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This online resource is loaded with useful research and insight into mental health in schools. As teachers, we must recognize that schools are a natural setting to support mental health. As a future intervention specialist, it is essential that all my students have access to school-based mental health services. This journal article has many methods for implementing school-based mental health services, practices, and teacher resources.

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School-based mental health is becoming a vital part of student support systems. According to the most recent data in 2005, over one-third of school districts used school or district staff to provide mental health services, and over one-fourth used outside agencies to provide mental health services in the schools.1 The President’s Now Is the Time plan to improve access to mental health care in our schools and communities emphasizes the urgency to “make sure students and young adults get treatment for mental health issues” through early identification, referral for treatment, training for school teachers in early detection and response to mental illness, assistance for schools to address pervasive violence, and training for additional mental health professionals to provide mental health services in schools.2 Federal agencies such as the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Institute of Medicine are also calling on schools to enhance early identification methods to assess and connect students with mental health.3

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Key Ingredients for Successful Trauma-Informed Care Implementation

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Key Ingredients for Successful Trauma-Informed Care Implementation

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Key Ingredients for Successful Trauma-Informed Care Implementation

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This journal article is about the key ingredients for successful trauma-informed care implementation. This journal article is looking at trauma-informed care from a medical perspective and lens. However, I find that this is a beneficial resource for teachers. This academic journal provides a deeper understanding of trauma, and how medical professionals and therapists work with patients who have trauma. This journal article can help teachers understand trauma more deeply leading to better implementation of trauma-informed practices and teaching.

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Teacher Awareness of Trauma Informed Practice

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Teacher Awareness of Trauma Informed Practice

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Teacher Awareness of Trauma Informed Practice

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This academic journal talks about trauma-informed interventions, teacher supports, and student support. The journal recognizes that many teachers are not prepared or aware of trauma-informed teaching. There is a critical need for teachers and other educational professionals to recognize the symptoms of trauma in students, the associated behaviors of trauma-affected students, and instructional and environmental strategies for addressing these to support student success.

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This resource is a toolkit that provides teachers, administrators, students and families, and communities with support to assist in responding to challenges that affect mental health.

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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause stress, affect emotional well-being and intensify mental health needs. The Protecting Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory identified that mental health needs in young people continue to rise with symptoms of anxiety and depression doubling during the pandemic. Though increases in distress symptoms are common during disasters, most people cope well and do not go on to develop mental health disorders. Resiliency can be learned and developed, especially with home, school and community supports, which will help people do hard things later in life.

For students, these mental health needs can go unsupported and lead to behaviors that are inconsistent with school expectations. It is important students and staff know that it is okay to ask for help and be ready to respond to those who need additional support. Providing school-based mental health supports and safe learning environments help students improve their overall well-being, allowing them to thrive.

Ohio's educators and students have shown an incredible amount of resilience despite ongoing changes and concerns. This toolkit provides teachers, administrators, students and families and communities with support to assist in responding to challenges amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Click on the boxes below to find a collection of resources and recommendations, organized by audience type, to address current student and staff wellness challenges.

Teachers

Teachers continue to support students while trying to stay physically, mentally and emotionally well. The following are practical resources and tools teachers can use to support student behavior through relationship building, self-regulation and trauma-informed practices. Teachers should also continue to practice self-care and seek additional support when needed.
Relationship Building Student Calming and Focusing Strategies Staff Self-Care Trauma Informed Practices Classroom Management

Use de-escalation and emotional regulation strategies when students are experiencing big emotions.

Practice maintaining a "low and slow" voice volume and pitch.

Use reflective statements to convey understanding.
Example: "You are feeling frustrated with being told to complete the math problems before you have tablet time."

Know When to Refer for Services
Resources for Teachers

Trauma Informed Schools: Trauma Informed Schools are sensitive to the needs of individuals who have experienced trauma.

Trauma Informed, Resilience-Oriented Schools Toolkit: The toolkit provides tools, videos, professional development slide decks, and concise instruction to explain the concepts of trauma and toxic stress, offers strategies for addressing trauma and fostering and offers strategies to assess the impact of these adaptations throughout the school community.

