Category: Health & Wellness

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Burnout oozes from excessive, prolonged stress

By Ellen Marsden

Feeling alienated from your job lately as COVID-19 lingers over a fearful nation? Have you become cynical of your coworkers or even the intrinsic value of your work itself?

Are you suffering headaches, or stomach issues? Do you feel drained and exhausted, looking down an endless dark tunnel of depression? 

Are you questioning your ability to cope, both with your job and your new homebound virus responsibilities?

No, this isn’t a commercial for Geritol. Do they even still make that stuff?

The symptoms describe burnout, “a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.”

Last year, before coronavirus spread its ugly tentacles across the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially classified burnout as “an occupational phenomenon … resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” 

Stress and burnout are not the same. Stress is something you might experience temporarily, such as a work deadline that has you under pressure, or being stuck in traffic as you struggle to make an appointment on time.

Burnout is prolonged. Instead of heightened emotion and rising to the occasion as you might with stress, you feel like you’re sinking, empty, helpless; like nothing you do is going to make any difference. 

The term “burnout” is a relatively new term, according to verywellmind.com. It was “first coined in 1974 by Herbert Freudenberger, in his book, Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement. He originally defined burnout as, “the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where one’s devotion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results.” 

Workplace burnout is not uncommon, especially in business, for first responders, and those in healthcare. As the COVID-19 crisis ravages the country, workers in these areas may be particularly vulnerable to burnout as they are dedicated to saving companies, jobs and lives. A related phenomenon is “compassion fatigue” which can happen to healthcare workers in response to working with trauma.

Now that burnout has been given a more detailed definition by the WHO, it is likely that employers will be more aware of and sensitive to the issue, and devise strategies to help minimize its occurrence and severity. 

In response to the pandemic, there has already been an increase in the availability of resources to combat the burnout healthcare providers are experiencing, according to Cindy Ricardo, a Coral Springs based licensed mental health worker.

“There was some of it available, but with COVID-19, there’s been a huge response from all different organizations. What I have seen companies doing is offering free mental health resources and free healthcare, no copay necessary. There’s a lot of other free resources out there like free yoga classes,” Ricardo said.

And while the WHO has defined burnout as a workplace phenomenon, it is possible to experience burnout in other areas of life as well. Parenting challenges, working from home, caring for elderly or ill parents, getting along with your spouse and children 24/7, can lead to feelings of crushing exhaustion, being overwhelmed by responsibility, or a sense of defeat. 

There are simple, intuitive ways to combat it, like eating right, getting enough sleep and making a point to take some time for yourself. 

“Go have a cup of coffee or tea, go outside and connect with nature. Make time to exercise even if it’s taking a walk and taking in the warmth of the sun or the sounds of a bird,” said Ricardo. “If you’re constantly giving to others and not giving to yourself, it’s like a well, not being replenished. 

“To actually schedule that time becomes important. You schedule other things, like doctor appointments for your kids, but if you’re not putting yourself on that schedule, you are abandoning yourself.” 

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To the rescue: Who was that mask maker?

By Jonah Bryson

There has been no shortage locally of people pitching in to produce masks to combat COVID-19.

Saniél Atkinson-Grier, a Parkland athlete, had the plans of a lifetime this coming summer. She was positioned to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Instead, unexpectedly caught in the midst of a deadly pandemic, Saniél found herself quarantined—like many of us—rather than celebrating her achievements halfway around the world. 

“I was only a week away from traveling to Australia to start my competition season when the pandemic began to spread,” she said. 

Now, Saniél is racing against the clock to produce face-masks, with the help of her mother, Sandra Bryan-Grier.

“Rachel Maddow had a story about how healthcare workers have little-to-no PPE, and how they were struggling to find resources,” Saniél said  “The next day, I went to Joann Fabrics and bought all of the materials.”

From the very first stitch to the final iron, Saniél and her mother make a dedicated team. “My mom is my best friend,” she said, “We … do everything together!”

“Every day we turn on some music and get into the zone,” shared Sandra, profoundly proud of her daughter. “We are so accustomed to the process, that we now can make up to 35 masks a day. It makes me feel blessed to know that we are able to do something to help our community and healthcare workers.”

With nearly 6,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Broward County, as of May 10, the role that face masks play in preventing viral spread is paramount. 

‘Maskateers’ mobilize

Rhonda Nissensohn, the mother of a nurse on the front lines, received a call from her daughter in March. The daughter was concerned for her colleagues, who were being assigned a single mask — designed to safely last only a few hours — per week.

