A trick for a group of ornery teens.
Homeless teenager: “How old are you?” Ryan: “How old do you think I am?” Teenager: “Ummm… 35?” Ryan: “Close. I’m 28.” Teenager: “Oh sh*t! I only said 35 to be polite. I really thought you are in your late 40’s!!!!” This conversation was 19 years ago. I was talking to a group of teens in […]
Teens take 28% more risks in groups than alone?
I want to share an interesting research project on the teenage brain. Researchers had teenagers play a driving simulation game inside an fMRI machine that scanned their brains. They also had adults do the same game. The main task was to decide whether to stop at a traffic light when it turned yellow or to […]
Do you work with traumatized teens? (PART 2)
In last week’s email, we talked about “Adverse Childhood Experiences” (ACEs). You can read it here: https://www.homelesstraining.com/do-you-work-with-traumatized-teens/ The basic idea is that the more “bad” things happen to you before age 18, the more bad things are likely to happen to you after age 18. It’s kinda depressing. But it isn’t the end of the […]
Do you work with traumatized teens?
If you work with teens who may have experienced trauma, you should really know about “Adverse Childhood Experiences” (ACEs). The basic idea is that the more “bad things” that happen to a person between the ages of 0-17, the more at risk the person is of having behavioral issues, depression, and worse. It is easy […]
The Teenage Brain (Part 2)
Last week I shared a story of a time I picked up a wild python in an African jungle because I didn’t yet have a fully developed Prefrontal Cortex. You can read it HERE. In that email we talked about the neuroscience of teenagers and risk. Today, let’s take it a step further, and discuss […]
The Teenage Brain (aka “That time I picked up a wild python in an African jungle…”)
I shouldn’t have been surprised that it was hot. It was an African jungle, after all. The trail was about a foot wide and muddy. It followed alongside a swiftly flowing creek that we occasionally had to cross (via “bridges” made of fallen trees). I saw a thin green snake (about 5 feet long) darting […]