Chief Encouragement Officer and Executive Creative Coach at Door Opener Academy Skye Berger was the featured speaker Tuesday dealing with supporting the social an emotional needs of youth,
The event was held at the Community Schools of Frankfort Administration Building and was hosted by the Indiana Youth Institute and COACH Kids. This special training session was to help caring adults in the community learn about how stress and trauma can impact a young person’s social and emotional health and development.
Berger said she got the response she normally gets at these events.
“It’s eye-opening for people,” said Berger. “I can actually see light bulbs go off sometimes. So, I always get a good response.”
A total of 23 people attended the event trying to pinpoint how children deal with stress and anxiety.
According to the KIDS COUNT in Indiana 2017 Data Book, children in families with high levels of stress are twice as likely as their peers to be diagnosed in school and four times as likely to have behavioral or emotional problems. Past or current trauma affects an increasing number of children. Trauma impacts children’s neurological functioning, influences their behavior and sometimes lead to mental health diagnoses. To support these children in a meaningful way, adults must have an understanding of the effect that stress and trauma can have on the children in their lives.
“We think this child needs to get in line because I’m an elder and they should not be doing this thing that they’re doing,” said Berger. “But really this is about the way their brain processes things.”
Berger added “we are leaving our young people in a state of hopelessness. Children are failing at simple commands because of their levels of stress.”
Berger said anxiety and depression for high school kids have been on the rise since 2012. Statistics show that 36 percent of teens feel nervous or anxious, 31 percent are stressed, 30 percent are depressed..
“I appreciate sharing things about the brain, especially with those who work with children,” said Berger. “The children’s brain must be able to process behavior.”