At the time, Rhonda went online and posted an ad seeking volunteers to start fabricating masks. Support from folks around the community proved to be nothing less than inspiring. Within an hour, eight women had signed up to sew, others to iron and cut fabric. They called themselves the ‘Maskateers’.

In a matter of days, 70 masks were being shipped to her daughter’s hospital in Virginia Beach. Rhonda added, “after we did this for my daughter, we said, let’s keep doing this for first responders.”

On average, they make 100 masks using a single queen-sized bed sheet. “We are a well-oiled machine,” she said. The Maskateers have now produced over 1,400 surgical masks, each donated to workers on the frontlines. 

“The one thing we all said we’re looking forward to when this is finally over, is getting together and finally meeting each other, face-to-face!” Rhonda said.

Parkland boutique takes up mask making

Jamie Tobol, the owner of Parkland’s Jatem Boutique, was preparing her shop for the busiest season of the year when COVID-19 struck.

“Nothing could prepare us for this,” she expressed. “The last few months have been very challenging for all of us. To suddenly shut down is devastating.”

Just like many families up-and-down the coasts of Florida, Jamie is now having to juggle between homeschooling her children, and running a small business during tremendous economic hardship.

In light of the pandemic, Jatem Boutique decided to partner with Joy Vava, a Los Angeles-based designer, to produce and sell facemasks. This effort has helped the factory workers — who would normally manufacture the boutique’s clothing — stay employed.

Jamie hopes  that by providing the community with “cute” and fashionable face masks, people might be more encouraged to wear them to stop the spread.

To order masks from Jatem Boutique, visit @jatemboutique on Instagram.

To order masks from Saniél Atkinson-Grier and her mother, Sandra Bryan-Grier, visit their shop on Etsy: lgndry.etsy.com.

If you are a first responder in need of free masks, or if you know first responders in need, please reach out to the Maskateers: 

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Strategies for coping with social isolation

What are you going to do? Your favorite restaurants and night spots are closed, the movie theatres have gone dark, and so have the theatres that offer live shows. All the sporting events have been cancelled, and it isn’t even safe to invite friends over anymore. 

Depending on your work status (employed, self-employed, retired, in search of employment), and the type of work you do, you may find yourself suddenly at loose ends during the daytime, as well. So, really, what are you going to do with yourself?

Believe it or not, I have two sets of suggestions. One set falls into the category of social interactions; the other falls into the category of keeping yourself happily and productively occupied “for the duration.” Ready?

Social interactions

The internet is your new best friend, your fallback for getting together with friends old and new. If you’re not already on Facebook, now would be a good time to join. And if you’re already on Facebook, start spending more time there.

The internet can also provide you with opportunities to get together with friends and family face to face, even though not in person. You may miss talking with your friends over a couple of glasses of wine or beer. You may have had to cancel a visit to your grandkids. But all is not lost.

Chances are you have FaceTime on your smartphone and/or your computer. My friend Deb, who lives in California, FaceTimes regularly with her grandkids in New Jersey and has been doing so since long before we’d ever heard of the coronavirus. She has cancelled her next planned trip to see the kids, but she continues FaceTiming with them. 

But you don’t have to have grandkids (or siblings or other relatives) to take advantage of FaceTime. Use it to keep in touch with your friend around the corner, now that she and you are skittish about getting together for coffee. And since it’s a visual medium as well as a voice medium, you can show her the new outfit you ordered from Amazon and see how she likes it on you.

Facebook’s Messenger app offers another means of getting together visually as well as vocally (or just by text if you prefer). If you and the friend you want to “visit” are both on Facebook, use the Messenger app the same way you would use FaceTime. And then there’s Skype, which again offers visual and voice get-togethers. Most uses of Skype are free. (Calling a landline from Skype incurs a charge—but why would you want to do that anyway?) Instagram also has a video chat function for up to 6 people. And speaking of parties DJ D’Nice hosts “Homeschool at Club Quarantine” on his instagram channel @dnice, where on March 22nd of this year over 160,000 people danced while he DJ’d! Discord and WhatsApp are other free chat services that include voice, and text chatting.

Finally, you can have a party and invite a bunch of friends to join you — remotely. Zoom is an application primarily used for remote business meetings with which any number of people can get hooked in to a “conference.” If you limit your get-together to half an hour, it’s free. Or take some of the money you’re saving by not going out to your fave restaurant or other entertainment, and go for the Zoom plan that will let you stay in the conference for as long as you want. Invite your friends to pour a beverage (“adult” or soft), sit in front of the computer, and have a party or just a conversation.

