July 23, 2018, NBC7, Tallahassee, FL: Florida students will have to report if they’ve accessed mental health services http://www.wjhg.com/content/news/Florida-students-will-have-to-report-if-theyve-accessed-mental-health-services-488955481.html In addition to increasing funding for mental health screenings, part of a new law passed in the wake of the tragedy requires school districts to ask students to report if they’ve ever received mental health services. The new reporting requirement is unique to Florida and has mental health advocates concerned. …. “Some parents are afraid that putting that information on their child's record could impede them from getting into college or enlisting in the military,” said Johnson "I don't think either of those things are true, but there's a misunderstanding about what that information could do for a child.” Another uncertainty is how will the information be used. … The Department of Education hasn’t provided much guidance, saying in statements that the department is leaving decisions to local school districts. … Some mental health advocates are raising concerns the requirement could lead to children being stigmatized. … “The department is committed to ensuring we provide school districts with the information necessary to keep students safe while they are at school. Decisions on how parents report their child's mental health services are made at the local level. …
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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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