Aug 19, 2018, My Dayton Daily News: With roughly one-fifth of students showing mental health concerns, schools are taking more steps to help them cope https://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/schools-dramatically-increase-focus-mental-health/ww29lFvnsQgLym5i7cXjPJ/ VIDEO ON VACCINE REQUIREMENTS IS ADDED TO THIS STORY Reading, writing and math remain important for teachers, but local schools are dramatically increasing how much attention they pay to students’ coping skills, behavior and mental health. Districts are adding counselors and mental health therapists for at-risk students while implementing school-wide behavior and decision-making programs for all students. One of those programs, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, is mandated by the Ohio Department of Education. “Student mental health is a growing concern,” Brookville Superintendent Tim Hopkins said. “We are implementing social and emotional curriculum to help students develop the personal tools to deal with these issues.” Student mental health is a key factor in school safety, as students struggling to cope effectively with bullying and other social problems can, in some cases, lash out. Since at least the late 1990s, roughly 20 percent of children age 9-17 have exhibited some type of mental health concern, according to medical studies cited by ODE’s Health Care Support Toolkit. Half of those children, or 1 in 10 overall, had “significant functional impairment,” meaning the vast majority of classrooms are affected…. But some issues are increasing — Carroll High School Principal Matt Sableski cited a specific rise in anxiety and depression issues the past five years — and they’ve become much more of a classroom focus. The state’s new strategic plan calls for schools to focus on the “whole child,” not just academics…. Many local schools reported increasing the number of counselors or mental health therapists they employ, or boosting existing contracts with agencies such as South Community and Samaritan Behavioral Health…. Research shows that students’ exposure to traumatic events (also called adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs) has an impact on both school performance and overall health. ACEs can include being a victim of abuse or neglect, witnessing domestic violence or having a family member jailed…. Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said DPS will work this year with five specialists from the Montgomery County Educational Service Center to tackle “issues related to behavioral health and trauma.” The Centerville school district is adding three more therapists this school year to address student health issues, and Kettering expanded its contract with South Community last year to add more mental health counselors…. While Kettering is serving more than 7,000 students, the Newton school district in Miami County has fewer than 700. But Superintendent Pat McBride said Newton added another three-day-a-week counselor to support an intervention staffer who works with students on mental health issues…. The Huber Heights school district is adding social-emotional learning classes at its elementary schools this year, according to Superintendent Susan Gunnell. District spokesman Zack Frink said the course will help students to integrate skills, attitudes and behaviors so they can effectively handle challenges…. New Troy Superintendent Chris Piper said mental health needs “are growing in schools across the state,” adding that Troy has increased services for students and training for staff. Increased services in local schools take many forms, beyond just the heavy lifting of hiring more trained professionals…. The Warren County Career Center will have a licensed therapy dog visit campus multiple times this year. Bellbrook gives high school students “positive referrals” for good behavior and tries to build good habits via “character circles” in its youngest grades. Those fit into the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports. …
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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