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A school counselor's tips for navigating child mental health As children
continue to navigate the most "normal" school year since the pandemic, 2023's
School Counselor of the Year shares some advice.


EDUCATION


HOW GROWN-UPS CAN HELP KIDS TRANSITION TO 'POST-PANDEMIC' SCHOOL LIFE

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February 20, 20235:01 AM ET
Heard on All Things Considered

Jonaki Mehta

HOW GROWN-UPS CAN HELP KIDS TRANSITION TO 'POST-PANDEMIC' SCHOOL LIFE

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Meredith Draughn of B. Everett Jordan Elementary School was named 2023's School
Counselor of the Year by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).
Kimberly Lyddane hide caption

toggle caption
Kimberly Lyddane


Meredith Draughn of B. Everett Jordan Elementary School was named 2023's School
Counselor of the Year by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).

Kimberly Lyddane

School counselor Meredith Draughn starts every day by greeting the students who
fill her campus hallways, cup of coffee in hand. There are about 350 of them,
and she knows all their names.

"Kids want to feel known and want to feel loved. And greeting them by name is
one way we can do that...Research shows that that helps us build a positive
culture and a welcoming culture."

Draughn works at B. Everett Jordan Elementary School in the rural town of
Graham, N.C., and she was recently named 2023's School Counselor of the Year by
the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). The selection committee
praised Draughn's data-driven approach and passion for her students.


EDUCATION


KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR STUDENT'S MENTAL HEALTH THIS BACK-TO-SCHOOL SEASON

The award comes at a pivotal time for Draughn: in the middle of the most
"normal" school year since the pandemic began. Masking is optional in most
schools; quarantine regulations have been loosened; and in May, the Biden
administration plans to declare an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

But children are still reeling from what they experienced during the pandemic.
Many students have struggled with mental health, academics and a general lack of
connection to their classroom. All things Draughn has seen in her school, too.
But she says there is an upside to all those challenges.



"I think a lot of people focus on trauma changing the brain...but what they miss
is that healing changes it as well."

Draughn has this advice for how educators and families can support their
students as they navigate the transition to "post-pandemic" life:


ESTABLISH REGULAR ROUTINES AND A SENSE OF CONTROL

The pandemic disrupted everybody's daily routines, and that lack of structure
was especially difficult for children. Draughn says rebuilding routine takes
time and consistency.

One way she likes to build consistent habits for students is by setting goals,
big or small, like being respectful or following directions. She begins the day
with a "check-in," where students share what they'd like to accomplish, and ends
it with a "check-out" to see if they met their goals.

"Those successes in small ways can lead to big impacts," she explains. "You're
creating a habit, ultimately."

And habits can help give students a sense of control. Pandemic or not, Draughn
says, a lack of control is something young people often struggle with,, and it
can lead to some big feelings, even outbursts.


EDUCATION


10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HOW SOCIAL MEDIA AFFECTS TEENS' BRAINS

"So it's just reteaching what we can do when we don't have control over
something and how we regain control and regulation over our own feelings and
emotions."

She uses exercises like the circles of control, which asks students to
distinguish between things that are outside their control, and things they have
the power to change. If the source of frustration is outside a child's control,
she redirects their focus to something else that is in their control to help
them feel empowered.



Draughn says reestablishing structure, and giving students a sense of control,
can lead to better self-regulation and a host of other benefits, including the
motivation to show up to school.

Like a number of districts across the country, Draughn says hers is continuing
to combat elevated levels of chronic absenteeism, which is when students miss
10% or more of the school year. She says reintroducing school as a part of the
daily routine can help students feel more connected to the classroom. That, in
turn, gives children a sense of belonging that can improve attendance and set
them up for success in later grades.

"Successful habits build a successful life," Draughn says.


EVERY BEHAVIOR COMMUNICATES A NEED

Children express themselves through behavior—that's nothing new. But Draughn
says if educators or parents are dealing with particularly challenging
behaviors, it's essential to pay attention to the story those actions might be
telling.

