1. Promoting Social and Emotional Wellness New York Association of School Psychologists November 7, 2014

2. Why is this important?

3.  Prevent unnecessary suffering  Keep kids on track developmentally Importance of Meeting Children’s Mental Health Needs 3

4. The Scope and Impact of SED  1 out of 10 children have a serious emotional disturbance; more children suffer from psychiatric illness than from cancer, blindness, autism, mental retardation, and AIDS combined.  Only 20% of children with an emotional disturbance receive specialty mental health treatment. Children with mental health problems are much more likely to appear in pediatric offices and in schools than in clinics or therapist’s offices.  A majority of children & youth in juvenile justice settings and with “cross- system” needs have serious emotional disturbance.  Emotional disturbance is associated with the highest rate of school failure. Only 30% of children identified with emotional disturbance graduate with a standard high school diploma.  Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24-year olds. 4

5. Children with Emotional Issues – Impact on Education  Nearly all children with severe mental illness have experienced erratic academic programming due to their cyclical psychiatric crises and frequent changes in their learning environment.  Youth in high school with mental health problems are more likely to fail or drop out of school.  By high school few young people have a future vision that drives engagement in school or vocational pursuits.

6. “Could someone help me with these? I’m late for math class.” Scott Spencer

7.  The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study (www.acestudy.org)  Adverse Childhood Experiences* (ACEs) are very common  ACEs are strong predictors of later health risks and disease  This combination makes ACEs ‘the leading determinant of…health and social well-being’ Impact of Trauma * Psychological or physical abuse by parents; Sexual abuse; Household Dysfunction: Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Mother Treated Violently, Imprisoned Household Member 7

8. Adverse Childhood Experiences Social, Emotional, & Cognitive Impairment Adoption of Health- Risk Behaviors Disease, Disability Early Death The Influence of Adverse Childhood Experiences Throughout Life

9.  We wait too long to identify and treat kids  Well intended, yet maladaptive responses  All child-serving systems work extremely hard to help children with an emotional disturbance, but it is not enough… Children and youth can only achieve their full potential if together we operate at ours. 9