Mental Illness

[easyas123]

but the reality is that many parents are not either willing or able to do so.

And that is a huge part of the problem.

 

[ambula603]

This thread is perfect timing, as my 8th-grade daughter and her friend just won a state-wide video contest about reducing mental health stigma in schools and they were awarded the $1,000 grand prize. That money will be spent in their school to help anyone with mental illness or to stop the stigma of getting help.

Any ideas on what they should spend the money on?

Kids have the same advisement teacher throughout their time at each school, and classes have all grade levels so there is a sense of mentorship also from older students.

Our school system has this same type of program and I LOVE it. We experienced a deadly school shooting 5 years ago so it is a priority in our district, as well as safety measures and audits. My daughter actually works in our PBIS program!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

But, historically school really hasn't been about those things. Public education has never been simply about learning basic facts/subjects. The primary goal has been about producing healthy, productive citizens who are able to participate in their society and economy in meaningful ways. I think mental health definitely falls under that umbrella, especially since mental illness can lead to poor academic performance, can disrupt all the other kids in a class, etc.

I know in every discussion about public education parental responsibility is brought up. And, of course, parents should be the primary people in a child's life who teach them about health/social skills/etc, but the reality is that many parents are not either willing or able to do so. How does it possibly benefit our society to simply say, "Oh well, that's the parents' responsibility" instead of stepping in to help a child in need?

Many mental disorders have a genetic and/or environmental factor. Parents with untreated/unmanaged mental illness themselves or parents who are raising their child in an environment of trauma/abuse/drugs/etc are probably not the most reliable for getting their kids the mental health care that they may need.

I don't think the OP was meaning that there should be an entire class dedicated to mental health (like replacing English or Math class), just that awareness of mental illness should be discussed at school. Personally, I believe that decreasing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment may be just as important to their long-term academic or professional success (perhaps even more so) than anything they learn in one of their primary classes.

I was thinking as this thread evolved, that it really takes a plugged-in parent to get kids the help they need, when they need it.

I mentioned upthread that our pediatrician did a good job of screening. One year at their physical one of my kids answered questions about school in a weird way. I was a little surprised when the pediatrician pulled me aside after the exam and suggested counseling. She was right. There was something going on that I hadn’t fully grasped. But with counseling it was worked through, and that led to some other positive changes, as well. Fortunately I was able to work with it - I took it seriously and did what was suggested.

 

[Frwinkley]

As a 3rd grade teacher, I see lots of this everyday, but I have a slightly different take. I am in no way making light of serious mental illness (I see plenty of that too--lots of kids that have suffered much trauma in their early years).

I truly think about this everyday: why do kids have no coping skills? I'm not talking about trauma, death, etc. I'm talking about typical day-in-day out things that involve some problem solving in order to cope.

I hate the idea of throwing medicine at kids (again, I am not talking about serious mental illness--sometimes I've had to beg parents to seek professional help for their child), I'm referring to simpler things that are just part of growing up that immediately get called "anxiety".

 

[momz]

i'm with the crowd who thinks school is for academics. health care belongs in the realm of healthcare providers. "the school" is not the solution to societal ills. Unfortunately, I think the public school system takes on way too much regarding social concerns. it takes the emphasis off of the first objective of educating the student.

 

[DLgal]

i'm with the crowd who thinks school is for academics. health care belongs in the realm of healthcare providers. "the school" is not the solution to societal ills. Unfortunately, I think the public school system takes on way too much regarding social concerns. it takes the emphasis off of the first objective of educating the student.

Whatever. Mental health affectes everything else in your life. You can't be successful as a student if you are struggling with your mental health, and a major component of mental health is your social network/environment, which for kids is primarily schools. If schools fail to provide adequate mental health supports, they are failing to prepare kids to be successful adults who can positively contribute to society. Isn't that the entire point of education?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

i'm with the crowd who thinks school is for academics. health care belongs in the realm of healthcare providers. "the school" is not the solution to societal ills. Unfortunately, I think the public school system takes on way too much regarding social concerns. it takes the emphasis off of the first objective of educating the student.

Ah yes but sewing and cooking aren't at all social things right? Parenting classes such as ones where you take a mechanical baby home aren't social things right?

This sort of talk is like deciding in your mind what you think courses at school teach. I def. learned age appropriate psychology in school, it's how I decided I wanted to go into psychology in college and get a degree in it. And the interesting thing is educating someone on what something is is exactly what that would be doing with incorporating discussion about mental illness. Not just about the physiological aspects such as what to look out for with anxiety or depression just to name two but also where to go for help.

