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Showing posts from 2018

13 Reasons Why, Season 2

Last year, 13 Reasons Why debuted on Netflix and soared in the ratings before many parents and teachers had even heard of it. It felt like every middle and high school student watched it, even many elementary students tuned in.  The show chronicled the story of a 17-year-old girl who takes her own life. She leaves behind a series of 13 audiotapes naming the people who contributed to her suicide.  Parents, teachers, and even members of student services were not prepared to answer all of the questions and concerns generated by the show.  In our district, counseling departments saw a sharp increase in the number of suicidal threats by students at all grade levels. Netflix has announced the upcoming release of Season 2 of 13 Reasons Why.  Although Netflix has not given a formal release date, promotional information seems to suggest it could be soon. As parents and guardians decide whether to allow their children to watch it, this information sheet ( 13 Reasons Why Information)  from the

Hospice & Palliative CareCenter’s Camp Carousel 2018

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We received the following information from our friend Katie Cyre, MS, MT-BC, who is the Clinical Support Services Manager and Music Therapist at the Hospice & Palliative CareCenter in Winston-Salem.  This year's theme is "Jungle Journey 2018."  They always do a fantastic job with supporting grieving students and families, so we wanted to pass this information along to our readers: Camp Carousel is a bereavement retreat for children and teens (rising 1st graders—rising 12th graders), as well as adults, who are grieving the death of a loved one.  Camp Carousel will take place Monday, July 16 - Friday, July 20, 2018 in Winston-Salem Camp Carousel offers grief support groups, art and music therapy, writing, animal-assisted therapy, and a variety of fun and creative activities designed to help those who are grieving death-related losses.  There is no charge for Camp Carousel, though pre-registration is required.  You may also direct inquiries to CampCarousel@H

Helping Children Cope After a Tornado

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Our neighbors in Guilford County and Rockingham County are recovering from significant tornado damage that also impacted several of their schools.  We wanted to share some resources that may be useful for counselors, teachers, parents, family members and others who provide support to children following a natural disaster. This information from the National Association of School Psychologists provides a number of resources, including a printable fact sheet and information on helping students who may experience relocation as the result of a natural disaster. You can also find a Tip Sheet available in Spanish here .  There's even a section specific to tornadoes: "Tornadoes . Like earthquakes, tornadoes can bring mass destruction in a matter of minutes, and individuals typically have little time to prepare. Confusion and frustration often follow. Similar to a hurricane, people experience sensations during tornadoes that may generate coping challenges, and it can be

The Mere Presence of Your Smartphone May Reduce Your Cognitive Functioning

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The findings from this recent research on how smartphones impact our thinking are both fascinating and alarming.  Researchers at three large universities collaborated on this project to measure how well people can finish tasks when their smartphones are nearby.  Their study included 548 participants (with an average age of 21) who were asked to complete tasks to measure working memory (i.e., the ability to hold on to and process information) and fluid intelligence (i.e., the ability to solve new or unfamiliar problems).  Participants were assigned to one of three groups, depending on cell phone location: desk, pocket/bag, or other room.  All participants were asked to make sure their phones were completely silent during the testing. After the testing was complete, the participants were asked how much they believed their smartphones affected their performance.  85.6% of the participants reported that their smartphones “neither helped nor hurt [their] performance.”  However, the resul

Winston-Salem Journal Article on School Psychologists

In case you missed it, three of our W-S/FCS school psychologists - Amy Clay, Abby Flynn and Angela Smith - recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by Michael Bragg with the Winston-Salem Journal .  Our Director of Psychological Services, Dr. Corliss Thompson-Drew, also talked with Mr. Bragg.  You can access the Journal article here . We are always pleased to be able to shine a spotlight on the good work being done by our colleagues.  Mr. Bragg did a fantastic job investigating what is happening in other comparable school districts across the state, including Guilford and Charlotte-Mecklenburg.  Even WE were surprised to learn that W-S/FCS has one of the highest numbers of students per school psychologist.   Right now, each of your W-S/FCS School Psychologists is serving about 2,391 students across multiple schools, while the recommended ratio from our National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) is 1 psychologist for every 500 to 700 students.  It's worth noting th

Concussion Signs

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We love this graphic from the Brain Injury Association and wanted to pass this helpful information along to our readers:

Mindfulness with Everyday Objects

Mindfulness isn't just a buzzword; it is actually a powerful tool for both adults and children to reduce stress and help with emotional regulation.  Although the techniques can be very effective, they can be difficult to explain to children.  This article from Offspring shows us how to teach mindfulness to children using everyday objects, such as stuffed animals, an ice cube, an apple, and even a Hershey's Kiss. The activities come from Susan Kaiser Greenland who wrote The Mindful Child .   Visit  Offspring.lifehacker.com  to learn more about these techniques and see videos that demonstrate the activities.

