mental health stigma: from closet to classroom
TRANSCRIPT
Let’s have anopen,honest,
about mental health.
REALconversation
Did You Know…??
1 in 4 people worldwide struggle with mental illness.
NAMI.org, 2015
That Means….
In the average American household,
there is a person dealing with one or more conditions
that affect mental well-being.
census.gov, 2015
This Could Mean Dealing With…
Bipolar
Depressio
nAnorexia
Bulimia
ADD/ADHD
Anxiety
Panic
AttacksOCD
PTSD
Schizophrenia
Autism
Addiction
Phobias
Everyone Knows Someone
Friends, family, co-workers, neighbors…
People we live with, work with, grew up with, have fun with…
So….
What if someone facing this…
…was in your child’s class?
…was your child’s friend?
…was your child’s teacher?
Ja
Mental Health Stigma:
From Closet to Classroom
fBy: Corrinne PaceM.Ed SPED
Proposed Summit SXSWedu 2016
What in the flibberty-flack Is
STIGMA?
Stigma: noun stig·ma /ˈstiɡmə/
a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.
What Does Mental Health Stigma Look Like?
We see it every day.
In the inordinate number of people living in poverty who have mental health concerns.
When people talk about discriminatory legislation like gun control or insurance coverage.
In the media’s portrayals of people with mental illness.
With our loved ones who feel they have to hide parts of themselves and suffer in silence.
In the 1 in 5 incarcerated individuals who have documented recent history with it.
We hear it in our everyday vernacular….
Borrowed from http://www.wells.edu/images/events/small/antistigmapanel.jpg
It Affects Us Globally
Though some other countries are taking steps ahead of the US,
stigmatizing those with mental illness and the conditions they
wrestle with every day is the norm.
Borrowed from Borrowed from http://www.wells.edu/images/events/small/antistigmapanel.jpg
Our Attitudes Particularly stink in the
US.We hear how it contributes to Disability and how much it costs us.
We hear about criminal acts perpetrated by those losing their battles.
But do we hear about the 22 Veterans who commit suicide every single day?
Well….maybe. Things are evolving.
Borrowed from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/longform/mental_health/stigma_graphic.jpg
Hey, it’s mostly progress, right?
Notice, this is Texas ten years ago.
Considering how many
people know
someone, we can
surmise the numbers
are shifting.Borrowed from http://behavioralhealth.typepad.com/markhams_behavioral_healt/images/stigma_chart.gif
Our Children, Too?!Roughly 1 in 5 children are working with
a mental health or neurological issue between preschool and the age of 18.
Most common? ADHD, Anxiety (such as Social), Depression, and that big lump of various adjustment
difficulties lumped into “Behavioral Problems”. Centers for Disease
Control, 2013
But This isn’t just about illness,
It’s About Our Schools.6% of students receiving Special Education services fall into the
category of Emotional Disabilities*.
*Actually, the official name is “Emotional Disturbance”.Seriously.
They still refer to our children as “Emotionally Disturbed.”
(Psssst…I personally prefer the term “EBD” or Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities.)
from nces.ed.gov
The statistics of children labeled as ED are…
well, not to be overly dramatic…just true…
they’re horrifying.
Remember, I said open, honest, and REAL.I meant it.
Stigma Begins Early.•6.4 million, or about 13 percent of all public school students, received Special Education Services in the 2011-12 school year. 373, 154, or roughly 6%, were served under the ED label •76% of these students are boys.
•54% were White, 27% African-American, 1% Asian.
•Consider this: The population distribution of the USA is roughly 72% White, 12.5% Black, and 5% Asian.
HOW DO THOSE NUMBERS ADD UP? nces.ed.gov
In Addition (Squeak! There’s MORE?!)
Students Labeled As ED are far more likely…
to live in poverty to come from single parent households, extended family households or foster care to have experienced abuse to come from families with little formal education to also have learning disabilities to be homeless
THAN IN ANY OTHER IDEA SPED SERVICES CATEGORY nces.ed.gov
Here is What I seeI see the neurologist who did the evaluations for my daughter (white, pretty, middle-class) and found ADHD and ED…and who told me
NOT to put ED on her IEP.
Because people would treat her differently. In a bad way.
Stigma. Like, FOR REAL LIFE stigma.And stigma is empirically proven to cause
damage.
Borrowed from https://lewishamcurate.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/stigma-pic.jpg?w=908
NOWWhat Does That Say
for the Teachers?Teachers are held to such high standards…I
know not ONE who would be willing to be open about personal struggles with mental health.
We educate and care for their child. Of course they hesitate.
BUT WHY?The way to find out and understand is learning
from each other.
Why SHOULD They Be Teachers? What Can They
Bring?They bring the real-life out-of-the-box thinking that can change the world.
Neurodiversity brings change and growth.
Think of all the brilliant minds who rocked existence, all while wrestling
personal illness.
Dr. Kay Redfield Jamesona psychiatrist who works with Bipolar both in
patients and herself said:
“….the possibility of a link between ‘madness’ and creativity is ancient and persistent.”
[…]“Mood, temperament, behavioral and cognitive
factors associated with bipolar illness can, in some people, make them more creative by increasing the fluency and originality of their thinking, as well as by
increasing risk-taking, ambition, energy, exuberance and a desire to create meaning
from suffering and chaos.”
NOWWhat Does That Say
for the Teachers?Teachers are held to such high standards…I know not ONE who
would be willing to be open about personal struggles with mental health…but look what potential there is for true change.
We educate and care for their children. Of course they hesitate.
BUT REALLY THINK ABOUT IT…WHY?The way to find out and understand is learning from each other.
What Does Stigma force us to miss Out
On?Until we fight it, we’ll never know.
People with mental illness have as much right to be in the classroom as typically developing
people.
BOTH YOUNG AND OLD.
What can we do?
Wait…what CAN we do?!
You can Lead the Way to A Better, More Humane
World.
WE can.
These Are the Faces of Mental Health
Borrowed from Borrowed from https://lewishamcurate.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/stigma-pic.jpg?w=908
CHANGE STARTS WITH
US.fin
Thank you for viewing the proposal. If you would like to see a summit of thoughtful
mind come together and brainstorm what we can do to destigmatize mental illness in
the classroom, please vote for this workshop to be presented.
I truly appreciate your time.
In the meantime, I welcome any questions, feedback, ideas, and jokes with an irreverent
sense of humor. Contact me at [email protected] and please put
SXSWedu in the subject line. I get confused easily.