One in 10 children worldwide live with disabilities
The agency’s Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, said the new research confirms what she already knew: children with disabilities face multiple and often compounding challenges, in simply realizing their rights. “From access to education, to being read to at home; children with disabilities are less likely to be included or heard on almost every measure. All too often, children with disabilities are simply being left behind”, Mrs. Fore said.
The Psychological First Aid for Schools Field
The field of school safety and emergency management has evolved significantly over the past decade. Tragically, acts of violence, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks have taught us many lessons. We also know that other types of emergencies can impact schools, including medical emergencies, transportation accidents, sports injuries, peer victimization, public health emergencies, and the sudden death of a member of the school community. We now recognize the need for school emergency management plans that are up-to-date and take an “all-hazards” approach with clear communication channels and procedures that effectively reunite parents and caregivers with students
https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources//pfa_schools.pdf
Trauma-Informed Strategies to Use in Your Classroom
All children face disappointment and fears, but some students deal with more serious, often traumatic, hardships at home. The term “trauma” can encompass many situations, explains Lori Sanchez, Ed.D. “In the past, when you talked about a child experiencing trauma, you assumed abuse or neglect,” she says. “Now we understand that trauma can mean a lot of things—families dealing with divorce, serious illness, a natural disaster, a military deployment, and more.” Of course, you can’t undo the painful experiences your students have gone through, but you can make a difference in their learning and their resilience by bringing innovative strategies into your classroom.
https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/trauma-informed-strategies/
Home-based psychosocial wellbeing activities for children, teens and parents
School closings, sick friends and family members, isolation at home – these and other factors can cause
anxiety and stress for children during a crisis, including a global health pandemic or conflict. This guide aims to increase children’s resilience and wellbeing through activities that can be done in the
home with a little support from parents and caregivers. The activities outlined in this book will support
stress management, emotional learning, creativity, parent/caregiver – child relationships, relaxation and
problem-solving techniques, allowing open discussions around difficulties while also increasing individual capacity to cope in fun and creative ways.
MIND MATTERS Lessons from past crises for child and adolescent mental health during COVID-19
“Too many children and young people, rich and poor alike, in all four corners of the world are experiencing mental ill health as we have never seen before. This is the silent emergency of our times. It has no borders and requires urgent attention”. Henrietta H Fore
One area of child development that is most affected by the pandemic is child and youth mental health and well-being, the umbrella term used to describe psychosocial and emotional wellbeing. Although the term ‘youth mental health’ by itself does not have either a negative or positive connotation, it is used in reference to mental disorders among children and adolescents such as psychosis, anxiety, depression and eating disorders. Concern for youth mental health was rising before the pandemic, with global prevalence rates of common disorders already very high. Although comprehensive data on mental health since COVID-19 struck is hard to come by, emerging data and studies suggest that the pandemic is exacerbating many common mental disorders.
My hero is you
This video is an adaptation of the children’s book, My Hero is You, released in early 2020 to help educate children around the world about COVID-19. The original book was created by mental health and psychosocial support experts from the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the highest-level humanitarian coordination forum of the United Nations.
A team, led by Stanford Medicine’s Maya Adam, adapted the story into a short animated film, with input and oversight from the IASC Mental health and Psychosocial Support Reference Group, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO). The film aims to convey messages of hope, resilience, solidarity, and empowerment to children and their caregivers around the world.
Consent for kids
Consent is like being ruler of your own country…population: YOU. This is a smart, playful guide to consent and bodily autonomy. There is an upcoming book, based on this video that’s packed with bright and energetic illustrations. Readers will learn about boundaries and how to set them; signs of healthy (and unhealthy) relationships; ways to respect themselves and others; how to spot grooming behaviors; what to do if someone makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe; and much more. Along the way, they’ll be encouraged to reflect on (and improve!) their own behavior and to practice consent in their daily lives. Whether you’re looking for a consent primer to share with a friend or searching for a way to talk to your child about what it means to be in control of their own body and respect others’, look no further! This humorous and insightful book from the co-creator of the viral “Tea Consent” video is the perfect teaching tool, conversation starter, and insightful, empowering resource for educators, kids, and families everywhere.
You can see the video here.
Children and Adolescents – Guidelines Position Paper on Complex PTSD
For the past two decades, there has been substantial debate about whether there are qualitatively different symptom profiles that can develop in children from different types of traumatic events and life circumstances. The term “complex trauma” is often used to describe both the presumed causes and the consequences of exposure to traumatic stressors when the child has experienced other significant adversities and is manifesting more severe clinical presentations. The interest in an additional descriptive term or diagnosis has been fueled by trauma-focused treatment trials pointing to the fact that the experiences of many children involve more than the trauma and more than trauma-specific symptoms (e.g., children in foster care, residential treatment, juvenile justice). Efforts to classify these clinical presentations have included a proposed Developmental Trauma Disorder (Ford, et al, 2013).
Policy Brief: Covid-19 and the Need for Action on Mental Health
Although the COVID-19 crisis is, in the first instance, a physical health crisis, it has the seeds of a major mental health crisis as well, if action is not taken. Good mental health is critical to the functioning of society at the best of times. It must be front and centre of every country’s response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health and wellbeing of whole societies have been severely impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be addressed urgently.
Psychological distress in populations is widespread. Many people are distressed due to the immediate health impacts of the virus and the consequences of physical isolation. Many are afraid of infection, dying, and losing family members. Individuals have been physically distanced from loved ones and peers. Millions of people are facing economic turmoil having lost or being at risk of losing their income and livelihoods. Frequent misinformation and rumours about the virus and deep uncertainty about the future are common sources of distress. A long-term upsurge in the number and severity of mental health problems is likely.
https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-05/UN-Policy-Brief-COVID-19-and-mental-health.pdf
The War on Children: Time to end grave violations against children in conflict
This report identifies concerning trends for the safety and wellbeing of children living in areas impacted by conflict, through analysis of the United Nations Annual Reports of the Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) and new research by the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). The research utilizes figures that are published, independently verified and credible, but one of the key findings of the data mapping process is that there is a significant and worrying gap in child-specific data in conflicts.
Although all warring parties are obliged to protect children, in conflicts around the world heinous attacks are committed against children on a daily basis, for which the perpetrators are not being held to account. What is more, many of these violations are increasing, driven bybrutal conflicts like the war in Syria. There is an urgent need for action to end what is too often a war on children.
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/13150/pdf/war_on_children-web.pdf
Afghanistan Democratic Republic of Congo Global Myanmar Somalia South Sudan Syria