Aug 21, 2018, WREX—TV, Rockford, IL: Harlem School District instructs educators how to look for signs of trauma in their students http://www.wrex.com/story/38932536/2018/08/21/harlem-school-district-instructs-educators-how-to-look-for-signs-of-trauma-in-their-students From substance abuse, to domestic violence, to violence in their neighborhood students of all ages can be exposed to a variety of trauma. Which is why the Harlem School District says it's adopted a new approach to deliver care to those students who may not even realize they are struggling with something. "We have to know a child's story," says Loves Park Elementary Social Worker Margot Castillo. "So if I'm trauma informed I'm understanding what behavior, that is this child trying to communicate through his or her behavior?" The entire district has been trained on how to be trauma informed. This mean educators are taking the time to understand what's happened in a students life that may be pushing them to act out or lose focus, instead of immediately turning to discipline. … At Loves Park Elementary, every room is equipped with a comfort corner. If a student is struggling with something and needs to decompress, they can head there. This way they aren't completely excluded from the classroom. …
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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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