How do we approach boys in the counseling and teaching professions other than as problems?

Many of the challenges boys face are the result of a loss of contact with themselves and their surroundings. BAM! groups work to create contact through strategic storytelling and physical challenges

We present these slides with the hope that they may be helpful for people to advocate for boys. We use these slides in our workshops and expect that they would be most useful to people who have attended our workshops.

“I note the obvious differences between each sort and type, but we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” Human Family Maya Angelou, 2004

Part of the issue is disconnection In a national survey of 1,195 youth, students were placed in categories of successful students, strivers, and alienated students. 70% of the students in the alienated group were male. (Kleinfeld, 1999) Boys account for 80% of all youth suicides (US Dept of Justice) Boys account for three fourths of the discipline referrals in middle and high school (Pollack 1998).

Boys are overrepresented in special education

Special Education Enrollment US Dept. of Ed. Office of Civil Rights (1988) Grades K-12, By Sex (2000) 1.9 million girls (33%) 3.8 million boys (67%) Notice: The more subjective the criteria for services, the wider the gender gap.

Special Education Enrollment 2006-07 Count of Oregon Special Education Students Ages 5-21 (School Age) Primary Handicapping Condition Total Female Male % Orthopedic Impairment 803 389 414 52 Hearing Impairment 847 396 451 53 Deaf/Blindness 13 6 7 54 Mental Retardation 4264 1954 2310 Vision Impairment 323 143 180 56 Traumatic Brain Injury 272 97 175 64 Speech/Language Impairment 17663 6145 11518 65 Specific Learning Disability 28997 10064 18933 Other Health Impairment (e.g. ADHD) 8212 2278 5934 72 Emotional Disturbance 4688 1193 3495 75 Autism 5752 909 4843 84 Grand Total 71834 23574 48260 67

“Autism is an empathy disorder… Males outnumber females 4 to 1 regarding diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Fombonne, E. (2003) “Autism is an empathy disorder… Those with autism have major difficulties in ‘mindreading’ or putting themselves in someone else’s shoes, and responding appropriately to someone else’s feelings.” Simon Baron-Cohen The Essential Difference: The truth about the male and female brain (2003)

Percent of Youth 4-17 ever diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: CDC, National Survey of Children's Health, 2003 • Boys more likely to be referred and diagnosed with AD/HD (Barkley,1998) • 20% of boys in some schools receive psychostimulant meds (Castellanos, et al, 2002) • 90% of children taking Ritalin in the U.S. are boys (Pollack, 1998)

According to the following slides boys have no social skills (at least as they are typically defined). What does this say about how we view boys?

Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) • • • Gresham and Elliot (1990) Sample of 800+ "yoked" forms (all three forms for same student) “F" or "M" represents a significant difference in higher Female or Male scores on the subtests

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BASC Behavior Assessment System for Children: + _ _ _ BASC Behavior Assessment System for Children: Teacher Rating Scale Gender differences in T score units across subscales 14,000+ unit sample Representative of US pop. 1998 _ + _ + + _ _ + _