Michael Kawula
Personality changes after head trauma can be one of the hardest things for a family to understand because the person may look the same while acting nothing like themselves. A spouse notices more anger. A parent sees someone pulling away. Memory slips. Sleep changes. Patience disappears. Yet from the outside, there may be no obvious … Read more
Disorders of the brain can be confusing. Maybe you have been told you have ADHD, anxiety, a concussion, cognitive decline, or dementia. Maybe no one has given you an answer at all. You just know something has changed. Your memory is not as sharp. Focus takes more effort. Your balance feels different. Your sleep is … Read more
Mental issues in teenagers do not always look like a crisis. Sometimes they look like a closed bedroom door, a phone glowing in the dark, and a conversation with an AI chatbot that no parent, teacher, coach, or counselor knows is happening. Three recent research reports caught our attention because, when you put them together, … Read more
Real World Impact is what separates a good idea from something that actually changes a life, a company, or a community. Tampa Bay has no shortage of smart people, ambitious students, research, technology, capital, and ideas. The bigger question is whether we are connecting those assets well enough to solve problems that matter. At Embarc … Read more
How can you rewire your brain? That’s what we’ll cover today. Your brain has more capacity than you realize. For a long time, people were taught to think of the brain almost like a finished building. You grow up, your brain develops, and after that you mostly try to protect what you have. But that … Read more
Concussion testing in Tampa revealed an important pattern when Genesis Brain Institute reviewed the results of 28 patient evaluations. Of those 28 patients, 23, or 82%, performed below the 25th percentile in at least one objective balance condition. However, only 17 patients, or 61%, had an overall balance score below the 25th percentile. That difference … Read more
Mental health evaluations should do more than name a child’s symptoms. They should help families understand what could be driving the problem, what might be getting missed, and where to look next. On July 24, 2026, Florida brought healthcare, education, and behavioral health leaders together for a youth mental health roundtable (read more here). The … Read more
Schools and mental health cannot be separated when stress, anxiety and emotional struggles follow students into the classroom each morning. One child cannot sit still. Another shuts down when work feels hard. A third is quietly struggling while the teacher tries to support every student and still teach the lesson. Mental health education is important. … Read more
Feel off balance or not, your brain is making tiny corrections every second to keep you upright. Most of those movements are so small that you never notice them. You can walk into work, sit through class, compete on the field, or move through your day without realizing how much effort your brain and body … Read more
Why do I feel dizzy? It sounds like a simple question, but dizziness does not feel the same for everyone. The room may spin. You may feel lightheaded, unsteady, pulled to one side, or disconnected from the space around you. For some people, it happens while standing up. For others, it appears while driving, walking … Read more
