Mental Illness

 

Mental illness is becoming more and more prevalent in the elementary schools. I am seeing kids as young as kindergarten age with mental illness.  There is a misconception that it doesn't happen to elementary kids. Let me clarify, IT DOES!!

These children are often labeled as the "problem" child.  We look in from the outside and think, they don't listen, they're rude, impulsive, mean, disrespectful, unpredictable, and just plain out of control.  Yes, there are children who are like this, because they're a product of their own environment, but this is only a handful of children.  The majority of the children we encounter as educational professionals see something different.  We see a child calling out for help.  We reach out to the children and try to fix what were not capable of fixing, MENTAL ILLNESS.

Mental illness can be hard to detect in these young kiddos.  Could it be a behavior problem or mental illness?  As a school counselor, I am often on target with most of the children.  I believe that I have a knack, so to speak, for detecting what is really going on with these kiddos. I often observe their behaviors, mannerisms, and interactions with others.  What I have come to learn, there is much more to what meets the eye. Now, I am not an expert or a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but when you're with children for 7 hours a day, you can detect something is not right. Educators are advocates for early intervention, education, and detection.  Educators try to provide the resources and interventions that are available within the educational environment, but it exceeds our expertise and limitations to what we can provide for these children.

What we can do as educators?  It's simple, we need to LISTEN to what the child is saying.  We need to pay attention to the small things.  When we pay attention to the small details, it goes noticed in the child who is calling out for help. Don't let these children suffer in silence, be their VOICE, be their ADVOCATE.  You're the only one who will notice they're suffering with a MENTAL ILLNESS.

We all have a role in a child's life, don't overlook the small things, because the small things turn into something life saving.