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Did you know? Utilizing storytelling can be a big help for memory recall. Instead of just trying to remember a few facts, get creative and make a story out of them.

‘Our brains are better able to recall narratives because we have a sequence of events to follow. For example, you might need to recall Newton’s Three Laws of Motion for your physics class. You might create a story about a futuristic hero, Captain Velocity, who explores three planets in the Galaxy of Motion. The different planets could represent the laws of inertia, force, and action and reaction.’

Read more about how to use storytelling for memory recall:

This morning’s coffee toast brings me an extra sense of warmth, and I would like to take a moment to welcome our daughter, Haley Mckenzie, who has recently joined our team to work with our pediatric clients.

Our inspiring story this week details two farmworkers’ bravery and quick-thinking when they saw smoke pouring out of the back of a school bus.

This week’s word is a bit of a mouthful: 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍

lack·​a·​dai·​si·​cal

ˌla-kə-ˈdā-zi-kəl

1: lacking life, spirit, or zest

2: languid

Used in a sentence: Feeling particularly lackadaisical in the summer heat, they lazily tossed a ball back and forth.

Fun fact: When folks living from the late 17th to the late 19th century had one of those days when nothing goes right, they could cry “Lackaday!” to express their sorrow and disappointment.

Most of us have received texts like these, requesting payment for a delivery. The message often includes a link that takes you to a seemingly normal website and requests that you pay $ .99 or some other small sum to get your package delivered.

Watch out! It’s a scam. One person who called the fraud network hotline said the $ .99 charge turned into a $400 scam!

To protect yourself, follow these tips:

 - Don’t click on any link unless you can verify that it’s legitimate.

- If you’re suspicious of a tracking number, check it out.

- Go to the source. If you’re concerned that there might be a problem with a package you’re receiving or have sent, contact the service directly, rather than through the link.

- Guard your personal information

Today’s coffee toast is a truly an enormous one! As our practice has grown, we’ve been blessed to witness countless miracles, awe-inspiring healings, and patients overcoming incredible adversity. This young man’s journey is one of the most remarkable miracles. After suffering a traumatic brain injury in 2019 during a motocross accident, Dylan’s prospects for survival were slim, let alone achieving the incredible milestones he has today, but God had greater plans! Dylan began working with me around four years post-injury (2023). While some might think the chances of recovery were slim to none, after already being 4 years post injury, this story showcases the power of perseverance and finding someone who believes in limitless potential! Doctors thought he’d never eat or speak ag

Our inspiring story this week comes from the newly crowned TIME’s Kid of the Year for 2025, Tejasvi Manoj. After her grandfather was almost scammed out of a large sum of money, Tejasvi looked into how common scams are. When she discovered just how many of the senior population are preyed on by scammers, she quickly mobilized a plan of action and protection.

This week’s word might sound like a cough or sneeze if you say it too fast:

 𝒄𝒂𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒚 (noun)

ca·​coph·​o·​ny

ka-ˈkä-fə-nē

1: harsh or jarring sound

2: an incongruous or chaotic mixture : a striking combination

Use it in a sentence: Between the blaring boarding call announcements and the cacophony of slot machines, the concourse at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas is deafening.

Ironic that a word describing harsh sounds, sounds so harsh when you say it!

This week’s fun fact should hopefully inspire you to learn a new skill!

Your brain has the ability to learn and grow as you age — a process called 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦. This means that you can train your brain at any point in life!

“One key to keeping your mind young is to keep it busy and challenged through lifelong learning and stimulation. Traveling, learning new languages, picking up a musical instrument, taking art or cooking classes, doing puzzles, playing board games — all these things promote the growth of new brain cells and help the brain forge new pathways.” 

This week’s scam is commonly referred to as a 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒎. These scams occur when scammers on dating sites, Facebook, Instagram, or any online form of communication, pretend to be a romantic interest to an unsuspecting victim.

The scammer will pose as a fake person, even stealing someone’s profile photo. Once a “relationship” is developed with the victim, they will eventually ask for money for an emergency or an investment.

“What sets romance scams apart from other scams, says Mark Solomon, president of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, is that instead of an urgent appeal for immediate payment, as

This week’s word is fun to say, and can be fairly simple to implement into your vocabulary: 𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐟𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞

bum·​fuz·​zle¦bəm¦fəzəl

Definition: confuse, perplex, fluster

Example sentence: The tricky riddle was enough to bumfuzzle the contestants, who couldn’t figure out the answer.

Can you bumfuzzle your friends by using this word?

Did you know? Testing yourself on information is better than simply rehearsing or re-reading it. Some of us may shudder at the thought of a test, but this brain fact actually refers to low-stakes testing of yourself to improve recall and memory.

