Emotional Disturbance

From the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities

The mental health of our children is a natural and important concern for us all. The fact is, many mental disorders have their beginnings in childhood or adolescence, yet may go undiagnosed and untreated for years. (1)

We refer to mental disorders using different “umbrella” terms such as emotional disturbance, behavioral disorders, or mental illness. Beneath these umbrella terms, there is actually a wide range of specific conditions that differ from one another in their characteristics and treatment. These include (but are not limited to):

• anxiety disorders;
• bipolar disorder (sometimes called manic-depression);
• conduct disorders;
• eating disorders;
• obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); and
• psychotic disorders.

Read more HERE.

Sample Accommodations for Anxious Kids

While each child is different, the following compilation includes commonly implemented interventions for anxious children. These items may serve as a starting point for families who are looking for specific suggestions for problem areas, or for parents who are just learning of the types of issues that their anxious child may be contending with.

Classroom environmentAnxious children perform best in a calm, supportive, but organized classroom. Because change and uncertainty can be unsettling, a structured classroom, calmly disciplined will let children feel safe and know what to expect. An ideal situation is a teacher who maintains authority positively, using reason and respect rather than fear for punishment.

• Seating within classroomAnxious children often struggle with the unlikely fear that they will get in trouble, seating away from more rambunctious classmates will be less distracting, and may help them focus on their work rather than feeling responsible for the class.

Read more of this Worry Wise Kid's article HERE.

Being Bullied Tied to Anxiety, Depression in Special-Needs Kids

Special-needs youth with chronic medical conditions or developmental disabilities are at risk for anxiety and depression if they're excluded, ignored or bullied by other young people, a new small study says.

It included 109 youngsters, ages 8 to 17, who were recruited during routine visits to a U.S. children's hospital. The patients and their parents completed questionnaires that screen for symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the youngsters also completed a questionnaire that asked them about bullying or exclusion by their peers.

The patients in the study had one or more conditions such as: attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (39 percent); cystic fibrosis (22 percent); type 1 or 2 diabetes (19 percent); sickle cell disease (11 percent); obesity (11 percent); learning disability (11 percent); autism (9 percent); and short stature (6 percent).

The researchers found that being bullied and/or excluded by peers were the strongest predictors of increased symptoms of depression or anxiety in the young patients.

Read more of the US News Healthday article HERE

Testing, No Testing, Too Much Testing

Gretchen Herrera expected it would just be her and her son, who has Asperger syndrome and Type 1 diabetes, on the steps of the capitol building in Columbia, S.C., this Saturday, protesting standardized testing.

The reasons for her protest began building last May. She had tried several times to have Anthony, 12, exempted from South Carolina's annual tests in reading, math, and other subjects when he was in 6th grade last school year. But no reason would do—not even a doctor's note that explained Anthony's blood sugar could spike because of his Asperger-related anxiety.

And on the first day of testing, that's just what happened, Ms. Herrera said. Her son zipped through the test—his mother later learned he scored well—and his blood sugar zoomed to more than 300, the danger zone for diabetics. So Anthony stayed home during the rest of the testing dates.

"I don't want this," Ms. Herrera said. "I don't want my son exposed to this."

While some parents and advocates for students with disabilities worry that their children are being left out of testing and, in turn, their schools left unaccountable for their children's progress, Herrera predicts that her initial prediction of a lonely protest against testing Saturday will be wrong.

Read more of Nirvi Shah's On Special Education article HERE.

How To Reduce Anxiety: Yours And Your Child’s

Because excessive anxiety is so harmful to children and their parents, this post will describe two relaxation strategies, offer guidance, and discuss how parents of children in special education can request relaxation training as a related service.

More on this article click here.