Target: Miguel Cardona, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education
Goal: Require mental health evaluations when entering school to reduce untreated behavioral issues and learning disabilities.
The mental health epidemic is progressively getting worse. Unfortunately, nearly half of adults with mental health issues go untreated, typically because of a lack of mental health resources being accessible. A large portion of mental health and/or learning disabilities are prevalent at a young age; although, symptoms may become more noticeable overtime. In order to help reduce the amount of untreated mental health disorders, mental health evaluations should be required when entering school.
In the classroom, psychological disorders may prevent students from completing work. When students show symptoms of attention deficit disorders such as ADHD but are not properly diagnosed, they’re unable to receive the proper in-class help they may need. The same applies to that of undiagnosed and/or untreated learning disabilities. Childhood trauma can bring forth early signs of mood disorders, and psychological evaluations can diagnose these issues early on. Such evaluations can also help children learn to cope with childhood trauma to prevent toxic emotional habits later on. Psychological professionals have reported that mental health disorders are best treated in childhood or adolescence, and the older an individual gets, the more difficult it may be to alter certain habits and/or thinking patterns. For the benefit of younger generations, mental health concerns must be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.
Sign this petition to urge officials to require psychological evaluations upon entering school. Children and teens should have the opportunity to cope with mental and/or learning disabilities at a young age, unlike many adults. Schools already utilize mental health professionals, so requiring psychological evaluations would be an easy step to halt the global mental health crisis. Demand younger generations receive the mental health support they need to prevent further undiagnosed disorders.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Cardona,
Such a substantial amount of our population has dealt with mental health issues that have gone untreated. Future generations cannot continue enduring this heartbreaking cycle. The school system must implement psychological evaluations to properly diagnose and treat mental and/or learning disabilities as early as possible.
Students in the classroom that do not have proper diagnoses but show symptoms of learning deficit disorders cannot receive accommodations needed. In turn, this impacts their performance in school and can make learning a stressful process. School should be a transformational experience rather than a difficult one, especially in situations where some struggles can be prevented. Psychological evaluations further point out signs of childhood trauma. Trauma can cause emotional turmoil and cause early onset mood disorders. Parents and guardians need to be alerted of such issues in order to support their kids appropriately.
Please require psychological evaluations when children and adolescents enter school. Officials need to put an end to the rapidly worsening mental health epidemic. Thank you for your attention to this vital message.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Asnaebsa
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