What did you ever think about D.A.R.E? Not about its effectiveness but about its appropriateness being taught nationwide for a long time

 

[UnderneathAMagicMoon]

As a 3rd grade teacher, I see lots of this everyday, but I have a slightly different take. I am in no way making light of serious mental illness (I see plenty of that too--lots of kids that have suffered much trauma in their early years).

I truly think about this everyday: why do kids have no coping skills? I'm not talking about trauma, death, etc. I'm talking about typical day-in-day out things that involve some problem solving in order to cope.

I hate the idea of throwing medicine at kids (again, I am not talking about serious mental illness--sometimes I've had to beg parents to seek professional help for their child), I'm referring to simpler things that are just part of growing up that immediately get called "anxiety".

Alternate take on your alternate take, lol… I actually think it’s entirely possible that kids are in some ways just different these days. My 3-year-old is currently what I mentally think of as “QNOS” - Quirky Not Otherwise Specified. No specific diagnosis but he already shows signs of significant anxiety in addition to things like sensory issues and difficulties with social language. I’ve gone down a rabbit hole of internet research and it really does seem like certain things are on the rise with kids these days. When we were in school lethal food allergies were rarely heard of, now they’re everywhere. Autoimmune issues like eczema are exponentially more common, various developmental issues like autism / ADHD are rising rapidly, and so on. I could definitely see mental health issues genuinely being a bigger issue today than they were a generation ago. There are probably a multitude of factors that play in to this but I can definitely see the possibility of a genuine increase.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

why do kids have no coping skills?

I'm referring to simpler things that are just part of growing up that immediately get called "anxiety".

Because the parents and society of the past had anxiety and yet no one was willing to discuss it much less put a name to it. Those things were best left behind closed doors, well that's how it was viewed. Toughen up buttercup right?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Alternate take on your alternate take, lol… I actually think it’s entirely possible that kids are in some ways just different these days. My 3-year-old is currently what I mentally think of as “QNOS” - Quirky Not Otherwise Specified. No specific diagnosis but he already shows signs of significant anxiety in addition to things like sensory issues and difficulties with social language. I’ve gone down a rabbit hole of internet research and it really does seem like certain things are on the rise with kids these days. When we were in school lethal food allergies were rarely heard of, now they’re everywhere. Autoimmune issues like eczema are exponentially more common, various developmental issues like autism / ADHD are rising rapidly, and so on. I could definitely see mental health issues genuinely being a bigger issue today than they were a generation ago. There are probably a multitude of factors that play in to this but I can definitely see the possibility of a genuine increase.

They've been doing various studies on this. There does seem to be an increase of these issues but it's not usually the kids that are at fault. Anytime someone says "kids can't cope these days" just is choosing not to see the changing of the times.

From parenting styles (such as helicoptering parenting which statistically has shown to have higher rates of anxiety amongst the children), to more openness of the topics, to environmental stressors (9/11 for one, Great Recession another and now the pandemic), to the rise of social media and how that affects one's self image, also the constant contact parents can have with kids too. Many of us fondly remember the days where our parents had no real general sense of where we are and touching base meant finding a pay phone or using a friend's landline. Now parents install tracking devices on their kid's cars and apps on their cell phones and this is seen as very normal.

At the base of it it is a lot of our own willingness to talk about these subjects. People didn't have good coping skills in the past, it just wasn't seen that way. One of the things I was reading (which is off topic to this but relates to it) was the discussion about colon cancer rates amongst younger (50 and younger) patients and that presently the rate at which cancer is being diagnosed is higher than before but that it doesn't mean the incident rates are higher, just that the lowering of recommended (and covered by insurance) screening down to 45 is basically allowing these cases to be caught earlier than in the past.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Schools show be teaching core subjects,

parents should be teaching, manors, religion, sexual identity, etc…. That why the parents can control the manor, direction, amount their children are exposed to life and when….

I agree it takes a village but the parents and or de facto parents need to control and be the final authority
not the limited public education system

 

[DLgal]

Alternate take on your alternate take, lol… I actually think it’s entirely possible that kids are in some ways just different these days. My 3-year-old is currently what I mentally think of as “QNOS” - Quirky Not Otherwise Specified. No specific diagnosis but he already shows signs of significant anxiety in addition to things like sensory issues and difficulties with social language. I’ve gone down a rabbit hole of internet research and it really does seem like certain things are on the rise with kids these days. When we were in school lethal food allergies were rarely heard of, now they’re everywhere. Autoimmune issues like eczema are exponentially more common, various developmental issues like autism / ADHD are rising rapidly, and so on. I could definitely see mental health issues genuinely being a bigger issue today than they were a generation ago. There are probably a multitude of factors that play in to this but I can definitely see the possibility of a genuine increase.

