WHAT IS NORMAL?STUDENTS WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIESMental Health or Mental Illness

Disability Services Information Session, Fall 2015

Disability Services Staff

Tomma Lee FurstDirector Disability Services/Student Behavioral Intervention

Kym KleinsmithAdaptive Technology/Educational Support Specialist

Lori Corrigan Academic Support Specialist

Location: Berks Hall 209Email: disabilityservices@racc.eduWeb Page: http://www.racc.edu/StudentLife/Services/DisabilityServices/default.aspx

Normal is a moving target

What is considered Normal?

Social Situations:Shyness or Social Phobia

Relationship Issues:Sadness or Depression

Final Exams:Test Anxiety or Generalized Anxiety

Mental Health vs. Mental Illness

What’s the difference?

The difference between those with mental illness and those without it is:

• Resilience• Coping skills

Consider this:

• 85% of campuses nationwide have seen a rise in anxiety disorders.• 89% of campuses have see a rise in clinical

depression.• 8% of student in the past 12 months have

seriously considered suicide. (Chronicle on Higher Education 9/4/15)

• 25%of college students live with a diagnosis of mental illness. (NAMI)

• 75% of mental health issues begin by the age of 24, the traditional college age students are prime for diagnoses. (NIMH)

Why the increase in this population on campuses?

• More students are connected with treatment and are able to attend college due to pharmacology.

• A generation of students who lack coping skills and resiliency are now attending college (no prior opportunities to fail). *Lawn mower parents*

• Students have heard “you are wonderful and everything is great.” They have moved from internal approval as a source to needing external approval. (Laura DiGalbo)

Community college profile of students with mental illness

• Students diagnosed are mid 20’s and older.• Many have a pre-existing diagnosed condition.• Students are often nontraditional students.• Students access post-secondary at community

colleges for therapeutic purposes, not solely for educational purposes.• Students have poor coping skills.• Students have lack of resilience.

Broad categories of MH symptoms & effect on learning

• Anxiety Restlessness• Racing thoughts Panic attacks• Lots of energy Over-stimulated

• Lethargy Fatigue• Dizziness Depression• Muscle weakness Cognitive shut down

How MH issues affect learning:Case-by-case and individualized by disorder, but often:• Slowed thinking (meds)• Slowed processing or response time (meds)• Difficulty retrieving words (meds)

• Sustaining effort is difficult• Lethargy, falling asleep in class• Not submitting work• Poor attendance• Difficulty accepting new, unfamiliar ideas• Difficulty moderating impulses• Difficulty with social nuance

Consider the following strategies as you interact with our growing population of students with mental illness

Strategies: DS Staff• Pre-process the classroom environment• Have student visit the room, sit in seat

• Academic check-in appointments• Work on time management; chunk assignments• Help students with organization• Organizer with colorful sticky notes/flags• Accom: Sit away from doors, windows• Accom: Note taker• Accom: take tests in DS testing area• Accom: record lectures

Strategies: Advisors

• Advise students to schedule classes at “best” time of day

• Advise students not to schedule back-to-back classes

• Advise students to work at home in short bursts

Strategies: Classroom/Office

• Provide a simpler, clearly-written syllabus/info sheet• Provide updated syllabus/schedule if it strays from original

dates• Use the calendar in Angel/Milestones• Offer self-paced assignments • Consider alternatives to verbal, on-the-spot, class

participation• Consider not calling on student until hand is raised• Use “on deck” strategy for participation

Strategies: Classroom/Office

• Pre-arrange breaks during longer class• Use activities with simple, attainable goals• Chunk assignments into small parts• Remind students to take notes; act of writing may boost

brain• As appropriate, teach positive self-talk• Give lots of advance notice for exams, papers,

assignments• Consider alternatives to pop quizzes

Strategies: Communication

• Check for understanding from student• Ask student to repeat back information• Check your language for jargon and avoid it• Consider slowing down and simplifying your

communication• Try to remain calm if the student is frustrated• If student is extremely ill, help ground and orient the

student by saying something like, “I’d like to focus on how you can be a successful student at Reading Area Community College.”

What not to do…DO NOT STEP OUT OF YOUR ROLE AS FACULTY OR STAFF MEMBER

Recent case:• Faculty member had a student who disclosed she was in an

abusive relationship• Meaning to help, instructor said: “You don’t need to take that

abuse and you shouldn’t let anyone treat you like that. Stand up for yourself.”

• Student stood up for herself in next incident of abuse.• She was beaten worse than ever and is a nursing home for the

rest of her life.• Parents sued school • Parents sued instructor and won: Faculty/staff member is not a

therapist.

MH and bad behavior

Code of conduct must be followed by ALL students

Bad behavior—even that caused by mental illness—is not OK

Behavior that impacts the learning of others or their civil rights is unacceptable

Red flag students demonstrating inappropriate behaviors

Questions?

Thank You!

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ResourcesLaura DiGalbo, M.Ed.: Presenter at Postsecondary Disability Training Institute, 2015. Shared with permission

Richard Kadison: College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What to Do About It

National Alliance for Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/National Institute of Mental Health:http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtmlChronicle of Higher Education:http://chronicle.com/Active Minds:http://www.activeminds.org/