Dr. Shirin Nooravi

What You Can Do To Help Children Change

2011-09-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Shirin Nooravi

1-Continually show children the best in them.

2-Provide positive correction that teaches them social skills along with good self esteem.

3-Help them believe in themselves and see themselves

4-Bring in imagination and creativity to use positive correction techniques

5-Use the Teacher Cues and Helper Words

6-Most importantly: Believe in your child!

Ways to Help Communication with your Teenager

2011-09-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

By: Dr. Shirin Nooravi

Communicating with a pre-teen or teenager can often be challenging. They are at a phase of life in which many changes occur that you both might find confusing as your child begins to blossom into an adult. Here are some helpful hints to improve your communication with each other. It may be tough during this time with your adolescent but you will get through it.

Communication Helpers:

· Remember to spend some time together. To a teen at this time friends are more interesting but that doesn’t mean family isn’t at all.

· Make sure to have alone time with your adolescent and if they decline, remind them that frequently that you are there if they ever need to talk.

· Respect your adolescent’s opinions and feelings. Even if you can’t help, reassure them that you understand.

· Getting angry with your adolescent is alright; be sure not to be critical of them or their character but instead criticize their actions. Refer to “I” statements, not “you”.

· When speaking with your adolescent try to watch and listen without interrupting them

o Make sure you understand them completely by rephrasing what they are saying

o Disagreements happen, just be respectful if you have a different opinion than them.

o Set a time to talk if you don’t have time that moment.

· Don’t fret over small things. Teens often go through a phase of rebellion, so let them chose how to express themselves with their hairstyle, clothes, etc. Note though of music, movies, and video game ratings that your child is exposed to and the messages they convey.

· Feel free to share mistakes you have made both as a parent and an adolescent.

· Your adolescent needs a parent, so be a parent first not a friend. Separation from you is a part of development at this age, it’s nothing personal.

· Teach healthy problem solving by example: With your adolescent be willing to compromise and work toward solutions.

· Setting limits is a form for caring. There must be rules so don’t be afraid to set them, despite the few days of discomfort that might follow.

· Keep communication open, if you find it difficult take notes or just listen.

· Contact your pediatrician if there is difficulty with your adolescent. She/he might be able to help.

The five steps to overcome destructive and addictive behaviors.

2011-09-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

By: Dr. Shirin Nooravi

The stages of changes are:

1. Pre-contemplation: The young person is unaware or under aware of their problem and does not intend to change.

2. Contemplation: A.k.a. “Maybe I should” stage. The problem is visible to the child and contemplates changing his or her behavior.

3. Preparation: The child begins to have strong intentions about change for the future.

4. Action: Behaviors are modified by the child to meet standards he or she has made.

5. Maintenance: Recognition and reinforcement is much needed during this stage as the child works to keep the improvements he or she has made. Changes the child has made in behavior will only continue through support and reinforcement.

Things for Kids to learn To Say To Help them to Ward Off A Mad Attack

2011-09-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

By: Dr. Shirin Nooravi

"Stop And Think. Make A Good Choice."

"Remember To Breathe When Your Tummy Gets Tight. Breath. Let's Breathe Together."

"Use Your Words, Not Your Fists. People Are Not For Hurting."

"You Can Do It. I Know You Can Get Your Mads Under Control."

I Understand, Right Now You Are Feeling Mad. Still, You Can't Hurt People, Things Or Yourself."

"You Are The Kind Of Kid Who Can Take Care Of His Own Bad Feelings."

"Go To A Safe Place And Draw Out Your Mads."

"You Have A Choice: Talk Out Your Feelings Or Go To Time Out And Get Your Mads Under Control."

"Well, I'm Feeling Mad Right Now Myself. I'm Going To Go Cool Off, Then We'll Talk."

"I Know How You Feel. Sometimes I Get Mad Myself. Then I Tell Myself, "It's OK To Be Mad If You Are Nice About It."

"Thanks For Sharing Your Angry Feelings. Good Choice In Using Your Words!"

"We Are Learning To Be A 'Speak Your Feelings' Kind Of Family. No More 'Mad Family' For Us."

"I Believe In You. Sometimes It's Tough, Isn't It?"

"You Are One Terrific Kid!"

· I Feel Good About Using My Words To Talk Things Out.

· I Give Up Put Downs. I Stop Myself From Saying Put Downs.

· I Notice And Speak Up About Hurts.

· I Own My Mistakes. I Feel Good About Correcting My Mistakes.

· I Don't Have To Hurt Back After Hearing About A Hurt I Caused.

· I See How My Positive Actions Affects Others.

