Counseling & Wellness at CCE

Once a month we'll send this newsletter full of information about what we've covered in Wellness and Counseling lessons in the past month. In addition, we'll share resources and information to support families and kids both at school and at home. As always, if you have questions about anything related to mental health and wellness, please reach out! We love to connect and collaborate with families.

Debbie Edwards, School Counselor dedwards2@dcsdk12.org

Stephanie Star, Wellness Teacher sstar@dcsdk12.org

At back to school night we talked about practical things we as parents and educators can do to improve student wellbeing and protect the mental health of our kids. The Let Grow Experience is one way to get started. Watch this short video and start thinking about how you can give your child more independence.

In the book "The Anxious Generation", author Jonathan Haidt, outlines ways we can protect the mental health of our children.

1. No smartphones before High School
   
2. No social media before age 16
   
3. Phone-free schools
   
4. More unsupervised play and childhood independence

Many parents have reached out to us to ask how they can find other like-minded parents in our school to support them in setting and holding similar boundaries. If you want to share your contact information with other parents, fill out this form and Mrs. Edwards will help you connect.

This was the question my husband and I (Debbie) asked frequently as our son grew through pre-school and his early elementary years. And depending on who we talked to, the answer was always different or vague. As an educator, counselor and mom, I wanted to share a few thoughts and resources with our CCE parent community on this tricky topic.

My son wasn't hyperactive or impulsive like others we knew who had an ADHD diagnosis. He didn't get into a lot of trouble at school but he didn't complete a lot of work either. And then COVID happened, so all measures of work completion and academic progress were turned inside out. By the time he reached 5th grade, he was anxious all the time, extremely defensive when we tried to ask about school, homework or notes from teachers, and emotional outbursts had become common place in our home. My son would later tell us that he felt like a failure all the time because he was constantly being redirected by teachers and not getting his work done, and he didn't know why. He literally couldn't control where and when his mind wandered. I've heard others describe it as feeling like your mind is running 100 miles an hour down a crowded road of information.

When we finally got the diagnosis and agonized over whether or not to medicate our son, we decided to give it a try, along with therapy to get a handle on his anxiety and low self-esteem. Within weeks we started to see our son reappear. He gained clarity as he was able to truly focus on the world around him, get his work done and truly understand what he was doing in class. In turn, his confidence grew, his grades improved, and we all felt like a heavy weight was lifting off our family. Just being able to name it, also gave us all relief and a sense of power over ADHD.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a medical condition. A person with ADHD has differences in brain development and brain activity that affect attention, the ability to sit still, and self-control. ADHD can affect a child at school, at home, and in friendships(1). It was not my son's fault that he could hyperfocus on video games or legos but not remember what he had read 3 seconds after he had passed over the words. This is just how his brain is wired.

ADHD can be diagnosed by your child's pediatrician or another professional specifically trained to diagnose and treat ADHD (eg. psychologist or psychiatrist). An ADHD diagnosis will fall into one of the following subtypes; inattentive type (which used to be called ADD), hyperactive-impulsive type or combined. According to Psychology Today, in recent years, more attention has been given to symptoms associated with inattention, which has also led to a rise in the number of people diagnosed with the disorder—particularly girls, who present with the inattentive subtype more often than the hyperactive subtype.

Your child's teacher cannot diagnose ADHD and therefore is not able to tell you to have your child evaluated. But if you are hearing over and over again that focus, attention, work completion, sitting still, or impulsive behaviors are impacting your child's learning or relationships, it may be worth a conversation with your child's pediatrician.

Whether you are wondering if your child might have ADHD, looking for treatment options, or just want to better understand the struggle, here are some resources to get you started:

• https://www.additudemag.com/
• https://chadd.org/

• https://howtoadhd.com/ (with Kid/Family Friendly YouTube videos)
  
• My current favorite book (also kid/family friends) "ADHD is Awesome" by Penn & Kim Holderness

(1) https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/adhd.html.

During the month of August Mrs. Edwards visited classrooms to welcome students, both new to CCE and those returning. We talked about ways to establish and maintain a positive community culture in our classrooms. This was also a opportunity for students to put a face with the name of another trusted adult at CCE who is here to help them learn, stay safe and have fun during the school year!

Each month, Counseling Lessons and guided discussion with students will revolve around a different topic. The focus in September is Calming and Coping. Students will have opportunity to identify and practice different skills they can use to manage big feelings and stressful situations at school and at home.

I am so glad to be back at CCE for another year of Wellness! Just like last year, I have the privilege of seeing each class once every four weeks. We will cover different topics each rotation. Some of our lessons will be based in the Mind Up curriculum. Other lessons will be based on what we have already learned and expand our knowledge and skills around Social Emotional Learning topics. There will still be some overlap between Counseling lessons and Wellness lessons. The lessons will cover the following areas:

• Self Awareness
• Self Management
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills
• Responsible Decision Making

The main focus of our lessons in our first week together have been about understanding and knowing rituals and routines of the Wellness classroom. Our youngest students need lots of practice and reinforcement. We are learning how to show we are listening, how to belly breathe, mindfully use our bodies, and have fun along the way. This year our younger students will be using a Mindset Journal to answer questions with writing or drawing. The students seem to really like this! They feel proud and excited to have their very own journal for their thoughts and ideas.

Believe it or not, the older students need to review rituals and routines too! Each day we have slowly added in each component of Wellness lessons to include: settle in, mindful movement, community connection, creative expression, and friendship circle. The students have done a wonderful job of jumping right back into each of these and are ready to build on previous learning from last year. I did ask for their input on what they want less of/more of in Wellness class this year. They had some great feedback!

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing and Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

ADHD is Awesome: A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD by Penn & Kim Holderness.

Debbie Edwards, School Counselor dedwards2@dcsdk12.org

Stephanie Star, Wellness Teacher sstar@dcsdk12.org