Hi all,
I am going to start something different with this message. We have had interesting topics posted and discussed. However, I know we have spent little time really defining pertinent terms in the field. I think that understanding basic definitions will go a long way toward helping adult educators in the field who are responsible for serving students with disabilities. I will start with the mental health field by posting a few important terms.
Please.... add important terms that you are experienced with by commenting to this original message.
Thanks,
Rochelle Kenyon, SME
Terminology
Severe or serious mental illness:
Generally refers to conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. The conditions are chronic and often result in serious functional impairment. They can affect thinking, feeling and mood.
Bipolar disorder:
Also known as manic-depressive illness, a neurobiological disorder that manifests as mood swings from severe highs (mania) to extreme lows (depression). Suicide is the number one cause of premature death among people with bipolar disorder.
Schizophrenia:
Neurological brain disorder that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions and relate to others. Can cause delusions and hallucinations, alter and make it difficult to interpret sensations, and change emotions, movements and behavior.
Comments
Hello Rochelle,
This is a fantastic topic and I love the format. Having said that, and with relatively low levels of knowledge regarding mental health issues, I'd like to reply with not a definition, but the request for one...
One of the things I hear correctional educators talk about a lot is "learning disabilities" or "learning challenges" in the students in their secure classrooms. One of the issues is that there are many who have not been diagnosed by a professional, but who are operating well below age and/or grade proficiency levels and displaying some obvious indicators of some kind of learning challenge. Do mental health professionals consider learning disabilities mental disabilities? And how are they defined?
Thanks much for this discussion.
-- Heather
Hi Heather,
Your comment is most appropriate. As far as terminology, I don't think there is any other area in adult education where the terminology is so confusing. If you look only at "Learning Disabilities," the term defined by federal law, you will hear so many different terms that people think are synonymous. I can think of 'learning challenges,' learning differences,' learning disorders, and 'learning deficits.' In truth, none of these terms are the same as Learning Disabilities.
There are many definitions of Learning Disabilities from a multitude of sources. I am including a description of LD that I used in training which is more informative than a straight definition. It is as follows:
A learning disability is a neurological condition that interferes with an individual’s ability to store, process, or produce information.
Learning disabilities can affect one’s ability to read, write, speak, spell, compute math, reason and also affect an individual’s attention, memory, coordination, social skills and emotional maturity.
• LD is a central nervous system disorder that has uneven patterns of development and aptitude/achievement discrepancies. • It is a persistent informational processing problem without any cure. • A life-long condition that evolves throughout the developmental continuum. • The largest segment of the disability population. • Disability that affects every aspect of one’s personal life. • Often hereditary, up to 50% chance of occurring more than once in a family. Possibly, a mental health specialist in our group can answer the last question you had. I appreciate your participation, Heather. Rochelle Kenyon, SMEGroup members,
I cannot stress the importance of the discussion on defining terms Rochelle recently started. The use of correct terminology, and their characteristics are very informative, and place adult educators on the same page. This important task encourages re-assessment, and sometimes updating terminology in light of new research. It also brings clarity to many complex terms that exist in the area of disabilities. I encourage all members of the group to make contributions, and to continue to build on this important need. This effort not only benefits adult education program administrators, educators, counselors, transition specialists, and advocates, but also helps us to better provide quality service to all adults with disabilities.
Hi Pam,
I am so pleased to read your comments. We are like-minded, of course. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Rochelle Kenyon, SME
Hi Heather and all: I am so pleased to see that Rochelle has brought up the topic of consistency of term definition. And I like very much her response to you regarding the distinction between a Learnig Disability and all the other "learning terms " we use to describe students who have difficuties in the classroom but are not diagnosed as having a bonafide Learning Disability.
I also appreciate Heather's second question regarding whether LD is considered a mental illness. Rochelle alluded to the answer in her response.
Learning disabiltiy is a neuorlogical disorder not a mental illness. Some confusion arises because types of learning disabilties are defined in The DSM 5 [Diagnostic and Statistcal Manual of the American Psychiatric Association].
In my mind the reason it is important ot make the distinction between a LD and MI is in the interventions we use to help these students learn.. We provide different strategies and accommodations for students who struggle in our classrooms due do mental health concerns than we due for those who struggle with a learning disabiltiy. Of course often the methods that the teachers to use to enhance learning blend to assisting all students.
The underlying cause of the problems the student faces are different with LD than MI. And we need to be sure that the methods we use to intervene and promote learning are effective.
For instance; a student with a visual processing disorder [type of LD] may benefit from graphics to organize his /her thoughts. A student with schizophrenia may benefit from graphics to organize his /her thoughts as well but if that student is not taking the medication required to control symptoms of the mental illness e.g. hallucinations, delusions all the graphic organizers in the world will not be helpful.
I hope this is a helpful!!! Lauri DiGalbo M.Ed, CRC, LPC
Hi Laura,
Your detailed response answered Heather's original question. I am so pleased that our members can benefit - again - from your experience.
Rochelle Kenyon, SME
Hi,
I will add the basic symptoms of mental illness to the above specific definitions.
The following comes from the Mayo Clinic:
Signs and symptoms of mental illness can vary, depending on the particular disorder, circumstances and other factors. Mental illness symptoms can affect emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.
Examples of signs and symptoms include:
Rochelle Kenyon, SME
Hi group members,
I will add three more terms to this thread including: 1) Anxiety Disorders, 2) Delusion, and 3) Depression.
Anxiety Disorders
Chronic feelings of overwhelming anxiety and fear, unattached to any obvious source, that can grow progressively worse if not treated. The anxiety is often accompanied by physical symptoms such as sweating, cardiac disturbances, diarrhea or dizziness. Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, obsessive/compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder are considered anxiety disorders.
Delusion
A belief that is false, fanciful or derived from deception. In psychiatry, a false belief strongly held in spite of evidence that it is not true, especially as a symptom of a mental illness.
Depression
In psychiatry, a disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty with thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness and sometimes suicidal thoughts or attempts to commit suicide. While standing alone as a mental illness, depression also can be experienced in other disorders such as bipolar disorder. Depression can range from mild to severe, and is very treatable with today’s medications and/or therapy.
Rochelle Kenyon, SME
Hi group members,
I am adding two interesting new mental health conditions into this discussion strand - Agoraphobia and Borderline Personality Disorder. Definitions for these terms are below:
Agoraphobia
A panic disorder that involves intense fear and avoidance of any place or situation where it is perceived that escape might be difficult or help unavailable in the event of developing sudden panic-like symptoms. The fear can especially be directed towards situations in which feelings of panic have occurred before. These situations may include driving, shopping, crowded places, traveling, standing in line, meetings,
social gatherings and even being alone.
Borderline Personality Disorder
A mental illness marked by a pattern of unstable personal relationships and self image, as well as marked impulsivity. Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder often have a strong fear of abandonment and may exhibit recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures or threats or self-mutilating behavior. They also may have inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger.
Has anyone had students with these conditions in an adult education or related program?
Rochelle Kenyon, SME