Parent Connection

Slates Final Forum

The Newtown Parent Connection will offer its last forum of the season on Wednesday, April 13, 7 to 9 pm, at Newtown Middle School. The topic will be “How Drugs Change Your Brain — What Happens To Behavior, Learning, & Happiness?”

This program is offered to the Newtown and surrounding towns as means of educating and empowering the community in the prevention of substance abuse among their loved ones. It is presented at an important time for adults and young people to become informed about the effects of alcohol and drugs on brain development: before prom time, graduation parties, and summer vacation. Children’s “recreational time” could be extremely hazardous to their health.

The speaker, Dr Jonathan Michaelis, a clinical neuropsychologist, will provide images of how the brain functions when affected by substances like drugs and alcohol. He will discuss how these alterations in brain activity affect school performance, behavior, and mood. Dr Michaelis will address these mental health issues across an individual’s life span. The focus of much of his clinical work is how one can improve brain function to achieve maximum personal potential.

Dr Michaelis is a member of the US Surgeon General’s Conference on Children’s mental health. He has his doctorate from Columbia University and was formerly a member of the research faculty at the Yale School of Medicine. This knowledgeable speaker has frequently been featured on national and local television programs as an expert dedicated to providing families and individuals new scientific information regarding mental health and care issues. He has been profiled on the CBS Evening News, interviewed by Katie Couric on the Today Show, has appeared on MSNBC, and for three years he has served as a forensic psychology consultant for Court TV.

All are invited for a provocative discussion on a timely topic.

For more information, visit the Newtown Parent Connection website at www.newtownparentconnection.org or email at newtownparentconnection@hotmail.com.