Child Mind Institute

August 30th is Grief Awareness Day. Children and teens face unique struggles after the death of a loved one. Already intense emotions, having a lack of experience with or developmental understanding of death, and the impact a death in the family can make on their sense of identity and development, all make loss a unique experience for children. Parents can’t take kids’ pain away, but they can help them cope in healthy ways. First, the way kids respond to death is different from adults. They may go from crying to playing. That’s normal. Playing is a way of coping with their feelings. It’s also normal for kids to get angry, to feel sad, get anxious and also to act younger than they are. For example, potty-trained kids may have accidents or kids might slip into baby talk. It’s important to help your child express their feelings. There are lots of books on death for kids. Reading books and telling stories or looking at pictures of the person who died can help kids express their feelings. Also, expressing your own sadness lets kids know it’s okay to be sad. How your child behaves and how you respond depends on their age. Don’t offer more information than they can understand. Use direct language. Saying a person “went to sleep” or even “passed away” can confuse or scare a child. Keeping as much as possible of your child’s normal schedule will help them feel secure. If you need some time alone, try to find relatives or friends who can help keep your child’s life as normal as possible. After the death of a grandparent, it’s normal for kids to worry about their own parents. It’s helpful to tell them you will probably live for a very long time. After the death of one parent, kids will worry about the other parent and need to be reassured they are loved and will always be cared for. It is a good idea to rely on family members during this time to help provide additional nurturing and care. If you notice that your child seems unusually upset and unable to cope with grief, a therapist can help. Therapy in the case of a significant death, such as the death of a parent or sibling, is also recommended. Therapy provides another outlet for talking when a child may feel like they can’t talk with other family members because they are grieving as well. For more of our resources on supporting children dealing with grief and trauma: https://lnkd.in/gHXVRu3q

Project ImPACT is an evidence-based early intervention program for children ages 1 to 8 years with social communication delays, offered through our Autism Clinical Center. Enrollment for Project ImPACT is available on a rolling basis! For more information: https://lnkd.in/e5wevU-3

As we go into the #backtoschool season, here are some helpful tips for teachers on what to know about OCD. #ocd #mentalhealth #teachers #educators

As teens navigate the complexities of today’s world on and offline, we need to make sure they have what they need to build healthy, positive and productive mental health habits. Since 2019, searches for “teen mental health” have more than doubled, reaching an all time high in 2023 – making it all the more critical to reduce the stigma around mental health and help teens build strong mental health habits. As part of the Teen Mental Health Initiative, Google.org will work with an exceptional group of partners to bring this work to life in classrooms across the country: ➡️ DonorsChoose: With today’s announcement, Google has fully-funded all live mental health projects from more than 2,000 high school teachers on the Donors Choose platform, totaling over $1.5M. For eligible projects posted after today, Google will provide up to $500 for every teacher. ➡️ Child Mind Institute, The Jed Foundation (JED), and The Steve Fund: Knowing that teachers also need resources to navigate the ins and outs of teen mental health, we’ve supported these leading youth mental health nonprofits' work creating nine 30 minute, mental health training courses for teachers. (And completion of a course earns a teacher a $200 Donors Choose credit!) ➡️ Selena Gomez’s #RareImpactFund: We also provided support for Rare Impact Fund to continue their work advocating to bring mental health resources and curricula to classrooms. We share Selena and the Rare Impact Fund’s goals – reducing mental health stigma and expanding access to mental health services and education for young people around the world. At today’s event we heard once again something we know to be true in classrooms everywhere: That teachers are so often at the forefront of helping teens navigate mental health challenges. The Teen Mental Health initiative – a part of Google's broader Digital Wellbeing Fund, which increases from $20M to $25M with today’s announcement – and its partners will ensure that teachers across the country have access to classroom resources and expert-created training to help them navigate crucial mental health conversations with young people. 🔗 Link: https://goo.gle/4dhk1eX

When we think of learning disorders, we tend to think of kids who have a hard time learning to read. But there’s another kind of learning disorder, non-verbal learning disorder, or NVLD for short. NVLD affects other, “non-verbal” kinds of learning like the ability to notice patterns and learn concepts. These include visual patterns, social patterns, and concepts in language and math. In school, kids with NVLD usually have no problem memorizing facts, but they have trouble with ideas and organizing information. Kids with NVLD can also be physically clumsy and awkward because they have a hard time understanding what they see and how things take up space. Like autistic kids, kids with NVLD often have trouble picking up social cues. In fact, many kids with NVLD also have an autism diagnosis. Non-verbal social cues are a kind of pattern that’s hard for these kids to read. Sometimes kids with NVLD are great at the early stages of math because they’re good at memorizing. But more advanced problems get tricky because they involve noticing and applying a pattern. NVLD also affects the set of skills we use to plan and organize our thinking. So kids have trouble breaking down a project into steps, knowing what skills to use for a given problem or figuring out how to organize an essay. Lots of kids with NVLD have all these issues. But some just have a few. For example, they might just struggle with planning and social cues. Adults tend to realize something’s going on with these kids around 5th grade. That’s when school becomes less about memorizing and more about applying concepts. For example, kids need to be able to grasp the important idea from a passage or take notes on the main ideas of what a teacher says. NVLD makes those skills much harder to learn, but with the right support and strategies, kids with NVLD can catch up with their peers. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eV-ghm5w

