Impressive - On-Air Consults I Parenting I Child Psychologist Kimberley O’Brien, PhD Child Psychologist/Owner of Quirky Kid Clinics/Child Development Expert

Dr Kimberley O’Brien talks to five-year-old Katara and her mother Stephanie about what life is like when you’re labelled a gifted child. Stephanie says they started noticing their child was switched on when she was just a few months old.

When Katara lost interest in day care when she was three because the older children she had connected with started school, Stephanie brought her in to see Dr Kimberley. While she was hesitant to find out whether Katara was gifted because she thought it might have been her own parental bias, she decided to go ahead with an IQ test.

Dr Kimberley recalls that their main concern was whether Katara would be able to sit through the Stanford Binet (Early SB5) test at the age of three. But she did and the test revealed that Katara was, in fact, gifted.

Although “gifted” is the term commonly used in IQ tests, Dr Kimberley clarifies that it’s rarely used in a clinical context. She explains that she prefers “high achiever” and focuses on finding ways to stimulate these children and extend their learning in the classroom.

Stephanie says this capacity to meet Katara’s learning needs was a major motivator when they were deciding on a school for her. Several schools weren’t open to Katara starting early and others refused because they lived out of catchment, but Stephanie ended up finding a school that was very interested in Katara. They observed her at day care and put a lot of effort into ensuring they could meet her needs. Katara ended up going to that school and Stephanie couldn’t be happier.

When Dr Kimberley asks Stephanie about some of the challenges they’ve faced, Stephanie explains that Katara has had to work on her expectations of being excellent at everything and on her social and emotional resilience because she isn’t as emotionally mature as her peers.

Dr Kimberley ends by asking Stephanie how she thinks being younger than her peers will affect Katara when she graduates high school. Stephanie explains that they've been working with Katara on the notions of patience and perseverance - that good things take time. Both Stephanie and Dr Kimberley agree that starting school early was the best decision for Katara.

What you will learn in this episode:
• What being a gifted child or high achiever means
• Which cognitive assessments (or IQ tests) can be used in young children
• The benefits of finding out whether your child is gifted
• How we can stimulate high achievers and extend their learning

In this instalment of Impressive, Dr Kimberley O’Brien speaks to mum Naomi and her daughter Yasi about what it feels like to deal with separation anxiety.

Dr Kimberley kicks off by explaining that children often present with separation anxiety at Quirky Kid around the age of two and that it can reoccur when children start primary school or go to school camp or sleepovers. She says it can even occur again at the start of high school and children need a lot of care and support to get through it.

Naomi reveals to Dr Kimberley that Yasi’s separation anxiety started around age two or three and affected her ability to enjoy daycare, participate in activities and go to birthday parties. She would stick by her mother’s side and be unable to participate even if she deeply wanted to be part of the fun.

When Naomi explains that she ended up sticking around for birthday parties and her daughter would eventually float into the group, Dr Kimberley says that she uses techniques including role-playing and visuals in the clinic to slowly help children get comfortable with situations that cause them anxiety. Naomi and Dr Kimberley agree that the “dump and leave” approach doesn’t work with children who suffer from this level of separation anxiety.

Dr Kimberley asks Naomi what techniques ended up working for her family. Naomi explains that finding the right psychologist, explaining the situation to Yasi’s friends and being persistent were the three things that helped the most. Because she has many years of experience working with children who have separation anxiety, Dr Kimberley shares some of her top techniques, including having a buddy system.

Exploring the parents’ perspective next, Dr Kimberley asks Naomi how she feels when Yasi is experiencing separation anxiety and Naomi admits she sometimes gets very irritated and has to work hard to stay patient. She says she’s the main person who supports Yasi because her husband is less patient and Dr Kimberley points out that different parenting styles can make dealing with separation anxiety difficult.

Naomi then shares that Yasi has found school camps and sleepovers challenging and that she needed to be encouraged to return to group activities after COVID. Dr Kimberley says these are common themes at Quirky Kid and offers advice.

What you will learn in this episode:
• What separation anxiety looks like
• When separation anxiety can occur
• Techniques that can help parents deal with separation anxiety
• How a hardline approach may be unhelpful

In this episode of Impressive, Dr Kimberley O’Brien discusses encopresis, or faecal soiling, with toilet training educator Monica Ferrie.

Monica kicks off the episode by explaining that encopresis occurs when there’s a build-up of poo and the bowel stretches until the rectum loses sensitivity. The child then doesn’t know when they need to poo until some of the impacted poo slips out.

When Dr Kimberley points out that Monica is much more comfortable talking about this topic than the families who come to consult at Quirky Kid about it, Monica says embarrassment is a common theme surrounding encopresis. Families assume they’re the only ones dealing with this problem when it’s in fact quite common.

With the encopresis fact sheet being the most popular one on Quirky Kid’s website and the number of families consulting for encopresis increasing, Dr Kimberley agrees it’s a much more common problem than people realise.

Monica points out that encopresis isn’t deliberate and that the first line of intervention should be to deal with the constipation with plenty of fluids, fibre, sitting on the toilet and stool softeners if necessary.

