Defining social problems

Learn about: Defining social problems from Karen Schiltz, PhD,...
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Defining social problems

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What are some of the flags of social problems? Well, there could be many flags – in a younger child they'll have difficulties getting in the muck of things. You'll see these children on the periphery of a group. They'll seem to peer in at the group of friends but not be able to get involved. They'll have problems sharing. With a younger child they may be into Legos, but they'll have problems shifting during a play date to an activity that their friend wants to do. They may get very angry, very, very anxious that they need to shift. These kids have trouble reading faces. Older kids, you know, we obtain a lot of information by looking at people's eyes, understanding what they're saying. And the messages underneath what they're saying is very important. That helps us navigate through conflict. Well, these kids can't seem to do that very well. They have trouble understanding other people's thoughts and feelings. They'll even have difficulties understanding how their behavior affects others' behavior. So these are all things that are very important to look at. Your child should have friends in elementary school. They should have a best friend by fourth grade. The phone should be ringing off the hook as far as play dates. Your child should be invited to birthday parties. So if the phone isn't ringing off the hook and you see that your child is lonely, it's important to get help. Early intervention is everything. If you don't get help early on your child will get very anxious and depressed, because they'll know something's not quite right but they won't know what to do about it. So check your gut, get help when you feel something isn't quite right.

Learn about: Defining social problems from Karen Schiltz, PhD,...

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Karen Schiltz, PhD

Neuropsychologist

Dr. Schiltz is a clinical psychologist, licensed in the state of California. From 1985-1987, she completed a post-doctoral residency in clinical neuropsychology at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine within the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. She received her doctoral degree in psychology in 1984 from the American Psychological Association accredited California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles. Dr. Schiltz has conducted a private practice specializing in the clinical and forensic neuropsychological assessment of children, adolescents, and young adults since 1988. She has held an appointment as an Associate Clinical Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine within the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, since July of 2004. She also held an appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor within the same department from September 1993 to July of 2004. Dr. Schiltz has been a clinical supervisor within that department since August 1993 to the present time. Her faculty duties at UCLA include lecture presentations in the field of pediatric neuropsychological assessment, attentional disorders, accommodation assessment guidelines, and carbon monoxide poisoning. Dr. Schiltz has written numerous articles on regulation and selective neurobehavioral disorders. In her 24 years of clinical work with children, adolescents, and young adults, she has emphasized the critical importance of integrating neuropsychological assessment findings to the application of accommodations to the classroom and home environments in a “user-friendly” manner. Dr. Schiltz supports a comprehensive team approach in the assessment and remediation of children who struggle with cognitive, learning, behavioral, social, and emotional difficulties. She sees a variety of students who are referred subsequent to or in the process of being diagnosed with a suspected learning disorder, attentional and concentrational compromises, suspected social communication disorder, memory disorder, neurotoxin exposure, scuba diving illnesses, seizure disorders, traumatic brain injury, cognitive changes due to medical illness or surgery, substance abuse disorder, pervasive developmental disorders, high cognitive ability profiles, among other neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. Her experience has come from assessing children and working on intervention teams both in the hospital units as well as university and private-practice based settings. In addition to her private practice and academic supervisory duties, Dr. Schiltz has written, co-written, and/or presented over 81 papers, manuscripts, and publications. Her book, Beyond the Label, was published by Oxford University Press in 2012. The book, along with coauthors Amy M. Schonfeld and Tara Niendam, helps parents and educators recognize the warning signs that may indicate a potential problem with a child and explain how to find the best help. Throughout the book, the authors stress that by focusing on behaviors and not labels, parents will be able to better understand the whats, whys, and hows of a child's learning and emotional challenges.

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