Support for Teachers: The Role of Mindfulness: Teachers can address stress in their lives, both at school and at home, by practicing mindfulness.

Child Mind Institute: Age-appropriate videos which teach students key skills related to mental health and emotions. Each video comes with skill sheets that summarize and reinforce key ideas.

School Administrators

School administrators are facing increased incidents of student behavioral challenges and staffing shortages.

The following are practical resources and tools school administrators can use to implement multi-tiered systems of support to create safe, trauma-informed schools and to develop an environment that promotes staff wellness.
Evidence-Based Programs Strengthen Tiered Supports Trauma-Informed Practices and Policies Professional Development

Identify flexibilities and opportunities to revise professional development programming to address emerging needs.

Connect with community partners to provide ongoing professional development on relevant topics like Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, evidence-based prevention programs, trauma informed practices and other best practices for safety and school climate.

Relationship Building

Promote parental engagement through resource sharing, newsletters, or workshops about mental health and well-being.

Increase opportunities for connection between staff during the school day. Allow time for and encourage staff collaboration and cooperation.

Promote collaboration at staff or team meetings through a shared agenda and opportunities for staff to reflect or share with peers.

Staff Support and Mentorship

Develop a support group or mentoring program to allow teachers to receive peer-support. Allow groups time for real-time problem solving.

Become familiar with Secondary Traumatic Stress and develop a response for your building.

Support school wide practices to combat stress.

Promote wellness events or groups for staff such as: yoga, walking groups, recipe swaps or a social event for staff engagement.

Create a physical staff wellness space in your building.

Acknowledge and address grief or trauma experienced by staff.

Resources for School Administrators

Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Needs: Address challenges to providing school-based mental health support.

Trauma Informed, Resilience-Oriented Schools Toolkit: The toolkit provides tools, videos, professional development slide decks, and concise instruction to explain the concepts of trauma and toxic stress, offers strategies for addressing trauma and fostering and offers strategies to assess the impact of these adaptations throughout the school community.

Ohio School Safety Center 2021-2022 Back to School Safety & Wellness Resources: The Ohio School Safety Center has compiled a list of resources and initiatives to support administrators regarding student and staff mental health, anti-bullying/violence prevention, suicide prevention, threat assessment teams and other school safety initiatives.

District Administrators

Districts administrators are working to provide additional supports to meet the need of schools, educators and students. The pandemic has created new challenges in meeting the needs of school buildings, school personnel and students.

The following are practical resources and tools district administrators can use to create new partnerships to increase support services and improve student health and wellness.
Create Partnerships

Connect with partners to provide additional professional development or support services.

Establish school-based health centers or community partnerships with health and mental health providers.

Staff Mental Health Support Student Mental Health Supports Social, Emotional and Behavioral Health

Support social and emotional learning strategies in the district.

Use data to find locations where behavioral needs require additional support.

Create strong district-family partnerships to leverage families' expertise and diversity.

Trauma-Informed Practices and Policies
Resources for District Administrators

Students and Families

Students and families may find these resources and tools helpful as students adjust to new learning environments. Below are ideas for families to support their student's wellness.
Help Manage Intense Feelings and Build Social Skills Stay Connected

Help build upon positive childhood experiences: encourage your child to talk about feelings or how their day was, support child during difficult times, facilitate relationships with other trusted adults outside of your family, discuss and emphasize family traditions.​

Reach out to friends and family via phone or video chats to stay socially connected. ​

Maintain communication with your child's teacher around needs, concerns and progress.

Maintain Healthy Habits

At an age-appropriate level, have conversations about potential consequences associated with inappropriate online behavior.

A nutritious, balanced diet can promote overall wellness. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided online resources to encourage healthy nutrition.

Be sure children are getting enough sleep. Have the same nightly routine and bedtime on both weeknights and weekends to maintain consistency. The Centers for Disease Control has posted recommendations for how much sleep children should get each night.

Continue to maintain and attend appointments for well-child visits, immunizations and oral health care.

Seek Help

Seek additional supports through school, behavioral health agencies or other community resources.