My younger son was like this at that age too. He never quite met the criteria for anything other than speech apraxia, but was finally diagnosed with autism and anxiety at age 14. I basically said he had autism from age 5 onwards, because my oldest is autistic and I had plenty of experience by that point.

The human species is always evolving. I firmly believe we are evolving in a way that makes these neurodivergencies more prominent. Maybe it's the environment, or maybe it's just a natural outcome of selection for useful traits.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

I don't think the OP was meaning that there should be an entire class dedicated to mental health (like replacing English or Math class), just that awareness of mental illness should be discussed at school. Personally, I believe that decreasing stigma and encouraging people to seek treatment may be just as important to their long-term academic or professional success (perhaps even more so) than anything they learn in one of their primary classes.

Exactly what I meant I certainly don't want it to replace maths or physics, but a little discussion wouldn't go amiss. Who here can quote how widespread schizophrenia is? Or the symptoms? How about anxiety based illnesses? Can you name the more common diagnoses?

 

[fla4fun]

When I was in elementary school, in the fourth grade, every student was screened for whether they needed glasses or not. I didn’t realize I needed glasses for distance until that screening. The year before that, in third grade, we were screened for hearing problems, which I passed with no problems. I don’t see where those issues are so far removed from mental health screening. The idea wasn’t to do a complete diagnosis, but to find the kids that needed further medical care so it could be addressed before middle and high school.

 

[UnderneathAMagicMoon]

They've been doing various studies on this. There does seem to be an increase of these issues but it's not usually the kids that are at fault. Anytime someone says "kids can't cope these days" just is choosing not to see the changing of the times.

From parenting styles (such as helicoptering parenting which statistically has shown to have higher rates of anxiety amongst the children), to more openness of the topics, to environmental stressors (9/11 for one, Great Recession another and now the pandemic), to the rise of social media and how that affects one's self image, also the constant contact parents can have with kids too. Many of us fondly remember the days where our parents had no real general sense of where we are and touching base meant finding a pay phone or using a friend's landline. Now parents install tracking devices on their kid's cars and apps on their cell phones and this is seen as very normal.

At the base of it it is a lot of our own willingness to talk about these subjects. People didn't have good coping skills in the past, it just wasn't seen that way. One of the things I was reading (which is off topic to this but relates to it) was the discussion about colon cancer rates amongst younger (50 and younger) patients and that presently the rate at which cancer is being diagnosed is higher than before but that it doesn't mean the incident rates are higher, just that the lowering of recommended (and covered by insurance) screening down to 45 is basically allowing these cases to be caught earlier than in the past.

I think environmental changes play a big role. Widespread Vitamin D deficiency, big changes to the human microbiome, and so on. We are also dumping sooo many new chemicals into the world with next to no understanding of long term health impacts (living near a source of pollution substantially raises a child’s risk of all kinds of issues, for example.) There have also been medical advances meaning that many more babies are surviving things like prematurity which is wonderful but can be a risk factor for things like ADHD. I think that health wise this current generation really does have some novel struggles that we didn’t see so much in the past.

 

[disykat]

Schools teach the whole child and I think in most good elementary classrooms discussions naturally happen that involve coping skills, healthy living habits, etc. I remember all the way back to the 80's when I first started teaching, there was a big hullabaloo about an actual curriculum "teaching" some of these skills. To me, they were no different than the kinds of things we talked about naturally in the morning meeting, after recess, or during read alouds, etc. Of course we talk about being kind, making friends, being safe and healthy, etc. Those things don't infringe upon religious or political beliefs. I had many parents ask to look at the curriculum and I would talk with them about it and let them take home the teacher's guide to look at more carefully. Every single parent I had that looked at it decided it was fine and withdrew their objections because they found nothing in it that took away from or tried to replace what they were teaching their kids.

 

[monsterkitty]

Schools nationwide have implemented social/emotional education programs. Part of the S/E program in my former district was mental illness. S/E is required in my state.

Schools face an uphill battle when talking about S/E as well as mental illness as many in the general public believe it shouldn't be taught. There's been discussions here in the DIS the past few years about S/E in schools and how it takes away from learning time and "kids don't need it."

