This Grandmother Started A Fashion Line For People With Down Syndrome

"I can't believe I'm making a difference," Karen Bowersox says, "all with a pair of jeans."

The 65-year-old is the founder of Downs Designs, a company that makes clothing for people with Down syndrome.

"When [people with Down syndrome] are forced to wear clothes from everyday stores, the clothing makes them look different. All you see is the Down syndrome," Bowersox told The Huffington Post. "When they wear our pants and they fit and they look and feel more comfortable, they can be confident in themselves. You don't see the Down syndrome anymore."

Bowersox's granddaughter, Maggie, inspired the endeavor back in 2010. Maggie, now 9, has Down syndrome, and it's been a challenge to find clothes that fit her, Bowersox told HuffPost.

Grandma had the solution.

Read more of Megan Gritto's Huffington Post article HERE.

Daryl Hannah Says Autism Made Her 'Terrified' Of Fame, Is The Reason She Left Hollywood

If you feel like you haven't seen the beautiful Daryl Hannah much since "Kill Bill," you're about right. The 52-year-old and former A-list star has intentionally fallen off the grid. In an interview with People magazine, Hannah explains her autism diagnosis as a child led to a debilitating fear of fame as an adult, which is the cause of her relative absence from the silver screen.

According to People, Hannah was diagnosed at a time when the disorder was not widely understood and doctors recommended she be medicated and institutionalized. Isolated from her peers, she found solace in old movies and her fondness for acting begun. The way she saw it, movies were an escape from the real world. At 17, she moved to L.A.

But being a towering blonde beauty was not a blessing for her, as she refused to do talk shows or attend her own movie premieres. "Not because I was above it," she tells People, "but because I was terrified."

Read more the Huffington Post article HERE.

Mindfulness Programs In Schools Reduce Symptoms Of Depression Among Adolescents: Study

Mindfulness, the practice of cultivating focused awareness on the present moment, has been shown to have a number of benefits, including emotional stability and improved sleep. Now, some schools have started incorporating mindfulness programs into their curriculums, teaching kids as young as five years old how to use body scans, mindful breathing and attention to their thoughts and emotions to become more focused. According to a recent study, such programs could be successful in leading to reduced depression-related symptoms among adolescents.

Researchers at the University of Leuven study looked at the experiences of 408 students from five different schools in Flanders, Belgium, all between the ages of 13 and 20. At the beginning of the study, the students answered a questionnaire designed to reveal symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, and were then divided into a test group and a control group. The test group followed an in-class mindfulness training program which consisted of instruction in mindful breathing and body scan exercises, sharing experiences of these exercises, group reflection, inspiring stories, and education on stress, depression and self-care. The control group, meanwhile, received no training. All students filled out the questionnaire after the training, and again six months later.

Read more of Carolyn Gregoire's Huffington Post article HERE.

Don't Let Your Marriage Be a Casualty of Your Child's Mental Illness

A child with life-threatening illness can galvanize a family, even a whole community, to pull together to help her get the best care possible. But when children have psychiatric disorders, the effect is often, sadly, different.

Children with mental illnesses can put great strain on their parents, especially when their disorders manifest in impulsivity, defiance, exhausting rituals or all of the above. Tantrums, meltdowns or aggression towards playmates can alienate other families, making you feel isolated. A disruptive child can seem to use up all the oxygen in the home, leaving you with little time or energy for each other. Sometimes parents disagree about the diagnosis, or the kind of treatment a child needs. Sometimes one parent is obsessed with helping the child, and the other feels left out. The result is marital discord, which all too often leads to divorce.

Read Dr.Harold Koplewicz' Huffington Post article HERE.

Bullying Revisited- Retarded?

In our society of child psychology and guidance counseling, one would be hard pressed to find someone who does not acknowledge the pernicious consequences and prevalence of childhood bullying.

Read more of Tim Shriver Jr. and Soeren Palumbo's Huffington Post article HERE.

Back to School = Back to Bullying

Here is an article from Shelley Hendrix Reynolds from the Huffington Post:
Back to school for some children means back to being bullied despite a school's anti-bullying, no tolerance policy. Kids are masters at getting in mean digs and shoves hoping to get a rise out of their fellow classmates when adults aren't looking. Children with exceptionalities, including autism, are more vulnerable to abusers. MORE