Keep yourself productively busy

There are plenty of projects around the house and on your computer that aren’t “busy work” but are genuinely useful and really need to be done. What better time than now to do them?

Let’s start with a subject that’s dear to my own heart: writing. How many of you reading this have had an idea for a book, whether it’s the next Great American Novel, a self-help book, or a children’s story, but have put off sitting down and writing it for lack of time? You said maybe you’d write it some day when you retired. Well, now’s your opportunity. Go for it!

And speaking of writing, how about writing your memoirs, or your family history? I don’t mean for you to write this for publication. No, you’re writing for your children, your grandchildren, your great-grands, and beyond, and perhaps for your nieces, nephews, and cousins, as well. 

Now, while you’re at your computer, when’s the last time you went through it deleting old files you don’t need anymore? “Housecleaning” is a term that applies to your computer as well as to your kitchen. You go through your spice rack periodically, getting rid of old spices that have lost their pungency. You go through your fridge periodically, getting rid of old foods that should no longer be eaten even if they haven’t yet turned into “science experiments.” 

You go through your closets periodically, getting rid of clothes that no longer fit you or suit you. Do the same with your computer. Delete files you are sure you have no further need for. You’ll make room on your hard drive for new files and may well find your computer executing saves and other functions faster.

Now, moving on from your computer and getting back to your closets, when’s the last time you went through them all to see what’s in them — clothing and otherwise — that you and your family no longer want or need? Fill giant-sized bags with all the things you want to give away. When it’s once again safe to do so, you can venture out and drop the bags off at your favorite thrift store or other charity. And now that your closets are emptier, reorganize them.

Until then go online and check out organizations like Vietnam Veterans of American at scheduleapickup.com or American Veterans at amvets.org. 

What else in your house needs reorganizing? Your kitchen cabinets? Your bookshelves? Your kids’ toys? Maybe this is even a good time to reorganize the furniture in your living room, family room, or kids’ rooms. 

Some day — in the not-too-distant future, I hope — the need for social isolation will be over. But until then, you have ways to “visit” with your friends and plenty of projects to keep you occupied between visits.

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More Than a Job

Tragedy drives county health official

Casey McGovern is the Florida health department’s Drowning Prevention Program Manager for Broward County —raising awareness about water safety is her job.

But preventing deaths by educating people about the possible consequences of not being aware of water-related dangers is her passion.

Nine years after McGovern’s daughter drowned in a backyard pool, the mother of three is still haunted by what she didn’t know then and driven by what she wants parents to know today.

On Aug. 3, 2009, McGovern found her 19-month-old, Edna Mae, floating face-up in the pool where “Em” had been playing in just hours earlier. The toddler died eight days later.

“You think you are going to hear it — people think they are going to hear flailing and splashing and yelling,” McGovern said.

But the unthinkable can happen quicker than you think, she said. “A drowning can occur in as little as 60 seconds.”

Mom to three girls, who were then ages 10, 3, and 19 months, McGovern placed Em in a chair in the family room, across the counter from where she was putting away groceries.  

McGovern stepped away to chat with her husband. She was only gone a minute.

Today, McGovern, of Coral Springs, talks openly about the experience, acknowledging some of the ways Em’s death might have been prevented. She needs other parents to know how such a tragedy happens.

At the time of her daughter’s death, the family pool was encircled by a child safety fence, but McGovern said the fence gate was not latched that day.

McGovern also said there was nothing in place at the time to raise an alert to potential trouble, such as chimes on the sliding door leading to the pool deck. “Drowning is silent,” she said, encouraging parents to find ways to put sound to danger.

McGovern said she also wasted precious minutes searching for her daughter inside the house.

Whether you have a pool or you’re at the pool or the beach, she tells parents today, check the water first.

“We thought we were doing everything right,” McGovern said. “There are so many things I didn’t think about, wasn’t educated on.”

According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, In the past two years, 12 children ages four and younger drowned in Broward County. The deaths occurred in family pools, community pools, lakes, the ocean, and in canals. With its 125,000 backyard pools and miles of waterways, Broward offers ample risk of drowning.

“Because our county is covered in water and it’s swim season all year long, year after year our statistics show we are one of the highest counties in state of Florida for drowning fatalities,” McGovern said.

Among her high-priority recommendations, McGovern said children should start swim lessons as soon as they start to crawl.

The county Children’s Services Council backs that advice by providing a $40 swim voucher to Broward kids ages six months to four years. The voucher is available annually, up until the fifth birthday.

