Page 18 - Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens - August '24

Page 18, Lifestyles in Palm Beach Gardens
Busch Wildlife Sanctuary Welcomes

New Animal Ambassador: Rihanna, The Virginia Opossum

Busch Wildlife Sanctuary at Abramson & Schlaggar Once Rihanna was healthy enough, the education and
Reserve, a renowned nonprofit organization dedicated animal care teams moved her to the sanctuary and began
to wildlife conservation and education, is delighted to acclimating her to life there. Busch Wildlife Sanctuary is
announce a new permanent resident and educational honored to provide a forever home to Rihanna and, with
animal ambassador: Rihanna, the Virginia opossum. her help, educate residents about her species and how to
Rihanna was brought to the wildlife rehabilitation cohabitate with native wildlife.
center on April 30 with most of her tail missing after an Virginia opossums are the only native marsupials in
altercation with a domestic cat. Fortunately, that was the North America. Opossums play many important roles in
only injury the juvenile opossum sustained. Staff treated their ecosystems and are beneficial to humans. Opossums
the wound and provided preventative care including eat insects, snails, slugs and other critters, which helps
antibiotics, antiparasitics, pain relievers and fluids. control their populations, in addition to eating unwanted
Without the majority of her tail, it was clear Rihanna household pests like rodents, cockroaches, rats and mice.
would not be releasable. An opossum’s prehensile tail To learn about Busch Wildlife
helps stabilize it when climbing and latches onto tree Sanctuary, visit www.buschwildlife.org.
branches to prevent them from falling, so Rihanna would Nurture what’s wild.
have difficulty evading predators without one.

Autism Or Just

An Awkward Kid?

By Jim Forgan, Ph.D.,
Licensed School
Psychologist
A concerned mom
came to me seeking
insights on her son’s
behavior. She explained,
“Sometimes Joseph can
seem zoned out and
not always in tune with
what is going on around
him. He can be socially
awkward at times. He can also be so hyper-focused
on something like his hobby and interest. He can get
easily bored and likes to be pretty active all of the time
which is a good thing but sometimes it is hard for him
to relax.” This mom wanted to know if her son might
have autism, ADHD, or anxiety so she knew how to
best support him.
Upon meeting Joseph for the first time, he presented
as a well-groomed and athletic adolescent. He was
slightly rigid in his social mannerisms as if he had been
taught skills such as greeting someone by looking them
in the eye and shaking their hand. While this was an
appropriate behavior, his interaction came across as
scripted or practiced. While talking with him I learned
he had an advanced vocabulary and could converse
about many different topics. He understood humor
and idioms such as, “She let the cat out of the bag.”
My school neuropsychological testing with Joseph
revealed two main contributing factors. First, he had
low cognitive flexibility which is a fancy term for Susan Has Moved To A
flexible thinking. His mental rigidity contributed to
him being a blacker and whiter thinker. He saw things
his way which created his social awkwardness. The New Location!
second factor was slower processing speed which
helped explain why he seemed zoned out at times. In
certain situations, Joseph quickly used up his mental Androcles Hair Salon
fuel which resulted in mental fatigue. When this
occurred he disengaged and seemed out of touch with 4031 Hood Rd., Suite C-108
what was going on around him. Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
I helped create a plan and recommended activities he
could do to improve these areas. Mom planned to share
the report with his school. Call (561) 625-4125 if you are Susan
concerned about your child and would like understanding
Swafford
and answers. Our website is JimForgan.com.

561-312-0457

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