Both Dr Kimberley and Monica agree that a team approach involving the child’s psychologist, GP and teacher is key when treating encopresis. Dr Kimberley underlines the importance of getting help early and giving children independence and control over their toileting at home and at school.

It’s also important for parents to have support and for a system to be put in place to deal with encopresis so it doesn’t affect the whole family. While encopresis isn’t always easy, families can overcome this issue and thrive with the right help and support.

What you will learn in this episode:
• What encopresis is
• How to treat encopresis
• The importance of a team approach in dealing with encopresis
• Why the whole family needs support

In this episode of the Impressive podcast, Dr Kimberley discusses why parents should encourage their children to take risks with Daisy Turnbull, author of 50 Risks to Take With Your Kids and 50 Questions to Ask Your Teens.

Dr Kimberley has always been a proponent of increasing children’s independence by encouraging them to do age-appropriate activities such as ordering at a cafe or riding their bikes to the shops on their own. She asks Daisy to clarify exactly what she means by risks and how parents can ensure their children stay safe while taking them.

Daisy explains that parenting has become much more protective in the last few decades to the detriment of some children who have become overly cautious. In other cases, children take dangerous risks because they haven’t been given enough autonomy at home and they start to push back.

To achieve the right balance, Daisy and Dr Kimberley agree that parents should build up their children’s self-confidence and self-esteem by allowing them to take measured risks. Daisy says children need to develop their own “risk profiles” and they can’t do that if their parents are always stopping them from doing anything risky. They become “all confidence and zero competence”.

The two experts concur that the notion of “stranger danger” is outdated and parents should teach their children to trust their instincts about people. Dr Kimberley believes that, coupled with open communication and modelling risk-taking, this approach will turn children into confident and competent risk-takers.

What you will learn in this episode:

• Why protective parenting isn’t in our children’s best interests
• The benefits of risk-taking for children
• How parents can encourage their children to take risks in a safe manner
• How parents can be risk-taking role models to their children

Dr Kimberley O’Brien speaks to Rose, the mother of a seven-year-old boy who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), about her journey to obtain a diagnosis and how she manages her son’s hyperactivity.

Rose reveals to Dr Kimberley that she first noticed her son’s hyperactivity when he was 18 months old. “He just couldn't stay on task with anything,” she says. “He would bounce around from one thing to another and he couldn't sit still.”

When Dr Kimberley describes children with ADHD who come into the Quirky Kid clinic as wanting to look at everything at once and emptying out all the drawers, Rose can relate. She explains that it took her a while to understand that her son was actually looking at everything and not just making a mess.

Dr Kimberley asks Rose how she harnesses her son’s hyperactivity. Rose explains that he can focus on tasks he’s interested in, such as LEGO and his iPad, for hours. When it comes to getting him to focus on tasks he’s less interested in, breaking down tasks, giving him clear instructions and using visual aids helps.

Next, Dr Kimberley asks Rose to share her experience with obtaining an ADHD diagnosis and deciding whether medication was appropriate for her son. Rose says that being diagnosed was the best thing for her son because it allowed him to start taking medication that has helped him focus and to start receiving the support he needs at school.

With many years of experience working with children who have ADHD, Dr Kimberley explains Quirky Kid’s in-depth assessment process. Parents can find out more about the Conners 3 assessment tool and behavioural assessments that are used at Quirky Kid to diagnose ADHD.

What you will learn in this episode:

• How to have a child assessed for ADHD
• How obtaining a diagnosis can help a child with ADHD receive the support they need
• How to harness the hyperactivity of a child with ADHD
• How Quirky Kid can help

The Impressive podcast is back for a second season! In the first episode, Dr Kimberley O’Brien talks to Jade, whose nine-year-old son Logan is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Jade shares the long and winding road her family embarked on to obtain an ASD diagnosis.

Dr Kimberley discovers that Logan was bothered by things like food textures and grass from a young age. As he grew older, he struggled to speak clearly and started having emotional outbursts, so Jade sent him to a speech therapist followed by an occupational therapist.

Jade reveals to Dr Kimberley that she didn’t get the results she hoped for with these therapies, so she decided to have Logan assessed for ASD. After completing an ADOS-2 assessment, including input from his psychologist and OT, Logan was diagnosed with autism.

While the diagnosis wasn’t easy, Jade tells Dr Kimberley that it was a turning point for Logan because he could obtain NDIS funding and the support he needed in school. Since then, he has been much more well-adjusted and successful. Jade now receives phone calls from Logan’s school to tell her how well he’s doing and even that he recently won a technology award.

Dr Kimberley explains that a holistic approach that involved Logan’s parents, teacher, OT and psychologist from the get-go would have benefited him and helped his family obtain a diagnosis earlier. This holistic method is how Quirky Kid approaches any ASD assessment. In addition to using evidence-based assessment tools, Quirky Kid psychologists interview important people in a child’s life to complete a full picture of their behaviour and challenges. Parents can find out more about the ASD assessment process on our website.

What you will learn in this episode:

• The challenges some families face in obtaining an ASD diagnosis
• How to have a child assessed for ASD holistically and efficiently
• How an ASD diagnosis can improve a child’s wellbeing thanks to NDIS funding and school support
• How Quirky Kid can help