Today’s teenagers have been stereotyped as adventurous and harebrained individuals.  They are generally fond of experimenting with things until they get in touch with drugs, sex, guns, alcohol among others. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures, 16,000 young adults die each year from unintentional injuries and accidents.  The most common justification for teenagers’ care-free attitude is that their brains just aren’t developed enough to know better. However, recent research shows that in some cases the fact is just the opposite, the brain matures not too slowly but perhaps, too quickly.

According to a psychiatrist, an adolescent who engages in more dangerous activities have white-matter pathways that seem to be more mature than those of risk-averse youths.  White-matter is the brain’s wiring, the neutral pathways that connect the various gray-matter regions of the cerebrum that are independent of one another.  Having a mature white-matter is necessary because it allows faster brain processing speed.  Nerve impulses also travel faster in mature white-matter. Experiments also reveal that the more mature the look of the brain, the more adventurous the teenager tended to be.
Another possible explanation is that some teenagers whose brains develop more rapidly than others become uncomfortable and a little confused owing to the gap between their biological capabilities and the social norms they must follow as kids. Precocious development of these neural tracts may make some adolescents more susceptible to engage in behaviors that society considers too adult in nature for their chronological age. It is also a common notion that teens make dumb decisions because their brains are immature. In other words, having a more mature brain may actually motivate some teens to try out new and potentially harmful experiences.
For now, these theories are mere speculation, and the researchers concede that the interaction of white and gray matter is so complex that hard conclusions remain elusive. The results of the study are relatively bare and by no means conclusive. The human brain is so intricate in nature, and one has to consider the fact that there are other factors that come into play such as the environment and certain genetic predispositions that are equally complex to study.

Whenever you ask a troubled teen as to what is their problem with their parent, more often than not you will get to hear that they are ‘not really being listened to’. Well, ‘listening’ is a tad difficult task for parents. They might also find ‘communication’ challenging. While parenting teens there are certain common measures that can ensure satisfactory results when intelligently applied. 
Whenever your teen approaches you for a conversation or simply speaks to you provide them with your undivided attention. You don’t need to display your expertise in multi-tasking at that moment. Stop reading, watching TV or acting busy as you are listening to your child. Misbehavior starts the moment they begin to feel that they are not worthy of your attention.  
As you listen, your attitude should be calm even if there is a major difference of opinion. Try to hear out with the intent of understanding the teenager’s point of view. If the situation calls for a ‘give and take’ approach, do not burden up your teen’s mind with preaches. 
When you are parenting a troubled teen, your tone ought to be courteous as you communicate. Remember that respect inevitably cultivates respect and that is completely manifested in the manner of speech. While communicating you should keep in mind that you are communicating with an individual who happens to be your teenage child. Your positive approach will help to make the troubled teen to seek you out as his dear confidant. So a sober tone always pays dividends with an improved relationship while abruptness or gruffness will only induce further hostility. 
As you try to make your communication effective, avoid judging the nature of your teen’s behavior at that moment. You may not approve it but at that moment emphasize more on the feelings involved. While parenting teens you surely need to be firm regarding the essential values but you should be flexible enough to accommodate the symbolism of the changing times. 
Free expression of ideas and feelings should be permitted. Everything that happens to be our part of life is being gradually apprehended by the children during their teenage. This must be realized. While parenting teens you must also understand that the teens tend to ‘test’ their ideas regarding education, morality, money, time and marriage or relationships during communication. Even if you happen to be alarmed by their opinion, you should give them a patient hearing. Then the mutual love and respect that you have cultivated will help you to put your point in a non-aggressive and logical and plain manner. 
 
 

Human beings constantly change during their lifetime. These changes are in size, shape, appearance and psychological changes. These changes vary from person to person. However the essential fundamental patterns of growth and development stay the same and occur in a systematic way. Every individual with their unique heredity and the way they are nurtured determines the way they traverse the path of their life. Every human being attains the size, shape, capacities and development in a way which is uncharacteristic to him/her at every stage of life.

Every person goes through various stages of childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. In each of these stages the person goes through physical, emotional, psychological changes. The most significant factor that shapes the individuality and personality of a human being through the stages of development is communication. Communicating with the family members is very important. It plays a very important part in framing the personality of a person throughout the adolescent phase. Good communication can establish the parent child relationships during infancy, childhood, adolescence and beyond. It helps us shun lots of troubles, and unravel those that occur. It fosters warmth, indulgence, faith, admiration, deliberation and fun. Words are complex things, and the majority of families hit patches while accepting and listening to each other seem hard. Poor communication and simple misunderstandings has been the root of all kinds of problems.

