Mental Health Issues in the Classroom
The course is built around a series of videos taken from a workshop that Glenn DiPasquale conducted with a group of teachers. Glenn touches on some of the more common mental health issues that children bring to school every day, and explore their impact on the climate in a modern classroom.
Each Section contains a series of clips from that workshop, as well as notes and discussion questions (and hopefully a few answers). Additional resources for educators will be available. Direct web links to many of the resources described in the videos, including papers, organizational web sites and relevant articles will be provided.
At the end of each topic, participants are asked to contemplate scenarios and discussion questions and share their opinions, insights and resources in the Comments section with others who may be taking the course at the same time. Participants are encouraged to read through other responses and stories and relate to or expand on anything of interest.
As this is an independent workshop, there is no moderator. You'll work through each session on your own and at your own pace. Please be aware that the discussion sections are unmoderated as well.
Course Outline
Accessible Media in This Course
Section 1: Overview
- Diagnostics
- A Disorders Schema
- Mental Health Statistics
- References and Resources
Section 2: Overview
- The Magnitude of the Issue
- Issues in Children's Mental Health
- Learning and Developmental Disorders.
- References and Resources
Section 3: Overview
- Anxiety Disorders
- Panic Disorder
- References and Resources
Section 4: Overview
- Depressive Disorder
- Eating and Body Disorders
- Impulse Control Disorders
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorders
- Social and Domestic Violence: The Effects on Children
- References and Resource
We hope that by the end of this course, participants will:
• be familiar with the most common mental health issues that affect school age children,
• gain insight into the causes and classroom implications of these mental health problems,
• be better observers of the behaviour of children with mental health problems,
• have an improved ability to accommodate children with mental health problems in the classroom,
• have an improved understanding of what help is available and how to support the child, family and school in seeking help.
About the Video Series Host
Dr. Glenn DiPasquale is a Registered Psychologist. His degrees in Psychology include an Honours B.A. from the University of Waterloo, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario.
Glenn was a School Psychologist with the York Region District School Board for three decades, including 17 years as Chief Psychologist, before leaving to establish a private practice as a speaker, consultant and writer. In addition, he has served as a part-time faculty member at both York University in Toronto, teaching in the Faculty of Education, and at Royal Roads University in Victoria, B.C., teaching in the Conflict Management Masters program.
He was a member of the Study Group on School Violence at the LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution at York University, and continues to be involved with the Centre as an External Associate. Glenn was also co-chair of the Working Group on the Definition of Learning Disabilities, an expert panel assembled by the Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario (LDAO), and funded by the provincial government. He is now involved in the implementation phase of the project’s “Web Based Teaching Tool”, and also serves on the Board of Directors of the LDAO.
Glenn has been honoured with an "Educator of the Year" award from the Ontario Council for Exceptional Children, and led a group that was awarded the first “Public Education Award” from the Ontario Psychological Association.
Using the Comments Feature
You can post comments or messages with other students throughout the workshop. This feature is found at the bottom of most pages. Please use Comments to contribute your thoughts and questions as well as engage with other participants.
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