How Can We Help A Child Change Their Aggressive Behavior? First Believe They Can Change, And Then Help Them Deal With Conflict By Teaching Them Alternatives To Dissolve It.

Here Is How A Child Works Through Change:

1. Recognize His Or Her Own Negative Response To A Problem. (Own His Behavior.)

2. Learns Alternative Ways To Deal With The Problem.

3. Decide To Act In Ways That Don’t Hurt Others. (Feel Good About Making Positive Choices!)

4. Become Self-Observant In Conflict Situations

5. Use Helper Words To Choose More Healthy Responses.

6. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE New Responses!

7. Reward Himself By Feeling Good And Using Positive Helper Words.

How to Prepare and Give an Effective Presentation

2011-09-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

By: Dr. Shirin Nooravi

1. When making your presentation try to focus on a solid 5 points that you want your audience to remember, this will shape your presentation and make it more memorable.

2. Always rehearse your presentation beforehand as if you were in front of your audience at that moment, but be careful not to memorize it word for word.

3. Dress appropriately; look at how formal your presentation is and the people you are presenting to as a measure for the way in which to dress. If you still are not sure, get a second opinion.

4. Use presentation tools, there are so many out there don’t neglect them. Determine what to use based on your audience and subject.

5. Provide Support materials: after your presentation is done hand out carefully constructed
materials that drive your message even further to your audience as they go about their day.

6. Language is Powerful! Grab your thesaurus and dictionary, give meaningful quotes, and add
some well placed humor to make your presentation memorable.

7. Measure your audience: keep an eye on your audience during your presentation. Are
they doodling? Taking notes? On their phone? This is how you can tell what parts of your
presentation are reaching your audience.

8. Pace yourself during your presentation. Make sure you aren’t going too fast or too slow. Keep
the “slides” moving when you are finished with them.

9. Don’t overpower your presentation with too much graphics; the knowledge is the important part.

10. If you are nervous try this technique: Concentrate on just one or two members of the audience that you can “speak” to, don’t forget to observe the others in order to stay in touch with your audience.

11. Decide on how to deal with questions. It’s up to you if you want to have questions during your presentation or to defer them until the end. Remember: Keep your word if you promise to
answer a question at the end.

12. Take control of the audience; don’t hide behind your computer.

13. Be Enthusiastic

Autism and Pieces of the Puzzle

2011-09-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

By: PeymanRaoofi, Psy.D.

Autism is alifelong neuro developmental disability that affects the way a personcommunicates and relates to people around him. Autistics have a combinationof impairments of social interaction, social communication and imagination. Autism is one of five disorders that falls underthe umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category ofneurological disorders characterized by “severe and pervasive impairment inseveral areas of development.” The five disorders under PDD are: AutisticDisorder, Asperger's Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD), Rett'sDisorder, PDD-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). Each of these disorders hasspecific diagnostic criteria which been outlined in the American PsychiatricAssociation's Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-IV-TR).

Prevalence of Autism

Autism is the most common of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders,affecting an estimated 1 in 150 births (Centers for Disease Control Prevention,2007). Roughly translated, this means as many as 1.5 million Americans todayare believed to have some form of autism, and this number is on the rise. Basedon statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and other governmentalagencies, autism is growing at a startling rate of 10-17 percent per year. Atthis rate, the ASA estimates that the prevalence of autism could reach 4million Americans in the next decade. Autism knows no racial, ethnic, socialboundaries, family income, lifestyle, or educational levels and can affect anyfamily, and any child. And although the overall incidence of autism isconsistent around the globe, it is four times more prevalent in boys than ingirls.

