This book deals with mental health disorders in children and adolescents. In spite of the title, this is not a handbook for teachers. It is a handbook for qualified mental health professionals who work with them, and a textbook for counseling students training for careers in K-12 settings. The book is in three parts. The first argues that schools should be the main gateway to psychiatric treatment of children. It discusses the humanitarian reasons for, but not the controversies around, fast tracks from educational to mental health settings (the author is a hired consultant creating these systems for schools). The second section deals with diagnosis of (following the DSM-5): ADD/ADHD; Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive disorder, and PTSD; Substance Use Disorders; Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorders; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Psychoses. The text does not discuss how mental illness can be told from other undiagnosed problems that affect behavior (physical illness, hunger, language barrier, sensory or intellectual disabilities, abuse and neglect, bullying, and so on). All behavior problems are treated here as questions of mental health diagnosis, a natural approach for mental health professionals, but not possible for school teachers or administrators. The text assumes readers have the training to professionally interpret formal psychiatric diagnostic criteria. It offers concrete information for mental health professionals on diagnosing and responding in school settings to children whose problems fall under DSM-5 categories. The author's recommendations are knowledgeable and supportive of these children. There is a single subsection in ordinary language on classroom strategies and assistive tools for children with mental illness; teachers may find it useful. The final section discusses mental health plans for schools and makes recommendations to mental health professionals involved with them. Annotation ©2014 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
From ADHD to schizophrenia and everything in between, what teachersneed to know about their students mental health.
Twenty percent of children and adolescents have a mental health disorder and in five percent, the disorder is severe. Chances are that every classroom in America will have at least one student who has a mental health disorder, possibly even in the severe range. These students often have symptoms that interfere with their ability to learn. From Ontario, Canada to California, school districts and state Boards of Education are recognizing the importance of comprehensive approaches to student mental health that include teacher education.By understanding child and adolescent mental health issues, general education and special education teachers have additional tools to provide the most successful educational environment for their students. But where can a teacher turn to get reliable information on what they need to know Here, William Dikel, MD, a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, who serves as a consultant to school districts nationwide, answers the call with a comprehensive, teacher-focused guide to student mental health. From anxiety and depression to ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, behavior disorders, substance use disorders, and psychoses, this practical book provides essential information on how mental health disorders are diagnosed and treated, how they tend to manifest at school, and how they affect students emotions, behaviors, and ability to learn. It explains why traditional behavioral interventions are often unsuccessful, and describes effective classroom interventions that teachers can use to provide optimal educational experiences.Teachers will learn the differences between normal child and adolescent behaviors and behaviors that reflect underlying mental health disorders, and will recognize where these behaviors fall on a spectrum, ranging from behavioral (planned, volitional acts that clearly have a function) to the clinical (where a mental health disorder is causing the behavior).They will also learn how to communicate effectively with their school teams (and student families) to ensure that school mental health staff (psychologists, social workers, counselors, and nurses) will be able to provide appropriate interventions for students in need. Administrators will learn the importance of creating a district mental health plan that clearly defines the roles of teachers, mental health staff, principals, and others, with the goal of establishing a seamless system of coordinated professionals all working to meet the students needs.Finally, the book profiles successful programs, provided both by school districts and in collaboration with community mental health professionals, including Response to Intervention (RTI), Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), social-emotional learning, and school-linked mental health services.Based on the authors thirty years of experience providing consultation to teachers in settings varying from general education classrooms to self-contained special education programs for severely emotionally disturbed students, this book will be an invaluable guide for parents, school principals, special education directors, school social workers, counselors, psychologists, and nurses.
