The Front Page Blog: Blogs on Children and Youth

To commemorate Mental Health Awareness Month this May, the American Public Health Association and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) co-sponsored a webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on child and adolescent mental health. Dr. Melissa Brymer, Director of the Terrorism and Disaster Program of the UCLA/Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress and its National Child Traumatic Stress Network, presented on the impact of COVID-19 on the lives and mental health of families and discussed strategies to address these pressing issues.

The…

In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, March is designated as National Reading Month. The primary audience for Dr. Seuss’ books is young children, but his writings have insight for adults, too.  As he said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

Reading is a key component of education and professional development. It is also a popular recreational activity that has immediate and long-lasting health benefits. Scientific studies have associated reading with increased cognitive function, memory, vocabulary, empathy…

October 8th marks the 30th anniversary of Public Law 99-457 that expanded the special education law to cover infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities. The law recognizes families as pivotal to the success of babies and young children with developmental disabilities. Early intervention and special education services definitely made a difference for my son, Pete – who is now 28 years old. Pete was born with the rare, genetic Costello syndrome, which is associated with ongoing global delays in development.

While the focus of early intervention and special education…

Parents who are gathering backpacks and supplies for the start of the school year, may want to add one more item to that back to school list—an appropriate assistive technology (AT) product. AT can help with many types of learning challenges: listening, speaking, math, organization and memory, reading and writing.

According to the latest reports from the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of children and youth receiving special education services is approximately 13 percent of all public school students. Many of these students need AT to help them better…

I was optimistic about the direction the field of disability was taking when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed. I had spent a year arguing with my brother-in-law who belonged to an organization that was actively lobbying against the ADA. He was convinced that the ADA would be the death of the small business that employed him. Our arguments were heated and often led to me saying things such as, “We’re all only temporarily able-bodied. You should be helping to create an environment you’d want to live in if you became disabled.” I felt I had won that argument when the ADA…

There is an abundance of global evidence demonstrating the serious harm associated with the placement of children in residential care institutions, such as orphanages. Residential institutions consistently fail to meet children’s developmental needs for attachment, acculturation and social integration. Extended periods of time in residential care, particularly for younger children, may stunt brain development.

The overall aim of USAID’s Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) is to reduce the number of children outside of family care by supporting community and…

September is College Savings Month—a month to remind and encourage people to start a 529 Plan.  Section 529 plans make it easy and affordable for the average family to plan ahead for the cost of college attendance and are available in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Across the nation, many activities are held during September to recognize the importance of saving for college.

Today, a college education is a costly, but often a necessary qualification to get a job. For those whose families didn’t save, it’s still possible…

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. During May, communities come together to promote awareness and understanding of mental illness.

Mental illness affects most families. One in four Americans will have a mental illness at some point in their lifetime. Half of all mental illnesses begin by age 14 and 75% begin by age 24. Mental illnesses include anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, among many others. To increase access to care and create an open dialogue about mental illness, communities must address service system issues.

In 2013,…