Resources for Students and Families

How to Support Children's Social, Emotional and Behavioral Health and Well-Being: Find practical ideas and easy steps to help support child (and adult) well-being.

Return to School Roadmap: Considerations and strategies for assisting your child's health and well-being while in school.

Supporting Self-Care, Routines, and Understanding COVID-19: Resources designed for families, and individuals to support self-care practices, emotional well-being, and maintaining a healthy foundation during these uncertain times.

Ohio School Safety Center 2021-2022 Back to School Safety & Wellness Resources: The Ohio School Safety Center has compiled a list of resources and initiatives to support families regarding students' mental health, returning to school, learning, anti-bullying/violence prevention, and suicide prevention.

Supporting Emotional Wellbeing in Children and Youth: From the National Academies of Medicine, tools for children, teens, and parents to learn how to cope with challenges.

Communities

Community organizations play a critical role in supporting the mental health of children and young people by providing programming and supports and working to create safe, stable, and nurturing environments children and youth need to thrive. Children and young people themselves can also take action to protect, improve and advocate for their mental health.

While different community organizations may address different community problems, serve various youth populations and may implement different solutions, all community organizations can use the following recommendations:
Educate the public about the importance of mental health and reduce negative stereotypes, bias and stigma around mental illness.

Create open dialogue about mental health and correct misconceptions and biases.

Partner with trusted messengers such as youth-led programs, faith leaders and behavioral health professionals to speak to community members about youth mental health needs.

Address misconceptions in key community stakeholder groups that have outside influence over young people such as educators, faith leaders and the media.

Implement evidence-based programs that promote healthy development, support youth and their families, increase protective factors and increase their resilience.

Youth-led programming, mentoring and afterschool programs.

Skill-based parenting and family relationship programs.

Evidence-based programs designed to prevent substance use/misuse, suicide, violence and other mental, emotional and behavior problems.

Community coalition efforts addressing substance use/misuse, suicide, depression/anxiety, violence and social determinants of health.

Ensure that programs are rigorously evaluate mental health related outcomes

Track outcomes around anxiety, depression, and suicide, as well as upstream risk and protective factors such as social connectedness and coping skills.
Address the unique mental health needs of at-risk youth.

Youth-serving organizations should be intentional about how and to whom program services are offered.

Actively recruit and engage populations who have historically been prevented form equal access to opportunities and services.

Engage with youth to understand what unique barriers may prevent them from accessing services.

Recruit program staff directly from communities being served.

Build program staff capacity to recognize personal biases and structural challenges in these communities.

Elevate the voices of children, young people and their families.

Engage youth in community-based mental health efforts

Gather feedback from youth and families involved in programming to understand what is and isn't working.

Resources for Communities

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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause stress, affect emotional well-being and intensify mental health needs. The Protecting Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory identified that mental health needs in young people continue to rise with symptoms of anxiety and depression doubling during the pandemic.

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The Impact of Trauma on Students: Ohio Department of Education

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The Impact of Trauma on Students: Ohio Department of Education

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This resource provides a list of trauma-induced symptoms students could experience. It is a great resource to reference when wondering if certain behaviors, emotions, and physical symptoms are trauma responses. To be clear, this is not a list to diagnose a student with trauma. It is a resource that helps an educator be aware of the symptoms of trauma.

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Trauma can impact an individual in many ways, and an individual's response to a traumatic event can vary. Circumstances of the event such as when, how, where, how often and the responses of others can impact an individual's response. Children may experience symptoms related to brain development, learning and behavior - all of which impact academic success.
Potential impacts of trauma include, but are not limited to:

Cognitive and learning impacts;

Inability to concentrate or sit still;

Poor memory;

Zoning out in class;

Struggles with reading;

Increased days of school absence;

Lower grade point average.

Physiological impacts include:

Chronic pain and somatic complaints (headaches, stomach aches, fatigue, vague aches and pains);

Muscle tension, trembling;

Increased sensitivity to sound;

Hyper alert - increased startle response.