Draughn uses "feeling centers" to teach emotions to kindergarteners and first
grade students. In this lesson, first graders illustrate what different feelings
look like using Play-Doh. Meredith Draughn hide caption

toggle caption
Meredith Draughn

"All behaviors, at least in children, are communication."

Draughn points to an example of a child caught stealing food from another
student. Rather than place blame, Draughn looks to what that behavior might tell
her about the child's life outside of school.

"What is that behavior indicating? Sometimes that is an indication that basic
needs are not being met. That is our first question. Not, 'Why did you steal?' "

Children often behave in attention-seeking ways, and that's also true when
they're acting out. One way to encourage positive behaviors is to consistently
celebrate things like following directions or standing patiently in line.

"If [attention] is really what they're craving, then they're probably going to
do it again," Draughn says.

Recognizing and meeting a child's unique sensory needs is another way to reward
them. Maybe they can't focus when a classmate taps a pencil against a desk, or
when they're wearing an uncomfortable piece of clothing. Draughn once had a
student who regularly acted out in P.E. – it turned out the seam at the toe-line
of his socks was an uncomfortable sensory experience for him.


LIFE KIT


HOW TO TALK — AND LISTEN — TO A TEEN WITH MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES

"Your brain is gaining information from [all five] senses," she says. "And when
you're in sensory overload, your brain cannot gain new information."

To identify sensory-avoidant or sensory-seeking behavior, Draughn simply asks
students about their preferences.

"So you either tone down or give them that sensory input [they're looking for]."

How did she help that P.E. student? "We finally settled on Toms and a very sheer
sock that he could take off right after P.E."


TOOLS FOR HELPING KIDS COPE WITH ANXIETY

In October, a coalition of organizations, including the American Academy of
Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association, called on President Biden to
declare "a federal National Emergency in children's mental health." Their letter
cites a "troubling" growth in the number of young children diagnosed with
anxiety and other disorders.



Draughn says she's also seen a higher number of anxiety-related referrals since
the pandemic began. But she thinks that's in part due to a heightened sense of
awareness around mental health in her community. "Students have always been
anxious, now they just have a word to name it."

She says helping children understand what anxiety is, and how their body
responds to it, is a good first step to addressing it. She tells them about
physical symptoms like sweating, fidgeting and nervousness. Another tell-tale
sign is a stomach-ache.

Draughn likes to tell her students about the physical symptoms of anxiety
(sweating, fidgeting, nervousness). She sometimes uses this anxiety tool to help
them work through anxious feelings. Meredith Draughn hide caption

toggle caption
Meredith Draughn

"Anxiety is a natural body response to tell us something's wrong. ... When we
recognize it early on, we can put strategies in place to deal with it."

When she's intervening with an anxious child, Draughn uses kid-friendly words to
describe what they're experiencing, like "extra energy." Then, she finds ways
for her students to expend or redirect that energy, like through exercise or
simply allowing them to fidget.

If children feel too anxious or uncomfortable to get up and move, she suggests
slowing things down with breathing exercises. You can ask a child to breathe in
as though they're smelling a flower, and breathe out as though they're blowing
out a candle. Draughn also likes to use a method called "4 x 4 breathing." She
asks students to envision a square and breathe along each of its lines: "You're
going to breathe for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, breathe out through your
mouth for 4 seconds, hold for four seconds. And you do that four times."

Another strategy for when life feels overwhelming to children is to make it feel
more bite-sized. "When we look at it as a whole day, or hour or a whole class,
it can get really daunting," Draughn says. So instead, she asks students to
choose an activity or task that feels achievable within a few minutes, like
journaling.



And when all else fails, distractions, like playing games or drawing, can be a
simple but powerful tool to redirect anxiety—for both kids and adults.

Edited by: Nicole Cohen
Visual design and development by: LA Johnson

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