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 corrinnepace@gmail.com and please put

SXSWedu in the subject line. I get confused easily.