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Unlocking the Mysteries of Children’s Mental Health
An Introduction for Future Teachers
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Prepared by the MinnesotaAssociation for
Children’s Mental Health
for the Minnesota Department of Education
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Childhood Mental Illness
• All children go through rough times at school, with friends, or in their families
• Most common problems, such as sadness after a family move, clear up with time and maturity
• Consider three things if you suspect a student may be experiencing an emotional problem:– Frequency: how often does the student exhibit the
symptoms?– Duration: how long do they last?– Intensity: how severe are the symptoms?
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Childhood Mental Illness
Behaviors or moods that:– Are no longer age-appropriate– Are much more dramatic than in peers– Continue for longer than usual
should alert adults to investigate the possibility of a mental health (emotional or behavioral) disorder
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On Any Given Day…• Three million American children meet the clinical
criteria for mood disorders
• 21% of children and adolescents have a behavioral, emotional, or mental health problem
• One out of every 20 Minnesota children is identified with Severe Emotional Disturbance
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 15-34 in Minnesota. The overall suicide rate is double the homicide rate in the state
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Mental Illness Can Be Treated
• Children spend over half their waking hours in school - this makes teachers front line assistants in recognizing and assisting treatment
• Best practice includes therapy, possibly medication, and consistent behavioral support across settings (home, school, community)
• Every child with emotional or behavioral challenges has a possibility to succeed in life
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Mental Health Disorders May Be Difficult to Recognize
• Mental health disorders emerge during ongoing development and at times may look like misbehavior but are NOT the same
• Disorders in infancy, childhood, and adolescence may not have the same symptoms as in adulthood
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Early Intervention Can…
• Minimize effects on child and family• Lessen duration & severity of symptoms• Lessen disruption of normal development• Increase academic success• Increase social success• Reduce risk of legal system involvement• Reduce risk of family disruption and abuse• YOU are a key factor in early intervention
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Lecture 1
The Normal Brain and the Disordered Brain
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Focus:
• The structure and function of the normal brain
• Mental health disorders as brain disorders
• The brain and learning
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“I think educators ought to be interested in the brain because they teach brains! If you’re a classroom teacher, you’ve got about 30 of them in your room and I can’t imagine somebody who would teach a room full of brains who wouldn’t be interested in brains…If you’re involved in the development and maintenance of a brain, you need a kind of knowledge that is more than folklore knowledge.”
Robert Sylwester
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Major Brain Structures
• The brain is divided into several portions or “lobes,” each with a specific function
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Major Brain Structures
Frontal Lobe• Judgment• Planning• Creativity• Organization
Many Mental Health disorders involve problems in the frontal lobe
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Major Brain Structures
Parietal Lobe• Reception of sensory
information• Sends messages to the
limbs
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Major Brain Structures
Temporal Lobe• Hearing• Memory• Meaning• Language
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Major Brain Structures
Occipital Lobe• Vision
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Major Brain Structures
Cerebellum• Balance• Long-term memory• Motor movement
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Cross Section of the Brain
Outer Cortex• Sensory input• Motor movement
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Cross Section of the Brain
Brain Stem• Unconscious functions
– Breathing
– Digestion
– Heartbeat
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Cross Section of the Brain
Corpus Callosum• Bridges right and
left brain
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Cross Section of the Brain
Hippocampus• Memory
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Cross Section of the Brain
Cingulate Gyrus• Arousal
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Cross Section of the Brain
Basal Ganglia• Involuntary movement
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Cross Section of the Brain
Amygdala• Fear and arousal
regulator
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Basic Brain Structures:Nerve Cells
• Nerve cells - your brain has more connections than stars in the universe: 100 billion
• Require a steady supply of glucose & oxygen -- depressed or actually destroyed by alcohol, drugs, nicotine, caffeine, some medications, sleep deprivation, stress, lack of use, lack of intimacy
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Synapses & Neurotransmitters
• Electrical charges travel from cell body to tip of axon
• Tip releases chemical neurotransmitters which bridge the synapse to the receptor sites on the dendrite of another neuron
• This is the process of all learning!
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Prefrontal Cortex:Attention, Judgment, Emotions
• Functions– Attention span– Perseverance– Planning– Judgment– Impulse control– Organization– Self-monitoring– Problem solving– Critical thinking
– Forward thinking– Learning from
experience & mistakes– Ability to feel and
express emotions– Influences limbic
system– Empathy– Internal supervision
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• Problems– Distractibility
– Lack of perseverance
– Lack of impulse control
– Hyperactivity
– Chronic lateness
– Poor organization
– Procrastination
– Unavailability of emotions
– Poor judgment– Trouble learning from
experience– Short term memory
problems– Social & test anxiety– Lying, confabulation– Misperceptions
Prefrontal Cortex:Attention, Judgment, Emotions
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Basal Ganglia: Movement, Emotions, Motivation• Functions
– Integrates feelings and movements
– Refines fine motor movements
– Suppresses unwanted movements
– Sets anxiety level– Enhances motivation– Pleasure
• Problems– Anxiety, panic– Negative thinking– Conflict avoidance– Muscle tension – Tremors, tics– Fine motor problems– Headaches– Low or excessive
motivation
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Recent Brain Based Research
• New developments in brain research allow for clear visualization of normal and disordered brains, at rest and at work– CAT scan
– MRI scan
– PET scan
– SPECT scan
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Neurobiological Disorders
• Because of this new understanding, many new terms have been developed and promoted as more accurate than mental illness:– Neurobiological disorders
– Brain or Bio-brain disorders
– Neurobehavioral disorders
– Neuropsychiatric disorders
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What are We Talking About?• The latest research shows that mental illnesses often
derive from brain malformations or malfunctioning
• Disruption of brain development, causing emotional or behavioral symptoms can be caused by:– Prenatal or early exposure to toxins
– Situational crises
– Chronic stress and anxiety
– Malnutrition
– Disease
– A combination of these factors
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Risk Factors
• Many brain disorders cluster in families, showing a genetic component or predisposition
• Some symptoms relate to damage due to injury, infection, poor nutrition, or exposure to toxins
• Stressful life events, malnutrition, childhood maltreatment, and aggression may lead to short or long-term symptoms and increase the likelihood of adverse outcomes
Research shows both biological and psychosocialfactors influence the development of the brain, and brain disorders
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The Brain at Work = Learning
• What Helps – Safe environment
– Meaningful tasks
– Timely feedback
– Varied input
• What Hinders– Anxiety
– Distraction, aversion
– Brain disorders