Think of the Children, But Actually Do Something for Them - Cal Thompson, 1st period

This article explains recent efforts to provide resources for children with attention disorders/anxiety/emotional disorders/dyslexia at a young age through school. Mental illness has been incorporated in some curriculums in an attempt to raise awareness and decrease stigmas. Data so far shows that provided resources for children with mental illnesses greatly reduces the number of expulsions. Some strategies include simple games such as simon says for impulse control as well as emphasis of the value of forming strong platonic relationships.
This is brilliant. Children deserve to get help for their mental illnesses rather than be told that they cannot succeed because they cannot focus (or, as my mother claims, that their short attention span is entirely their own fault, but I'm not salty at all about that). Children with anxiety should have someone to teach them coping mechanisms rather that be told that their concerns are silly and that they need to "grow up and stop worrying about everything" (seriously, that really doesn't help at all to say to someone with anxiety and it might even be counterproductive so maybe just don't do it). You would not tell someone with a physical handicap that they were overreacting if they said they could not walk due to paralysis or a broken leg, so why tell someone with depression that they just aren't trying? People with mental illnesses cannot simply stop being affected by them through instantaneous willpower (and if I'm wrong then sign me the frick up for some instantaneous willpower yo). A child in a wheelchair is not expected to perform the same as their classmates in P.E. without aid, so why should a child with dyslexia or dysgraphia be expected to perform the same as their classmates in an academic course without aid? Mental illnesses should not be dismissed. Children receiving care for mental illness is a big step in attempting to reduce surrounding stigmas, but we must be careful not to judge all with mental illnesses by the same standard. Some children will show improvement far sooner than others in regards to anxiety levels or behavioral disorders, but that does not mean that the children who improve more slowly are unable to improve, or that we should disregard them as "not trying hard enough."
Article: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/10/the-new-focus-on-childrens-mental-health/504227/