Mar 6, 2018, News4, Jacksonville, FL: Duval County schools welcome state's focus on mental health https://www.news4jax.com/education/duval-county-schools-welcome-states-help-on-mental-health Improving mental health programs for teenagers is one aspect of Florida Senate Bill 7026, a sweeping, $500 million school safety bill that passed the state Senate on Monday and is now being debated in the House. A Duval County School Board member and a Jacksonville psychologist welcome the additional focus on mental health in addition to the current emphasis on physical health. The mental health components of the bill include: • $69 million for mental health assistance • $18.3 million for mobile crisis teams and • $500,000 for mental health first aid training … "Our students come from neighborhoods that have trauma. They’re exposed to a lot of things. We’ve seen this even recently in the news, with traumatic situations with gun violence for our kids," Couch said. "We need that support for our students. So this funding would really certainly help with that." Psychologist Dr. Justin D’Arienzo said most mental health issues -- like schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder -- begin to show up in teenage years. "I’m hoping there will be some programs in that bill that will provide greater awareness (on) different programs that build character, as well as teach students what they need to look out for," D'Arienzo said. "Teach students to be situationally aware and teach students that it’s OK to talk when they’re worried about another student." Couch said getting funding to decrease the student-to-guidance counselor ratio would be a major step in the right direction. D’Arienzo said it’s also important for both teachers and parents to look out for signs of mental instability in children. …
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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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