Troubled Kids Podcast

BLOG PODS #23 - Theory Bites 2 - Abraham Maslow: Hierarchy of Human Needs INTRODUCTION Of all the theories I hear mentioned by colleagues in social work, youth justice, youth work and mental health, Maslow is the most common. And by a country mile! For most, though, this seems to hark back to their training-often many years ago-when it was at least featured, if not fully taught. We at the TRM Acad...

BLOG PODS #22 - Theory Bites 1: Urie Bronfenbrenner - Ecological Systems Theory INTRODUCTION One of my constant refrains when training is to encourage colleagues to read. I am, and always have been a passionate believer in the need to stay teachable, hold our practice in an open hand, remaining adaptable and willing to change as we learn. While I love reading about ADHD, youth justice, recovery fr...

BLOG PODS #21 - AI: Its Use in Social Care INTRODUCTION Today, a good mate of mine-an experienced and capable social worker-sent me a link to an article . It was all about an Australian social worker using AI to produce a child protection court report - and getting sacked for it. This set me thinking. Of course, we know that AI is already being used for all kids of sordid and distasteful purposes...

BLOGS PODS #20 - Banning Smartphones for Kids: The Case for Trying INTRODUCTION The influence of smartphones on children’s development, learning and safety is increasingly concerning. Lots of the cases I hear about in my forensic work have a digital element whereby the child’s safety is in some way under threat - or has been long since compromised - in some way that involves phones. Research and e...

BLOG PODS #19 - Being Child-Centred: Lessons From 30 Years of Trying INTRODUCTION I’ve been trying (and struggling!) to capture some of my thinking, now that I’m over 30 years in professional practice with troubled kids. I want to distill some of the key lessons I’ve learned into a series of practice emphases or foci. It’s hard, though. Every time I think I’ve got hold of something, it either slip...

BLOG PODS #18 - Child Sexual Abuse: Prevalence & Practice Tips INTRODUCTION Lately I’ve been working on a book chapter with a colleague - it’s about kids and why their age and stage of development is especially important when it comes to assessing sexually reactive and/or harmful behaviour. The research for the chapter has sent me back to some of the basics of child development in general and the...

BLOG PODS #17 - Youth Justice: A Way Forward for the UK Government INTRODUCTION I’ve spent most of my career, 30+ years of it now, working in or alongside the youth justice system. It’s a passion of mine to see a system evolve that treats children as children and which offers hope of recovery rather than (more) punishment and injustice. We have a new government in the UK now and with it a new oppo...

BLOG PODS #16 - Experts by Experience: Why It's Not Really a Thing INTRODUCTION Earlier this week, I had an interesting conversation with a friend and colleague from the States. We were discussing a training session I'll be delivering early next year. The idea for the training stemmed from a series of posts I wrote before the summer about my journey with ADHD. Those posts were deeply personal, chr...

BLOG PODS #15 - Punishment Doesn't Work (for troubled kids) INTRODUCTION This is one of the most important things I’ve learned in 30+ years of working with troubled children and young people: 💡 Behaviour is NOT the problem, it’s a SYMPTOM of the problem Running on broken legs? Imagine a runner has entered a race, a 100 metres sprint . Normally they can do that distance in about 15 seconds, so the...

BLOG PODS #14 - Meaning in the Work INTRODUCTION Years ago when I first started blogging, I read a book by Michael Hyatt called ‘ Platform .’ One of things he says in there is: ‘If you’ve lost your way, maybe you’ve forgotten your ‘why.’ The toll The work many of us do—helping troubled kids—is immensely demanding on multiple fronts. Like any profession, it can be physically exhausting. But the cha...

BLOG PODS #13 - Anxious Children: Why The Increase & What Can Be Done? INTRODUCTION One legacy of COVID appears to be a sharp rise in child anxiety. The number of children in England being referred to the NHS for anxiety has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic. The degree to which COVID is directly responsible is arguable, but the plain facts are not. Official figures for 2023-24 rev...

BLOG PODS #12 - ADHD & Achievement INTRODUCTION I left school with 1 GCSE. OK, so I was a lazy teenager. No doubt at least some of the blame for that lies with me. But my life since suggests that something was missed back then, that had it been discovered, might have helped me fulfil a lot more of my potential. Since I embarked on this journey of outwardly acknowledging my condition, I’ve met a lo...

