Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)

The easiest, quickest way to communicate is simply to say something and then deal with the other person's reply, right? Except that if your listener has a CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder) your remark might come through with certain words drowned out by other noises, or with some words sounding like different words or as meaningless strings of verbiage. You might begin to suspect this when the other person's expression doesn't register understanding, or if he "answers the wrong question," or when he asks you for additional information which most people would have been able to infer from what you just said.
Most of us aren't that sophisticated about CAPD’s, however, and are much more likely to wonder if the listener is just not very intelligent or doesn't really care about us and what we are saying. People with CAPD’s (which are usually part of a learning disability) have been embarrassed by situations and reactions like these all their lives.

A CAPD is a physical hearing impairment, but one which does not show up as a hearing loss on routine screenings or an audiogram. Instead, it affects the hearing system beyond the ear, whose job it is to separate a meaningful message from non-essential background sound and deliver that information with good clarity to the intellectual centers of the brain (the central nervous system). When we receive distorted or incomplete auditory messages we lose one of our most vital links with the world and other people.

The most accurate way to sort out CAPD's from other problems that mimic them, however, is through clinical audiologic tests of central nervous system function. Also, there may be conditions accompanying the CAPD which are medically treatable like allergies, Attention Deficit Disorder, Tourette syndrome, or nutritional deficiencies.

For more information on CAPD, link to Living & Working with CAPD

Dead or Alive!

It’s Friday! Who works on Friday’s, anyway? Maybe I will make this a habit.

I thought I might tell you a story about some squirrels who moved in several months ago. I admit that I am not sure when they moved in because we live in a small log cabin on 30 acres of wooded land in Michigan and we have all kinds of visitors. (Many people say we live in the middle of nowhere, but that’s all about perspective, isn’t it.) In the fall, I heard something running around and I thought it was some mice coming into our rafters for the winter. I thought we got rid of them but through the winter we heard noises periodically. So who knows how long they have been an unwelcome guest.

I am going off on a tangent here but some people have called me an “environmental wack nut or tree hugger” whatever derogatory name people can think of for someone who loves, appreciates and honors the earth and exhibits this through their daily actions. For example, I bought a used Honda Insight (still the most full efficient car on the market – eat your heart out Toyota Prius) off Ebay in December 2003 before it became fashionable and “acceptable” to own a hybrid. I was definitely the butt of jokes then, “How many gerbils do you have under the hood?” “Where are your Flintstone sandals you use to get it started? I just grin and smile while I am getting 65 MPG and the SUV is at 10 MPG and laughing all the way to the bank.

So when I first moved out to this house 7 years ago, I was so careful about using live traps and I tried to think about how the animals and my family could live in harmony in the woods. It didn’t take too long before I started calling anything that invaded my space, “home wreckers” and if you were a “home wrecker” this means, war and I was taking you out dead or alive! I have never owned a gun or shot a gun in my life but last week I asked a friend of mine to loan me one. Remember in the cartoons when the crazy country person starts shooting up their house, if I had a gun I swear I would have been trying to shoot those squirrels through the ceiling and rafters.

My husband and I had tried to poison them and live trap them with no luck. It was time for the professionals! I called Barry from SW Michigan Pest Control. He came right out and got to work and set two live traps. Nothing! The next day he set a kill trap at the base of the tree and cut two holes for the squirrels to come in and out of with kill traps covering the holes. The bait was taken and one of the traps triggered but NO SQUIRREL. All the while, I can hear them running around back and forth, playing, rolling nuts, laughing and laughing...Ha, Ha, Ha! (This is really when the gun would have been a bad idea.) Barry came out the next day and said he had been thinking about this all night. I could tell because he was beginning to look a little disheveled. He was starting to look a little traumatized but I decided that he wasn't in need of a crisis intervention yet. He made a board to cover the holes with kill traps, covered any other place they could get out and put more bait in the traps. I could hear them again in the evening and SNAP! I run outside to see the kill trap has been triggered again! Really, I have no way of understanding how these squirrels could do this without getting caught. Barry is about fit to be tied and says, “You can fire me if you want, I have never been unable to catch an animal and you don't have to pay me.” (I think he wanted me to put him out of his misery and rid him of this hell job, but I didn't.) He noticed that somehow they have even gotten the bait out of the live traps, too! Ha! Ha! He had been at our home 3 times daily for 3 days in a roll. Barry noticed that they are making holes other places to get out and destroying our home even more, Home Wreckers!

