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  • I Don’t Need to Worry About Pornography and My Child, Right?

    Therapists are required to get continuing education to maintain our professional licenses and I recently attended a workshop on youth and pornography.  The information presented was not good news, but I was glad I attended because I found out my education in this area was definitely out of date!

  • Coping strategies for families impacted by military service

    I was eating lunch in a local restaurant yesterday and saw a young woman in military clothing sitting with a slightly older woman. I imagined they were mother and daughter and I could see that the mother’s face was animated and smiling.  As I left and nodded to them, I almost felt tearful. I have not served in the military, but it seems that those who do make a significant sacrifice on behalf of the rest of us. I am touched by their willingness to serve.

  • A Tdap vaccine for every pregnant woman, every pregnancy

    Each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) releases updated immunization guidelines based on current scientific research. This year’s guidelines for 2013, released earlier this month, represent a significant change for those who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.

  • What I wish I’d known when my son was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect

    Written by Trey Flynn

  • Gearing up for hurricane season

    Every afternoon, as the dark clouds roll in, I can’t help but wonder, “when will this rain ever go away?” But, if you live in Florida, like I do, you have probably accepted the fact the rain is here to stay. And on the days when the thunder and lightning seem unusually intense, I often anticipate a potential hurricane on the horizon. Yes, I said it – hurricane. Hurricane season officially began June 1st and is expected to last until November 30th. And weather experts are already projecting this year’s hurricane season to be a bumpy ride – estimating as many as six storms that could result in major hurricanes.

  • School is in session. Are you ready?

    Every summer seems to bring it’s own challenges: keeping the kids busy, finding the right camps and activities for them, and hopefully having a little family fun - all within two months! Even though the summers are busy, they bring us all a breather from homework, science projects, making lunches, teacher conferences, after school practices, reading every night (oh, wait, we were supposed to do that all summer, too, right?!). And suddenly, here we are, it’s mid August and whether we are ready or not, it’s time to jump into another school year.

  • Preventing Child Abuse in Organizations and Youth Programs

    There are some advantages to having an adult child (The primary disadvantage is that I really feel old now that he’s an adult!). One of the advantages is that I no longer have to worry about him suffering child abuse while in the care of others. We were fortunate that the adults in his life at school, after-care, summer camps, art classes, sports and religious school were talented and caring.

  • What can we do to really PREVENT child abuse?

    As you are driving around in the next few weeks, you may see clusters of blue and silver pinwheels in front of local businesses and organizations. These pinwheel gardens are displayed for the purpose of calling attention to April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.  As someone who works in a program that provides counseling to children who have been abused, I would like nothing better than to work myself out of a job—to reduce child abuse and neglect to a point where programs like The Orange County Children’s Advocacy Center are not needed.

  • Battling Kawasaki disease: Ava's story

    Ava is a bubbly, outgoing 5-year-old. She loves princesses and playing dress-up, and she makes a new friend everywhere she goes. The highlight of her day in her Pre-kindergarten class? Getting chosen to be the line leader.

  • Taking a closer look at eating disorders and disordered eating.

    This blog post was co-written by Corissa Schroeder, Registered Dietitian at Teen Xpress.