Emotional impacts include:

Difficulty with mood regulation (mood swings);

Difficulty describing feelings, internal experiences, and needs and wishes;

Increased rates of depression, anxiety, hostility and irritability;

Low self-esteem - feeling worthless, damaged or self-blaming;

Frequently on guard - increased worries and fears about safety of self and others.

Behavioral/relational impacts include:

Impulsiveness;

Increased anger outbursts and temper tantrums;

Increased need for control or perfection;

Excessive desire to please others;

Withdrawing;

Struggling to connect with others;

Aggression;

Difficulty establishing appropriate social boundaries;

Self-destructive behavior;

Repetitive violent play/art or repetitive, trauma-specific play/art;

Higher levels of self-harm;

Higher levels of eating disorders.

Neurological development impacts (Complex trauma) include:

Changes in brain development;

Over development of the limbic system (responsible for emotional reactions, survival skills, motivation, long-term memory);

Underdevelopment of frontal lobe (key to learning, decision-making).

Resources

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The Impact of Trauma on Students | Ohio Department of Education

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Trauma can impact an individual in many ways, and an individual’s response to a traumatic event can vary. Circumstances of the event such as when, how, where, how often and the responses of others can impact an individual’s response. Children may experience symptoms related to brain development, lea…

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New State of Mind: Youth Mental Health Guide

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New State of Mind: Youth Mental Health Guide

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This resource is a mental health guide created by students for students. Do Something is an online resource run by youth advocating for change. The three sections focused on in this article are practicing self-care, dealing with the stress of digital learning, and supporting the mental health of those around you. This is a fantastic resource because it is written from the voices of students who are communicating the support they need. This is a great resource to reference when wanting to implement the most effective strategies for mental health in the classroom.

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New State of Mind: Youth Mental Health Guide

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A first-of-its kind mental health guide created for students, by students amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Building Communities of Care | Trauma-Informed Training

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Building Communities of Care | Trauma Informed Training

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Building Communities of Care | Trauma Informed Training

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BCC is a trauma-informed, systems-based training approach for working with individuals of all ages. BCC educates and trains individuals on how to create nurturing and supportive environments, build healthy student-teacher relationships, understand the impact of trauma on development, and de-escalation and crisis intervention skills.

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The publication, Residential Treatment for Children and Youth, recently published the article Building Communities of Care: A Comprehensive Model for Trauma-Informed Youth Capacity Building and Behavior Management in Residential Services.* Read the article.

MISSION

To teach participants to provide individualized and strength-based interventions within a nurturing and supportive Community of Care.

WHAT IS BCC?

BCC is a trauma-informed, systems-based training approach to working with individuals of all ages in a variety of settings. It is a "train-the-trainer" model, and is delivered to participants in 16 - 24 hours, depending on topics covered. It can be delivered with or without physical intervention content.

It covers topics such as:
* Creating nurturing and supportive environments
* The role of staff and caregivers
* Building relationships
* Understanding the impact of trauma on development
* De-escalation and crisis intervention skills
* And much more!

WHY CHOOSE BCC?

Because this training is focused on individualizing treatment and applies to all types of staff/caregivers, it can be used seamlessly in a variety of programs and agencies. Instead of focusing solely on problem behaviors and crisis interventions, BCC takes a holistic view of each individual. Therefore, BCC offers a full continuum of supportive strategies and concepts. In addition, if the physical intervention components are trained, agencies can choose from a wide range of safe and approved holds that would be appropriate to their setting specifically.

WHO CAN USE BCC?

BCC is fully approved in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. It has been implemented at a variety of sites and programs, including:
Community (Home) Based Services
Therapeutic Foster Care
Therapeutic Boarding Schools
Sub-Acute Treatment
Alternative Day Schools
And more!

To learn more about whether or not BCC is appropriate for your program, please contact Corey Meurer, cmeurer@jri.org. Corey can provide documentation and information related to obtaining approval to use BCC at your site.

HOW IS IT ORGANIZED?

This training and workbook explore how to build a "Community of Care" by exploring a variety of topics indepth, using a systems model to examine the individual within the broader social context.

