The end of the school year is just around the corner! While it can be tempting to just coast into summer, school nurses have a lot that needs to be accomplished before the students have left the building. By taking care of a few important tasks at the end of the school year, you’ll make things easier for yourself as the next school year gets underway.
Continue reading “5 Things School Nurses Should do to Round Out the School Year”
Occupational therapists that are based in schools have some unique challenges to overcome when working with new students. It can sometimes be difficult to gain the trust of children who aren’t familiar with you and until you do, they may not see the results that you are hoping to achieve. With a little work, you can overcome trust issues and break down barriers that are preventing positive performance and progress. Continue reading “4 Ways to Develop Trust as a School-Based Occupational Therapist”
Mental health care is always a hot-button topic, but never more so than in the wake of a violent tragedy like the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Blame is being batted around like a tennis ball, with fingers pointed at gun regulations, missed mental health signals, ignored reports of a potential for violence, delayed reactions from security, and any number of other people and situations. All these things may or may not have played a factor in the events of that day, but the one thing that is the most common factor in any situation like this of the perpetrator’s need for mental health care. Continue reading “The School Nurse’s Role in Mental Health”
School psychologists are tasked with a number of duties throughout their workday. From assisting with setting up and implementing IEPs for students, to helping mentally ill students navigate their school career, to offering services to students who are struggling to come to terms with a tragic life event or other trauma that affected them. Continue reading “8 Don’t-Miss Online Resources for School Psychologists”
School nurses have one of the most important roles in the lives of children. Often, they are the first to recognize symptoms or issues when it comes to the health and well-being of their students. They must play clinician, counselor, and care provider to dozens upon dozens of young people in just a few short hours a day. Finding great online resources to help them do their job well is important, so we have compiled just a few great places that can help any school nurse to find great information, current trends, and resources for use within their school.
Continue reading “7 Online Resources School Nurses Should Know”In medicine, claiming the ability to perform “miracles” can understandably raise some hackles. Generally, medical professionals prefer to leave the supposed miracle-working to the likes of Dr. Oz and stick with empirically supported interventions, thank you very much. But “miracles” is exactly the word Kent, UK parents Mark and Annie Montague use to describe what they have experienced while attempting to socialize their severely autistic twin sons, Samuel and Jacob. A recent BBC feature documented how the family has found an apparent solution to their intense struggles with the twins’ non-responsive and often destructive behavior—including running away from home multiple times—in a form of social skills intervention called the Son-Rise program. Since they began participating in the immersive program—Mark and Annie went so far as to construct isolated indoor environments in which the boys could undergo their therapy—Samuel and Jacob have begun making eye contact, communicating effectively, and being less destructive.
With autism rates on the rise and in the news, the Montagues’ case may seem like a sign of hope for other families going through similar trials. However, before we begin proclaiming that a miracle cure has been found—or even that autism requires a cure in the first place—we should first examine the Son-Rise program with a healthy dose of scientific skepticism. Continue reading “Is the Son-Rise Program a “Miracle”?”