Oct 14, 2018, Westminster, MD, Carroll County Times: With Safe to Learn Act, concern over behavioral problems, CCPS focuses on mental health http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/education/cc-safe-to-learn-mental-health-20181012-story.html For Meikel Currence, a second-grader at Taneytown Elementary School, controlling emotions and behaviors hasn’t always been easy. In the 2017-2018 school year, Meikel had many behavior-related issues each month. But those numbers began to decline as he worked with the school’s full-time psychologist using preventive and responsive services, and at times he benefited from daily crisis intervention and support.... During last year’s legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly moved forward with the Maryland Safe to Learn Act, which, while dealing with school resource officers, also has a strong focus on mental health help for students. And in addition to the law’s requirements, CCPS has been working to put a strong focus on mental health services for students for a number of reasons, from preventative safety measures to working through behavior incidents, like in Meikel’s case…. Dana Falls, director of student services with CCPS, said in an interview with the Times that the law requires each school to have a coordinator of mental health services, something CCPS does not yet have. Kim Muniz, the supervisor of school psychology, and Judy Klinger, the supervisor of school counseling, are sharing the responsibilities for now…. For example, if a threat is received by CCPS, he said, it would initially be assessed by the threat assessment team, and a mental health coordinator would be responsible to collaborate if the student was in need of mental health 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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