Helping Your Child Stay Present Now While Getting Ready for School There's a strange stretch every August where summer hasn't ended, but it isn't really summer anymore either. The pool days are still happening, but somewhere in the background, school supply lists are circulating, and bus schedules are landing in your inbox. For a lot of kids, this in-between window (technically still vacation, but with school unmistakably on the horizon) is when back-to-school anxiety actuall

A Parent’s Guide to Online Safety, Plagiarism, Privacy, and Responsible AI Use Artificial intelligence has arrived in your child’s life — whether or not you have introduced it, whether or not their school has a policy, and whether or not you fully understand how it works. It is in their homework tools, their tutoring platforms, the recommendation algorithms shaping what they watch and read, and the chatbots some of them are quietly turning to for emotional support. A 2024 Bar

Why two behaviors that look almost identical need completely different responses... and how to tell them apart. Your child is on the floor of the grocery store, screaming, and you have about four seconds to decide what's happening. Is this a kid testing limits because the checkout line is boring and whining has worked before? Or is this a kid whose nervous system has genuinely gone offline, who can't hear you, and who isn't choosing this? Those two situations can look almost

Separating the science from the social-media oversimplification “Dopamine” has become one of the most talked-about words in ADHD conversations across parenting forums, social media, and dinner-table debates about screens, motivation, and “five more minutes.” Parents hear it used to explain everything from why a child can’t start homework to why bedtime turns into a negotiation. But the popular version of the dopamine story, that ADHD simply means a child has “too little” of t

Understanding the Link Between Worry and Organization By Dr. McKinzie Duesenberg-Marshall, PhD, LP, NCSP | Minds in Progress, LLC You've probably noticed it: your child seems smart and capable one moment, then completely falls apart trying to organize homework, start a big project, or remember multi-step instructions. If your child also describes feeling worried, anxious, or overwhelmed, you might be wondering if these challenges are connected. The short answer: yes. Anxiety

Why the overlap between these two conditions leads to missed diagnoses — and how to tell the difference. By Dr. McKinzie Duesenberg-Marshall, PhD, LP, NCSP | Minds in Progress, LLC If you've ever wondered whether your child's struggles with focus, restlessness, or avoidance are "just anxiety" or something more... you're asking exactly the right question. The challenge is that anxiety and ADHD look remarkably similar on the surface. Both can cause inattention, emotional dy

By Dr. McKinzie Duesenberg-Marshall, PhD, LP, NCSP | Minds in Progress, LLC Picture a child who can explain the lifecycle of a star but can't organize her backpack. Or a boy who reads three grade levels ahead yet melts down at the sound of the cafeteria. Or a teenager who scores in the gifted range on every reasoning measure but hasn't turned in a homework assignment in weeks. These children are not lazy, disorganized, or tempermental. They are twice-exceptional. Twice-except

Independent Play, Boredom, and Why “Underparenting” Might Be Exactly What Your Child Needs By Dr. McKinzie Duesenberg-Marshall, PhD, LP, NCSP | Minds in Progress, LLC If you have ever felt guilty for not playing with your child, for letting them sit in their boredom a little too long, or for wishing they could just (for once) entertain themselves for twenty minutes while you finish something: this article is for you. There is a growing movement in child development research a

By Dr. McKinzie Duesenberg-Marshall, PhD, LP, NCSP | Minds in Progress, LLC Writing is hard. Most parents know this instinctively when they watch their child stare at a blank page, lose their grip on a pencil, or spend 20 minutes producing three sentences that their classmates wrote in five. What parents often don’t know is that this struggle usually has a clear, identifiable cause...and that research-backed strategies exist to address it. A study recently published in The Re

By Dr. McKinzie Duesenberg-Marshall, PhD, LP, NCSP | Minds in Progress, LLC Your child's teacher has flagged concerns about focus. Maybe your child is shutting down during tests, avoiding social situations, or struggling to finish anything at home. You've Googled "signs of ADHD" and checked most of the boxes...but something feels off. Could it be anxiety? Could it be both? You're not overthinking this. Anxiety and ADHD are genuinely difficult to tell apart in children, and ev

What the Research Says...and What to Actually Do About It By Dr. McKinzie Duesenberg-Marshall, PhD, LP, NCSP | Minds in Progress, LLC It’s become a familiar summer scene: kids sprawled on the couch, phone in hand, the afternoon disappearing into a scroll. Parents know something is off...but between working, managing the house, and the sheer exhaustion of summer logistics, it’s easy to let screens absorb the hours that feel hardest to fill. You’re not imagining it, and you’re

Understanding Test & End-of-Year Anxiety Across All Ages Something shifts in the air at this time of year. Backpacks get heavier, sleep gets shorter, and the phrase "I have a test" takes on a new weight. Whether your child is in third grade worried about a reading assessment, a tenth grader bracing for some of their first cumulative exams, or a college sophomore facing final exams, the end of the school year brings a particular kind of pressure...one that is very real, very c

Understanding the Gap Between a Medical Diagnosis and Educational Eligibility If you've recently received an autism diagnosis for your child from a psychologist, developmental pediatrician, or psychiatrist, and then turned around to find that your child's school says they don't qualify for special education services...you are not alone. This is one of the most confusing and frustrating experiences families navigate; it happens far more often than most people realize, and one

Understanding the function of behavior using the SEAT Framework by Dr. Mckinzie Duesenberg-Marshall You’ve been through the homework meltdown. The tantrum in the grocery store. The child who suddenly “can’t” do anything the moment it’s time to leave the playground. You’ve tried calm, you’ve tried firm, you’ve tried ignoring it, you’ve tried everything — and still, the behavior keeps coming back. Here’s what most behavior advice misses: behavior doesn’t happen randomly. Every

If you have more than one child (or have ever watched kids interact on a playground), you’ve heard it. That word, stretched out with total conviction: “THAT’S NOT FAAAIR.” The older one stays up later. One child gets extra help with homework. Someone gets a bigger snack. In your child's mind, anything that looks uneven is automatically unjust. And honestly? It makes sense that they think that way! They just haven't learned one of the most important distinctions of childhood y

Emotions don't come with an instruction manual...but the good news is that emotional regulation is a skill , and like any skill, it can be practiced, strengthened, and taught. Whether you're parenting a toddler mid-meltdown or navigating the emotional complexity of your own adult life, there are research-informed strategies that work. At Minds in Progress , we believe that supporting emotional wellness is a whole-family endeavor. This guide breaks down practical activities by

If you have a child who receives, or may qualify for, special education services, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process can feel equal parts essential and overwhelming. The room is full of professionals, the document is dense, and the stakes feel high. But here's the truth: you are the most important person in that room. You know your child better than any teacher, specialist, or administrator. Walking in prepared, with clear, specific questions, can shift the

And the questions you should ask before committing to one. You've done the research. You've made the calls. You've probably waited weeks for an opening. And when the evaluation report finally arrives — thick, formal, and full of terms like 'processing speed index' and 'confidence interval' — you sit down to read it and realize you can barely understand what it says about your own child. You're not alone, and you're not the problem. A peer-reviewed study published this year in