Mar 1, 2020, Fox12, Beaverton, OR: Salem-Keizer Public Schools prioritizing mental health in classrooms to address youth suicide https://www.kptv.com/news/salem-keizer-public-schools-prioritizing-mental-health-in-classrooms-to/article_18617764-5a2d-11ea-93c1-3fe404797c1d.html With youth suicides in Oregon climbing at alarming rates, public health officials, lawmakers and schools are starting to prioritize mental health as a cornerstone of public education. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) tracks youth suicides, which it defines as young people between the ages of 10 and 24. According to OHA, preliminary state data shows youth suicide increased by 26 percent in 2018. The number of children, teens and young adults taking their own lives has more than doubled in the past decade. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Oregon youth. The trend in Oregon follows a national phenomenon: youth suicides across the country increased by 56 percent from 2007 to 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The study, published in October 2019, also found that suicides tripled in the same time frame for children ages 10 to 14. The exact blame of the spike is hard to pin down, according to OHA’s youth suicide prevention coordinator, Jill Baker. Rather, health experts believe increased anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts stems from a multitude of issues. Baker said increased screen time, online bullying and social media are thought to be contributing factors in emotional issues teens and children face…. The district told FOX 12 it’s now surveying and tracking students’ psychological well-being and incorporating age-appropriate mental health lessons at every grade level. Schools in the district are also expanding employee suicide-prevention training. Now, even bus drivers, cafeteria workers and custodians will know the warning signs to look for in distressed students…. The Oregon Health Authority wants to see more programs like these in schools across the state, and for the first time, it has the resources to help. Lawmakers recently dedicated $6 million over a two-year period to youth suicide prevention. Baker said the funding will allow OHA to form more partnerships, develop curriculum, and offer grants for training and other suicide-prevention education. … This coming fall, school districts statewide will be required to have specific suicide prevention and intervention plans. The law comes from Senate Bill 52, also known as Adi’s Act, that passed in July….
top of page
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.
Loss of Brain Trust features over 9,000 news stories published worldwide since January, 2017
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
CHECK OUT MY SUBSTACK:
https://annedachel.substack.com/
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
Search
bottom of page
Comments