Psyched About School

As school psychologists, we frequently hear teachers and parents express concerns over letter reversals.  Although letter reversals are a common problem until around age 7, this problem is still considered a red flag for dyslexia by many.  In this article from Understood.org, the author explains why this is not necessarily a sign of dyslexia, when it is time to become concerned, and strategies for helping your child with this difficulty.  To learn more, visit  FAQs About Letter Reversals

We've had a month full of blogs on bully prevention for National Bullying Prevention Month. As we move into November, let's continue teaching our students about the importance of empathy. Our focus on this topic should remain strong all year!  On a lighter note, I thought we could all enjoy a little Halloween humor. Happy Friday!

Emotional and psychological trauma affects so many of our students.  The National Survey of Children's Health reported that 35 million students experience trauma and children of color often experience multiple traumatic events.  We see the effects in classrooms but have difficulty supporting those students because of limited school-based mental health resources.  Few schools have a full-time school psychologist or social worker.  In this article from The Center for American Progress, they described the results of a nationwide analysis of mental health and counseling services in schools.  Nearly every state has limited access to these resources!  Because trauma can contribute to behavior problems and truancy, these students often receive harsh disciplinary measures instead of the mental health intervention they need.  To learn more about the analysis and why we need more school psychologists, social workers, and counselors in our schools, visit https://www.americanprogress.org/iss

October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Last week, as a school system, we showed our support and advocacy for bullied students during Unity Day.  Many people in our system wore orange to show our solidarity to STAND UP, STEP UP with our students against bullying.  According to an article posted on stopbullying.gov, 'bullying is linked to many negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance use, and suicide.  It in important to talk to kids to determine whether bullying - or something else - is a concern."  Although parents, teachers, and other students want to help, it's hard sometimes to know where to begin.  Stopbullying.gov  has valuable information about what can be done to help, as well as information about cyber-bullying, risk factors, prevention, and the best way to respond if you do have a concern. .

Mandy has been a school psychologist for 13 years. She received her training at Radford University in Radford, VA. She has worked in several North Carolina counties including Montgomery County and Catawba County. This is her second year working for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.  Mandy currently serves North Hills Elementary, North West Middle, and Reynolds High. During her 13 years of practice, Mandy has found that she enjoys working with students that have experienced Traumatic Brain Injuries and students who have behavioral needs. We are glad to have you, Mandy! 

Many teachers are using Class Dojo to help support and manage positive behaviors in the classroom setting.  Did you know Class Dojo also offers videos to support character traits such as perseverance, growth mindset, and empathy.  Although the series on perseverance has not been released yet (look for it in November), the videos on empathy were released at the beginning of October to coincide with National Bullying Prevention Month.  They can be watched at home and at school so that parents and teachers can work together to help children understand how to accept others and put themselves in their shoes.  The videos feature the Class Dojo monsters that kids know from class.  To go along with the videos, there are a set of discussion questions and projects so that parents and teachers can reinforce what the children have learned.  The Class Dojo blog describes empathy as a foundation skill necessary for learning to act ethically, build strong relationships, and have professional success.

When you have a teen with ADHD, they often have challenges with planning, organization, remembering their gym shoes, Spanish book, losing their interactive notebook and what have you.  That being said, how much help is too much?  Although they may need more support than most teens, they still need to be able to gain these skills in order to be functional adults some day.  This article by CHADD discusses how to give you teen with ADHD just the right amount of help.   Supportive or overparenting: Helping your teen with ADHD develop independence.

This article published by NPR today really hit home with me.  It describes children who are kind but not necessarily helpful or thoughtful.  You might wonder how this is possible.  As described in the article, some children who have great manners are perceived as being kind even when they lack empathy.  In some cases, I've observed those children can actually be engaging in bullying behavior.  My friends and I have been calling it the Eddie Haskell Effect for years.  Do you remember Eddie from Leave It To Beaver (I'm dating myself)? He was especially polite to Beaver's parents but a real bully to Beaver.  When I was writing this blog tonight, I googled Eddie Haskell and discovered we were not the first ones to have seen this effect.  There is even an article from Psychology Today which describes it ( Eddie Haskell Effect ).  Since we are in National Bullying Prevention Month, it seems appropriate to have conversations about how to not only teach children to be polite, but a

