Though adults undoubtedly suffer tremendous stress in the aftermath of natural disasters such as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, it is often the most vulnerable, the children, who are most traumatized and possess the fewest coping skills. Signs of child psychological trauma such as symptoms commonly associated with posttraumatic stress…

Although schools are making the effort to support students grieving the death of a loved one, there is a large population of grieving students who have experienced ambiguous loss from causes other than death and who may need support. Ambiguous loss or a loss without closure can leave a person searching for answers, thus complicating and delaying…

Social competency is a set of skills that provide children with the tools and abilities to successfully navigate the world around them. "Developing Social Competency in Young Children" looks at each of the seven Cs of social competence--communication, community building, coping, confidence, conflict resolution, control, and curiosity.…

The loss of a client to suicide is a painful personal and professional experience for mental health providers. Whether trainee or experienced professional, the affected clinician often reports feeling overwhelmed and unprepared for the experience of client suicide, together with significant emotional distress and diminished work performance. In…

Families are critical in the provision of lifelong support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Today, more people with IDD receive long-term services and supports while living with their families. Thus, it is important that researchers, practitioners, and policy makers understand how to best support families who…

Educational opportunities and outcomes for California's Latino students have improved over the last half century. Even so, Latino students continue to face barriers in opportunity that make it harder for them to achieve college, career, and future success. The goal of this report is to describe what Latino students currently experience in…

The quality of the verbal environment sets the stage for young children's developing perceptions of themselves and others. This document provides hands-on, practical advice for practitioners to support children's self-perception and coping skills by establishing and maintaining a positive verbal environment. Positive verbal environments enhance…

This article provides basic information for school-based mental health professionals, teachers, staff, and administrators to support students coping with grief, and more specifically, grief related to death. The information is consolidated into guidelines and key points in providing support; suggested children's books and activities; Web sites…

With the large number of National Guard members and reservists being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, public educators find themselves endeavoring to support the emotional and academic needs of military children and their families. Military children may exhibit behavioral and emotional difficulties during these deployments. Educator awareness of…

On-line support groups provide an alternative to traditional support groups by linking grieving people who seek support, especially if support is not available in their local community. Furthermore, these groups can reduce the sense of isolation caused by geographical or physical/medical constraints and increase feelings of validations. Although…

A music therapist describes a learning packet designed to teach elementary students to deal with anger. The package included 10 lessons using visual art, dance, music, and drama. (CL)

A high school program is described that uses an informal survey to help teachers identify potential academic, social, and career oriented problems facing mainstreamed handicapped students. These problems and suggested intervention procedures are listed for study/coping skills of time management, memory systems, listening ability, compensatory…

Discusses the role, causes, and signals of stress in children from infancy to adolescence. Offers suggestions to help students deal with stress more effectively. (Author/WD)

This brief article offers suggestions for teachers for coping with the mid-year teaching "blahs." Tips include talking about it; escaping for a day; changing routines; easing self-pressures; and self-praising. (CB)

Describes how one first-grade classroom dealt with the tragedy of the Challenger explosion. (MD)