“I think knowledge is power and I think the more people who relate and connect to my story may cause changes,” McGovern said.Sallie James writes for the Florida Department of Health in Broward County.

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A Shared Moment in Time

Like Tibetan sand mandalas, which are swept up and scattered on the water, the Temple of Time is about the moment, the process, the creation, and the transitory nature of life itself.

The beech-plywood temple on Sample Road, created by artist David Best, is the first of five public art installations in Coral Springs and Parkland that are part of the series Inspiring Community Healing After Gun Violence: The Power of Art.

The two cities, in partnership with the Coral Springs Museum of Art, were awarded $1 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies to fund the projects, which aim to use art to help heal the community after the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018. 

With help from local residents, the Balinese-like temple rose from the site of the old City Hall over a two-week span in early February, and opened to the public one year after the Feb. 14 school shooting that left 17 dead and as many injured.

What Best, his crew and community members created was an object of great beauty out of shared loss. 

The temple, where visitors are encouraged to leave mementoes and write messages directly on the raw wood, has transformed into a repository of the community’s hopes, fears, wishes, and dreams.

The Temple of Time, said Best, is a way of honoring the time it will take for the community to process the feelings it shares from a common tragedy.

The California-based artist has dedicated his life’s work to designing and building ornate yet ephemeral temples for communities that need healing.

In what some might say is a paradox, the 35-foot-high, non-denominational structure will be set on fire and destroyed in May. It is Best’s hope the community’s grief over the shootings and the loss of life on 2/14 and in the aftermath will dissipate with the flames.

Best began creating temples in 2000, as a way to honor a friend killed in a motorcycle accident, and he and his 14-person Temple Crew have become known for the elaborate structures they’ve built at the annual Burning Man Festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

Best recently spoke about his work to the Miami New Times: “I make an empty structure — it doesn’t mean anything; it’s just a pretty shape. And then people come, and they put in their religion, their faith, their anger. Whatever they’ve got, they put it [in the temple], and they develop their mythology. It doesn’t matter what we believe. It matters what they believe.”

The Temple of Time in Coral Springs is very nearly covered with the inspirational and heartfelt messages visitors have left on the carved mosaic-like scrollwork. “Tell the sun and stars hello for me. We love you, Gina Rose,” reads one of thousands of personal notes. Another states: “Hate, anger, fear, indifference, and jealousy will never win.”

Hand-painted rocks emblazoned with “MSDStrong,” “A Little Bit of Gratitude Goes a Long Way,” and “There is Always Hope,” adorn the temple altars along with stuffed animals, photos, religious trinkets, hand-drawn hearts, flowers, and a brown manila envelope full of shredded bully testimonials from students at Pioneer Middle School.

Particularly poignant is a photograph from 18-year-old Meadow Pollack’s kindergarten teacher saying, “Proud to have been your kindergarten teacher, Meadow.” A senior at Douglas, Pollack was among the 17 killed by a lone gunman at school that day.

On a cool weekday morning in March — the installation is open every day from 7am until dusk — the temple was alive with visitors. Jonathan Koota, a massage therapist and Coral Springs resident, came with friends Lynne Mass, of Delray Beach, and Judy King, of Pompano Beach. They walked quietly through the temple, discreetly taking photos and reading the temple’s messages of love and hope to their grandkids. Lanie Hyman Shapiro visited the temple in February. The Coral Springs woman called the temple “an amazingly powerful and intricate” tribute to MSD’s 17 victims. “It’s a place to come together, to reflect,” Shapiro said. “It’s a place to begin a catharsis.”

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Striving for Peace – One Step at a Time

For more than a decade, area residents have literally taken steps to bring about peace.

Each time Coral Springs’ Silent Peace Walk participants gather, once a month, early in the morning, to walk for peace, leader Audrey Ehlin reminds them how small steps can lead to a larger impact. Specifically, peace within their hearts can lead to peace within their families. Further, a peaceful community can spread to neighborhoods, the nation and the world.

Ehlin, of Coral Springs, as well as others gather at 7 a.m. on the first Saturday of every month at the International Peace Garden, located behind the Coral Springs Center for the Arts. Birds chirp and one can hear the soft sound of tree branches swaying in the breeze, but for the most part, quiet reigns. Folks move forward in a single-file line for about 20 minutes. Ehlin estimated the walks attracts anywhere from seven to 20 people.

“I believe one person at a time can make a difference,” she said.