In the recent years students have become bombarded by numerous assessments and tests at all levels. It is imperative that teachers and school personnel are able to explain to parents the meaning of the tests and test results. According to Rebecca Brown from Fast Bridge Learning parents need to understand: the purpose of the assessments, when assessments will be administered and what the test results mean. She recommends sending parents a summary of the planned assessments, reminding them of testing dates during the school year, and sharing information about how to interpret score reports. For more information on ways teachers can help parents make sense of the assessments and build better communication and parent-school partnerships follow link to the full article at the website below entitled  "Strategies for talking to parents about student assessments" By: Rachel Brown, Ph.D., NCSP. Strategies for Talking to Parents about student Assessments

On Thursday night at 6:30 p.m., a free event will be held at the Old Salem Visitor's Center to focus on suicide prevention among our youth.  There will be a distinguished panel of experts of the topic of suicide prevention, including our own Dr. Corliss Thompson-Drew.  The event is sponsored by the Mental Health Association in Forsyth County, Cardinal Innovations Healthcare, the N.C. Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Wake Forest School of Medicine's Clinical & Translational Science Institute. For more information, visit  http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/behavioral-health-groups-set-discussion-on-suicide-prevention/article_47bec9f2-c6eb-5597-a2a9-6de8cd617956.html

Last week, The News and Observer published the first article in a three part series about youth suicide in North Carolina.  Along with the statistics, the article tells the very personal story of one local mother who is struggling to cope with the loss of her child to suicide.  According to the article, 46 children and teens committed suicide in 2014, an increase of about 1/3 from 2013.  Just as alarming, the number of youth suicides in North Carolina has doubled since the start of the decade.  The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that suicide is the second leading cause of death in this country for adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19.  I would encourage you to read this article and follow their three part series in order to learn more about what our state plans to do to support our youth.   http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article106638672.html

Join the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and its community partners for the 6th Annual Stand Up Step Up Walk/Rally Against Bullying on Saturday, October 8th at 8:00 a.m. a the BB&T Ballpark.  This is an opportunity for us to unite against bullying and show our children that we support and care about them. In addition to the walk itself, it promises to be a great morning with student performances and breakout sessions for middle and high school students.  

We've posted on this topic several times. The research is unclear and parents and teachers are torn. Some think homework is essential to learning while others do not see benefits, only the stress it seems to create for students. Regardless of your opinion, this article from the Huffington Post provides a point of view you may not have considered. Homework does not yield the same benefits for low income children as it does for students from more financially secure backgrounds. As educators, we never truly know the pressures and responsibilities children face when they go home from school. All children do not have the same time and resources to complete assignments. To learn more about this perspective on homework, visit  http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_57bf3286e4b06384eb3e9e70?

Are you the parent or guardian of a child with special needs? If so, you probably know how stressful IEP meetings can be. Those meetings often involve lots of paperwork and terminology that can be confusing. This article from The Mighty suggests 10 important questions parents and guardians should ask during IEP meetings. https://themighty.com/2016/09/questions-every-parent-should-ask-at-an-iep-meeting/

Do you know a young person who engages in self-injury? As a school psychologist, it seems like I am hearing about cutting more frequently and with younger students each year.  With the increased stress facing kids and teenagers these days, I worry because many do not have the coping skills to deal with this pressure.  It is estimated that approximately 15% of teenagers engage in self-injurious behaviors.  These articles from kidshealth.org and WebMD.com provide warning signs, factual information, and resources for help. As parents, guardians, and educators, it is imperative that we stay informed on this topic. http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/cutting.html# http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/cutting-self-harm-signs-treatment

Throughout the month of October, we will be posting information on how to prevent bullying and the steps we can take to stop it.  In this informative video from stopbullying.gov, we find out about the role of a "bystander" and how this person can actually reinforce bullying behaviors.  They also provide strategies for how to teach children to be "more than a bystander."  To learn more, visit  https://www.stopbullying.gov/respond/be-more-than-a-bystander/index.html