Visiting Disney World with a Special Needs Child
Traveling to Disney World with your kids? If you are a typical Jewish family, there are concerns about the availability of kosher food, events that take place on Shabbos that you may have to schedule around, and the availability of a minyan. Traveling with a special needs child creates an added level of complexity.
Why is Your Daughter Fat?
Have you ever wondered why your daughter, who looks beautiful to you, complains of being “fat” or “ugly”? If so, you are not alone. “Body Dissatisfaction,” which is defined as feeling unhappy about a certain physical feature, has reached epidemic proportions among teenage girls. The National Institute on Media and the Family reports that at age 13, 53% of girls are unhappy with their bodies. This figure reaches 78% by age 17. While the forces contributing to this problem are pervasive, there are things that you and your daughter can do to promote a healthy body image.
Israeli Teen’s Organs Save the Lives of Six People
Nine organs donated by the family of a 16 year old Israeli athlete have saved the lives of 6 people, providing some comfort to a family heartbroken by the loss of their son.
Revolutionary Israeli Co Signs $8 Million Packaging Deal with Pepsi
Oplon Pure Science, a Rehovot-based developer of anti-bacterial polymer sheets for packaging, has signed an $8 million contract with the Pepsi Corporation to supply...
Are Working Mothers Happier and Healthier Than Stay-at-Home Mothers?
The old debate over who has it ‘harder,’ stay–a- home mothers or working mothers, has never been clearly resolved. Some studies claim that stay-at-home mothers are more satisfied while working mothers are plagued with guilt, while other studies suggest the opposite.
Physical Exercise and Flu Prevention
Winter is here and with it comes a whole host of viruses that are somehow less prevalent in the warmer seasons. Poor winter, it’s saddled with the nickname of “cold and flu season.”
Keeping People with Alzheimer’s and Dementia Active
Activities are things we do, like getting dressed, doing chores, playing cards — even paying bills. They can be active or passive, done alone or with others. Activities represent who we are and what we're about, and usually keep a person active and occupied most of the day.
Socially Phobic Extroverts: The Valedictorian No One Saw Alone
Many children with severe social phobia are never identified because they masquerade as extroverts. They "have to" be the center of attention, but suffer tremendously internally. Often of above average intelligence, they overcompensate by cleverly controlling situations to mask insecurities.
Pink Eye Essentials
Approximately fifteen to twenty million Americans are afflicted annually with the epidemic keratoconjunctivitis, an infection or irritation of the thin, clear membrane, known as the conjunctiva, that lies over the white part of the eye and lines the inside of the eyelid. More commonly known as conjunctivitis or pink eye, because of the uncharacteristic red and possibly swollen appearance the eye takes on during this condition, it is most commonly caused by either or a viral or bacterial infection.
Oh the Options… Where to Have a Baby in the NY Area
Having a baby today is all about making decisions. Which doctor to go to. Which hospital to deliver at. What are your health concerns. Do you want to go natural. Do you want convenience. Where is your insurance accepted. Which hospital has the best reputation. Etc., etc., etc.
Success is within Reach
With the right approach, children with dyslexia can soar.
New Organ Transplant Guidelines Raise Ethical Questions
One of the most difficult moral aspects of organ transplantation is the fact that in many cases, the organ donor must be declared clinically dead before the life-saving surgical procedure can begin.
Holy Land of Opportunity: North American Jews Finding Jobs in Israel
Jews across America, in the privacy of their own computer screens, are scanning the internet for job opportunities which will enable them to make the leap toward life in Israel.
More than Moody – Understanding Adolescent Depression
The teenage years are no picnic for both the teenager and the parents. Parents of young children yearn for these days, which they assume will be carefree child-rearing, but are rudely introduced to a challenging parental time.
The Risk Of Allergies: Explaining Anaphylactic Shock
We hear it all the time: “This is a peanut-free facility, you can’t eat that peanut butter sandwich here!” A person may say, “So what? I am allergic to broccoli, it’s disgusting, keep it far from me.”
We all should realize that food and medication allergies are no laughing matter. Reactions can be so severe that they could lead to death.