Making a difference was on Coral Springs resident Piero Falci’s mind when one day, back in 2006 or so, he was watching the news. A horrific scene was unfolding in the Middle East, as a conflict between Israel and Lebanon raged.

“I saw images on TV of this man, about my age, in a residential area where bombs had fallen,” Falci said. “His house had been hit by a bomb and neighbors were removing the rubble to retrieve the bodies of his wife and two sons. I immediately thought about my family. I, too, have two sons.”

Falci heard an inner voice: What are you going to do?

What can I do? he wondered. After all, he was halfway around the globe. “But I was deeply touched, and the command to do something persisted,” he said.

At the time, Falci also was reading books about peace. An idea sprang to mind: He should start a peace walk. When Falci approached Coral Springs city officials with designs for a monthly event at the International Peace Garden, “the idea was received with enthusiasm,” he said.

“Many people ask why we do it,” added Falci, author of the book Silent Peace Walk: From Inner Peace to World Peace. “It is our belief that cultivating inner peace will help bring peace to the entire world.

“We think a lot about the survivors (of tragedies), and their pain, and our heart aches for them. In a way, in the middle of the beautiful International Peace Garden, we bring to our awareness how fortunate we are for living in a safe environment, and we compassionately connect with those who don’t have the same safety and comfort.”

Elizabeth Velez, of Tamarac, has participated in the peace walk since 2011. She said doing so not only brings her inner peace, but lets her meet like-minded people who enjoy connecting with nature.

For Coral Springs vice mayor Joy Carter, each time she makes the trek, she notices something different within the garden – different colors amid the foliage, for instance.

Among the garden’s permanent features is a peace pole bearing the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in several languages. “I find it’s a really good way to start my day,” Carter said. “It just brings a balance to my persona, my soul. It keeps you centered.”

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No Limits for Parkland Native with Autism

Haley Moss would be the first to tell you she’s unique. The Parkland native, now 24, was diagnosed with autism when she was 3.

Moss would also point out that being different isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

When she was diagnosed with high-functioning autism, her parents were told that raising a child with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has many daily challenges. They were warned she might never live on her own or even develop the ability to work a minimum-wage job.

Moss has not let that diagnosis, or her disorder, limit her. The Pine Crest School alum, who resembles a petite Natalie Portman with bangs, has written multiple books, including A Freshman Survival Guide for College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Stuff Nobody Tells You About. She also recently earned a law degree from the University of Miami and, in January, became the first openly autistic person admitted to the Florida Bar.

An active advocate for those with ASD, Moss told the South Florida Sun Sentinel in February that her passion for helping others was one of the reasons she became a lawyer.

“A disability generally is not all-encompassing, it is just part of who someone is, not everything they are,” Moss told the newspaper. “Everyone is unique, everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and everyone has talent.”

Honored as one of South Florida’s Young Leaders in Philanthropy, Moss also is a recipient of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Yes, I Can! International Award. At February’s Unicorn Children’s Foundation’s Unicorn Ball, held at the Polo Club of Boca Raton, Moss received the Occhigrossi Family Youth in Service Award, which recognizes young people who advocate for those with special needs.

Already a seasoned writer and champion for people with autism, Moss has since launched her career in the legal profession, according to the Sun Sentinel. Offered a job even before graduating, Moss now works for the law firm Zumpano Patricios, based in Coral Gables. For information on ASD, visit the National Institutes of Mental Health website at NIMH.gov.

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It’s Not Easy Being Green

Kermit the Frog had a different “green” in mind when he sang the blues about the perils of his amphibian color on Sesame Street. But for many of us, “being Green” in an altogether different way isn’t all that easy either.

These days, what exactly does “Green” mean?

Basically, it means leading more environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible lives, so we protect natural resources, ourselves and the planet. I’m sure by now, most of us have seen, heard, or read about the many ways this can be accomplished: by recycling, using solar energy, electric or hybrid cars, picking up trash, collecting plastics in our waterways, using alternate energy sources instead of fossil fuels, etc.

The long list of “easy” fixes quickly becomes not-so-easy when it comes to details. For example, in building and development, there is a system called LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It’s the most widely used green-building rating system in the world. It’s also used for virtually all building projects, whether commercial, community, or home.

