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By Helen Lewis, Image: Vartika Sharme, The Atlantic, February 27, 2022 T hree years ago, the psychiatrist Kirsten Müller-Vahl began to notice something unusual about the newest patients at her clinic in Hannover, Germany. A typical Tourette’s patient is a boy who develops slow, mild motor tics—blinking or grimacing—at about age 5 to 7, followed later by simple vocalizations such as coughing. Only about one in 10 patients progress to the disorder’s most famous symptom—coprolalia, which...

Dear PACEs Connection Community, Today I'm celebrating just shy of three years as an employee at PACEs Connection as I say farewell as an employee. I started here in May of 2019 to fulfill my grad school practicum requirement and was so grateful to be brought on full-time in November of 2019 as a Community Facilitator. It's been an honor to get to meet so many of you in the PACEs Connection community. I loved meeting with community leaders throughout the US and the world to hear how you all...

In light of recent events, Resilient Guilford Network is sharing resources from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) in response to the war on Ukraine. Some are specific to military families, while others are more general resources. Please see the links below and let us know if you have questions and how we can help support your local efforts. Deep breaths as we start a new week together. We look forward to staying connected and are grateful for all you do. General Child...

ParentPowered, home of Ready4K, is going to Middle School! Check out why middle school family engagement is essential to supporting your early adolescents, what you want in your middle school family engagement programming, and why middle school might just be the absolute coolest time of life.

“The power of relationships is something we can’t forget about. It’s important for teachers to connect with their students more deeply so that they can support them in their academic goals.” —Renee Prince, LCSW, Director of Mental Health Integration, Turnaround for Children On the last episode of our podcast, The 180, we discussed the national state of emergency in child and adolescent mental health. In the two years since the pandemic first hit, young people around the world have reported...

By H.A. Hellyer, Image: Screenshot from article, The Washington Post, February 28, 2022 “This isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan, that has seen conflict raging for decades,” Charlie D’Agata, a CBS correspondent in Kyiv, told his colleagues back in the studio. “You know, this is a relatively civilized, relatively European — I have to choose those words carefully, too — city where you wouldn’t expect that or hope that it’s going to happen.” Putin’s criminal invasion...

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Photo: Saul Loeb/Associated Press, Associated Press, March 3, 2022 President Joe Biden’s new plan to expand mental health and drug abuse treatment would pour hundreds of millions of dollars into suicide prevention, mental health services for youth, and community clinics providing 24/7 access to people in crisis. Unveiled as part of his State of the Union speech, Biden’s plan seeks to shrink America’s chronic gap in care between diseases of the body and those of...

By Laura Bliss, Photo: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Washington Post, Bloomberg CityLab + Equality, February 25, 2022 An independent study of a basic income pilot in a disadvantaged part of Washington, D.C., adds to a growing body of research on the benefits of direct cash transfers to communities in need. The study by the Urban Institute, a policy think tank, highlights the material as well as emotional improvements that such payments can create, particularly when they’re provided by a trusted...

By Brian Contreras, Image: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, March 2, 2022 A nationwide investigation will explore the risks that the wildly popular short-form video app TikTok poses to children, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced Wednesday. Among the issues the investigation will focus on will be how the company has sought to increase the duration and frequency of use of its app by young people, the extent to which the company is aware of any harm it may be causing those users and...

In this series, we have discussed how to make better memories to lessen the impact of those that are trauma-based and very unpleasant. The holidays are the perfect time to build new memories by beginning new traditions. This article will focus on ways you can build a better tomorrow by using the knowledge and skills you have learned along your healing journey. The Benefits of Making New Experiences Allowing oneself to experience new things is vital to the healing process of overcoming...

Chronic stress, trauma exposure, frequent threats of violence and the relentless grind of gun crimes’ impact: A recently-released report from the University of Illinois Chicago reveals in stark terms the strain and struggles that many frontline violence prevention workers face as they try to combat gun violence. In 2022, Chicago is coming off another record year of homicides, similar to many other major cities across the U.S. 797 people were killed in 2021 with 3,677 non-fatal shootings—an...

By Maria Di Mento, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, March 1, 2022 The technology billionaires Steve and Connie Ballmer pledged more than $425 million to the University of Oregon to create an institute where the university’s researchers and experts in children’s behavioral and mental health will work with Oregon’s public school systems, families, nonprofits, and state agencies to tamp down the surge in mental-health issues children and youths in the state are facing after two years of the...