Jan 29, 2018, New London (CT) Day: East Lyme school board adopts superintendent’s budget http://www.theday.com/local-news/20180129/east-lyme-school-board-adopts-superintendents-budget The Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to adopt the superintendent’s proposed 2018-19 budget of $47.7 million, or 2.59 percent more than this year’s spending plan. … Newton presented data that showed that last year, there were more than 30 mental health/crisis intervention occurrences at East Lyme High School and about 27 at East Lyme Middle School. Based on the number to date, the school district projects there will be a "significant increase" in interventions this year. Director of Student Services Kimberly Davis defined a crisis as suicidal thoughts or plans, spending prolonged periods of the school day with counselors, depression, or suspected abuse or neglect. At the elementary level, students "with the highest needs are seen individually so little to no small group intervention is available," according to the presentation. When crisis support is needed, staff may have to travel and leave their current location without coverage, Newton said. “We are in a reactive mode, not a proactive mode,” Newton said. “We want to get to a proactive mode.” Under a proactive model, social workers implement prevention programs and provide early intervention services for at risk students, among other steps, while a school psychologist does comprehensive psychological evaluations and develops individualized plans for students, among other services, according to the presentation. … During the Board of Education meeting following the hearing, First Selectman Mark Nickerson spoke in support of the mental health initiatives. He said that unlike other towns, such as Waterford, whose youth services' departments have the infrastructure to offer mental health support, East Lyme youth services offers socializing and trips, but doesn’t have the infrastructure for mental health services….
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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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