Sadly, mental health has been in the US news of late. I’m reminded that in the US legislature there is the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, which takes as its goals reducing negativism and stigma, aiding efforts to access mental health services, improving work-related productivity, and protecting veterans who have mental health problems. Although the caucus does not explicitly state child mental health as a focus of concern, it has supported awareness efforts such as National Children’s Mental Health Day.
Continue reading ‘The Congressional Mental Health Caucus’
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Brian Deer, the journalist who has doggedly pursued the story about a link between materials in vaccines and the onset of childhood Autism proposed by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and colleagues in the late 1990s, has published details explaining why he considers the original research establishing that link to have been fraudulent. In the first of a series of articles appearing in the prestigious British Medical Journal, Mr. Deer reports the results of his efforts to locate and interview the originally anonymous parents of the children included in the study by Dr. Wakefield et al.—which was published in the Lancet and then retracted—and it is sure to generate lots of heat, and perhaps a little bit of light.
Continue reading ‘Deer’s fraud case in BMJ’
Professional basketball player Ron Artest, who admits that he experienced difficulties as a youth and an adult, has been promoting mental health awareness over the past few years. Recently I posted a note acknowledging some of his efforts, and today I call attention to another of them. At the release of the accompanying public service announcement 21 December 2010 in support of mental health awareness, Mr. Artest not only spoke in support of those efforts, but he also donated $50,000 to local clinics in the Los Angeles (CA, US) area.
In a blog post for the Los Angeles Times entitled “Ron Artest debuts his PSA on mental health awareness,” Mark Medina reported about the press conference and the production of the PSA. If you’re a Lakers fan, as am I, you’ll find a couple of tidbits of interest there. But, there are also noteworthy nuggets about mental health advocacy and even about the entertainment industry in Mr Medina’s report, too. He has an audio interview with Gary Foster, who produced the video (as well as the noted movie “The Soloist,” also about mental health), and additional notes about Mr. Artest’s efforts.
According to Mr. Medina, on Christmas Day, another of Mr. Artest’s fund- and awareness-raising efforts on behalf of mental health will be in the spotlight. The ring that Mr. Artest received as a member of the world championship Los Angeles Lakers team of 2010 will be awarded to the winner of a raffle. That raffle has reportedly raised over $500,000 US. (I bought my raffle tickets, of course.)
As a fan of the Lakers for 50 years, I’m glad Mr. Artest is playing for my team, but I’m especially happy to have him on the mental-health advocacy team. My hat’s off to you, Mr. Artest.
Read all of Mr. Medina’s entry, Ron Artest debuts his PSA on mental health awareness. Check my earlier post from 11 November 2010.
Sphere: Related ContentOver on LD Blog I have a couple of posts about biological studies firming up possible neuropsychological linkages for maternal smoking and disorders such as ADHD. There are brief stories about two studies presented at Neuroscience 2010:
- Preliminary evidence of link between maternal smoking and risk of child problems
- More on smoking and neuropsych disorders
Teachers who are concerned about helping students understand mental health issues have at least one sensible places where they can go for teaching resources: Breaking the Silence, a Web resource offered by a local National Alliance on Mental Illness group. BTS, as it calls itself, provides a combination of neighborhood (NY, US) and widely available services (including a downloadable teacher’s “toolkit” with lesson plans, posters, and more).
The BTS folks make the case for teaching about mental health in this way:
Continue reading ‘Teaching about mental health’
I’m not usurping the responsibilities of our assistive tech friends, but for those who are interested, over on Squidalicious one can find a good first-person run-down of iPad applications being used by a boy (young man now?) with Autism.
