Trolling the news December 2, 2010

I keep joking that I can’t wait until I can get an MRI machine installed in my office to help with autism, dyslexia, etc. diagnosis. This is pretty cool:

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/02/researchers-one-step-closer-to-potential-autism-test/

I don’t like how the article presents it as a “test” for autism at the individual level, but it has huge implications for the larger picture. Of course, the whole point in having that type of information is to get a handle on the cause and start to look at prevention on a system-wide scale. Everything we know about autism points back to the critical gains made in response to very early intervention, while those little brains are so plastic. I don’t see this ever replacing clinical observations, but it sure would be ideal to have this kind of information as part of the puzzle. I’ll be sure to add MRI to my next school budget request.

Personality type and other time wasters November 23, 2010

I kept a good friend busy today with this little gem of a personality test. As internet tests go, I’d say it’s actually pretty on-par with the real (more arduous/clinical) deal.

I found it more time-efficient to just tell my friend, “Look–The person you’re dealing with is _____,  so don’t waste your breath or your brain cells” rather than to try to explain why I think that. Why reinvent the wheel, right?

Of course, after I refreshed myself on MY personality type, that’s precisely what “we” do. Can’t escape type.

Go ahead, over-analyze yourself! It’s fun!

However, I do not authorize you to try to guess the motives and personality tendencies of the person you’re trying to deconstruct and take the quiz as him/her so that you can figure out what in the world THAT PERSON is thinking. I’m pretty sure that won’t work. And I’ m pretty sure that’s what my friend will do. And I love her for that.

What’s your type?

Just for kicks, here‘s where I always come up. It’s mostly right, much to my chagrin.

Dear fellow school psychs: October 15, 2010

I’m not sure what part of my brain is broken and making me do this, but I am taking Baby Girl to work with me again this afternoon.

It’s just for a few hours, and it will only be other psychs (who like me all right so far!). They assured me it was fine.

What could possibly go wrong?

I know; I heard it, too.

So, let’s just look at this like one of those choose-your-own-adventure books, right? Did you read those books as a child? Did you totally cheat and always check out both options before you chose the one you wanted? I was so sensitive that I couldn’t handle even the IDEA of my imaginary book character dying. Also very upsetting to the 5th grade me: Oregon Trail. Why my parents never screened my reading material is beyond me. I think I scarred myself for life by reading adult books as a child.

Wait. POINT. Oh, yes.

So, dear coworkers:

Path A: Baby Girl is a textbook model of appropriate behavior, drawing and “reading” quietly in the corner of the room during the meeting, occasionally wandering over to give me a kiss and tell me how excited she is to be my child. Everyone compliments her on her impeccable dress, shining hair, and me on my ability to juggle work and motherhood. We end the day with special drink at Sonic.

or

Path 2 (aka What is Likely to Actually Happen): I hear 32% of what my coworkers say because I am completely distracted by the need to keep Baby Girl from climbing that bookcase and/or coloring herself with markers. We all lose focus, abandon our meeting’s purpose, and spend the next 2 hours in a group therapy session reiterating that we don’t have enough hours in the day to do our jobs. We will also laugh (painfully, bitterly) about the fact that we look forward to fall break so that we can take work home and actually get a little bit caught up before school starts back. We leave frazzled and scattered.

I’d love to experience Path 1, but pretty sure the pages will fall open to Path 2.

Oh, well. Such is life.

__________________________

I just re-read this and realized that I did, in fact, describe Path A followed by Path 2. I was going to correct it, but that seems about right, actually. It stands.