BLOG PODS #12 - ADHD & Emotions INTRODUCTION I’ll never forget my psychiatrist asking me this question during my assessment: ‘Do you have anger issues?’ I thought for about 2 seconds and then burst out, ‘ hell yeh! ’ Or some such. For the first time, I realised that the life-long struggle I’d had with feeling either very angry or on the cusp of it, might be something to do with my suspected ADHD....

BLOG PODS #11 - ADHD & Co-Morbidities Introduction One of the things that spurred me on to seek out an assessment, was the fact that I was struggling (and always had struggled) with emotional regulation. In short, I get angry a lot. I don’t express it much, but it’s there; an underlying almost constant seething, bubbling away in the background, that threatens to pop out of hiding any moment! Simil...

BLOG PODS #10 - School & My ADHD INTRODUCTION: Looking back, the hardest thing for me to come to terms with was the impact of ADHD on my education and, consequently, on the trajectory of my working life. I was not only unable to fully benefit from the opportunities available at school, but my future adult life was also massively affected. One of the greatest benefits available to children with ADH...

BLOG PODS #9 - ADHD & Time Perception INTRODUCTION Living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can often feel like navigating a maze where time takes on a mysterious, elusive quality. At times for me, it’s a bit like the soap in the bath, it’s there but I really struggle to grasp it and make it work for me. Individuals with ADHD often face challenges perceiving time accurately, org...

BLOG PODS #8 - ADHD Myth: ‘We’re All A Bit ADHD, Aren’t We?’ INTRODUCTION: Anyone with ADHD will tell you that it can be really frustrating when others dismiss it’s existence or dilute it’s gravity because they have experienced symptoms themselves. To the person with ADHD, this is a shocking dismissal of their condition and fails completely to grasp the challenges of living with a brain that funct...

BLOG PODS #7 - ADHD & Stimming - How to Help? INTRODUCTION: As I think about my own life as a serial stimmer, I’m aware of two glaring facts: * When I’m alone I do it more and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest * The only time it causes any tension or problem is when I feel judged for it and/or when I know it’s irritating to other people. There’s a lesson here, both for the person with ADHD who...

BLOG PODS #6 - Stimming: What Is It? INTRODUCTION: One day at work, I had a phone call from my colleague in the office downstairs, directly under mine. All she said, in a mockingly sing-song voice was, ‘ I’m going to stab you !’ I’d been tapping on my desk again and she was enduring hours of constant vibration as my fidgeting rattled through the floor and disturbed her work in the office below. It...

BLOG PODS #5 - Diagnosed with ADHD as an Adult - #2 Tips INTRODUCTION In the first one of these posts (Diagnosed With ADHD as an Adult 1 - Challenges) we looked at some of the bumps in the road having a diagnosis can bring. Here they are: * Late Recognition and Missed opportunities * Impact on Daily Functioning * Emotional Well-being * Stigma and Misunderstanding * Treatment Adjustments * Overwhel...

BLOG PODS #4 - Diagnosed With ADHD as an Adult - #1 Challenges INTRODUCTION: It’s not that long ago that I had to come to terms with being an adult with ADHD. I was a child with ADHD too, of course, but I didn’t know it then. After years of suspecting so, I decided to ask two child psychiatrist friends if they thought I actually did have ADHD. They both laughed and said, ‘of course!’ and ‘definite...

BLOG PODS #2 - What Exactly Is ADHD? INTRODUCTION: I’ve had ADHD since I was little. I’m now in my late 50s. I can’t recall exactly when I first realised that there was something different going on with me – but I was an adult before the light really dawned. Well known, but not known  about Most people who work with troubled kids will have heard about ADHD - unless they’re living under a rock! In...

BLOG PODS #2 - I've Got ADHD INTRODUCTION : It’s one thing to have a doctor tell you you have ADHD. It’s quite another for you to tell other people! To tell or not to tell, this is the question - whether ‘t’is nobler in the mind to… Well, you get the idea. There are pros and cons on both sides, of course. There may well be benefits in letting people know, certainly those closest to you (tip: they...

BLOG PODS #1 - I Think I May Have ADHD INTRODUCTION: At the time of writing this I am 59 years old, but this process started about three years ago. A close friend of mine, also in his 50s, was diagnosed with ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, combined subtype. It was the idea of a ‘diagnosis’ that changed things for me - there was something about this that made it ‘actual’ in a way I...