But is it worth it? And does it really work, or matter? As I have found out, most things in life have no clear-cut, black-and-white, yes-or-no answers, and that is true here as well. To get a building or project LEED-certified, there are courses to study, exams to take and proposals to be shown and accepted. If all of that is completed, a building or project will receive a plaque stating it is LEED-certified. The buildings must show certain levels of efficiency in resource usage such as water and electric, and none of this is cheap. The initial cost is $600 just to register and certification fees can range from $2,250 to $22,500 based on the project size. On top of that, complying with all the requirements necessary can add millions of dollars and hours of paperwork to the projects. On the plus side, LEED certification can mean tax breaks, grants, and the ability to charge higher rents.

Being LEED-certified sounds great on paper, but the bottom line is this: as in many things, reality doesn’t always live up to theory’s expectations. While some LEED buildings have shown lower resource usage rates, others have shown rate increases. LEED certification, after all, is based on proposals of anticipated resource use and not actual usage once a building project is completed. Therefore, is it worth it to have your building or project LEED-certified? A definitive answer remains elusive.

As another, more familiar example: Do hybrid cars produce lower emissions than gas-only vehicles? Obviously. Do they get better gas mileage? Sometimes. But it’s not always a significant difference when compared to the price differential of similar models. Total electric cars use no fossil fuels and produce no emissions, which are great assets. However, since there are not enough of them on the road, there isn’t an accurate way to determine the difference in electric consumption a nation of them might make. The same can be said of solar panels. As for recyclables, there is absolutely no argument of any sort that doing this is a bad thing.

Cleaning up our oceans, lakes, and waterways, plus keeping our landfills limited to those items that decompose and can/will/might be used to produce products that will go back into our soil is great. But what portion of these post-consumer materials will be reused in manufacturing? Again, theory is rosier than reality in answering this question. We have been recycling so much and have shipped so much of it to foreign countries, China being the main importer, that we now find ourselves without places to send these materials. China has stopped importing “foreign garbage,” which includes many types of plastics and paper. We also have run out of recycling plants and are now depositing what is and might be recyclable back in landfills. Recycling, however smart and necessary, remains shot through with problems, beginning with the fact that a lot of us don’t understand whether what we throw in the recycling bin is really recyclable.

So where are we in this quagmire? Does “being green” mean there’s reason for hope and change? Or is it all hopey-changey bunk? What you decide depends on your environmental outlook and what you want and expect of and for future generations. It also depends on your pocketbook. The difference in cost between hybrid cars and their gaseous counterparts can take years of driving to recoup, let alone seem significant. The same with LEED-certified buildings, electric cars and solar panels. No, being Green isn’t easy. But here’s my take in black and white: any steps forward in making this planet more sustainable, keeping our precious natural resources for generations to come, is worth whatever it takes.

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Autism: By the Numbers

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began tracking the prevalence of autism in American children, comprehensive data from 2000 and 2002 showed 1 in 150 kids were found to have autism. By last year, when the CDC released results from its most recent findings, autism rates had again jumped. Of the 8-year-olds from the study’s broad-based regional survey areas, 1 in 59 had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

In real numbers, here’s what that means: CDC tracking suggests that in 2000, roughly 26,700 kids across the U.S. were found to have ASD; the most recent data indicates that number grew to 72,375.

Autism rates, which increased steadily from 2000 to 2010, according to a 2018 report from Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, had held steady, at 1 in 68, in the two sets of findings from 2010 to 2012.

Researchers and CDC officials pointed to myriad factors that appear to have a role in the increase in autism rates. One big takeaway from recent findings is the increase in autism prevalence among white children as compared to black children in previous reports.

“Although we continue to see disparities among racial and ethnic groups, the gap is closing,” Li-Ching Lee, a psychiatric epidemiologist at the Bloomberg School and one of the CDC survey’s principal investigators.

Lee and other experts say a primary factor in these increases and in the growing rate of ASD prevalence is that children are getting diagnosed at younger ages, often as early as 2 to 3 years old.

Autism, which appears as early as infancy, is a range of closely related disorders that share some core symptoms. ASD causes delays in basic developmental areas, such as learning to talk, play, and interact with others. Signs and symptoms of autism vary widely, just as some children with ASD suffer only mild impairment, while others may struggle with debilitating physical and cognitive challenges.

According to the CDC, children on the autism spectrum may vary in the severity of their impairment, but all struggle to some degree in three areas: verbal and non-verbal communication; relating to others and engaging in the world; and having flexibility in their thinking and behavior.

Opinions differ among doctors, parents and experts about autism’s causes — and about how to best treat it. But all agree, and research reinforces, that acting early and seeking intensive intervention for children showing early signs of autism is the best path toward the best outcomes. For more info, visit www.CDC.gov/ActEarly

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The Vaping Issue

Since the introduction of e-cigarettes in 2004, their popularity has grown exponentially, especially among teenagers and young adults.

