Mental Health Awareness in Schools

I have been breaking the questions into different sections because it helps us pick out where or why there is a breakdown...Like Shanthi mentioned, most teachers know terms like ADHD and LD but don't know which particular skill to target. At the same time be aware that these skills can spill over to other areas (as in the auditory processing part). That is one of the reasons teachers shouldn't label a child.

Irrespective of whether school officials say Attention or LD, ask all these questions-a child needing extra support in one skill area will invariably need help in some other areas as well. So instead of working only on his visual discrimination skills you can also work on his organizing skills or his ability to adapt to change.

Teachers/school officials can tell you, "Look we have a concern. Your child has difficulties staying on task. We think it may have to do with some difficulty in following familiar/unfamiliar multiple step directions. We are not sure that this is because of poor attention or because she is not able to process the information. We are going to do ABC and EFG for a couple of weeks. If we feel there is still a sigificant issue, we'd like you to see an educational psychologist...."

Sensory processing:
When our body recieves sensory input, it has to process all the information and then act appropriately. Whether you are tearing a piece of dosa, tying a sari or reading this post, your body has to take in different kinds of sensory feedback, put those pieces together to complete the task.

This is fairly common and often mistaken for ADHD...it can occur in tandem with other conditions or by itself...there is a fair amount of debate going on about whether it is a separate diagnosis or not-but whatever the final outcome, having an OT come into the classroom for an assessment is great-not just to assess the kid but also to see how conducive the classroom is to support learning.

Does my child

• get easily fatigued by sitting? Listening?
• become distracted quickly in comparison to his peers?
• become over stimulated (too excited, scared, cries exceesively) and unable to calm himself
• slouch, change positions often?
• get easily tired by writing activities?
• react excessively to touch, smell, light, sounds, or taste?
• bump into things appearing clumsy?
• have difficulty making friends?

Transitioning:
One area with very little attention paid to it-changing from one activity to another...the kids who have difficulty in this area are often called 'rigid, wants everything his/her way, will not adjust,not creative'. They may have tantrums, push/shove others or be verbally aggressive. We get to see the behavior but we miss out on why the behavior happens.

Does my child have difficulty

• moving from one activity to another (however mundane it maybe)
• starting and stopping an activity?
• adapting to changes?
• with surprises?
• being flexible?
• spontaneous thought/action?
• keeping pace with the group?

r

 

Concerns about talking/writing/speaking/behavior:
This is something which shows up in primary school-as the need to write and speak increases (beyond learning abcs and word families). Remember you have already ruled out other language impacting conditions like intellectual disabilities/autism etc. It shows up in academic tasks but it has to be addressed by a speech therapist and all the other professionals.

• Is there a difference in how much my child understands and how much she expresses? (eg- she is able to follow a story read to her but can’t narrate it back to you or rephrase in her own words, or can't answer questions about the story but can do other activities like draw appropriate pics).
• Can she expand on play schemes? For example if children are playing ‘house’ can she add new steps to the play or try new roles? Or does she do the same activity over and over again? (Remember some children like to take on certain roles all the time because those roles are popular… whereas here it is because the child can’t form the necessary dialogues or expressions. So she chooses the same role over and over again).
• How does my child describe or explain information? Is it repetitive or is it creative?
• Are my child’s writing skills on par? This is not about the motor ability but about forming sentences, word order in the sentences, grammar (especially the tenses).
• Is my child frustrated because of an inability to communicate clearly?

I realize that I sounded patronizing when I mentioned about Indian parents don't ask questions. That was not my intention...a parent had mentioned how her son's teacher had brought up concerns. I cringed when she told me her response...she asked the teacher, "Are you saying my son is dumb?" Of course the teacher immediately had to rephrase herself a thousand different ways...probably worried about lawsuits and possible negative feedback at evaluation time. The difference is that a parent from that socio economic and educational background would have known what words to use, how to ask questions and what questions to ask.

I've seen kids sitting in the corner in classrooms because the teacher has no idea what to do because they don't 'listen 'and the parents are so grateful that the child has a place to go to for schooling like others in their neighborhood. They have big files with lots and lots of paperwork on all the assessments-but have no clue what those words say. They don't know how it translates into everyday life or what has to be done. The kids as young as 4 are on medication for ADHD-why? because they show behavior problems!

Kids show behavior problems for lots and lots of reasons-one of the most common reasons is an inability to communicate effectively. That alone can be because of so many reasons. That doesn't require medication but intervention of a different kind. So always dig deeper, ask questions about every little aspect of your child's schoolday...at the worst you come across as an annoying parent. So what?

