WHAT IS NORMAL? STUDENTS WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES Mental Health or Mental Illness Disability...
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Transcript of WHAT IS NORMAL? STUDENTS WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES Mental Health or Mental Illness Disability...
WHAT IS NORMAL?STUDENTS WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIESMental Health or Mental Illness
Disability Services Information Session, Fall 2015
Disability Services Staff
Tomma Lee FurstDirector Disability Services/Student Behavioral Intervention
Kym KleinsmithAdaptive Technology/Educational Support Specialist
Lori Corrigan Academic Support Specialist
Location: Berks Hall 209Email: [email protected] Page: http://www.racc.edu/StudentLife/Services/DisabilityServices/default.aspx
Normal is a moving target
What is considered Normal?
Social Situations:Shyness or Social Phobia
Relationship Issues:Sadness or Depression
Final Exams:Test Anxiety or Generalized Anxiety
Mental Health vs. Mental Illness
What’s the difference?
The difference between those with mental illness and those without it is:
• Resilience• Coping skills
Consider this:
• 85% of campuses nationwide have seen a rise in anxiety disorders.• 89% of campuses have see a rise in clinical
depression.• 8% of student in the past 12 months have
seriously considered suicide. (Chronicle on Higher Education 9/4/15)
• 25%of college students live with a diagnosis of mental illness. (NAMI)
• 75% of mental health issues begin by the age of 24, the traditional college age students are prime for diagnoses. (NIMH)
Why the increase in this population on campuses?
• More students are connected with treatment and are able to attend college due to pharmacology.
• A generation of students who lack coping skills and resiliency are now attending college (no prior opportunities to fail). *Lawn mower parents*
• Students have heard “you are wonderful and everything is great.” They have moved from internal approval as a source to needing external approval. (Laura DiGalbo)
Community college profile of students with mental illness
• Students diagnosed are mid 20’s and older.• Many have a pre-existing diagnosed condition.• Students are often nontraditional students.• Students access post-secondary at community
colleges for therapeutic purposes, not solely for educational purposes.• Students have poor coping skills.• Students have lack of resilience.
Broad categories of MH symptoms & effect on learning
• Anxiety Restlessness• Racing thoughts Panic attacks• Lots of energy Over-stimulated
• Lethargy Fatigue• Dizziness Depression• Muscle weakness Cognitive shut down
How MH issues affect learning:Case-by-case and individualized by disorder, but often:• Slowed thinking (meds)• Slowed processing or response time (meds)• Difficulty retrieving words (meds)
• Sustaining effort is difficult• Lethargy, falling asleep in class• Not submitting work• Poor attendance• Difficulty accepting new, unfamiliar ideas• Difficulty moderating impulses• Difficulty with social nuance
Consider the following strategies as you interact with our growing population of students with mental illness
Strategies: DS Staff• Pre-process the classroom environment• Have student visit the room, sit in seat
• Academic check-in appointments• Work on time management; chunk assignments• Help students with organization• Organizer with colorful sticky notes/flags• Accom: Sit away from doors, windows• Accom: Note taker• Accom: take tests in DS testing area• Accom: record lectures
Strategies: Advisors
• Advise students to schedule classes at “best” time of day
• Advise students not to schedule back-to-back classes
• Advise students to work at home in short bursts
Strategies: Classroom/Office
• Provide a simpler, clearly-written syllabus/info sheet• Provide updated syllabus/schedule if it strays from original
dates• Use the calendar in Angel/Milestones• Offer self-paced assignments • Consider alternatives to verbal, on-the-spot, class
participation• Consider not calling on student until hand is raised• Use “on deck” strategy for participation
Strategies: Classroom/Office
• Pre-arrange breaks during longer class• Use activities with simple, attainable goals• Chunk assignments into small parts• Remind students to take notes; act of writing may boost
brain• As appropriate, teach positive self-talk• Give lots of advance notice for exams, papers,
assignments• Consider alternatives to pop quizzes
Strategies: Communication
• Check for understanding from student• Ask student to repeat back information• Check your language for jargon and avoid it• Consider slowing down and simplifying your
communication• Try to remain calm if the student is frustrated• If student is extremely ill, help ground and orient the
student by saying something like, “I’d like to focus on how you can be a successful student at Reading Area Community College.”
What not to do…DO NOT STEP OUT OF YOUR ROLE AS FACULTY OR STAFF MEMBER
Recent case:• Faculty member had a student who disclosed she was in an
abusive relationship• Meaning to help, instructor said: “You don’t need to take that
abuse and you shouldn’t let anyone treat you like that. Stand up for yourself.”
• Student stood up for herself in next incident of abuse.• She was beaten worse than ever and is a nursing home for the
rest of her life.• Parents sued school • Parents sued instructor and won: Faculty/staff member is not a
therapist.
MH and bad behavior
Code of conduct must be followed by ALL students
Bad behavior—even that caused by mental illness—is not OK
Behavior that impacts the learning of others or their civil rights is unacceptable
Red flag students demonstrating inappropriate behaviors
Questions?
Thank You!
Please complete a short assessment form. Your feedback is Important to us!
ResourcesLaura DiGalbo, M.Ed.: Presenter at Postsecondary Disability Training Institute, 2015. Shared with permission
Richard Kadison: College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What to Do About It
National Alliance for Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/National Institute of Mental Health:http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtmlChronicle of Higher Education:http://chronicle.com/Active Minds:http://www.activeminds.org/