Sphere: Related ContentSometimes folks lose sight of the fact that disability and mental health issues are international in scope. They’re not confined just to one’s own neighborhood, locality, geopolitical area, etc. Fortunately, there are groups that transcend borders (you can probably think of the names of some well-know organizations that function internationally), and there are some in EBD, too. The Open Society Mental Health Initiative is an example:
The OSI Public Health Program’s Mental Health Initiative aims to ensure that people with mental disabilities (mental health problems and/or intellectual disabilities) are able to live as equal citizens in the community and to participate in society with full respect for their human rights. The Mental Health Initiative focuses on ending the unjustified and inappropriate institutionalization of people with mental disabilities by advocating for the closure of institutions and the development of community-based alternatives. The initiative works in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (read more about the history of mental health policies in this region).
The OSI initiative is more than a one-trick pony. It’s about a lot of things, and its foci include children with Autism, mental health issues, and more. I encourage readers to check the site. Here is a link to the OSI MHI home page.
Sphere: Related ContentThe sugar-makes-kids-hyper hypothesis is still false. Dan Willingham stuck another fork in it. Roasty-toasty. All done. Fizzle.
Now, I’m not advocating a high-fructose, feed-’em-soda-and-sweets diet, to be sure. It’s just that folks need to disabuse themselves of the popular myth that children’s levels of behavioral activity are governed by consumption of sucrose (whether from sugar cane or sugar beet).
Professor Willingham, who pops bubbles with the best of them, lanced this one in his guest post, “The Answer Sheet: How sugar really affects kids.” The evidence is basically the same as what I covered in the mid 1990s under the title “Sugar High?.”
Sphere: Related ContentThe US Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), which was originally enacted in 1974, provides funding to states that employ practices designed to avoid inappropriate detention and incarceration of youths. Reauthorization of the JJDPA is pending in the US Congress, and it should be passed. Please take few minutes to learn more about it and to act in support of it.
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Watch a one-minute video produced by the Childrens Defense Fund and published on YouTube; it explains why it is important to reauthorize the JJDPA. Click on the video to view it; cut and past the link and please share it with your networks.
- Sign a petition encouraging the US House of Representatives to pass the legislation.
- Sign a petition encouraging the US Senate to pass the legislation.
- Visit theAct 4 Juvenile Justice site to learn more.
Some long-time readers will remember that I featured a story about Stephen Wiltshire, a young man from the United Kingdom who, although diagnosed as having Autism, has tremendous facility in drawing (especially landscapes) from memory. I learned from his Web site that he is currently touring Shanghai and will be drawing some of the cityscapes of that amazing city. Here’s a news report.
Continue reading ‘Rechecking Stephen Wiltshire’
Ignoring children’s mental health problems will just make things worse. Left to their own devices, very few kids are likely to work things out independently. And a lot more problems exist than we might like to admit exist.
The schools in Virginia identify about 1 student in every 100 students as needing special education services because she or he has emotional or behavioral disorders. Yet, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services estimates that 1 in every 5 children will need mental health services. To be sure, not every child who needs mental health services will need special education services, and vice versa. Still, the discrepancy between these numbers illustrates the enormous gaps in recognition of needs and provision of help for children that different agencies offer. Greater coordination and collaboration are important. It should start with understanding and communication. Case management, wrap-around services, and similar practices would be fine results of such communication.
Not all mental health problems are manifested in destructive, overt, disobedient actions. Nor are all mental health problems hidden, repressed, anxiety disorders. They come in lots of shapes and sizes, affect children across the intellectual spectrum, are not confined to any particular ethnic group (nor is any ethnic group immune to them). Mental health problems can strike anywhere, rarely briefly and too often for a lifetime.
Don’t ignore. Deal.
In Virginia (US) we are fortunate to have the Campaign for Children’s Mental Health. Visit this effort to promote awareness and encourage policy makers to recognize the need for action on behalf of children. Learn about the many marvelous organizations that have supported the work of the Campaign for Children’s Mental Health. If you have an organization in your geographical region (whether it is a locality in the US or elsewhere on Earth [or even in the cosmos!]), drop a note in a comment recognizing it, please. Meanwhile, over in the left rail, please check out NAMI, FFCMH, and other Web resources related to children’s mental health.
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