Recently, Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) has gained national attention, following Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s public discussion about his son Gus’s diagnosis. His openness has brought much-needed awareness to a condition that is often misunderstood. Following this increased focus, numerous articles have cited the Child Mind Institute as a key resource for understanding NVLD, including the MSNBC article below, which quotes Laura Phillips, PsyD, ABPdN, Senior Director and Senior Neuropsychologist, who provides expert insight into this complex condition. Thanks to the hard work of our team, childmind.org is consistently ranking highly on Google, including our NVLD article (https://lnkd.in/en6AEiY5), which is currently ranked number one. This achievement reflects the quality and relevance of our resources, ensuring that families searching for information to help them support children who are struggling with mental health, behavior, or learning challenges are directed to reliable, expert-driven content. We are proud to be a trusted resource for families navigating these complex challenges. Please consider supporting our efforts — your contribution ensures we can continue creating and sharing the vital information that so many families rely on: https://lnkd.in/ekJ3Bb3v

On August 20, over 950 viewers tuned in as Dave Anderson, PhD, vice president of public engagement and education at the Child Mind Institute, moderated a roundtable discussion on what the research says about the perils and promise of social media for our kids. The panel was made up of Pete Etchells, PhD, who studies evidence-based approaches to screen and social media policies at Bath Spa University in the United Kingdom; Candice Odgers, PhD, a researcher on social media and mental health at UC Irvine; Mitch Prinstein, PhD, ABPP, chief science officer at the American Psychological Association; Kelly Ninh, a rising college freshman and research intern at the Child Mind Institute; and Jessica Schleider, PhD, who develops online, single-session mental health interventions for underserved youth at Northwestern University. This conversation is part of the Child Mind Institute’s webinar series on Technology and Youth Mental Health, which asks how tech might be used to improve mental health outcomes for all young people. The series is made possible by our partner and funder, the State of California's Department of Health Care Services. The panelists agreed that parents and caregivers need to understand the risks and rewards of social media for each individual child and support their development and autonomy accordingly. “We need to see past the phone and really see our kids and what they need,” Dr. Odgers said. “That's going to differ across kids within a family and might differ across how they're doing” at each developmental stage. At the same time, tech companies and social media platforms need to be “accountable for things they know are likely causing harm,” Dr. Prinstein said, and to support collaborative, open research to improve the science. Providing the youth perspective, Kelly Ninh summed up the panel: “A lot of my friends and peers are experiencing negative mental health effects right now, and almost none of them have mentioned that social media is the sole cause. They say that, yes, it is kind of an exacerbating factor that can worsen certain symptoms and certain effects, but none of them have ever reflected that this is the main thing that is leading to all of their problems that they're facing right now.” Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e2SW6mnV

Last week, the Child Mind Institute celebrated the launch of the Google Teen Mental Health Initiative, a $10M project funded by Google to equip educators with the resources and skills needed to support teen mental health. LaKisha Hoffman, Senior Director of School and Community Programs, represented the Child Mind Institute at the kickoff event at Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles, also attended by Selena Gomez, founder of The Rare Impact Fund, and LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. Educators can complete one 30-minute course and earn a $200 DonorsChoose gift code until December 31, 2024 (while funds last). Plus, use our courses as a guide to create a mental health project on DonorsChoose and be eligible for a $500 first donation from Google. Whether it’s carving out a calming space or funding artistic activities, get inspired and support your students’ well-being! https://lnkd.in/ebxNPNCk

We said goodbye to our 2024 clinical summer interns, this week. They spent the summer shadowing clinicians during treatment and evaluation sessions and provided direct support during treatments, and received specialized training to become therapeutic counselors in our Brave Buddies program. To end their time here, the interns each presented their capstone research project, addressing a wide range of topics in mental health and education, including: Jane Atkeson, Duke University Mentors: Kenneth Schuster, Psy.D., & Julia Schafer, PhD. Topic: Low-Intensity Widespread Interventions in Sport Daijah Guillermo, Northwestern University Mentor: Emma Woodward, PhD. Topic: Culture as a Vehicle for Anxiety Treatment for Latino Youth Luca Leschly, Harvard University Mentor: Kathryn L. Keough, PhD. Topic: Cultural Adaptations of Trauma Interventions for Migrant Populations Chloe Mason, Howard University Mentor: Larisa (Lara) Litvinov, PhD. Topic: The Consequences of Stigma for Middle School Students Receiving Academic Accommodations Layla Oubssis, Boston College Mentor: Kimberly Alexander Psy.D. Topic: Impacts of Racial Disparities in School Discipline on Mental Health Rowan Park, Princeton University Mentor: Melissa Jeffay, Psy.D. Topic: Assessment and Treatment of Social Anxiety in Various Cultures Skylar Silverstein, Bucknell University Mentor: Kenneth Schuster, Psy.D. Topic: The Benefits of Forest Schools

On August 20th at 3pm ET, we’ll be joined by Mitch Prinstein, PhD, Chief Science Officer at the American Psychological Association, for our webinar on social media and youth mental health. Dr. Prinstein investigates how adolescents’ peer interactions impact depression and health risk behaviors. His research on social stress-responses and the influence of technology offers crucial insights into adolescent development. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from his expertise! https://lnkd.in/eg5AzguT