Initially, e-cigarettes were used as a form of smoking cessation therapy. Though they contain nicotine, they do not have the tar and toxic gasses that are associated with combustible cigarettes. E-cigarettes were an innovative way to get people to quit smoking, and they’re easily accessible. But this accessibility introduced young people to e-cigarette use.

For many young people, vaping is an introduction to nicotine and may be a gateway to traditional cigarettes.

Vaping has become rampant and, for experts, the trend is disturbing. The 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey showed staggering increases in middle and high school students using e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). From 2017 to 2018, there was a 78 percent increase in e-cigarette use among high school students and a 48 percent increase among middle school students, reversing the strides made in recent decades in the fight against youth nicotine addiction.

Since vaping is a relatively new technology, there are still questions about the e-cigarette liquid and its long-term effects. We know nicotine harms the developing brain but have little understanding of the potentially damaging ultrafine particles and heavy metals that also are found in e-cigarettes.

With its increase in popularity, there have been multiple regulations in an effort to curb and eventually eradicate vaping in teens and young adults.

In 2014, a law was passed that bans people under age 18 from purchasing and possessing e-cigarettes and other nicotine-dispensing devices, but that did not solve the youth vaping problem.

More recently, a ban on indoor vaping was passed in November. This amendment makes the use of e-cigarettes and other nicotine-dispensing products allowed only in homes, bars, and hotels that permit it, thus treating vaping like cigarette smoking. However, this ban does not address the youth vaping crisis.

The Federal Drug Administration has been tireless in its attempt to keep e-cigarettes and other ENDS out of the hands of young people. A major component of its plan is to curb the marketing of tobacco products aimed at youth. Many purveyors of e-cigarettes and other ENDS have designed marketing campaigns to appeal to teens and young adults. Bright ads and flavored products are created for and aimed at young people to get them addicted to nicotine.

In compliance with the FDA crackdown, Juul, one of the leading manufacturers of e-cigarettes, announced in 2018 that the company will no longer sell its flavored products in retail stores. These products are now only available on Juul’s website to buyers who are over 21. One puff of a Juul has the equivalent amount of nicotine of one pack of cigarettes.

The FDA released its Comprehensive Plan for Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation in 2017 and held a public hearing on Jan. 19 to discuss efforts to eliminate the use of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products by young people. The FDA proposes a nicotine product standard that would lower the nicotine in cigarettes to a minimally addictive or non-addictive level. This could decrease the chances of future generations becoming addicted to cigarettes and could make it easier for current smokers and vapers to quit. The FDA is also looking into regulating flavors in e-cigarette and tobacco products, including menthol. FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb has vowed to take whatever action is necessary to stop the harmful trends associated with vaping.

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Parkland Speaks: Collecting Lonely Thoughts

Writing, at its best, is a lonely life.

Ernest Hemingway, in describing work that won him a Nobel prize in 1954, knew this sentence seemed contradictory — “alone” is not how we usually describe life’s transcendent moments.

Parkland Speaks: Survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas Share Their Stories (Random House Children’s Books, paperback, $17) is one of those rare books that reveals how the solitude required of writing can elicit heartrending reflections and devastating truths.

Anna Bayuk, one of the collection’s 43 contributors, was a junior at Douglas on Feb. 14, 2018, when a shooter attacked the school, leaving 17 dead and as many injured. That afternoon, she found herself bunkered in a classroom, clenching the hand of a classmate she “only half knew,” listening to gunshots in the distance, hearing footsteps in the hallway.

“you are staying quiet, no, quieter, no, silent

you are staying silent.

for a moment, i was not silent.

there was a plastic walmart bag full of valentines from

     and for the people that i care about on my lap.

and when i shifted it off to the side so that i could move

     my legs even an inch

it was the loudest thing i had ever heard …”

Passages like this, breathtaking in their imagery and revelation, don’t happen in front of local TV cameras and newspaper reporters. They come when you’re alone with your thoughts; and that mulling — that essaying — can crystallize with the solitude writing requires.

Each piece in Parkland Speaks, whether recollection, photo, sketch, speech, or scratch poem, comes from a Douglas student or teacher. The collection’s editor, Sarah Lerner, teaches journalism at the high school and serves yearbook advisor. Those two roles overlap here in a nexus through which the collection is focused and shaped, but only expansively directed. And the result is by turns gut-wrenching, depressing, ponderous, hopeful, and joyous — sparkling with such a range of thoughts, images, and emotions, it can be exhausting.

