So happy this is getting some attention. Obv not happy it’s happening…but it has to be addressed.
2 consistent personal experiences to share:
1) With me having my story out there publicly, I get calls & emails daily from parents – & their kids ranging from elementary school all the way to 40+ yr old children, concerned bc those kids are not functioning, the way I described in my first post abt my experience. I always think: what abt them, the parents, & what they’re going thru. This is an enormous stressor & even traumatic on them (on top of whatever else they may be dealing w in their personal & professional lives).
2) When we started working w schools 4 yrs ago, the 1st question (bc of the old way of doing things) was always: “What type of assembly programs & curriculum do you have for our students?” Anyone remember how a similar model w “Just Say No” failed miserably?
If you continue on the slides➡️ you’ll see in our SameHere Schools Roadmap, we always recommend starting w the adults FIRST. In schools: it’s teachers, behavioral health staff, coaches, paraprofessionals, administrators, before it’s ever students…& ideally the same day we start Professional Development w the adults in the school, we do sessions w the parents that same night – this is before ever doing anything w the kids. You can see pics of the diff types: town halls for parents all the way to bball clinics w former pros to get them to come.
From this GMA piece, most recent studies show that the negative MH statistics we’re seeing w parents is similar to those of their teenage kids. Are you surprised? After C0v!d? After the stressors of the last 3 yrs? After what their kids are dealing w? After what they are seeing related to division in the news media, daily?
Adults/parents NEED help too. Need resources. Need common language w their kids & school personnel. Without that, we are failing all of them. This topic applies to EVERYONE, “5 in 5.”