Spec Ed. Pt.2-M5: DSM

*FOCUS on only ONE diagnosis - link below(one of the links provided in the Module task) provides several different Mental Health Conditions to choose from.  Once you have decided on the condition to focus on you are going to investigating HOW a student is diagnosed by a Psychologist and comparing it to HOW a student is diagnosed by a Psychiatrist.  

http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions

This task is not asking you to investigate cognitive tests, it is asking you to do a little bit of research on HOW our students are diagnosed with Mental Health Conditions.  The interesting part is how drastically different these two professions are!  You are not required to be an expert on this topic, but investigate and share your findings.  This will help you understand what parents go through when they are trying to get ANSWERS from medical professionals.  It is very interesting and gives you a new appreciation for the process!  

*FOCUS on only ONE diagnosis (Previously this task required doing this for different 6 diagnoses - Course developer changed it after difficulty was reported)

It says right at the top of the module that "This module will be one of the most confusing to understand" While teaching previous sections of this course, I had questions about this module so I contacted the course developer directly - so I want to share all of the information with you!

Module #5 Activity:

• First, examine the psychological tests from the Center for Psychological Studies.
• Read the descriptions carefully and choose words that you think will be cross-referenced in the DSM-V.  I have given you a few resources above to get you started.
• The DSM-V is probably not available to you at your school and is not available online unless you want to buy it (it is very expensive).  However, if you search a particular term such as “depression and the DSM-V” you can find information online.  Alternatively, you can try the university library, which will have a copy in the reference section.  The URL’s above provide standard information.
• Create a chart with two columns, one for psychology and one for psychiatry. This chart should be in depth and at least one page long.
• Focus on one disorder or disease that seems to have two different types of assessment, possibly names, and treatments.
• Post your chart, along with a one-page reflection on your thoughts about this entire process.
• Relate it to your practice, and how, as a teacher, you will learn to navigate the mental health system in order to support students.
• Respond to two of your classmates’ charts.

I ASKED the COURSE DEVELOPER

“Are you able to elaborate on what they should include on the in depth one page chart?  Should they be listing multiple assessments or focus on one specifically and provide extensive detail?  The chart should show (like the one below) the different ways a psychologist and psychiatrist would assessed depression for example.They should focus on one assessment for one specific diagnosis.  If I use the (brief) example listed below in the chart, is this what you are looking for (with more in-depth information)?”

RESPONSE: Yes. this is what I am looking for.

In the DSM, they can choose from any of the following (suggested but not limited to): depression, anxiety, personality disorders, behaviour disorders, post traumatic stress, and eating disorders.

For  the reflection part of the assignment, what I was looking for was conversations by the teachers on how the diagnosis differs and what that really means for their students.  Also, if they read the comments written for each psychology test and for each DSM category, it will be interesting if they see similarities or differences in the statistics provided.  Some categories have higher rates of boys while other have higher rates of girls.  

The purpose of this assignment is to allow teachers to understand the documentation that they may see in a student’s OSR.  The course developer was a former psychotherapist and always found this area to be confusing and wondered why the two professions could not just come up with ONE depression test. Also, she often saw a person be diagnosed with depression by one professional and not by the other.  It just added more stress to an already stressful situation.

As teachers, how do we support parents when this happens (and I think it happens a lot) and how do we make sense out of diagnoses?

___________________________________________________________________

What I learned:

"Psychiatrists conduct research on a wide range of mental conditions and treatment approaches, and the field produces and periodically revises classification systems, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), that clinicians use as guides for diagnosis.

Although many types of mental health practitioners administer psychotherapy, practicing psychiatrists—who are trained as medical doctors—can also prescribe psychotropic medication as part of the treatment they provide" (https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/psychiatry)

Using technology to "see" the brain as it works is not viable for diagnosing disorders in psychiatry. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/think-act-be/201605/using-brain-scans-diagnose-mental-disorders)

There is a screening tool for child anxiety related disorder (http://www.midss.org/content/screen-child-anxiety-related-disorders-scared).

SCARED is a universal measurement tool (https://www.pediatricbipolar.pitt.edu/resources/instruments)

Canada utilities SCARED through the CPS (Canadian Paediatrics Society) (https://www.cps.ca/en/tools-outils/condition-specific-screening-tools-and-rating-scales)

Directory of Psychologists/Psychologist Services is available online for Canada (https://www.ementalhealth.ca/Toronto/Psychologists-and-Psychological-Associates/index.php?m=heading&ID=54)

Teachers are obligated by professional standards to consult healthcare experts within the school board if they believe a student may be suffering from a mental health illness (https://www.oct.ca/resources/advisories/mental-health)

Dr.Amy Cheung is a leading professional associated with the OCT and focuses on anxiety disorders in particular through the practice of American based standards/practices (https://www.oct.ca/about-the-college/2019-annual-meeting-of-members/profiles)

Peggy Blair is an example of a school board member who holds a position that is in direct connection with the exact and prefered process of how to support student mental health. (https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/about/seniorteam/)

HWDSB provides a website/resource list as a part of their special education plan to assist with families who need support in the area of their child's mental health (https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/elementary/supports/special-ed/#tabs-115)

HWDSB offers specifically mentioned special education services for students who qualify (https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/elementary/supports/special-ed/#tabs-113)

HWDSB actually employs a position called "psychoeducational Consultant" who is incharge of/carries out psychoeducational assessments of students (https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/careers/Psychoeducational-Consultant-(Temporary).pdf)

There is a Board Psychologist position in which they are expected to/not limited to the assessment of students psychological state (https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/careers/Manager-of-Psychological-Services-August-2019.pdf)