Specifically, we consider:
* Individual factors - How is the individual unique, and what do they need?
* Community factors - What role do the setting, staff, and caregivers play?
* External factors - What impact do larger, outside forces play in caring for and treating the individual?

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BCC...
"The lens in which many of my staff members were viewing behavior and student learning was dramatically altered after BCC in a positive way. The realization of how many archaic and parochial styled techniques that were still being relied heavily upon was overwhelming for many. BCC also fostered an accelerated growth in some staff members who were able to identify the changes that they needed to make in their practices and implemented the strategies of BCC through a trauma informed lens. Specifically, learning about attuning to each individual student became the lifeline to a successful class period for those teachers who were able to adapt to the cultural shift."
Michael S Jarvis
Principal, Southbridge Academy

For more information about BCC, please contact Corey Meurer, BCC Director of Operations, cmeurer@jri.org, (508) 918-7194.

*Stacey Forrest, Robert Gervais, Kayla A. Lord, Anne Sposato, Lia Martin, Kari Beserra & Joseph Spinazzola (2018) Building Communities of Care: A Comprehensive Model for Trauma-Informed Youth Capacity Building and Behavior Management in Residential Services, Residential Treatment for Children & Youth, 35:4, 265-285, DOI: 10.1080/0886571X.2018.1497930

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Building Communities of Care | Trauma Informed Training

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Building Communities of Care (BCC) is a trauma-informed training to help eliminate the use of restraints, provide de-escalation and crisis prevention strategies. BCC can be used in classrooms, schools, hospitals and treatment facilities that require restraint reduction and restraint elimination training.

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Creating, supporting, and sustaining trauma-informed schools: 

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Creating, supporting, and sustaining trauma-informed schools: 

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Creating, supporting, and sustaining trauma-informed schools: 

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In this academic journal, the aim is to create a school-wide environment that addresses the needs of all students, staff, administrators, and families who might be at risk for experiencing traumatic stress symptoms. It is based on a three-tier system. Tier one, safe environments and universally healthy students. Tier two, early intervention/identifying students and staff at-risk. Tier three, intensive support. This framework focuses on realizing the widespread impact of trauma and pathways to recovery, recognizing trauma's signs and symptoms, responding by integrating knowledge about trauma into all facets of the system, and resisting re-traumatization.

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Trauma Informed Schools - Resources and Curriculum for Teachers

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Trauma Informed Schools - Resources and Curriculum for Teachers

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This online resource, Empowering Education, has classroom curricula content, resources, lesson plans, and training for teachers wanting to implement trauma-informed teaching, mindfulness, and mental health in the classroom. This organization and resource is a great tool for future teachers wanting to implement trauma-informed, mindfulness, and mental health instruction and practices.

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Often, trauma is defined as a deeply disturbing event or experience, but what one person may consider "deeply disturbing" may be different for others. The common understanding of trauma fails to account for more subtle and insidious forms of trauma such as neglect, abandonment, and vicarious trauma.

Trauma is an event, or series of events, that overwhelms the central nervous system. Trauma occurs when one's ability to defend, protect, or say no is overwhelmed. Trauma is what occurs when your solution (active response to threat) does not work.

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Trauma Informed Schools - Resources and Curriculum for Teachers

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Often, trauma is defined as a deeply disturbing event or experience, but what one person may consider "deeply disturbing" may be different for others. The common understanding of trauma fails to account for more subtle and insidious forms of trauma such as neglect, abandonment, and vicarious trauma.

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Positive Behavior Strategies: An Approach for Engaging and Motivating Students

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Positive Behavior Strategies: An Approach for Engaging and Motivating Students

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This article provides positive behavioral strategies to increase student engagement and motivation. The article gives multiple examples of how to integrate positive behavioral strategies designed within a UDL + PBIS framework. This is a great reference for implementing positive behavioral strategies in the classroom that are applicable to all students.