Much the way the teens here, and everywhere, normally are. Even as not-normal as these young people now feel.

Both with intention and inadvertently, the young writers of Parkland Speaks reveal their falls from innocence. Each, like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, bruised, dusty, and dazed but able to stand up, take stock, and take tentative steps forward.

Rebecca Schneid, now a senior at Douglas, reflects in the aftermath of 2/14 on the bewilderment of being chased into adulthood — first by the shooter, then by the media and politicians, then by the world of anonymous jeerers and gawkers known to every victim of adolescence.

In “A Zoo Animal,” a free-form piece in the style of a spoken-word jam, Schneid says, “I don’t even know myself.”

Sometimes I think that I am fine,

that I’ve lost some of that sheer pain and wrath;

that I’m on a path

toward healing and success,

toward not moving on really, but growing

from the distress …

She is not fine, of course — who would be? And that’s the point: given the circumstances, feeling so not-normal is, well, normal.

Definitely, it’s the new normal at Douglas High.

That new normal, even a year later, is still in flux.

The final pages of Parkland Speaks serve as proof. In “Meet the Contributors,” everyone has moved on. Some still attend Douglas High, now upperclassmen; others have gone off to college. Each’s trajectory toward whatever their futures hold remains on path despite what they went through.

But the way of those paths has been hosed down and is still wet with their experiences and takeaways from Valentine’s Day 2018. The footing is slippery as they try to navigate between who they were before that day and who they are now.

But make no mistake — forward is where they’re going. Whether as community organizers or organizers for Dance Marathon, as varsity water polo players or budding civil engineers and pediatricians, as yearbook editors or ebook authors.

Parkland Speaks isn’t about reliving the past. It’s proof of life in the now. A testament to resilience and hope — the very essence of MSDStrong.

teeberg is the Parklander’s contributing editor.

Cutline: Artist Madalyn Snyder, one of the contributors for Parkland Speaks, wrote about her experiences on Feb. 14, 2018, for the collection. A junior at the time, Snyder was cutting out paper hearts and goofing off with her buddy Guac on Valentine’s Day, as the pair waited for class to end. Minutes later, they heard gunfire and Snyder said her own heart sank. In the chaos of evacuating, she and her classmates came face-to-face with the shooter and Snyder was saved only when her teacher pulled her to safety. The teacher, Stacey Lippel, another of the book’s contributors, was injured in the incident when a bullet grazed her arm. Snyder’s friend and classmate, Joaquin “Guac” Oliver, was later named among the 17 victims who died in the shooting. (Illustration by Madalyn Snyder, courtesy Random House Children’s Books.)

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It’s Ladies Night Out at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Last May, Parkland resident Janet McMahan chaired a Ladies Night Out to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), and she has been dancing to that beat ever since.

McMahan was introduced to type 1 diabetes eight years ago, when her son was diagnosed and eagerly got involved with the organization.

JDRF, which is headquartered in New York and has chapters throughout the U.S., as well as abroad, funds research and strives to help find ways to prevent, manage, and one day cure diabetes.

For McMahon and JDRF’s South Florida Chapter, based in Fort Lauderdale, the inaugural Ladies Night Out was a hit.

“We raised $22,000, which was more than I hoped,” McMahan, who has volunteered with the group for almost a decade, said.

The local chapter’s second annual Ladies Night Out is set for April 25, from 6 to 9 p.m., at Parkland Golf and Country Club. This year’s event will have food and drink, a DJ, and a silent auction that will feature more premium items. Tickets are $39 and all ladies of all ages are welcome.

“It is really important for young moms to attend because of the information we can make available to them about the warning signs,” McMahan said. “Unfortunately, a lot of kids do not get diagnosed early enough.”

You likely know someone who has been affected by diabetes, which can be diagnosed in people at any age. The condition leaves the body producing little to no of the hormone insulin, which it needs to process the sugar and fat from food. When insulin becomes too high, the consequences can be dangerous, even fatal, for sufferers when their blood sugar levels get too low or too high.

“You are always trying to find that balance, and there are factors that affect it, like stress hormones, and sometimes you do not know,” she said, “so it is a constant battle and there is never a minute off.”

Having a support network can make a difference. Families stay busy with JDRF events throughout the year. Every chapter has a JDRF charity walk in the spring, McMahan said, and then there is a gala in May. “I believe strongly in this particular organization,” McMahan said. “It is important to stay educated and involved so new developments can continue to benefit members of our community.”

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