What is interesting that in order for the IPRC to recognize a students in the special education system, the parents to present a letter from the college of Psychologists (in Ontario)

A disheartening article on "the realities of special education" (https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/08/31/464727159/mental-health-in-schools-a-hidden-crisis-affecting-millions-of-students)

All you need to know about anxiety and its diagnosis (https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety-diagnosis#criteria)

21st Century norms and their impact on "the younger generations" (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201806/high-school-and-college-student-anxiety-why-the-epidemic)

The closest diagnosing practice difference I could find between "psychiatrist" and "psychologist" in regards to anxiety disorders (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350967)
http://robynwaxmanphd.com/assessments-for-adhd-and-learning-disabilities/

Clear distinction between practices (https://www.psychology.org/resources/differences-between-psychology-and-psychiatry/#undefined)

My content response to the module material:

Poster/Chart with content to M5

Special Education Pt.2-Assignment #1: Presentation (20min)

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VwnIQyXcjZ-k1MOKc2ZVhAX2DCeOnDJf

I have been instructed to choose a topic from a list of disorders that students may have in a class/school. After choosing "Eating Disorders" (as I have experience teaching students about this), I was invited to create a 20 minute presentation for (presumably coworkers) people who have NO IDEA about the topic/or even what it could imply.

I originally aimed to make the presentation a healthy mix of introducing my teaching strategies/technology wherewithal, however it turned into more of a "resource dump". I think  have been teaching ELL too long-kept content knowledge low-application high and support resource availability at a confusingly high amount. This is a great resource for teachers building classroom resources/pro-d opportunities for members of their learning communities as it includes exit ticket exemplars; introduction exemplars; ELL strategies; vocabulary enhancement and even classroom activity ideas.

Regardless, one of the funniest things I found in my presentation was that I included a case study of a famous musician who was diagnosed with anorexia...well guess what the second assignment is...discuss a case study of a student (fabricated) who suffers from said disorder...ahead?

All the best, apologies on the delay (to my classmates who have been waiting for the presentation)

Cheers!

TELL Specialist M1:Task 4

Choose 1 of the 3 questions below to answer. In order to respond to your chosen question, incorporate the learning materials reviewed, conduct research, visit a school and/or interview an ESL teacher. Also, be sure to share any personal insight and/or experiences of your own in your response.


Question 1: What are some areas from the videos and reading that resonate with you in regards to how you support ELLs?

Question 2: What are some implications or challenges that educators should be aware of when implementing specific strategies to support programming?

Question 3: Create a report to your school that emphasizes areas that you think need to be addressed and strategies that can be used for teachers to support their ELLs.

Q3: Student Support Needs

Proposal for Teacher Support Block

Name: Carmelo Bono

Grade level: 9-12

School: ANON

Purpose: To improve the overall confidence of TELL students when speaking in classrooms. Many students have the ability to speak well, but do not write well. Although many students can speak well, they are nervous to share their opinions openly in conversational circles and class participation activities because they are afraid they may not say something to the level matching the class pace. Many students who are speaking well and writing poorly are also students who are not speaking English outside of their TELL classroom settings. These opportunities are crucial for students to make verbal and written word connections (holistic immersion).

Reason: Students are not using the language they are learning in class and need a place to actively share their spoken English skills.

Potential Action: 1 day a week hosting a MANDATORY speaker workshop for TELL students in which peer mentors and/or teachers can come in for 30 minutes after school (in lieu/as a part of office hours and provide spoken English opportunities in regards to their progress throughout the week/day). This could be done in different ways based on the rapport of the student and mentor. But essentially this is a volunteer opportunity by mentors and growth area for TELL students to continually improve in conversational English speaking confidence.

TELL Specialist Course M1: Task 2

Discussion Thread 1: Introduction

Introduce yourself. Tell us your specific teaching context to help us understand you. Your introduction may include, but not be limited to:

• Your name and teaching assignment

• Why have you chosen the ESL journey?

• What are some strengths you bring to a school?

• What are some of your positive characteristics and attributes?

I am Carmelo Bono teaching College Strand English; next semester I will be teaching Academic English 11. There are heavy ELL needs in my class as I imagine there will be in my Academic classes next semester. I have chosen to complete my career in the path of ELL pedagogy for the reason that my initial teaching experience has been overseas. Much of what I learned in the way of pedagogy and good teaching comes from my experience in the ELL area. Growing up and even completing university I didn't recognize the need for ELL teachers as much as I did after teaching abroad. While teaching abroad though I was learning that the students who I went to high school with in ELL programs were actually some of the stronger students (and also more motivated) who were immigrating into Canada. I have seen and know many students now who are unmotivated and have severe learning disorders that are recognized because of their poor English levels. This impacted my personal belief that the Canadian education system is the best in the world. Advocacy of these groups is extremely important so that teachers can make necessary arrangements for students to be successful in a learning environment. Overseas I have seen what international/independent schools do to these students who need supports (that they aren't getting), and I have a feeling that the efforts one makes in a setting like the one I am in, can have immense positive impacts on a school (maybe even community) when the Canadian education system is backing them up. Our Canadian Education System is always going to be a "work in progress" but with the right networks and supports, teachers can inspire other teachers and students to be the change they want to see in the world. (not to quote anyone remarkable but...ya Ghandi). From what I just wrote, you can decide what characteristics I have.

ESL/ELL Resource from the PQP

This was shared from the PQP course, its pretty interesting in regards to the organization of the different documents offered by the ministry about ELL/ESL

https://padlet.com/Madame/ELL