Every year when we got our classlist, you could always hear the loud groans for one particular child-everyone liked him but he was a lot of work...as was his mother. The child had a mutliple diagnosis and ours was an inclusive school...fortunately we had all the different professionals on board-so all the services were available within the building. One of the goals for this child was "Follows two step directions with 1 repetition." Every day we had to fill out the goals we targeted for that day...and the mom wanted to know the two step directions for every day-why? "I know you guys have a lot to do but I hope you understand that I want the best for my child. I want to know if he responds to a variety of two step directions in a week." As much work as she was, everyone liked this mother and respected her because she was only asking for what was right for her child.
We all knew she went through our papers every week to see what we had targeted and what her child had accomplished. I meet them everytime I go back-and the child who tests at the borderline functions at age level in most areas.

That is the purpose in advocacy-to utilize their potential.

Well there are more questions...but putting those down here becomes too diagnostic which is not my intention either
r

 

World Suicide Prevention Day is on September 10th...there is an awareness campaign for this...please check this out for more information...pass it on if u can...

IASP - World Suicide Prevention Day - September 10 - WHO - International Association for Suicide Prevention
R

 

HI Shanthi,

It is great to meet parents who ask questions. I enjoy your questions

I wondered if I had been too presumptuous in my comments but this week someone directed me to a question posed by a parent-his child has been diagnosed with adhd and he was looking for a school for children with autism! I understand the basic premise (he was looking for a special educator) but he has a long way to go...

Most teachers don't understand that 'careless mistakes' occur because the child has made a processing error and doesn't know the strategies to review and correct himself. Nor is their schedule flexible enough to spend a few minutes with the child at the end of each period to help with teaching the skills. He can go to pull out sessions with a special educator but the value of skills learned in isolation doesn't match up to what is learned in the classroom. It comes down to whether he can apply what he has learned.

There are several reasons for this
1)teacher education-regular ed and special ed
2)administrators' understanding of pedgogy in education
3)the curriculum
4)multidisciplinary approach to learning
5)educational policies and regulation
6)social values and views on education
7)I had a few others...can't remember these..will add when my memory kicks in

Teacher education: I can talk about this forever...what I love is the fact that in India you can walk in any given neighbourhood to find a primary school with a board announcing teacher training courses! Yes the posh schools have their own systems in place...but even with the new regulations on all teachers must hold a B.Ed degree, I don't think much change is going to come. Not because I have a fancy degree but because those programs are unregulated, there is not sufficient review of the teacher education curriculum, there is not enough emphasis on learning about child development besides 'mugging up' and not enough time in the classroom under a capable supervisor. This is regualr ed mind you-so there is minimal exposure to LD/ADHD, etc. But if you take a random sample of students you will fnd children with some form of learning needs. Do we label all of them and pack them away to special schools?

Now special ed is the new money making industry. When I was exploring my options if and when we move back to India, I was told, "Welcome! Business is booming." The speaker was actually making a commentary on the state of affairs. Who assesses these mushrooming special schools and special ed programs? Where do they get their material from? What do the special ed teachers know about regualr education? You must know what comes next in the scope and sequence of skills to be able to guide your student up the ladder. Besides special education is not all about autism or intellectual disabilities.

Lots of colleges advertise teacher education programs in collaboration with foreign universities. But what are these universities and how are their programs evaluated? There is a difference in technical education and humanities. Technical education can be the same-engineering instruction and syllabus can be the same anywhere-the difference is only in how much research a university supports. But humanities are different because they are value based. What we believe as a child's right plays a big role in education. So I can know all the strategies but whether I implement them or not depends on my belief system-how often do teachers say I don't have the time, I don't see why I have to do this or will this really make a difference? I tried it for a week and nothing happened!"

Our beliefs evolve constantly-by engaging in discussions, listening to others' experiences and just watching what others do. That too should be part of the curriculum in teacher education. While we can never eliminate the human element in how a teacher treats a child, we can atleast make them think about the impact of their words and actions on their student.

Let me give you an example. I actually started out in scienec and one of the topics covered in my Master's was eugenics. I really didn't think much about it when we covered the topic in class. It was a dry example of the impact of genetics. There were no discussions on what/why/how it was arrived at or what it meant from a moral point of view. I really didn't think much about it one way or the other.