Israeli IVF Success Doubles in Decade
A new Health Ministry reports shows that a whopping 25 percent of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)treatments resulted in pregnancies, with 20% of attempts resulting in live births. The number represents the doubling of success in the last decade, partly thanks to Israeli law supporting free IVF for two live babies.
Anxiety: Can It Be Controlled?
As a teenager, I suffered from occasional panic attacks, social anxiety, and more than the usual amount of teenage angst. In today’s drug-obsessed society, I would certainly have been given psych meds; thankfully, back then, it was expected that maturity would bring greater resilience and awareness. And so it was.
Israeli Doctor: Over-the-Counter Drugs Could Raise Blood Pressure
Chemical components in anti-inflammatory pain relievers, antibiotics, contraceptives and anti-depressants may increase the risk of heart attack or stroke, according to Dr. Ehud Grossman...
Debunking Myths in Women’s Health Update
Earlier this year, the American Cancer Society came out with new guidelines concerning Pap smears, which screen for cervical cancer. Conventional wisdom had long held that women should receive annual Pap smears, but in March, doctors announced the new guidelines suggesting that women receive a Pap smear once every three years.
Understanding Medicare Plans
With Medicare open enrollment season upon us right now (October 15th-December 7th) many seniors age 65+ are reviewing the many Medicare programs available to them. They have been inundated with marketing materials from the many health insurance companies out there to persuade them to sign up or to change their plans for the next year, effective starting January 1st 2013.
Treating Crohn’s With Diet
We have all been raised in a culture which we are taught to believe in the “miracles of modern medicine.”
Navigating Therapy
Beyond the specific questions, pay close attention to how the therapist responds. Do they listen attentively? Do they answer your questions clearly and respectfully? Do you feel a sense of warmth and genuine interest?
Swim or Support the Challenge: The 9th Annual Swim4Sadna Kinneret Swimathon for Women –...
The Swimathon reflects the vision of Sadnat Shiluv: personal empowerment, inclusion for all and giving to society. Vivienne Glaser, the superheroine behind the swim likes to say: “Never decide for someone else what their limitation is. If you empower someone, they will go way beyond their expectations.”
The Montessori Method
We are born to learn, in whatever capacity we are able. We study the world with our senses, and try to understand it. Our special children have more of a challenge, but they are just as interested in knowing what is going on around them. We know that because we observe their keen interest in everything we do and say. We need to nurture this interest, to encourage it.
The Transformational Power of Empathy
Empathy is not agreement or approval. It is simply understanding, the intuitive sensing of another person’s underlying feelings, wants, and psychological dynamics, i.e., “What would I be feeling if I were him or her?”
Risks of Anesthesia in Young Children
While surgery can be scary and stressful for children and their parents alike, anesthesia can be a useful tool for reducing pain and calming fear and stress, yielding very temporary symptoms following surgery.
The Long Road of Stroke Recovery
What does an elected official in his fifties have in common with a young Chassidic father, a young mother who works as a freelance copy editor, and a 21-month old infant? All four individuals, from very different backgrounds and walks of life, suffered a stroke which robbed them of some of their previous abilities, and prompted an individualized recovery process which is likely to last for the rest of their lives.
Infertility Challenges: Facing the Issue with Action, Caring and Coping
*Risa and Eli, a couple married for two years and in their twenties, were anxious to start a family, but found themselves unable to conceive. *Chana, engaged at 39, was worried that at her age it would be difficult to get pregnant. *Miriam, a widow, had three children from her first marriage. Ten years after her husband passed away, she remarried. She was now 37 and her new husband, *Avi was 40. They wanted a child of their own, but close to a year into their marriage, she had not become pregnant – what to do?
Set the Limits – Ditch the Power Struggle
Much like the physical development of a child, the cognitive process, better known as the child’s ability to think, process and make decisions, develops over time
The Vaccination Controversy – A Parent’s Dilemma
American society as a whole has accepted the view of the medical establishment that childhood vaccinations are both safe and necessary to protect the health of our children. But there are parents who accept the views disseminated over the Internet and social media by a small but vocal minority of doctors and researchers who claim that current vaccines, and the way in which they are administered, present significant risks to the health of very young children.