Teaching Students with Mental Disorders Thesis Sample

Teaching Students with Mental Disorders Thesis Sample

Teaching Students with Mental Disorders Thesis Sample

Strategies for Teaching Elementary School Students with Mental Disorders

An Independent Learning Project Presented by

Master of Education

Interdisciplinary Studies

School of Education

Cambridge College

July, 2019

This is an unpublished Independent Learning Project in which copyright subsists

© copyright by Dilara Ceren Eser

July 2019

ABSTRACT

This ILP has focused on teaching American elementary school students with mental disorders, which some mental health experts also call mental health or psychiatric disorders. Further, mental disorders can also affect some academic and or / learning disorders. Importantly, the Child Mind Institute in New York has argued that Educators have often been the first to notice mental disorders in a child and they also influence the perception of other students about mental health (2015). Moreover, there is a clear connection between mental health and academic performance (See introduction for the specific connections). A neuroscientist at University of Oregon, Dr. Neville, found out that children evince specific fears and anxieties that may impede social and academic development at school. Also, one child’s symptoms may be really hard to manage at school while another child with the same condition may not have much difficulty. In addition, like everyone else, kids with mental health challenges have good days and bad, as well as, time periods when they are doing really well and time when their mental health symptoms become more difficult to manage.

Additionally, this study has shown that many teachers, and elementary school administrations are uncertain about how to deal with children with mental disorders. Furthermore, this paper has explored the prevalence of mental disorders in elementary school students in the United States and the types of teaching strategies that teachers can effectively to enhance the learning of these students.

Just put the beginning page number; add Limits of Study and Interdisciplinary Approaches – I asked you to do this already

Table of Contents

Page numbers

Chapter I 1 – 13 I.Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..5 II.Problem Statement……………………………………………………………………………5-8 III. History and Scope…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….10 IV.Rationale……………………………………………………………………………………11-12 V. Research Questions…………………………………………………………………………12-13 VI.Anticipated Outcomes 13 VII. Achieved Outcomes………………………………………………………………………….14 Chapter II Review of the Literature 15 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………………….32 Chapter IV Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..35 Chapter V Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………38-40 References …………………………………………………………………………………..41-45

 

CHAPTER I

I. INTRODUCTION

A mental disorder is also called a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, which is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Significantly, some mental disorders are also connected to learning disorders in that People have learning disabilities from birth, or develop them during infancy or childhood.

They affect the person’s development and are long-lasting. Also Learning disabilities are common and many people with learning disabilities have considerable, and often multiple, mental health problems. Importantly, The National Center for Learning Disabilities in New York city has shown that ‘’Learning disabilities arise from neurological differences in brain structure and function affect a person’s ability to receive, store, process, retrieve or communicate information. While the specific nature of these brain-based disorders they have made, considerable progress in mapping some of the characteristic difficulties of Learning Disorders to specific brain regions and structures’’ (2014). The result is the relationship between mental disorders and Learninh disabilities, using the executive functions of the brain particularly the ability to focus, pay attention, engage with a task and use working memory.

Besides, a mental disorder could cause a mild to a severe disturbance in thought and/or behavior, hence result in the inability to cope with ordinary demands of life and routine. Signs and symptoms of mental disorders can vary, depending on the disorder, circumstances and other factors. In fact, Dr. Keith Petrosky’s research, there are some examples of signs and symptoms of adults life include: “Feeling sad or down, confused thinking or reduced ability to concentrate, excessive fears or worries, or extreme feelings of guilt, extreme mood changes of highs and lows, withdrawal from friends and activities, significant tiredness, low energy or problems sleeping, detachment from reality (delusions), paranoia or hallucinations, inability to cope with daily problems or stress, trouble understanding and relating to situations and to people.” (2015, p.6).

Besides that, not only adults are suffer from mental disorders but also kids have the same problems. Children’s symptoms vary depending on the type of mental illness. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2014) in New York listed some general symptoms of mental disorders in children:

Changes in school performance, such as poor grades despite good efforts, changes in sleeping and/or eating habits, Hyperactivity, persistent nightmares or night terrors. persistent disobedience or aggressive behavior, short attention span, problems with organization, failure to pay attention, frequent distraction, trouble listening even when spoken to directly, failure to finish work, makes lots of mistakes, forgetfulness, hyperactive-impulsive disorder, Students Fidgets and squirm, difficulty staying seated.

Moreover, The Child Mind Institute (2016) research in New York, has listed that:

Of the 74.5 a million children in the United States, an estimated 17.1 million have or have had a psychiatric disorder. Such disorders have included Autism, Attention Deficit Disorder and Down Syndrome. In particular, the prevalence of mental disorders varies depending on age. Also in elementary school children, the most common are anxiety disorders and disruptive behaviors. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Autism have led to many difficulties for children in elementary schools. (P. 6)

Additionally, Professor Dr. Kimberly Schonert- Reichl, Human Development, Learning, and Culture area in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in her handbook, A mindfulness-based social and emotional learning curriculum for school-aged children, has explained that “Including children with mental disorders in classes does not in any way jeopardize the class. If at all anything, it helps these children to have better social skills and learning outcomes. It is, therefore, important that educators emphasize inclusion, while at the same time coming up with relevant teaching strategies for an inclusive class.’’ (2016, p.7)

Likewise, in inclusive classrooms, who studied students feel supported to learn and explore ideas, safe to express their views in a civil manner, and respected as individuals and members of groups; they view themselves as people who “belong” in a community of learners. Inclusive classrooms support rigorous academic work and deep learning by all students.

Teaching Students with Mental Disorders Thesis Sample

Problem Statement

American students with all forms of disabilities have the right to be educated in the least restrictive, most appropriate environment. Furthermore, special students regardless of handicapping condition or severity have the right to learn with the regular students in regular classes. This pattern of education called ‘’Inclusion’’ Psychologist, Mc Leskey, at the University of Florida, Psychologist Rosenberg at State University of New York and Psychologist Westling at California University in their published book, Incusion: Effective Practices for All Students, described the meaning of Inclusion as ‘’All students, regardless of disability are included in the school community as valued members of the school. Students with disabilities actively participate in the academic and extra-curricular activities of the school community; and they are given the instructional and behavioral support to succeed.’’ (McLeskey, Rosenberg, & Westling, 2009, p.6)

Furthermore, research in this area could help come up with practical and empirical solutions that could really add value to the lives of the learners with mental disabilities as well as make the professions on experts in psychology, human nature, and related areas better and effective. Psychologists Susan Guthrie, Catherine A. Lichten, Janna Van Belle, Sarah Ball, and

Knack,& Hofman’s, Understanding mental health in the research environment in USA, reported anecdotal evidence and press coverage of a ‘‘mental health crisis’’ in academia limited published evidence regarding the prevalence of specific mental health conditions among researchers. The majority of the literature on prevalence identified through this review relates to the experience of work-related stress (and arguably the risk of developing a mental health condition as a result of exposure to identified stressors) among academic staff and postgraduate students in university settings.

In consideration to the above statement, it is apparent that as during the research process, determining the prev