The biggest challenge schools face when implementing programs or curriculum is funding. Someone upthread mentioned that we used to be screened for hearing and vision at schools but that's not done anymore. Two reasons- funding and parents don't want schools to be involved in health issues. Remember the uproar when schools were weighing students because some states required BMI screenings?

Schools also face the issues of we aren't medical doctors so they can't even say simple things like such as. "We see signs of ADHD or OCD," or whatever in a child. If a school recommends that a child be tested for ADHD or something else, parents can request the school to pay for the medical diagnosis, which schools really can't afford to do. (This is case law - parents have sued and won against schools and the schools were required to pay for the medical diagnosis because they suggested the testing). We weren't even allowed to tell a parent that a student might need to get their eyes checked because the student was having difficulty seeing the board.

Do I think that mental health needs to have more support and students educated on mental health? Absolutely!

I have a therapy dog I take to the school I retired from and the amount of students who visibly react and relax when they get to sit with my pup has increased dramatically. I'm also getting calls from other schools in the district almost daily to see if I can bring in my dog for a student in crisis. It breaks my heart for these students and the lack of resources not just in school, but in their everyday lives as well.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

True Mental Illness is inherited - if a child has it more than likely a parent has it
I’m speaking as a child who grew up with a parent who was severely mentality Ill - said parent was finally succeeded in taking their life when I was a Senior in High School
I have several family members who have mental illness and sadly unknown at the time married someone with it and had two kids - more sadly both my kids got mental illness
So with that being said - I spent 20 years hauling kids to professionals trying to get them help - the whole set up with ins and Dr is a nightmare for a person who doesn’t have a mental illness let alone someone who does .
I could type here all day the problems & issues - put them on medicine ? Great idea ! Let’s try 20 or 30 until we find the right one or combo that works ! Then let’s hope they take it ! As their bodies change the medicine needs to change - but you don’t know when that is until something bad happens or if they are not taking it or took it and went and threw it up - again I could go on and on
No it’s NOT an issue the School System should be taking on - the School System was setup to teach children reading / Writing / History / Math / English / Sports
Not raise children - people who decided to have children took that task on
The real help here needs to be in the Ins / Drs - I can state from my DD trying to kill herself -( more than once and on medication ) did I get ahold if her Dr? NO - did he return my calls? NO did he see her in the psych ward ? NO was this uncommon ? No not per employees in psych ward - when I confronted the Dr it was I didn’t know
Get new Dr you say ? Oh ok - 1 year waiting list - good luck to you !
Lucky for me I’m really good friends with my person Dr who cane thru for me instantly - what do you need what can I do ? The Psych Ward ? Please ! They did nothing they stated they would do
Again I’ve dealt with this my whole life with children and adults - it’s horrible - the stigma is HUGE it’s real and it’s not going nowhere
This is not a school issue - it’s a society issue - demand better treatment and care - demand more from ins companies and less restrictions - make it easier for people to get the treatment they need and AFFORDABLE - stop treating people with mental illness like they have something your going to catch
My opinion ymmv - I could go on and on but I’ll stop it’s just very frustrating when you try and help and it’s brick wall after brick wall while your love one suffers
I mean no offense to anyone nor am I trying to start argument - just my experienced I understand others may have different and better ones and I hope that is the case !!

 

[DLgal]

Schools nationwide have implemented social/emotional education programs. Part of the S/E program in my former district was mental illness. S/E is required in my state.

Schools face an uphill battle when talking about S/E as well as mental illness as many in the general public believe it shouldn't be taught. There's been discussions here in the DIS the past few years about S/E in schools and how it takes away from learning time and "kids don't need it."

The biggest challenge schools face when implementing programs or curriculum is funding. Someone upthread mentioned that we used to be screened for hearing and vision at schools but that's not done anymore. Two reasons- funding and parents don't want schools to be involved in health issues. Remember the uproar when schools were weighing students because some states required BMI screenings?

Schools also face the issues of we aren't medical doctors so they can't even say simple things like such as. "We see signs of ADHD or OCD," or whatever in a child. If a school recommends that a child be tested for ADHD or something else, parents can request the school to pay for the medical diagnosis, which schools really can't afford to do. (This is case law - parents have sued and won against schools and the schools were required to pay for the medical diagnosis because they suggested the testing). We weren't even allowed to tell a parent that a student might need to get their eyes checked because the student was having difficulty seeing the board.

Do I think that mental health needs to have more support and students educated on mental health? Absolutely!