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To the learning disabled community, and our allies,

Our students are in a mental health crisis, one that disproportionately impacts students with learning disabilities. A 2019 CDC report indicated 33% of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. This number jumped to 44% during the pandemic. For those of us in the learning disability community, mental health issues permeate our everyday lives. The limited research we have supports a strong correlation between learning disabilities and mental health disorders. For example, one study found that individuals with learning disabilities report mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation at twice the rate of their non-disabled peers, even controlling for possible confounding factors. Another meta-analytic study shows varying rates of comorbidity, from 8% to 46.3%, for ADHD and anxiety among students with LD.

Yet, the causal relationship between mental health and learning disabilities is still poorly understood. The topic of mental health rates in the LD community came up time and time again in conversations among our Young Adult Leadership Council members, where for many of us mental health struggles are woven throughout our LD stories. We write this letter first as a note of acknowledgement to the LD community, second to bring awareness of this issue to a broader global community, and third to call in parents, teachers, policy makers, and researchers to help us address this issue.

Generally, poor mental health is associated with challenges with decision making, difficulty in school, difficulty forming positive relationships, and other risky or potentially harmful behaviors. Dual-disability diagnoses present even greater challenges, as many experience persistent stress, anxiety,, trauma, bullying, internalizing problems, and feelings of social isolation as they navigate a world with learning disabilities and mental health disorders. These negative experiences are especially concerning when you consider that almost one-third of incarcerated individuals report having a learning disability, and mental health issues affect approximately half of the incarcerated populations.

"Not being diagnosed until recently as an adult, I never understood why I struggled like I did. However, after my diagnosis, I realized that my anxiety and depressive episodes contributed to my perfectionism and impulsive choices. Undiagnosed individuals with ADHD face the harsh reality of being prone to depression and anxiety. It could lead someone to a pathway of substance abuse and impulsive decision making that can have serious consequences. When you live in a world where people don't understand individuals with attention issues, it can make you feel like something is inherently wrong with you, which can also contribute to depression."
-Misha Nicholas

We know that students with LD report more issues with mental health. However, that is the extent of the research. We do not know the cause of these lower mental health rates in students with learning disabilities. Anecdotal reports by students with LD suggest that many experience educational trauma. We need research in order to know the extent and impact of this educational trauma. Is educational trauma a risk factor for poor mental health?

As members and activists on the National Center for Learning Disabilities' Young Adult Leadership Council (YALC), we feel it is imperative to kick-start a solution-driven mental health initiative focused on the intersectionality of learning disabilities and mental health disorders. Many of us navigate life as learning disabled people struggling with mental health. Research suggests that promoting a sense of belonging and peer social support within schools can protect learning disabled individuals from many documented negative outcomes. Yet, many of us experienced various forms of educational trauma throughout education in the form of persistent academic failure, feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, bullying, social isolation, and ridicule. Educational trauma refers to the perpetual pattern of harmful cycles within educational systems that detrimentally affect academic and emotional outcomes.

"The humiliation, bullying, and systematic exclusion was shattering beyond words. Eventually the educational trauma I experienced became a bigger barrier to learning than my actual learning disability."
-Erin

Many young adults with learning disabilities describe their K-12 educational experiences as traumatic. They describe feelings of being misunderstood. Often, they report that those around them failed to understand their learning and mental health struggles, as they lacked the words to describe the shame they felt to the adults and peers in their lives. These struggles span well beyond weaknesses in reading, writing, and math. Mental health and learning disabilities are interwoven, and these challenges follow learning disabled individuals as they transition out of high school and into postsecondary education and the workplace.

"It was not until undergrad that I learned that it isn't normal to feel like you can't breathe every time before attempting homework."
-Stevie Mays

Many learning disabled people report feeling unsafe and like they do not belong in the classroom. In talking with almost any learning disabled person, they will tell you that their learning disability has impacted them far beyond just their struggle with learning skills like math and reading. They will tell you that existing as a learning disabled person impacts one's whole experience with the world, how the world interacts with them, and how they interact with the world. Yes, it's important for us to help LD students in academic areas like reading and writing. But if we fail to look beyond academics, at the whole person, we miss an entire aspect of the learning disabled experience. We miss what it actually means to exist as a learning disabled person.