Then during my spl. ed course study, we had a class o inclusion. The speakers were usually people with disabilities, or their parents/siblings. They did't talk about eugenics but they did talk about how policy making evolved over the years-about children ebing forcibly seaparated from their families because they were unfit parents, about how random people made these decisions, the conditions of the homes, etc...only then it struck me that something which affected so manyb human beings was actually taught as a consideration in 'eugenics'...and I had not thought twise about it. No, it was not a religious question for me...more a humanitarian one. Who are we to decide which qualities should be propogaed? I still get asked by people "Why do these kids survive? What is te purpose behind all this education for them and all these accommodations?" The people who ask these are actually kind and generous in their everyday lives. If I brought it to their atention that there was something wrong with them they would be horrified-because they will understand that they are wrong. But how do we do that with tecahers? Include it in the curriculum!

Another important aspect is continuing education-I am off to do a couple of intensive courses next month in teaching reading-why? because ideas change, there is new information to be learned and if nothing else it breaks the rut we fall into after years of teaching. I have to keep my certification updated. When I come home I meet some amazing teachers who are very keen on getting this knowledge...but tell me where will they go? It requires funding, time, a clear methodology and the freedom to apply their knowledge in the classroom. In other countries, the school (district) helps with the funding, arranges for subsitute teachers (if need be) and vetts the people conducting the courses. (Otherwise you don't get the credits from attending these workshops or courses).

That brings me to the next point..administrators' roles in education...

more later.

 

Administration/management:

A school is more than the building as everyone knows. But what do the people who start and manage the schools know about education? They must know about the financial aspect-running a school is expensive. They must hire, train and support their teachers. They should be capable of reviewing their work and mentor them when needed. They must pay their teachers well. They must have good communication skills. They must have good people skills-they have to put out fires constantly. They must know the best practices in education. They must know the norm in scope and sequence of skills. They should be responsible for the schools disciplinary policies and be ready to confer and refer to appropriate specialists when needed. They must understand the use of technology-not just for job prep but also how it can be used accommodate students' needs...

How many schools have such a person? If it is a private school, there is no review of the management. In a government school there is a posbility of a review but that too gets clouded by other issues.

Some schools have excellent administrators who support their teachers very well. They can't do much about the syllabus because that is predetermined by the board that the school is affiiated to. But even in these schools there needs to be more support for the teachers. It takes a lot of planning and effort to adapt a lesson for even one kid. So these schools with very motivated teachers end up sending kids with more intense need to a 'special school.' These kids can be supported in the classroom with a one to one assistant. There are lots of efficient, capable and considerate parents who can be trained to work one on one with the students. But the push has to come from the administrators/management. That means they must have an understanding of what happens in a classroom and also be willing to make the change.

And best practices in teaching...Admin staff and management staff have to know what is relevant and essential to the student body. I have been to schools which have fancy classrooms, state of the art equipment-but their use is so severly restricted because things might get old. I won't say anymore on this-the person at the helm has to be competent and know what education is about. Otherwise running a school is only to make money or to gain fame.

How much do these schools pay their teachers? It is unfair to expect people to work for a pittance and demand so much work from them. Some of my friends with 20 years experience don't make more than 10000 bucks a month. These are very capable and dedicated teachers. Someone once told me that as woman it didn't matter what I got paid. So it was fine that I was a teacher. Really? I had decided on becoming a special ed teacher even as I finished my other coursework...I couldn't keep count of the number of people (some total strangers at that) who tried to dissuade me because I would not get paid well. They said if I wanted to do social service I had to become a bank teller and be polite to my customers-that too was social service! Money is not everything but being paid equitably allows us to live with dignity. Who is in charge of that aspect of the schools? And how many parents think about this aspect of their teachers' lives?

Student affairs-discipline, students' emotional needs, understanding their learning needs..first to be able to handle any problem, you have to recognize your students have a problem. Then you have to know how to address the problem. In some cases the students may need professional help. But to do this, it needs to be part of the management's belief system.

As a teacher, I have never paid much attention to these issues...but I am learning a lot about this for one of my projects. And as I explore schools and people's understanding of what it takes to run a school, it is an eye opener.

Who should be responsible for an overhaul in our system? The department of education! But how do the Government schools fare? Even my parents' maid's granddaughter goes to a private school because they want their children to have the opportunity to learn English! Never mind that the school is purely a money making business. Our publicly funded education system is such a mess that there is a demand for private schools. Where there is such a heavy demand they have the upper hand. And how much leeway does that allow for parents?

R

 

HI ilite,
welcome back...how have you been?

