Nov 5, 2018, Hoopeston (IL) Chronicle: Hoopeston Area students take part in Mental Health Initiative http://www.newsbug.info/hoopeston_chronicle/hoopeston-area-students-take-part-in-mental-health-initiative/article_a070d0fa-f785-5213-9d6f-e7f37ffbb28b.html Several Hoopeston Area High School students took part in a recent Mental Health Initiative in Gibson City. School Counselor Mary Johnson accompanied the students to the program. … Like Hoopeston Area, Gibson’s school district is also moving towards being a “Trauma Informed” school district, Johnson said, and this teacher, Rick Ertel, worked with several of her students and they came up with the idea of having a mental health conference for young adults. … From that inspiration, the GCMS students created their Mental Health Initiative and around 18 schools took part in the program Oct. 30. ‘Trauma-Informed?’ Johnson outlined what moving towards a “trauma-informed” school means. … “When you move towards trauma-informed, you’re looking at the whole child, not just their academic well-being, you’re looking at their social-emotional, their mental and physical well-being,” she said. “You’re taking into consideration everything that makes this child up.” Johnson said that trauma-informed practices focuses on what the child has been through socially, emotionally and physically that may have caused trauma in their lives…. Johnson said the program started with an introduction from the organizer along with allowing students to meet the therapy dog that GCMS has adopted. … Johnson said the dog is there to work with students who have experienced trauma. … Some of these topics included: stress/anxiety coping skills, healthy relationships, depression/suicide, family dynamics, bullying, substance abuse and nutrition and sleep as a part of mental health. …
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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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