"At age 16, as everyone around me wrote in fine penmanship, I felt like a child still writing with red crayon. It didn't matter what or how well I wrote - I wasn't allowed to belong."
-Brody

What are you doing personally to better understand and address the experiences of the learning disabled community and why our peers are pushed out of schools, into the prison system, into low-wage careers, and, in the best case, into college settings that don't support us?

We need to talk about mental illness for what it is: a disability. A disability that deserves the same support and focus as dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning disabilities.

Our dyslexia, anxiety, ADHD, depression, dysgraphia, PTSD, and more are disabilities that need support, understanding, and recognition. Many of us on the YALC say that finding the LD community was the key to us feeling like we finally understood ourselves and were able to come out of our shame. We found strength in our shared experiences and were able to name many of our experiences for what they were: educational trauma. In doing so we found our voice, not only to share our stories but to advocate for our community as a whole.

To the LD person reading this, we see and empathize with your struggles. We encourage you to seek out your LD community and embrace your disability identity. The disability label (including mental health and learning disabilities) give you access to support and treatment. It also comes with a community that wants to welcome you in.

Finally, this letter is a call to action - a call to our researchers, policy makers, educators, and parents and caregivers to better understand, address, and find solutions for the mental health needs of individuals with learning disabilities.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!

For researchers:

Include mental health as measures in your data collection, and mental health disabilities as covariates.

Research educational trauma, including its prevalence and impact on students with learning disabilities.

Conduct holistic research on the experiences of LD students beyond our academic success, and understand the impact on our non-academic lives.

Research the intersection of mental health and learning disabilities, and specifically the experiences of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and historically marginalized groups.

Include LD people in your research process beyond them being research subjects. Ensure that learning disabled people are a part of the research design process. Get feedback from the LD community and ensure that the research questions you ask are aligned with the values of the community you're studying. Hire LD people in your labs and centers so a good percentage of the next generation of people studying LD are LD themselves.

For policy makers:

Increase funding for early identification, treatment, and psychological support within schools. We need well-funded school-based mental health programs, school psychologists, counselors, and social workers.

Keep your promise and fully fund IDEA, after over 40 years of never doing so.

Ban the practices of seclusion and restraint that have harmed and oppressed disabled students for decades.

For educators:

Many of your students are walking into your classroom with years of educational trauma. You can end it. Focus on students' strengths while also acknowledging and building solutions to address our weaknesses, and listen to students when they are brave in sharing their experiences.

Be aware of the interconnectedness of mental health and learning disabilities, and work with us to create strategies that address what we need and prevent negative outcomes.

Avoid terms such as "lazy" when you talk about your disabled students. We aren't lazy. We're trying our best.

For parents and caregivers:

Talk about mental health with us, and help us own our identities as members of the disability community.

Look for early warning signs of mental health issues and teach us to be self-advocates, so that when we're on our own, we've got the skills to stand up for ourselves and the things we need to be successful learners.

For the learning disabled community:

Embrace your learning disability identity. Don't be afraid to use the language of disability. Taboo and stigma lead people to use euphemisms. But ultimately, our legal rights and our connection to community depend on identifying as disabled. We can end the stigma and taboo of being disabled by embracing this community.

Be willing to talk about how mental health impacts you in school. We are functioning in school systems that are not designed for us and that "others" us constantly. Allowing yourself to get support is the greatest gift you can give to yourself. We know it's hard to stick out as the one using accommodations, but you'll be glad you did.

Understand that you'll need to self-advocate for both your LD and your mental health. This may look like telling your parents and educators what you need in a classroom setting to succeed. This means attending your IEP meeting and making sure your accommodations reflect your needs.

This call to action only scratches the surface of a larger conversation. Our voice matters. Join us in amplifying this initiative by signing below.

Sincerely,

The Young Adult Leadership Council

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Positive Behavior Strategies: An Approach for Engaging and Motivating Students - NCLD

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Positive behavior strategies are evidence-based approaches for promoting behavior that is conducive to learning. Behavior is a form of communication, a message about what a student needs. Our goal as teachers is to receive these messages and set our students up for success.