Do you know who your Concussion Contact is?

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If you are not sure what a Concussion Contact is, much less who your Concussion Contact is, don’t be alarmed – you are not alone.  This term comes from the 2015 North Carolina Return to Learn After Concussion Policy, which took effect during the 2016-2017 school.  The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction created this Implementation Guide to help school districts meet the learning, emotional, and behavioral needs of all students, following a concussion.  They also produced this Parent Information Brochure  (also available in Spanish ) to provide information for families. The Return to Learn (RtL) Policy was intended to broaden the existing 2011 Gfeller Waller Concussion Awareness Act (GWCA), which addressed concussion management for public school sports injuries.  The GWCA provided guidance for managing concussion symptoms of middle and high school students, including return-to-play guidelines.  However, the GWCA did not address student concussions that were not directly

W-S/FCS TBI Focus Group

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Last school year, School Psychologists Abby Flynn and Ginger Calhoun initiated a Focus Group for the members of our Psychological Services Department who are certified by the Department of Public Instruction as Approved Providers for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  Although we were sad to see Ginger retire at the end of last year, we are still fortunate to have 7 psychologists who completed the additional training and supervision needed to conduct TBI evaluations.  Mandy McCoy stepped up to fill the role of co-leader after Ginger retired. The goal of this year's Brain Injury Awareness Campaign (recognized during the month of March) is "Change Your Mind About Brain Injuries" and that slogan aligns perfectly with the goals of our TBI  Focus Group. The Focus Group was developed to provide case consultation to our W-S/FCS colleagues, establish relationships with community agencies to improve student outcomes, gain new knowledge and skills in the field of TBI, and increase ov

MTSS as a Solution to Special Education Disproportionality

·         North Carolina is moving towards implementation of  a multi tiered  system of support (MTSS) where students who have academic difficulty are required to go through targeted intervention before being referred to special education. MTSS as a framework is designed to provide students with high-quality instruction and intervention that match their needs. MTSS considers several factors that may impact a student's ability to learn in order to ensure that we are not inappropriately  referring students to special education.         Referring a child to special education services without proper investigation of environmental factors is not an effective solution. Special education is not mutually beneficial and misclassification could lead to expectations that are not consistent with the learner's true ability (Flannagan, IASP 2015: Sheperd, 1975). In other words, telling a child and their family that they have a disability when they don't, leads to them internalizing

Advances in Diagnosing Concussions

Continuing with our theme of sharing information about head injuries during the month of March, which is Brain Injury Awareness Month, we wanted to share with you this exciting research from Penn State Medical Center.  Although the research sample was small - a total of 52 patients between the ages of 7 and 21 - the findings were impressive.  The patients who had experienced a head trauma were asked to do a saliva test - simply spitting into a cup - that was analyzed for biomarkers of concussion.  The patients also completed the Standardized Concussion Assessment Tool 3, a questionnaire used to help make a diagnosis of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI).  The researchers discovered that the saliva biomarkers were more accurate than the questionnaire in identifying concussion. School Psychologists are often asked to work with students returning to the learning environment following a concussion.  One of the toughest challenges in this work is the uncertainty surrounding the timefra

Controversy With Allergy Scene in "Peter Rabbit" Movie

Last year, we posted about the high rate of bullying in school age children with food allergies.  Studies have shown that in many of these cases the children were bullied with the allergic food, often by the bullies waving it in front of the children or forcing them to touch it.  You can read more about  Food Allergy in the School Setting  here.  In the new "Peter Rabbit" movie, one scene hits painfully close to home for these families.  It highlights this type of bullying in a way that many parents and caretakers of children with life-threatening allergies feel is insensitive, irresponsible, and even dangerous. You can read more about their concerns  Here  and learn why they have decided to boycott the movie  What do you think about this controversy?  We would love you to weigh in on this topic.

