (mobilization), or shutdown/collapse (immobilization).
Digital interfaces, as convenient as they are, bypass many of the sensory pathways that help us process and retain information. Think about it this way: when you write something by hand, your brain engages multiple systems simultaneously. You're planning the movement, feeling the texture of paper, hearing the scratch of pen on page, and seeing the words form. This multi-sensory engagement creates what psychologists call "embodied cognition"-the idea that our physical actions directly influence our thinking patterns.
The idea of floating in a sensory deprivation tank has always appealed to me. I am a huge fan of fancy spa sessions and most things woo-woo, and floating-a service that invites you to submerge your body in super salty water in the dark, ditching your senses in favor of an anti-gravity experience-sounded like the ultimate meeting of the two. Spa-ish mindfulness! Good for my skin and my mind! Sign me up.
We've become professional overthinkers, analyzing every interaction, second-guessing our decisions, and living everywhere except right here, right now. The constant mental chatter is exhausting. Trust me, as someone who once spent an entire weekend mentally rewriting a two-sentence email I'd already sent, I get it. But here's what I've learned: staying present isn't about emptying your mind or achieving some zen-like state of perpetual calm.
I am a professor of public health who studies health behaviors and the gap between intentions and outcomes. I became interested in this self-care paradox recently, after I suffered from a concussion. I was prescribed two months of strictly screen-free cognitive rest-no television, email, Zooming, social media, streaming, or texting. The benefits were almost immediate, and they surprised me. I slept better, had a longer attention span, and had a newfound sense of mental quiet.
