https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95ovIJ3dsNk
Mental Illness
I
am very interested childhood mental illness.
My second grade teammates and I have been informed by our administration
of what to expect from the rising first graders. The first grade teachers has asked that a
large percent of the students are being retained. Also, the first grade teachers has spent most
of the year using Response to Intervention Strategies (RTI) with their
students. Many of those students are
presently being tested for mental illness, or special needs.
With
that in mind, I would benefit greatly from research on this topic. For example, becoming familiar with the
terminology linked to childhood mental illness would help me to understand what
is being discussed concerning each situation.
As it stands now, I am simply unskilled with the terminology and the
acronyms in this area.
In
addition, selecting childhood mental illness for my coarse project will give
parent the necessary assurance and confidence needed to place their children
into my presences as a general education teacher. I would like for the parents I serve to know
that I am using the best strategies to help their children.
Finally,
the staff members on my school’s (RTI) Team are very knowledgeable and take
their roles seriously. They have evaluated
students, as a last resort after assigning academic and behavioral
strategies. As a general education
teacher, I would like to become a valued member of the team in working with
students with mental illness and special needs.
As Dogra (2014) suggested. It is
my hope to be able to recognize a child’s mental status and support their needs
by providing the necessary strategies needed for (RTI). Fischer, Anthony, Lalich, and Blue (2014)
suggests that leaving children’s mental health untreated may be detrimental to
their development. Also, I want to learn
how adults are effected as a result of early childhood mental health. Hopefully, this will motivate me to work
diligently with the youth and gain a better knowledge of their abilities and
disabilities. As Delany and Smith (2012)
suggests, data to track the effects childhood mental health on adults, are
limited and more research is required.
Again,
completing this course project will be beneficial to me, the families I serve,
and my staff members at school. I feel
that understanding more about mental illness will help me to have more
compassion for those children in need.
Finally, it is quite possible that my research will in turn become an
ongoing exploration.
Reference
Delaney, L., & Smith, J. P. (2012).
Childhood health: Trends and consequences over the life course. Future of
Children, 22(1), 43-63.
Dogra, N. (2014). Childhood mental
illness. Diversity & Equality in Health & Care, 11(1), 81-83.
Fischer, R. L., Anthony, E. R., Lalich,
N., & Blue, M. (2014). Addressing the early childhood mental health needs
of young children: Evaluating child and family outcomes. Journal of Social
Service Research, 40(5). doi:10.1080/01488376.2014.930947
Tina,
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent topic to talk about for your course project. Let me the first say that mental illness is a touchy subject. However, the increased numbers of special needs and mental disorders are steadily growing and changing as children enter school. Most of the misrepresentation of ethnic people are being diagnosed or referred for special education is high.
On a personal note, my eldest sister was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Which is a chronic disorder, where reality is distorted along with a display of inappropriate emotions. Schizophrenia is known to peak within the pre-adolescent years and continue throughout adulthood. There is no cure for Schizophrenia, however, with a combination of medication, social and psychological therapy. People like my sister function at a reasonable level.
As a psychology major, I can be extremely helpful in strategies, terminology, and acronyms. I also can be a benefit in that I have resources that tell you which psychological tests are appropriate for children based on age, abilities, grades, and diagnosis. I do recommend the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), which has every psychological illness and disorders that affect children and adults. This book is the runner up to the Bible because of its in-depth information on various issues that affect people.
With that being said, are you focusing on mental illness in general or a particular issue?
Tyeshas, I have so much to learn about this topic. Thank you for extending your assistance. I am happy to learn about your background in this field. Thanks for sharing this information. Tina
DeleteTyesha,
DeleteYou asked if I were focusing on mental illness in general or a particular issue. Well, I am honestly not familiar with or recall all of the issues at this time. With that being said, you have prompted me to search for and become more aware of issues related to mental illness. Thank you again for your words of encouragement. Gabrielle also suggested that I review the resources from our previous classes for more information. I thank you both.
Tina,
ReplyDeleteYour topic is an important one! As Tyesha mentioned in her response, numbers are increasing in special needs classrooms, and there is a rise in my district of in EBD (Emotional and Behaviorial Disorder) and MOID (Moderate Intellectual Disability) classrooms as well. Where there were only a few in one or two schools, now there seems to be many more schools in the district that have EBD, MOID, and Severe and Profound classrooms, in addition to the regular inclusion classrooms. There is a shortage of Special Education teachers across the state of Georgia and the student population is on the rise.
If you remember in our first course, we reviewed articles that discusses the concept of toxic stress; chronic high stress household situations that affect the brain development of very young children (usually in low SES homes). The high levels of cortisol in the brain lead to disruptions in executive function, processing, and decision-making, which affects academic achievement. Something must be done to assist these children and their families learn about the effects of high stress situations on brain development, as well as ways to reduce the stress that puts their children at risk.
These articles may help with more information. Great post!
Shonkoff, J. P., Duncan, G. J., Fisher, P. A., Magnuson, K., & Raver, C. (2011). Building the brain's “air traffic control” system: how early experiences shape the development of executive function. Contract, (11).
Shonkoff, J., Levitt, P., Boyce, W. T., Cameron, J., Duncan, G., Fox, N. A., & Gunnar, M. (2011). Persistent fear and anxiety can affect young children’s learning and development.
Hi Gabrielle,
ReplyDeleteThis is the response that I was hoping for. Sincerely, I thank you for reminding me of our past studies. You and Tyesha raised important points and questions related to mental illness. Thank you so much for the articles. You mentioned that the number of students are increasing in the special needs classrooms. This is true. My heart goes out to those teachers who work with the children and the families of children with specials needs. As a general ed. teacher, I am asked to sit in on the meetings. Yet, I am interested in doing more. Thanks again for helping me to get off to a good start.
You are very welcome, I look forward to finding out more about your project!
ReplyDeleteTina,
ReplyDeleteIt is so heart wrenching to hear about children so young being held back a grade because of mental illness. It must be difficult to have a majority of six year olds that are not able to function and retain their lesson well enough to move to the next grade. I often wonder where are the parents' and how do they feel. Why are so many younger children being diagnosed with mental illness? Hanson and Lynch (2013) stated "families may benefit from parent education or training protocol designed to teach them specific strategies for how to support their children's development, adapt their home environments to meet child and family needs, or respond to developmental concerns, such as behavioral problems" (p. 259). I believe this is beneficial for everyone involved due to the fact as parents we are not trained to care for mental illness. Any services offered will benefit the child and the family. Good luck on your research, Tina
Reference
Hanson, M. J., & Lynch, E. W. (2013). Understanding families: Approaches to diversity, disability, and risk. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Thanks Janeiro,
ReplyDeleteYou know, I would have to agree with you, in that it is beneficial for everyone involved with the child dealing with mental illness, to adapt an environment which provides for his/her needs. In one of our school staff meetings, our administration asked everyone to list ways to include more parent involvement in our school. We have a parent center, but we should bring it up to date to meet more specific needs of the parent/child. Here is a website of a local school in Metro Atlanta where workshops are provided. Retrieved from: http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/parent-resource-centers
I remember the advisers from our residency pointing out that we should find a school that is already successful in the mission that you are trying to accomplish. Find out what works and put it into action. Thanks for the idea!