Congressional Hearings on TBI

As part of our continuing focus on Traumatic Brain Injuries during the month of March, we wanted to share additional information with you about this important topic.  On October 13. 2017, medical experts and NFL players testified to members of Congress on the latest research regarding CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) and their experiences and decline in their health from the constant jostling of the brain. The message to Congress was clear that more regulations and information need to be enforced especially with our youth involved in sports. The evidence provided included a 15 year old suffering from CTE, as he was involved in youth football from a young age. The research and players stories are fascinating. This link  will allow you to view the hearing, or CSPAN continues to air this important and vital information on TV.  Please take a look, as the impact to our youth is evident.

Concussions Not the Cause of CTE

As you may already know, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools' Psychological Services Department has a group of 7 psychologists that are NC DPI Approved Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) providers. We're in the business of identifying and supporting brain injuries, as well as raising awareness.  March is Brain Injury Awareness Month and we hope to provide continued information on this topic throughout the month. Chronic Trauma Encephalopathy, also known as CTE, has become more widely studied and discussed in the sports world recently. In this article  from CNN, a study by Dr. Lee Goldstein found that CTE is not actually the result of concussions, but is instead trauma resulting from exposure to  multiple head impacts over time.  Not all hits to the head result in concussions and it seems that people only pay attention when a concussion has actually been sustained.  However, Dr. Goldstein's study revealed that characteristics associated with CTE could be seen even without ex

Eating Disorders Awareness Week is 02/26/18 - 03/04/2018

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We wanted to pass information along to our readers about Eating Disorders Awareness Week , which is recognized this year from 02/26/2018 through 03/04/2018. The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) website provides helpful information on a number of topics.  Did you know that an estimated "20 million women and 10 million men in America will have an eating disorder at some point in their lives?"  More than half of teenage girls and nearly a third of teenage boys are trying to lose weight.  It's not uncommon for them to attempt unhealthy weight-control measures, including skipping meals, fasting, smoking, vomiting or using laxatives.   For those who want to learn more about the topic of eating disorders, NEDA has developed different toolkits specifically for parents, educators and even athletic trainers/coaches. One interesting fact we learned from the NEDA website is the link between substance abuse and eating disorders:   In addition to information abo

Strategies for Providing Students With Time to Think

The Edutopia website is one of our favorites.  The article " Extending the Silence " discusses the strategy of using "wait time" effectively in the classroom.  Research has provided evidence that " pausing for three or more seconds showed a noticeable positive impact on learning."  However, research also shows us that "the average length that teachers pause was found to be 0.9 seconds."  The author notes that, while silence in the classroom can be uncomfortable for both teachers and students initially, students need time to process new information, make connections to previous learning/experiences, and then prepare a thoughtful, organized response.  That's a lot to ask for in 0.9 seconds! Here are some strategies from the author for incorporating this information in the classroom: "Provide wait time: Give students five to 15 seconds to formulate a response to a question for which they should know the answer. Not every learner pro

School Safety - By the Numbers

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Yesterday, we revisited a previous blog post from 2016 that provides information on  how to help children in times of crisis . As a followup, and in light of the school shooting that just took place in Florida, we also wanted to share with you some recent information on school safety from the U.S. Department of Justice.  A November 2017 document provides a snapshot of research from this full report by the National Institute of Justice on school safety statistics.  Here is an excerpt from the report that we wanted to pass along to our readers: Not only does the report indicate that school crime rates are decreasing, but it provides evidence that school shootings are rare, and that school officials have increased safety measures.  If you'd like to read the rest of this overview on school safety statistics, please click on this link to view  "School Safety: By the Numbers."

Helping Children in Times of Crisis

The Psychological Services Department wanted to pass along some information to our readers in the wake of the most recent school shooting in Florida.  Each time we hear about events of mass violence, we hope it will be the last. This post from last year provides information from several sources on helping children deal with times of stress, including how to talk with them about media coverage.  We would like to remind our readers, as we have before, that just because children aren't talking about these events, doesn't mean they're not thinking about them. We hope that you find this information helpful. If you feel that your child needs additional support, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools student services personnel are here to help.

