Thursday 24 August 2017

School exclusion may trigger mental health problems


"The researchers from the University of Exeter who looked at responses from over 5,000 school-aged children said that young people could develop depression, anxiety and disturbed behaviour.
Relatively few pupils are expelled from school, but Professor Ford warned that even temporary exclusions can amplify psychological distress."


Link - school exclusion leading to mental health issues

Monday 14 August 2017

UK data protection law

"The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has published a statement of intent outlining planned reforms in the Data Protection Bill. Reforms include: giving individuals more control over their personal data by providing easier access; parents or guardians will be required to give consent to information services where a child is under the age of 13; the right to be forgotten whereby individuals will be able to ask for their personal data to be erased - this will include provision to allow people to require social media platforms to delete information they posted during their childhood."

Source: DCMS  Date: 07 August 2017

Monday 7 August 2017

Must children fall into crisis before they get the help they need?

"Children’s services are under increasing pressure. As purse strings tighten, and children’s services have to respond to an ever-widening range of challenges, is there a risk we often only help those in most dire need?
A group of MPs and Peers is aiming to understand these pressures, and establish how high the bar is before services step in to help a child in need.
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Children (APPGC) is conducting a new Inquiry into the causes of variation in the thresholds for accessing children’s social care services. We are keen to hear directly from social workers about how decisions around threshold levels are made in practice. "
NCB accessed 07-08-17

LINK to full article

Thursday 3 August 2017

Resilience: A skill your child really needs to learn (and what you can do to help)


"Resilience is the ability to overcome hardship and be okay. It’s the ability to navigate life’s inevitable bumps and still be happy and healthy and stay on track. What worries me sometimes is that our current parenting culture of achievement and obsessing over safety — and the way that electronic devices have become so ubiquitous — may get in the way of learning resilience.
According to Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, there are four factors that help children develop resilience."...

  • Supportive adult-child relationships
  • A sense of self-efficacy and perceived control
  • Strong adaptive skills and self-regulatory capacities
  • Being able to mobilize sources of faith, hope, and cultural traditions

Full article

"In A Heart Beat"-New Pixar Movie

"In a Heartbeat was put together by Ringling College of Art and Design students Beth David and Esteban Bravo as their computer animation thesis, but it has now taken on much more of a life than just a school project. It deals with a young boy struggling to come to terms with his feelings for a handsome peer, a topic never previously explored by animated film, and features an adorable jumping heart that is just begging to be made into a new Pixar mascot. In just 4 minutes, it captures the experience of countless LGBTQ youth, and shows them that there’s nothing to be afraid of."

Video Link

Wednesday 2 August 2017

The AE Process

"Simply put, the AE Process is a way for people with Asperger’s and their families to have a better life. It was created by people with Asperger’s, and has now been tested with tens of thousands of people all around the world.
There are 3 main parts to successfully implementing the AE Process. These are: Community & CapacityCulture & Connection and Change.
The entirety of the AE Process DOES NOT need to be implemented at once to see results. Pick 1 box, implement it, then pick another.Start with whatever piece you feel suits you best, and then move to the next. We suggest you move from left to right: Establish a solid foundational community and emotional capacity, then work on Culture & Connection and finally learn how to effectively change."

The more you implement, the more results you’ll see.
Watch the video below - 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-b_F1fAy6A

22 APPS THAT HELP OUR MENTAL HEALTH

 | MANAGING DEPRESSION | BY 

"Although we love our phones, many of us find them a source of stress. Scrolling through insta-perfect images can impact on our self-esteem, and constant notifications are overwhelming and tiring.
However, our phones can also be super self-care tools. There are lots of apps out there designed to help us manage our mental health"
https://www.blurtitout.org/2017/06/08/apps-help-mental-health/

Tuesday 1 August 2017

"The bold new fight to eradicate suicide"

"A simple belief drives Steve: that Edward’s death was preventable – at several stages during the rapid onset of his depression. Moreover, he and a growing number of mental health experts believe this applies to all suicides. They argue that with a well-funded, better-coordinated strategy that would reform attitudes and approaches in almost every sector of society – from schools and hospitals to police stations and the family home – it might be possible to prevent every suicide, or at least to aspire to do so."


https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/01/zero-suicide-the-bold-new-fight-to-eradicate-suicide