A Silent Epidemic
Published on Jan 25, 2018
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Up to one in five kids living in the U.S. shows signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder in a given year.
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So in a school classroom of 25 students, five of them may be struggling with the same issues many adults deal with: depression, anxiety, substance abuse.
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And yet most children — nearly 80 percent — who need mental health services won't get them.
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Whether treated or not, the children do go to school but they deal with major problems like chronic absence, low achievement, disruptive behavior and dropping out.
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Katie is one of those kids. She's 18 now. Back when she was 8, she had to transfer to a different school in the middle of the year.
We're not using Katie's last name to protect her privacy. She's been diagnosed with bulimia and depression.
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"At recess, I didn't have friends to play with," she recalls. "I would make an excuse to stay inside with the teachers and finish extra work or do extra credit."
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In the span of a few months, she went from honor roll to failing. She began cutting herself with a razor every day. And she missed a ton of school.
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"I felt like every single day was a bad day," she says. "I felt like nobody wanted to help me."
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Katie says teachers acted like she didn't care about her schoolwork. "I was so invisible to them."
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During all this time, she says, not a single principal or teacher or counselor ever asked her one simple question: "What's wrong?"
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Katie says things started to turn around for her when she met a nurse who finally showed interest in what was wrong. Now, she's begun college and wants to be a pediatric nurse.
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"I'm doing a lot better now" she says. " Obviously, I mean, I'm a lot happier. I'm excited for school. I'm excited to graduate. I'm excited for life."
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You too can help our students get help and be excited for life. Please reach out if you notice a change in a student's behavior.
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If you're not sure what to say or how to approach the student, please reach out to a counselor.
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Presented by Monicah Ndegwa, BSN, RN
Feb, 2018
Resources:
Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions Of Students. (2016). NPR Houston Public Media News 88.7. Retrieved on 2/12/18 from https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/08/31/464727159/mental-health-in-schoo...
Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions Of Students. (2016). NPR Houston Public Media News 88.7. Retrieved on 2/12/18 from https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/08/31/464727159/mental-health-in-schoo...
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