So he decided to take the trap off the opening and set up other traps in the area. I noticed not soon after Barry left there was a lot of activity going on and I think I saw one carrying another squirrel…I haven’t heard much this morning and I am so hoping that they decided to move out yesterday! It’s War, Us against Them and someone has to win in the end and I am hoping it’s me and Barry!

Cost-Effective Mental Health Treatment

The University of Washington completed a study on whether brief interventions can decrease depressive symptoms in college students. The study provided a brief assessment and sent a letter indicating the results of the assessment, symptoms of depression, current coping skills and possible new interventions to reduce these symptoms and found this intervention to reduce feelings of hopelessness and other depressive symptoms.

As we seek to improve the general mental health of the population through cost-effective means and provide preventive care to decrease the possibility of more servere symptoms, the University of Washington is thinking outside the box. As funding for mental health becomes tighter and tighter, it is imparative that we seek cost-effective, yet creative ways to provide prevention and treatment for the population at large. Telemedicine (e-therapy, phone therapy, e-chat, life coaching, etc) has also been a growing area aimed at reducing barriers to treatment and increase accessablity to care for some populations. Interface Consultation Services provides these services through their Counseling Connections . Also screening at primary care physician's offices for depression have become more mainstream. Multiple options for care outside of traditional outpatient therapy or medication only solutions might help others who do not need this level of care or are unable and unwilling to seek traditional services.

Broken Heart and Grief

I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

-Kenn - A retired Mental Health Therapist now doing what what he wants, when he wants and fellow blogger. check out his site!

Predictors of Treatment Contact Among Individuals with Cannabis Dependence

Epidemiological studies have repeatedly shown that cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States. Furthermore, individuals with cannabis dependence have high rates of co-morbid substance use disorders and depression. A significant proportion of individuals with addictive disorders develop withdrawal symptoms, cannot control their drug use despite substantial adverse psychosocial consequences, and frequently have a coexisting psychiatric disorder.

Nevertheless, only a minority of persons with cannabis dependence ever seek treatment. The main findings of this study were that persons with cannabis dependence were more likely to contact a professional during the past year if:

1. they previously sought treatment and


2. Had alcohol dependence with major depression.

Loads of Snot!

It’s Friday! When I was working a regular 9-5, Fridays was the day when we could wear jeans, act out, act up and have fun! We used to play shark ball. The only rules of the game was it only stopped when something got broken or the boss came in. The boss was hardly ever around on Friday so usually the game was only stopped by something breaking. So in remembrance or those Fond Fun Fridays that we all looked forward to I am writing a little off topic and “acting out” today. Hope y’all have fun with this one and any words of wisdom, or docs who what to chime in with diagnosis or recommended treatment go ahead, comment door is wide open. I take all responsibility for my behaviors and choices I make and in writing I say, “I will not sue you!”

Here has been my dilemma, I have been dealing with snot for almost 2 weeks now. 2 WEEKS! Yeah, I said two weeks with no end in sight and I have become curious about this thing we call snot, boogers, or more appropriately “Mucus”.

Official definition: Mucus: A thick slippery fluid produced by the membranes lining certain organs such as the nose, mouth, throat, and vagina. Mucus is the Latin word for "a semifluid, slimy discharge from the nose." Note that mucus is a noun while the adjective is mucous.

It has been my closest partner and our time together has brought a bound of intimacy that I would have never expected. I carry it around with me everywhere I go either inside my body or balled up in multiple tissues surrounding my bed, my work space, my car and my home. The stream is never ending! Usually after a couple of days the snot starts to taper off, but not this time, baby. I am beginning to think this might be a new lifetime partner. I do want to mention for all of you that are curious, there is loads of it! I have not counted the Kleenex I have went through. Trust me there is loads of snot coming from my body! Craig was a my witness yesterday and can testify in court if needed. Where does all this mucus come from? I blow my nose and two minutes later there is more snot? I blow my nose again and three minutes later I can feel it building again? And on and on and on….Will it ever stop?