I have a therapy dog I take to the school I retired from and the amount of students who visibly react and relax when they get to sit with my pup has increased dramatically. I'm also getting calls from other schools in the district almost daily to see if I can bring in my dog for a student in crisis. It breaks my heart for these students and the lack of resources not just in school, but in their everyday lives as well.

They still do the vision and hearing screenings in our school district.

And there is no medical testing for ADHD. If a teacher suspects a child has it, or any other issue that is affecting learning and behaviors in the classroom, they absolutely CAN suggest testing, done BY THE SCHOOL. My son has ADHD and it was his teacher in 4th grade that informed me that he was having a hard time focusing in class. At home, it wasn't as noticeable because the demands weren't there. He already had an IEP and a behavior plan in place, but he was having noticeable difficulty. I simply spoke to his pediatrician during a routine annual exam who pulled out a one page checklist, asked me questions and then based on the answers, diagnosed him with Inattentive ADHD and prescribed medication. Couldn't have been easier. He is 18 now and began seeing a psychiatrist at age 14 who made the same diagnosis in the same manner.

Schools absolutely do need to be willing to do educational psychological testing when it's warranted due to a child struggling in class, and it's a shame that so many districts are not forthcoming about their OBLIGATION to do so when a student is struggling in school. They have Psychologists on staff for a reason. The unfortunate part is that parents don't usually know their rights.

 

[DLgal]

True Mental Illness is inherited - if a child has it more than likely a parent has it
I’m speaking as a child who grew up with a parent who was severely mentality Ill - said parent was finally succeeded in taking their life when I was a Senior in High School
I have several family members who have mental illness and sadly unknown at the time married someone with it and had two kids - more sadly both my kids got mental illness
So with that being said - I spent 20 years hauling kids to professionals trying to get them help - the whole set up with ins and Dr is a nightmare for a person who doesn’t have a mental illness let alone someone who does .
I could type here all day the problems & issues - put them on medicine ? Great idea ! Let’s try 20 or 30 until we find the right one or combo that works ! Then let’s hope they take it ! As their bodies change the medicine needs to change - but you don’t know when that is until something bad happens or if they are not taking it or took it and went and threw it up - again I could go on and on
No it’s NOT an issue the School System should be taking on - the School System was setup to teach children reading / Writing / History / Math / English / Sports
Not raise children - people who decided to have children took that task on
The real help here needs to be in the Ins / Drs - I can state from my DD trying to kill herself -( more than once and on medication ) did I get ahold if her Dr? NO - did he return my calls? NO did he see her in the psych ward ? NO was this uncommon ? No not per employees in psych ward - when I confronted the Dr it was I didn’t know
Get new Dr you say ? Oh ok - 1 year waiting list - good luck to you !
Lucky for me I’m really good friends with my person Dr who cane thru for me instantly - what do you need what can I do ? The Psych Ward ? Please ! They did nothing they stated they would do
Again I’ve dealt with this my whole life with children and adults - it’s horrible - the stigma is HUGE it’s real and it’s not going nowhere
This is not a school issue - it’s a society issue - demand better treatment and care - demand more from ins companies and less restrictions - make it easier for people to get the treatment they need and AFFORDABLE - stop treating people with mental illness like they have something your going to catch
My opinion ymmv - I could go on and on but I’ll stop it’s just very frustrating when you try and help and it’s brick wall after brick wall while your love one suffers
I mean no offense to anyone nor am I trying to start argument - just my experienced I understand others may have different and better ones and I hope that is the case !!

I agree with you. Finding good mental health care is SO hard. It shouldn't be. The brain is an organ, after all. I have never understood why insurance treats mental health so differently.

On the other hand, I feel like psychiatrists somehow feel like they are above every other medical specialty. They often don't take insurance at all, and only do private pay. I'm guessing it has to do with low reimbursement rates, but to be honest, their training and expertise is no more involved or expensive than any other specialty. I don't understand why they feel entitled to so much more money. I think it would go a long way in this country if ALL licensed medical doctors were required to accept insurance. They can also do private pay if they want, but they should have to take insurance. It shouldn't be something they are allowed to just bypass entirely.

There really aren't too few psychiatrists, there are too few AFFORDABLE ones.

We have to pay out of pocket $250 every 2 months for my son's psychiatrist, because she doesn't contract with insurance and we couldn't find anyone who does take our insurance (and we are in a place with TONS of medical providers). At least she gives us a superbill and our insurance reimburses us about 80% of the cost, but it's a pain that we have to do that. It is very easy to see how people who don't have the means to afford mental health care simply do without it.