PART IV OF A SERIES
CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH: A NATIONAL FAMILY GUIDE
SUBMITTED BY SPAN ADVOCACY NETWORK
Editors Note: The SPAN Parent Advocacy Network has recently updated its National Children's Mental Health Family Guide and have provided it to EP Magazine for publication in a multi-part series. SPAN is here to support you in making the important decisions needed to ensure that your child with mental health challenges receives the services and supports needed for the best life possible. Connect with SPAN at 800-654-7726, online at spanadvocacy.org , on Facebook at @parentadvocacynetwork, and on Twitter at @SPANadvocacy
SCHOOLS AND MENTAL HEALTH
Collaboration and education on mental health in the school setting is critical. Schools have a responsibility to identify children who may have emotional, behavioral, and/or mental health challenges. When there are concerns, the child may go through the Intervention and Referral Services (I&RS) Team. The team may decide that the child just needs extra supports in school and then look at Response to Invention (RTI), which requires the school to provide "evidence-based" interventions and then determine whether those interventions had the desired effect. In most cases, this should be done before a child is evaluated for eligibility for special education. (However, if a child already has a diagnosed mental health condition, or if the parent or school staff suspect that the child has an emotional or other disability, the child should be referred to the special education team for a meeting with the parent to decide whether or not a special education or Section 504 evaluation will be conducted). Some children with mental health issues have IEPs (Individualized Education Program) while others may just need accommodations under a 504 plan. For more information on this process, see spanadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Guide-to-IDEA-NJ-Special-Ed-Code- Section-504-Overview.pdf.
An important piece for success at school is the use of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Behavior is the result of
the child trying to communicate the best he/she can. Family information on positive supports is found at pbis.org/family.
Sometimes children need to have a Functional Behavioral Assessment done at school to decide why the child is acting in a certain way and what supports can be put in place. Also, schools can’t change the child’s placement without holding a meeting, unless it’s an emergency situation. In addition, if the child does something or even breaks the conduct code and the school wants to remove the child, they must do a Manifestation Determination to decide if the behavior was caused by the disability.
Authors Ross Greene, PhD and J Stuart Ablon, PhD strongly believe that “children will do well if they can.” This philosophy takes a non-blameful approach based on decades of research which indicates that many challenging behaviors are actually the result of skill deficits, not on manipulation or a lack of motivation, as many adults believe. This explains why traditional forms of intervention, such as rewards and punishments, often do not work for the most challenging children.
The Collaborative Problem Solving model (or Collaborative Proactive Solutions as the model is also referred to), articulated in their books:
- Allows adults to pursue expectations
- Reduces challenging behaviors
- Teaches lagging skills
- Improves the relationship between the child and adult 5. Solves problems