Parents and children should not have a communication gap, and they should talk to each other. As parents, you are aware of the changes that teenagers go through.  But parents are unwilling to receive in the emotional and societal maturity that the child attains. Parents usually look back at the good old childhood days of their children that they spend together and they are uncertain of the new changes that without doubt dawns on them. We try to establish the identified and acceptable personality traits in our children that is in them hereditarily, and try to do away with those character traits which seem unfamiliar to parents.
Adolescents must comprehend truly what meticulous changes they undergo physically and psychologically, what makes their parents suddenly look like aliens to them, and how they can help to conquer this situation which causes massive twinge both to their parents and them. Parents also require realizing these developmental features in themselves and also their kids. It is the parent’s responsibility to be properly aware of the various developmental changes that occur in their child and properly interact and communicate with them so that the child without any hesitation opens up with them, and asks for suggestions and advice.
 

Adolescents are at high risk for such behaviors as drug or alcohol abuse, pregnancy, brutality, cruelty, dejection, depression or suicide. One of the difficulties parents face is how to recognize the more restrained indicators of such behavioral problems and when and how to get involved.
 
The reasons why parents delay in helping their struggling adolescence is the confusion about whether their child is actually a troubled teen or not. They don’t know the habits of a troubled teen and when do they really need to help them. Many parents have a tendency to compare their own children with other children.
 
Although it is very enticing to compare your own children to other adolescents do avoid this tendency. This only triggers offense and discouragement in teenagers. Every person should be treated as a unique individual. Otherwise, the teens get discouraged. Parents can see for themselves if their child is troubled or in a self-destructive path and will do the best they can to help them. Parents should trust their instincts and seize all the necessary actions before the situation worsens.
 
Several adolescents grow to be skilled manipulators, extremely secretive and skilled at wriggling out of any situation. If the parents don’t keep a check on them, these teens can effortlessly influence and manipulate the situation so that the parent feels things are stable.
 
Is your teen disturbed or is your child just an ordinary adolescent facing the increasing pains of becoming an adult? There are some signs of a truly troubled teenager. The following Parenting tips would help you to be always cautious and on the watch out for your teens. If you doubt your child is a troubled teen, take actions quickly.
 
Signs of a troubled teen:
 
·         The teen becomes very secretive, and desires       The teen becomes very secretive, and desires greater privacy and isolation.
·         Your teen has unexpected outbursts of irritation and annoyance that is evidently irrational and out of proportion of the reason causing anger.
·  Your teen lies about his/her whereabouts.
·  Your teen has unexpectedly changed his or her peer group and hasn’t made an attempt to make you meet their new friends. This new group has lead to a dissimilar transformation in appearances and drastic change in attitude.
·  Your adolescent has stolen money from your purse regularly.
·  Your adolescence has tremendous mood swings, from depression to elation, and seems to sleep lot more than usual times.
·  Your child’s grades have suddenly dropped and the child has lost all interest in the usual routine and hobbies.

For children with learning disabilities, attending school and learning in general can prove to be a really big challenge. That is why public schools and other educational institutions are supposed to have special education services available for these kids. But is it really necessary for “special needs children” to be segregated or fully separated from the “normal” kids? Would it really help them achieve their full potential or would it alienate them from the general population?

One of the easiest ways to answer these questions, and many others about special education, is to look at the IEP of particular students. IEP or Individualized Education Programs are, in theory, what would practically dictate the whole academic future of a child with learning disabilities. It includes the specific needs of the children and the interventions and services that they would require in order for them to learn. further more, it should contain the explanation as to why a particular student cannot participate in regular classes with non-disabled children.

It’s easy to understand why some children, specially the ones with autism and other medical and physiological disabilities would not thrive in the normal school setting, but education, in my opinion should not just be about math, science, history and other academic subjects. Education should be holistic and it should include social interaction. Interaction with different types of people broadens the mind and makes individuals feel that they are a part of the greater population, not just a small class composed of “special kids” which can be very limiting and in an ironic twist, can further retard their development.

So, what can we do to make sure that learning disabled students can truly grow and reach their potential? A mixture of regular classes and supplemental instruction would be a good idea. Let them join the mainstream population and let them attend regular classes with regular students and if the teachers notice that they are lagging behind or are not doing well, make them attend supplemental classes that would target specific needs. This approach would probably demand more effort from the teachers and the students but, working more to compensate for our personal limitations is one of the most important attitudes that everyone should have in the first place so its a win win situation for everyone.