Common Characteristics of Autism
Symptoms andbehaviors of autism can combine in many ways and vary in severity. Autisticchildren and adults may or may not have speech, or quite often times the speechcould be delayed. They make non-speech sounds (e.g. rrrrrrr), echolalia, andmimicking words without understanding what the word means. One characteristicwhich is quite common in autism is the individual's ‘insistence on sameness’ or'perseverative' behavior. Many children become overly insistent on routines; ifone is changed, even slightly, the child may become upset. Some common examplesare: drinking or eating the same food at every meal, wearing certain clothingor insisting that others wear the same clothes, and going to school using thesame route. One possible reason for insistence on sameness may be the person'sinability to understand, and cope with novel situations. Lack of eye contact isanother characteristic of autism. They appear to be unaware of people aroundthem or show no real interaction with peers. Sometimes lack of imaginative playand pretend games can be seen in autistic kids. Autistic children and adults donot like being touched, hugged or being picked up. Some other distinguishingbehaviors are spinning, movements and flapping of hands especially when theyare over stimulated or particularly excited about something. Repetitivebehaviors like re-winding a video and watch it several times, over and overagain or lining up things such as their toys.
Some autistic children and adults love drawing;some can be musical, like numbers and mathematics, skilled at using computers,computer games, or using complex video/audio equipments. In general, people with autism can often haveaccompanying learning disabilities, but everyone with in this condition sharesa difficulty in making sense of the world.
Causes of Autism
Althoughthere is not any known unique cause for autism; there is growing evidence thatautism can be caused by a variety of problems. There is some indication of agenetic influence in autism (90%). For example, there is a greater likelihoodthat two monozygotic twins (identical twins) will have autism than twodizygotic twins. Results of the five-year study led by the Autism GenomeProject is reported in the Journal NatureGenetics has implicated a previously unidentified region of chromosome11; and neurexin 1, a member of a gene family believed to play a key role incommunication between brain cells. The neurexin finding highlighted a group ofbrain cells called glutamate neurons and the genes affecting their developmentand function, suggesting that they play a critical role in autism spectrumdisorders. There is also evidence that the genetic link to autism may be aweakened or compromised immune system. Other research has shown the depressionand dyslexia are quite common in one or both sides of the family when autism ispresent. There is also evidence that a virus can cause autism. There is anincreased risk in having an autistic child after exposure to rubella during thefirst trimester of the pregnancy. Cytolomegalo virus has also been associatedwith autism. Additionally, there is also a growing concern that virusesassociated with vaccinations, such as the measles component of themeasles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and the pertussis component of the DPT shotmay cause autism. There is growing concern that toxins and pollution in theenvironment can also lead to autism. The highest proportion of autism caseswere found in the homes down-wind from the factory smokestacks. Medical conditions associated with an increased risk forautism include the following:
FragileX syndrome (more common in males; may cause mental retardation),Tuberoussclerosis (syndrome that causes seizures, mental disorders, andtumors),Congenital rubella syndrome (results from transmission of the rubellavirus in utero), Untreated phenylketonuria (PKU; hereditarydisease caused by a defective enzyme). After all, no single region of the brain orpathophysiological mechanism has yet been identified as being associated withautism.
Diagnosing the Autism
Thereare no medical tests for diagnosing autism. An accurate diagnosis must be basedon observations of the child's communication, behavior and developmentallevels. However, because many of the behaviors associated with autism areshared by other disorders, a doctor may complete various medical tests to ruleout other possible causes. Since the characteristics of the disorder vary somuch, a child should be evaluated by a multidisciplinary team, which mayinclude a neurologist, psychologist, and developmental pediatrician,speech/language therapist, learning consultant or other professionalsknowledgeable about autism.
Treatment
Theprimary goal of treatment is to improve the overall ability of the child tofunction. A program that addresses helping parents and improving communication,social, behavioral, adaptive, and learning aspects of a child's life will bemost successful.
TheAmerican Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the following strategies forhelping a child to improve overall function and reach his or her potential:
·        Behavioral training and management. Behavioral trainingand management uses positive reinforcement, self-help, and social skillstraining to improve behavior and communication. Many types of treatments havebeen developed, including Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), Treatment andEducation of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH),and sensory integration. Applied Behavior Analysis isthe design, implementation, and evaluation of environmental modifications toproduce socially significant improvement in human behavior. ABA includesthe use of direct observation, measurement, and functional analysis of therelations between environment and behavior. ABA uses antecedent stimuli andconsequences, based on the findings of descriptive and functional analysis, toproduce practical change.
·        Specialized therapies. Theseinclude speech, occupational, and physical therapy. Occupational therapy helpsto improve independent functions and teaches basic skills (e.g., buttoning ashirt, bathing). Physical therapy involves using exercise and other physicalmeasures (e.g., massage, heat) to help patients control body movements.
·        Medications. In addition tobehavioral, communicative and social learning approaches, Medications are mostcommonly used to treat related conditions. A variety of medications are usedwith autistic patients, including antidepressant, anti-anxiety, psychotropicand stimulant medications that help regulate behavior and mood.
·        Community support and parenttraining. Talking to the doctor or contacting an advocacy group for support andtraining.

Works Cited

SantangeloSL, Tsatsanis K. “What is known about autism: genes, brain, andbehavior.” American Journal of Pharmacogenomics 2005;5(2):71-92.

Ho A ,Todd RD,Constantino JN. “Autistic traits in twins vs. non-twins--a preliminary study.”Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders2005 Feb;35(1):129-33.

Pinto-Martin J, Levy SE. “Early Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders.” Current Treatment Options in Neurology 2004 Sep;6(5):391-400.

“About autism.” <http://www.autism-awareness.org.uk>.

