child psychology

teacher's desk at new alliance academy

Three Benefits of Therapeutic Education

naa-admin

Mental health conditions in children and adolescents, such as anxiety and depression, can reduce a child’s ability to learn and prevent them from benefiting from classroom experiences. If your child suffers from a mental health condition, therapeutic education can help your child succeed in school. Therapeutic education can help children who struggle in a regular academic setting due to emotional, psychological, or behavioral issues. If you are contemplating whether therapeutic education can help your child succeed in school, here are three benefits to keep in mind.

Attentive Staff

If your child is attending public school, educators are less likely to be trained with children that are experiencing mental health conditions. It might be difficult for general education teachers to pay proper attention to your child due to the large number of children in their classroom. At New Alliance Academy, the student is surrounded by psychiatrists, therapists, learning strategists and our certified educational staff, as well as the student’s school district and our community partnerships, to help them in an ongoing, student-centered process. At therapeutic schools, teachers combine therapeutic elements in the classroom to facilitate learning which helps students with mental health conditions thrive in the classroom.

Focus on Mental Health

A therapeutic school acknowledges that success is linked to a child’s mental and physical health. The primary emphasis of a therapeutic school is to help students overcome the issues that impact their academic performance. New Alliance Academy’s therapists aim to address the issues of each student individually and with family. Emotional support is essential to achieve academic success.

Team Approach

At New Alliance Academy, our integrative model allows all professionals, both educational and therapeutic, to work together as a team. Our teacher and therapists can tailor lessons and therapy sessions to the everchanging situations in an adolescent’s life due to the close working relationships among our students, staff, and professionals. The team approach that therapeutic education creates can improve the learning experience of both children and adolescents.

New Alliance Academy in Paramus, NJ provides educational and ancillary therapeutic services for high school teenagers experiencing acute psychological distress.

empty classroom

Anxiety in the Classroom

naa-admin

Anxiety is a common emotion that everyone experiences, however, some children can have higher levels than others. Many children experience anxiety before a test, presentation, or a big game, but for other children, they may feel anxious without any of these triggers. Anxiety in the classroom can take many shapes, some examples are an upset stomach, troublesome behavior, or even a learning disorder. There are also several types of anxiety disorders with specific symptoms. If you are worried that your child or students may be experiencing anxiety in the classroom, below are some signs to look out for.

Evading Social or Group Work Situations

Children may evade or protest activities in the classroom that make them feel anxious or uncomfortable such as group projects, sitting at lunch with other children, or speaking out in front of the class. Sometimes children who experience social anxiety have an easier time conveying what they know with a teacher in a one-on-one engagement.

Overuse of the Nurse’s Office

Anxiety can show itself through physical symptoms, not just mentally. If a child has frequent headaches, nausea, or stomach aches that have an unknown cause, it could be from anxiety.

Difficulty Answering Questions

A child with anxiety may do well with homework, tests, and one-on-one discussions with the teacher, but not when they are called on in class. Anxiety may cause children to freeze if they are called on to answer questions in front of a class, even if they know the answer.

Poor Attendance

For children with anxiety in the classroom, the easiest way to deal with it is to not go at all. School refusal is a common sign of anxiety in children.

If you notice these signs in your child or student, it is important to dig deeper to determine if they are due to an anxiety disorder. If you think your child is showing symptoms of an anxiety disorder, it is suggested that you reach out to your child’s primary healthcare provider to figure out the next step to take.

New Alliance Academy in Paramus, NJ is a school that provides educational and ancillary therapeutic services for high school teenagers experiencing acute psychological distress.

woman comforting daughter

How to Determine What is a Normal Behavioral Change Resulting from Adolescence

naa-admin

Adolescence prepares individuals for a successful transition from childhood to adulthood and is characterized by significant neurohormonal and attitudinal changes. As children grow into adolescence and become more independent, parents sometimes ask themselves about how to distinguish between newly developed, normal behaviors and new behaviors that should cause concern.

What is the Expected (Normal) Range of Adolescent Behavior?

In general terms, although teenagers no longer remain the cute, obedient children of their past, adolescents are mostly cooperative and fun to be around. Adolescents develop new skills and talents, are creative and candid, and are always searching for the truth. They are interested in advancing social causes and work hard in group settings. They also begin to display more humor, contagious energy, and compassion. However, as part of their expected development, they will also show mood swings, have a tendency to over dramatize, display impulsive behavior, and develop a strong sexual interest. They may begin to distance themselves from family and seem to display selfish behavior, engage in substance experimentation, and become argumentative.

The expected (normal) range of human behaviors is very wide. A good definition of “pathological/abnormal” behavior is based on the level of dysfunction it causes. In other words, a behavior is pathological when it impairs an individual’s appropriate ongoing functioning. Although some behaviors can be upsetting to adults, they are usually within the normal range if they are transitory and mild.

One of the most frequent parental concerns is the presence of conflict and aggression. Usual conflictive behaviors that generate parent/youth arguments include music volume, choice of attire, association with the wrong crowd, internet/phone usage, chores, and curfew. Passionate discussions in class with teachers regarding social and historical issues are not infrequent and isolated arguments at events, parties, and team rivalries are common. Usually, all of the above behaviors are transitory, mild, and tend to respond to feedback from adults.

On the next post, we will review examples of pathological conflict and what parents can do about it.

New Alliance Academy is a school in Paramus, NJ that provides educational and ancillary therapeutic services for high school teenagers experiencing acute psychological distress.