“Rather than constantly being spoon-fed the information by re-reading it in the same book, testing forces us to confront gaps in our knowledge and makes the brain work harder to retrieve a piece of information. In doing so, it actually strengthens those neuronal connections and makes it easier to retrieve in future.”

Whether you’re studying, or trying to remember something important, why not implement some mini tests for yourself to recall the information?

As the season for traveling approaches, watch out for a few of these common travel scams when planning your holiday vacation!

1. Free or rock-bottom deals: if a deal is way under the value of the trip, it is probably scam. To avoid this common scam, simply walk away from deals that are too good to be true.

2. Rental-car cons: Scammers set up phony customer service numbers online that look just like those of major rental-car companies. When you call, they take your money and personal information, then leave you stranded. To avoid, verify the phone number or website you are using to book a car is legitimate.

3. Airport and hotel Wi-Fi hacks: Connecting to

Today’s coffee toast Friday celebrates a patient’s remarkable journey as she nears graduation from therapy next week. Despite initial dismissals from medical professionals, she persevered in advocating for herself, driven by her conviction that something was amiss. Through intensive therapy and unwavering dedication to her home exercise program, she has triumphed over the problem of food and medications getting stuck in her throat.

This week’s story of kindness happened when a teacher, Jim Freeman, offered to carry a student, Ryan King, who has spina bafida, on his back during a field trip.

With roots in ancient Greek, this week’s word is the shortest English word that contains one of every vowel: 𝐞𝐮𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐚 (noun)

/juːˈnɔɪ.ə/

1. a feeling of goodwill (being friendly and wanting to help), especially one that exists between a speaker and an audience.

Example sentence: “His compassion and eunoia made him a fantastic candidate”.

Did you know?

Exercise is just as good for your brain as it is for your body.

Aerobic exercise raises your heart rate which increases blood flow to the brain. Your breathing increases also, which pumps oxygen into your bloodstream and travels to the brain. Because of this, more neurons are produced (neurogenesis) in the parts of your brain that control memory and thinking.

It is also noted that exercise promotes the production of neurotrophins, which helps increase brain plasticity. This leads to better memory and learning!

Source:

This week’s scam alert is has to do with fake court officers requesting payment for missing jury duty.

Today’s coffee toast salutes one of our superstar pediatric patients who crushed a milestone in therapy yesterday, mastering the /sh/ sound for the first time!

 This week’s word is 𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭.

bum·​ber·​shoot

ˈbəm-bər-ˌshüt

1: (noun) an umbrella

Here it is in a sentence: Mr. Whifflebottom shifted to his other arm the long black bumbershoot he carried ever with him, against the rain that seldom came, even as he wore always knee-high rubber boots for the same reason

With the rainy Gainesville days we’ve been having, don’t forget to bring your bumbershoot with you in case of an unexpected downpour! 

Did you know? One of the most integral aspects of cognitive function is hydration. Not only is drinking enough water necessary for the rest of our body, it also has a huge impact on our brains’ capabilities. “Being dehydrated by just 2% impairs performance in tasks that require attention, psychomotor, and immediate memory skills.”

If you feel your brain may be getting foggy while doing a task, or you’re having a hard time paying attention in class, ask yourself when was the last time you drank water. While dehydration isn’t the only reason for decreased cognitive performance, it is certainly a good place to start.

Source: Adan A. Cognitive performance and dehydration. J Am Coll Nutr. 2012 Apr;31(2):71-8. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2012.10720011. PMID: 22855911.

Welcome to our new weekly segment!

“𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲” is where we will take time to highlight positive things happening in the world. Often, news and media sites are riddled with sad, disparaging stories, so it’s important to remind ourselves to “take a moment to see the good.”

This week’s word is 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 (adjective).

mac·​a·​ron·​icˌma-kə-ˈrä-nik

1: Characterized by a mixture of vernacular words with Latin words or with non-Latin words having Latin endings

2. Characterized by a mixture of two languages

Example sentence: “The play was a macaronic mix of English and Latin that confused some audience members.”

While this word sounds like it might be delicious covered in cheese, it is actually just a fun way of saying two different languages are being combined!

In this age of technological advancements, most of us have given up the art of handwriting for typing- whether that be on mobile device or actual keyboard. Nothing wrong with that switch. Right?

Turns out, “giving up this slower, more tactile way of expressing ourselves may come at a significant cost, according to a growing body of research that’s uncovering the surprising cognitive benefits of taking pen to paper, or even stylus to iPad — for both children and adults” (NPR).

Even though both handwriting and typing involve movement from our hands and fingers to create words, handwriting actually creates a deeper engagement of the brain by requiring more fine-tuned coordination between motor and visual systems.

Given handwriting’s shown cognitive benefits, it is w