How Many People Influence a Student's Life?

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We wanted to pass along the opening quote from this article about the journey our students make from Kindergarten through 12th grade: "Schools must connect the strands across dozens of teachers, thousands of lessons, and 15,000 hours of schooling to ensure that each student leaves as a well-educated, decent human being." This powerful graphic that shows that the average student may encounter approximately 66 different teachers from Kindergarten through 12th grade.  However, that doesn't take into consideration a student's interactions with administrators, coaches, counselors, volunteers, assistants, cafeteria workers, custodians, etc. The powerful takeaway from this article is that "Everyone contributes in some small way to growing students up."  This perspective reminds us of the power we have to be a positive influence - no matter how small - in the lives of the students we interact with.

The Science of Kindness

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In preparation fo r " Random Acts of Kindness Week ," which takes place 02/11 through 02/17/2018 , we wanted to pass some information along to our readers. The Random Acts of Kindness website contains information on how you can also become a RAK-tivist.  :)  There is a section for educators that includes free lesson plans and information on how your school can form its own "Kindness Club."  There is information to support problem-solving and conflict resolution, among other topics.  The website notes that the materials feature "developmentally appropriate, standards-aligned lessons that teach kids important Social Emotional (SEL) skills." This video focuses on "The Science of Kindness."  Did you know that kindness is contagious and can reduce your levels of stress, depression and anxiety?  It can also increase your levels of serotonin, decrease blood pressure and increase confidence. We hope that you will join us in this opportunity t

National School Counseling Week 02/05 - 02/09

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This year National School Counseling Week is February 5 through February 9 . The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) has issued a photo/video challenge for the week (see below). The ASCA has also provided the following links to help us all take part in the photo/video challenge during National School Counseling Week with these signs: Monday:  Happy National School Counseling Week Tuesday:  I love being a school counselor because ...   Wednesday:  My school counselor helps me reach the stars by ...  Thursday:  I wish upon a star that ...  Friday:  I'll shine bright as a ...   We appreciate our school counselors and want to highlight all that they do in the schools, not just this week, but all year. Be sure to recognize your school counselors for their commitment to supporting our students and teachers.

An Age-by-Age Guide to Help Your Child Calm Down

How many times have you told your child to "calm down?" This article provides a breakdown of specific activities that can help your child calm down based on their age.  Psychotherapist Amy Morin, who has a new book out called 13 Things Mentally Strong Parents Don't Do, says that children need to be able to control their tempers in order to succeed in life.  Being able to deal with stress, anger, frustration and anxiety requires a specific set of skills.  Not all children just inherently "know" these skills; sometimes we have to directly teach our children how to calm down.   Morin shares some visualization tactics in her book to help children learn to regulate their own emotions.  Here are some examples: Preschool : "Stop and Smell the Pizza" teaches young children that slow, deep breaths can relax the body and reduce anger. School Age : "Change the Channel" provides a task for children to keep their hands busy and also provides a &quo

Teen Suicide Risk Factors

School Psychologists are often called upon to assist when our students experience thoughts of suicide or have been hospitalized for suicidal ideation.  This happens more frequently than any of us would like. I had the opportunity recently to speak to the faculty at my high school about suicide prevention and intervention, including common warning signs.  This article from the Child-Mind Institute provides an excellent overview of some of the more typical "red flags" for teen suicide, including recent losses, substance abuse, bullying, and access to lethal means. Not only does the article provide risk factors, but it also addresses some of the "protective factors," or things that can help mitigate risk for suicide.  These include good problem-solving abilities, strong connections to others, and access to service/supports for any physical, mental or substance abuse needs.  Although we may not always have the power to erase any of those risk factors from a child&#

Reaching Students With Emotional Disturbances

This article from the Edutopia website was written by Dr. Lori Desautels, Assistant Professor in the College of Education at Butler University.  Dr. Desautels provides four strategies to help educators make connections with those students who may be dealing with emotional disturbances.  She notes that "Students who struggle with emotional disturbances are some of our most vulnerable, but when we can create predictable and consistent supports for them, their inner resilience can shine." The first strategy includes the use of Brain-Based Learning Centers where student can go to calm down, if needed.  We love that this method involves teaching students about their brains, which increase self-awareness and self-regulation.  Dr. Desautels suggests an “amygdala first aid station,” a “hippocampus area,” and a “prefrontal cortex area.” Personalized Check-In Notes are the second strategy, which involves quick and simple personalized communication throughout the day.   Dr. Desau

