Why ‘Furbies’ Turn Into ‘Gremlins’

There is often a prevailing image society has of someone with mental illness or anxiety disorders. Especially when it comes to the classroom. The stereotype is usually of a person who is completely out of control with those ‘crazy eyes’ and they are ready to stab you with their Hello Kitty pencil or decorate your car with tippex if you set a foot wrong in front on that white board.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, about 20% of Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime. Unfortunately, with children today, lots of these conditions are never diagnosed properly and Ritalin gets packed into lunch boxes like Astros. Teachers are at the front line of learner’s lives and with each disorder it is very important to remember that each child is different.

Anxiety especially, can manifest in many different forms, especially with the pressure that children are under from their peers, as well as parents that are a bit too ‘supportive.’ Anxious learners are easily frustrated or they just never start a task, because they are terrified of failing or over-perfectionistic. That is why it has become exceedingly difficult for teachers to cope in the classroom. The fact of the matter is that these illnesses are very real and teachers need to adapt their classroom manner to ensure that every learner is accommodated within bounds.

According to Bruce Van Stone, a Learning Specialist, these following strategies can be used to make your life and the lives of your anxious students a whole lot easier:

• Allow flexible deadlines when they find a particular assignment worrisome.
• Encourage accountability and follow-through, but not in ways that promote stress and discomfort.
• Provide choices for assignments and help them feel like they have some control over their environment.
• Ensure they write down assignment instructions correctly.
• Post the daily class schedule so students can know what to expect.

There is the issue of bipolar disorder that is also diagnosed a lot more these days. Mood swings and fluctuation of energy levels during all times of the day, throughout the year can cause learners to be very moody and aggressive and they struggle immensely with concentrating and understanding assignments. In cases like these, you sit with Furby metamorphosing into a Gremlin when classwork has to be done and homework hasn’t been completed. And yes, dear teacher, it is normal for terms like ‘nuts’, ‘crazy’ and ‘devil spawn’ to pop up in your mind if you are not familiar with this condition or if a parent is still in denial and has not taken their child to be tested and diagnosed. Mr Van Stone can help out here as well with some effective classroom methods:

• Divide assigned readings into manageable segments and monitor the student’s progress, checking comprehension periodically.
• When a student’s energy is low, reduce academic demands; when their energy is high, increase them.
• Identify a place where the student can go for privacy until he or she regains self-control.
• If a student becomes defiant, do not argue with them; instead, concentre on calming him or her down.
• Regularly check in with the student’s parents so that you can share your observations and better understand their cycles of mood fluctuations more effectively.
• If the student is willing, talk to him or her about their cycles and how they would prefer you to respond to their episodes.

You are a learner’s home away from home and indirectly also a parent to them. Mental illness is a real thing and unfortunately many young children are diagnosed with some form of it. In the same breath, mental illness is not an excuse for children when they are misbehaving or just down-right badly mannered. Charity begins at home and it is a parent’s duty to see to it that the necessary medical examination takes place when there are tell-tale signs and symptoms. Since we can’t all be teachers, parents and psychiatrists in one lifeform, here are some symptoms that can be linked to depression which is usually the beginning of all things that go wrong. When these starts popping up more regularly, it would be advisable to make that call and have that dreaded parent-teacher meeting.

Some of the symptoms of depression teachers and parents must look out for:

• Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions
• Fatigue and decreased energy
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness
• Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism
• Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping
• Irritability, restlessness
• Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable
• Overeating or appetite loss
• Persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment
• Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” feelings
• Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts

While medication may be the best option in some cases, research tells us psychotherapy is generally a more effective treatment for depression. Caring adults must know what to look for and how to intervene.