Now, I have heard the color of your snot means “something”. Come on docs, we need your help here…Supposedly, the color can help diagnose what might be causing all this mucus: Cold, flu, virus, infection, allergies, etc.
Clear
Yellow
Green
Brown
White

By the way, mine is yellowish green today and for the past couple of days before that it was more clear with a little yellowing.

This whole thing started a couple weeks ago when my other life partner, my husband was so gratuitous to share the stomach flu with me and after being down and out without eating well for 5 days. We had some friends over and one of them seemed to be “recovering from a cold”. We guess what the next day I started to sneeze, feel tired, oh yeah a low grade fever, body aches and much more SNOT…This was the start of my relationship with snot. So if anyone knows how to reduce the snot, how long it will stay with me or any other words of wisdom for the Queen of Snot feel free to advise!

Intermittent Explosive Disorder

A little-known mental disorder marked by episodes of unwarranted anger is more common than previously thought, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has found. Depending upon how broadly it's defined, intermittent explosive disorder (IED) affects as many as 7.3 percent of adults — 11.5-16 million Americans — in their lifetimes.

People with IED may attack others and their possessions, causing bodily injury and property damage. Typically beginning in the early teens, the disorder often precedes — and may predispose for — later depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders. Nearly 82 percent of those with IED also had one of these other disorders, yet only 28.8 percent ever received treatment for their anger.

To be diagnosed with IED, an individual must have had three episodes of impulsive aggressiveness "grossly out of proportion to any precipitating psychosocial stressor," at any time in their life, according to the standard psychiatric diagnostic manual. The person must have "all of a sudden lost control and broke or smashed something worth more than a few dollars…hit or tried to hurt someone…or threatened to hit or hurt someone."

Given its earlier age-of-onset, identifying IED early — perhaps in school-based violence prevention programs — and providing early treatment might prevent some of the associated psychopathology.

Although the new prevalence estimates for IED are somewhat higher than previous studies have found, the researchers consider them conservative. For example, anger outbursts in people with bipolar disorder, which often overlaps with IED, were excluded. Previous studies have found little overlap between IED and other mental illnesses associated with impulsive violence, such as antisocial and borderline personality disorders.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

The autism spectrum disorders are more common in the pediatric population than are some better known disorders such as diabetes, spinal bifida, or Down syndrome. Prevalence studies have been done in several states and also in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia. A recent study of a U.S. metropolitan area estimated that 3.4 of every 1,000 children 3-10 years old had autism. This wide range of prevalence points to a need for earlier and more accurate screening for the symptoms of ASD. The earlier the disorder is diagnosed, the sooner the child can be helped through treatment interventions. Pediatricians, family physicians, daycare providers, teachers, and parents may initially dismiss signs of ASD, optimistically thinking the child is just a little slow and will "catch up." Although early intervention has a dramatic impact on reducing symptoms and increasing a child's ability to grow and learn new skills, it is estimated that only 50 percent of children are diagnosed before kindergarten.

All children with ASD demonstrate deficits in 1) social interaction, 2) verbal and nonverbal communication, and 3) repetitive behaviors or interests. In addition, they will often have unusual responses to sensory experiences, such as certain sounds or the way objects look. Each of these symptoms runs the gamut from mild to severe. They will present in each individual child differently. For instance, a child may have little trouble learning to read but exhibit extremely poor social interaction. Each child will display communication, social, and behavioral patterns that are individual but fit into the overall diagnosis of ASD.
For more detailed research and clinical information re: ASD, link to Autism & PDD.

Lexapro Goes Generic!

On May 22, 2006, The Food and Drug Administration approved 5, 10 and 20 milligram doses of the drug, also called escitalopram oxalate, for the treatment of major depression. Lexapro is one of the most widely used antidepressants in America, second only to Zoloft. Ivax Corp. of Miami, part of Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., becomes the first company cleared to make a generic version of the prescription drug.

Depression is extremely costly to individuals, families, communities and the economy both financially and mentally. Depression is a common yet serious illness and if clients have access to treatments, such as medication and psychotherapies, it is very treatable. Due to the high cost of medications, crisis in our health care systems and the high cost of insurance, people will often forego seeking the treatment they need. This can cost us all in many ways! Generic Lexapro may be one more step toward making mental health care affordable.