Educational reforms are not just about the syllabus and the testing accommodations. It is value based. In fact, there is a major overhaul occurring within the CBSE system...last time I was in India, I had made a couple of school vists and in one of the schools they had intensive orientation programs over a couple of days for the teachers. The teachers were excited about this but I could also sense some trepidation-they have to forgo years of experience in one system you see. They were worried about the extra hours, how they would get graded, etc. Besides this was in a school where the admin was really motivated and supportive. Can you imagine what it must be like in those schools without that attitude? I got to experience that as well

You are absolutely right. If publicly funded schools can provide that then private schools will have to follow suit. That is the only way to go. But who will bell the cat?
r

 

Curriculum:

Typically, before designing a curriculum, you have to understand what is age appropriate and how one skill leads to the other. In most places where they follow a research based curriculum, the scope and sequence of skills are geared towards the middle. The teacher teaches to the middle and adapts the materials for the kids who function at the extremes. This is becase there is an understanding that in any given population there will always be a range of abilitites. If the class has to write an assignment for social studies-say about another country, there will be set of guidelines for the students to follow. The child with advanced skills can be given an additional assignment-do extra research on the topic, maybe make something relevant to the topic, etc. At the same time the child who needs extra help can be assigned a peer tutor, a modified assingment. For the bright child with processing needs, there can be accommodations where the output is the same but how it is presented can be different.

The syllabus assigned by the different boards of education in our country cause a fair amount of confusion...I understand that there is a fair amount of review going on-you read about the changes in CBSE and of course the drama in Tamil Nadu with the samacheer kalvi-unfortunately pure political posturing by both parties-messing with something which should be holy-children's education!

But on an average, if you look at the syllabus, it is geared towards the very bright...otherwise why would a 3 turning 4 have to count by rote upto 150? It doesn't say anything about whether they have understood what these numbers mean. That is actually the age to emphasise the fundamental numerical concept of one to one correspondence-Here's a very basic description: Understanding that when you count objects, every time you say a number you must add/touch/give one more of the object. So if you are counting 5 chocolates, you have to put out 1, then one more (2), one more (3), one more...Why is this important? It teaches that you have to add only one more...how often have we seen kids say 1, 2, 3 but add two pieces of the item?

It is the same with reading-while word families are important, focusing only on word families takes away all the important work which needs to be done learning from context-predicting, making inferences, point of view...to name a few. What exactly do these skills do? They increase your ability to think and problem solve...so ukg kids have beautifully written sentences but can't answer a question which requires independent thought or to read between lines. The kids who are fortunate enough to have the exposure at home and/or are very bright manage on their own. But it is a case of hit and miss, isn't it?

One of the problems with rigid curricula is the difficulty in accommodating kids who can perform well with certain changes. Take writing for example..too many people get stuck with the physical process of writing as opposed to the mental process...so they focus on handwriting insteda of tecahing the child to organize her thoughts, prioritize, expand vocabulary to include descriptive passages. If using a word processer for writing assignments will help the child reach his potential, why are we so reluctant to let children hand in typed assignments? He/she may finish the work in half the time it takes to sit, fidget, stretch at a desk trying to write painfully. Again, if it is language based learning disability, why not let the child do a diorama? She has to understand the process and remember the information to give a successful presentation. She can still be assessed on her comprehension, organization, effort...

This is obviously not unique to India-most places seem to go through reviews-but they also conduct a lot of research..so they develop their own systems using research based evidence. In my opinion we pick and choose from too many different systems. In the process we skip steps and miss out on important information along the way. It would be fascinating to talk to smeone who knows more about the whole process
r

 

Multidisciplinary aproach:
If you go to a special school for children with physical disabilities or condtions like autism, etc, you see a team of related professionals on the staff. But kids with other kinds of learning needs and those in regualr school (without any labels) also need help from professionals other than teachers.

Many schools offer career counseling or they have a social worker for student counseling.
Social workers should have a good understanding of how mental health needs (not full blown disorders) can affect student performance in their day to day activities along with academic achievements. Focusing on overall mental health is important. A crisis occurs at breaking point. Our goal should be to prevent the students from reaching that breaking point. An anxious student shows it in many different ways-a counselor/social worker should be able to work with the teachers to track these kids. Suicide should be seen as the symptom it is and not as the problem. Anger management, bullying, abuse, gender equality, etc should be addressed by the social worker and the teachers...

What other professional services will benefit the students? Every school should have access to a qualified speech therapist--language based learning disabilities are very common in kids who fall between the cracks.


OT-Primary schools should have access to a good developmental OT. It is great to have a visiting OT explore the classroom and give pointers.

more later...