“Common Characteristics of Autism.”<http://www.ukautism.com/id1.html>.

“AutismSpectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders).” National                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Instituteof Mental Health Publication No.04-5511April 2004

Grohol J.“NewGenetic Links for Autism.” Psych Central 2007.

2011-09-04T02:19:00.000-07:00

Dr. Shirin Nooravi is known as an ambassador for children and families in many communities. Currently working as a psychologist, she started her career by teaching the Farsi language to thousands of children in the Los Angeles area. Her staff of 10 teachers helped teach Iranian-American students the Farsi language in five locations through the L.A. area. During this time, she also worked in leadership roles as director and vice principal of two private schools.

After 20 years of working with children and families, she started dreaming of how she could help her clients in a more in-depth and effective way. By becoming a psychologist of course! Equipped with her dream, her passion and impenetrable motivation, she decided to go back to school.
The heavy course load, numerous classes and endless exams were no obstacle for Dr. Nooravi as she spent hours learning about her area of greatest passion: How to help others. During this time and currently, she has written a weekly page in Javanan newspaper. She also hosts a program on Iranian Satellite TV (Omid Iran). Her programs relate to the growth and development of children, couples, the elderly and families. She continued her education post-doctorate by becoming trained to conduct educational and psychological tests at the Reiss Davis Child Study Center. She currently sees her patients at her office in Tarzana, California.

Dr. Nooravi believes in a family system therapy technique which means that the whole family should be treated, not just the “problem” person. She follows a solution-focused approach and believes that humans have an amazing capacity for change and growth. Her philosophy on families is that parents can raise happy and healthy children once they learn how to communicate effectively.
Whether you live in Tehran or L.A., if you ever see her on Omid Iran, attend any of her workshops, hear her on the TV or even recognize her voice at the local grocery store, you’ll realize that there is something unique about Dr. Nooravi. Her passion for helping others is larger than life.
She has conducted workshops in the U.S., Germany and the Middle East.
Dr. Nooravi has been married to her husband Farhad for 35 years and they have three children together.

Biofeedback

2011-09-04T01:37:00.000-07:00

Dr. Shirin Nooravi

Discover a world of stress relief using biofeedback and meditation from The Wild Divine Project.
You’ll practice breathing and meditation techniques, like the heart breath, an ancient yogic breathing technique that will help you achieve control over your mind & body to help reduce stress and improve physical and mental wellness.
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See and Feel results from the very first step, in as little as fifteen minutes. Achieve a new level of well-being that promotes better sleep, better relationship, and a more balanced and healthy lifestyle

Dr. Peyman Raoofi

2011-09-04T01:35:00.000-07:00

Dr. Peyman Raoofi received his Bachelor’s Degree with Honors from California State University, Northridge in Psychology. He then obtained his Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from California School of Professional Psychology.

Dr. Raoofi obtained his Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology from Alliant International University. His clinical experience has been with children and Adults. He specializes in developmental disorders such as Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Mental Retardation.

Dr. Raoofi has published several papers on Autism.
Dr. Peyman Raoofi is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles County Psychological Association, and the Board of Iranian Psychological Association of America. He is also a Board member at the Profamily Group.
Dr. Raoofi is a recipient of the highest level honor of the President’s Volunteer Service Award. He also has been recognized as an Honorary Ambassador by UNICEF.

Stress Reliever

2011-08-19T00:25:00.000-07:00

By: Dr. Shirin Nooravi

Stress has become the number one malady of our time. The constant pressure associated with living in a fast-paced world has created an environment where nearly everyone feels the effects of stress. Stress is the body and mind's response to any pressure that disrupts its normal balance. It occurs when our perception of events doesn't meet our expectations and we are unable to manage our reaction. According to the American Institute of Stress, up to 90% of all health problems are related to stress.
How to relieve stress? Research has shown when you learn how to intentionally shift to a positive emotion, your heart rhythms immediately change. A shift in heart rhythms may not seem important but in fact it creates a favorable cascade of neural and hormonal events that benefit the entire body. The stress relief effects are both immediate and long lasting. emWave shows the effects of stress on your body by measuring the subtle changes in your heart rhythms. This type of measurement is known as heart rate variability analysis or HRV. The analysis of HRV is recognized as a non-invasive measure that reflects heart-brain interactions and autonomic nervous system dynamics, which are particularly sensitive to changes in emotional state.
Frequent users of the Stress Reliever report: stress reduction, increased energy and resilience, greater mental clarity for decision-making and creativity, enhanced emotional balance and improved listening ability, better, more restful sleep. Shirin Nooravi, Psy.D. 818-344-6818