School Safety Information

This isn't a topic that we often post about, because schools are statistically still some of the safest places to be in this day and age.  However, several of us recently completed the PREPaRE1 and PREPaRE2 trainings offered by the Department of Psychological Services, which has us thinking about school safety and crisis prevention and intervention. The PREPaRE trainings were developed by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), together with leading national experts in school crisis prevention and response.  (By the way, we would absolutely encourage all school administrators to register for the next session of PREPaRE1 training, if you haven't already completed it.)  PREPaRE1 is a 1-day workshop that provides a "broad overview of the school crisis team's roles and responsibilities, with a special emphasis on crisis prevention and preparedness."  PREPaRE2 is a 2-day workshop that "provides a specific examination of the school-based mental

10 Things About Trauma Teachers Need to Know

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There has been an increase in the amount of research we've been seeing over the past few years related to trauma.  As School Psychologists, we are often called upon to help our schools, parents and students better understand the effects of trauma on learning.  This perspective shift essentially boils down to changing from a "What's wrong with you?" approach to a "What happened to you?" approach. It is important to understand that learning can be a challenge for children who have experienced trauma.  We found this article entitled " 10 Things About Childhood Trauma Every Teacher Needs to Know " to contain simple, easy advice.  If you are interested, the article also includes the link to this short video (1:15) from the The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children (TLC):

Interested in Learning More About Mindfulness in Schools?

We wanted to pass along an opportunity to learn more about mindfulness in the school setting.  You may have read some of our previous blog posts about mindfulness, including the potential positive outcomes for both academic and behavioral growth.  The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has provided us with  this memo  to register for a free Technical Assistance Webinar on the topic of mindfulness.  The deadline for registration will be January 19th , so please sign up soon if you're interested.  Here are the details: DATE: Monday, February 5, 2018 TIME: 11:00am-12:30pm Areas addressed: - Overview of Mindfulness - Existing Research - Implementing Mindfulness Practices - Relevant Resources - Next Steps

Developmental Milestone Tracker App

How many of you parents out there have been asked by pediatricians or school personnel about when your child met various developmental milestones?  Those can be tough to remember as your child gets older - especially if you have more than one.  Well, thanks to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), now there's an app for that! The CDC's  Milestone Tracker app  was developed not only to help parents easily access that information when their children are older, but also to encourage early intervention if parents notice that the child is not meeting typical milestones.  The free app was developed by the CDC’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early” program and contributors from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.  It is available for both iOS and Android devices.  Here are some of the app's features from the CDC's website: " Add a Child – enter personalized information about your child or multiple children Milestone Tracker – track your child’s developmental

ADHD in the Classroom

School Psychologists are often called upon to work with our teachers and Intervention Support Teams (ISTs) on developing plans to help children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) find more success in the classroom.  We wanted to pass along  this article  from ChildMind.org entitled "What’s ADHD (and What’s Not) in the Classroom," which provides an overview of behaviors that you might observe in a student with ADHD.  However, the author also cautions that "not every high-energy or impulsive child has ADHD." The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) published a free resource entitled  ADHD: A Primer for Parents and Educators  that provides more information on symptoms, types, diagnosis and intervention.  Some of the interventions discussed by NASP include token economies, self-monitoring, social skills training, organizational skills instruction, and consistent communication between home and school. If you have a child who is strugg

Student Input in Educator Professional Development

We are always interested in new approaches to learning - for our students and for ourselves as adult learners.  When I came across  this article  from the Edutopia website, I was impressed by this "outside of the box" thinking.  As educators, we all participate in ongoing professional development activities, whether those are provided by the school system or if we independently pursue skill development outside of the school setting.  I loved the suggestions in this article for including student input in professional development activities.  Before even reading through the article, one of the thoughts I had was that this approach could increase "buy-in" from students as partners in the learning process.  It also sets the stage for students to see first-hand that learning is a life-long endeavor, not something that we stop doing when we graduate from high school or college.  Whether input is gained from students via interviews or surveys, this could be a powerful id