Kylie Gray, Glenn Melvin and Sarah Milsome look at the complex issue of recognising mental health problems in young people with an intellectual disability. Fifteen-year-old Melissa* wasn’t acting her usual self, and her parents had become very worried. Melissa, who has a mild intellectual disability, was...
This article is not an argument for or against prenatal screening or testing for Down syndrome. Every week in my work as a clinical geneticist, I witness the trauma couples experience when making decisions about wanted pregnancies in which there is a problem with the...
If you decide to allow your child to drink some alcohol, be aware that the younger they commence risky drinking, the greater the downstream threats. Steve Allsop looks at the impact of alcohol on developing brains. Young Australians are exposed to a range of risks from...
A recent petition circulated by Sydney school girl Chanel Contos, Jacqueline Hendriks writes, called for schools to provide better education on consent, and to do so much earlier. In the petition, which since Thursday has been signed by more than 5,000 people, Contos writes that her...
It could be their superpower! Write Chloé Diskin-Holdaway and Paola Escudero Australia is a multicultural society. There are different traditions, cultures, accents and languages all over the country. The latest Census data show almost 30% of Australians speak a language other than English, or English and another...
You would assume that with the rise of the internet and social media platforms our young people are feeling more ‘connected’ than ever? Report Associate Professor Janet Scull, Associate Professor Terry Bowles and Daniela Russo. But emerging research suggests that we are now facing a...
Some fun books this month for the littlies with plenty of favourites to choose from. What Do You Call Your Grandma? by Ashleigh Barton and Martina Heiduczek (HarperCollins publishers H/b RRP $19.99) Every Grandma has a special name and that’s part of the fun when you become a...
Yang Yang shares how encouraging her daughter to ‘live bilingual’ carries on her culture. Communication has become difficult since my daughter Yolanda turned four last year. She switches to English when she feels she isn’t understood or can’t find the right Chinese word to convey her...
The expanding vocabulary of a child at mothers’ group leads Luci Temple to think a little more about her own choice of words. … who doesn’t let out an expletive every now and then? One of my daughter’s friends recently began saying the ‘f-word’. At least, that’s...
Why you should stop asking your child what they want to be when they grow up. What parents can do to arm this generation with the skills for jobs that don’t even exist yet.
