October 2019 Newsleter

 
October 2019
Families
Empowering Families
In this issue: 
A message from the director
National Bullying Awareness Month
Trainings and Family Round Tables
Halloween Tips and Safety
LIT PR Opportunities
A Message From the Director
 
It is peak foliage color right now in most of the Northern parts of Vermont. The yellow, oranges, and reds are breath taking. Make sure you get a chance to enjoy the short window of beauty around us before the leaves start to fall and it’s time to rake them all up! 
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. In this newsletter we provide some Vermont data and resources for families. Many families call us each year asking for support around bullying. Parents ask really great questions including:
What do I do?
Who should I tell?
Should I talk to the other parent?
I have tried everything! What do I do next?
Vermont families should know bullying is a serious issue. If left unchecked or unresolved it can lead to serious mental health problems into young adulthood and possibly well into adulthood. 
There are many resources available for parents and it is very challenging weeding through the sometimes-conflicting advice. Schools can sometimes react inconsistently and even defensively when asked for support. In some cases, the police may be contacted.
 
Contact the Federation if you have any questions regarding bullying, or questions regarding what mental health supports may be available to your child or family in response to ongoing distress from bullying. 
 
~Cindy
October is National Bullying Awareness Month
According to the 2017 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey
High School Students
  • 16% reported being bullied in the past 30 days.
  • 9% reported bullying someone else in the last 30 days
  • 8% experienced bullying on 3+ days in the last 30 days.
  • 5% of students skipped school because they felt unsafe
  • LGBT and students of color were significantly more likely to be bullied.
Middle School Students
    
  • 22% were bullied in the past 30 days.
  • 5% were bullied for more than 6 days in the last 30 days.
  • Female students were almost 2 times as likely to experience bullying.
  • 8% reported bullying others in the last 30 days.
  • 8% skipped school because they felt unsafe.
  • LGB students were three times as likely to skip school because they felt unsafe.
VT schools are required to report incidences of bullying to the Agency of Education, but 2018 data suggest that bullying and harassment incidents are being
under reported.
What can parents do?
Visit
Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center

to find out more about bullying and how to help your child if they are being bullied.

Click here

for tips on what to do if your child is bullying others.

VT Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont have several resources

explaining what constitutes as bullying and what schools’ responsibilities are and how to file complaints.
Halloween Tips
Halloween can be tricky to navigate when your child has special needs so we’ve collected some resources and tips for how to make Halloween enjoyable for everyone!
Are you hosting a Halloween party?
Connecting for Kids
has some great tips on how to make your party sensory-friendly, allergy-friendly, and gender affirming! Their tips for making things friendly for kids with anxiety are below:
  • Save creepy decorations (especially automatically triggered mechanical decorations) and scary special effects for adult parties.
  • Make sure the location where you hand out treats is well-lit (this helps trick-or-treaters with vision challenges too!).
  • Keep pets inside. Not only will this help keep your pet safe, it also helps children who struggle with anxiety over animals.
  • Avoid wearing masks or scary costumes while handing out treats.
  • Don’t try to unexpectedly scare trick-or-treaters.
  • Be sensitive to fears and let children know that it’s okay to be afraid.
Trainings and Family Round Tables
We have several exciting trainings and Family Round Tables coming up!
Our Executive Director Cindy Tabor and our
Youth in Transition Program Coordinator Matt Wolf will be presenting a shortened version of our
Compassion Fatigue
training at the DMH conference on October 22nd!
We’re teaming up with the Rutland Mental Health Children’s Standing Committee to present our
Survival Tips: Raising a Child with Behavioral Health Needs
on Thursday October 24th from 5:30-7:30pm. To RSVP contact Tom Cox at tcox@rmhsccn.org
Our Family Round Table in Washington County is on October 24th from 5-7pm and the training topic is
Supporting Siblings of a Child in Emotional or Behavioral Distress
. Dinner is included! To RSVP contact Amy Lincoln Moore at almoore@vffcmh.org
In November our Family Round Tables will be held November 12th from 5-7pm in Addison County and November 21st from 5-7pm in Washington County.
Contact Lorraine Sylvain at LorraineLITPR@vffcmh.org for the Addison County Family Round Table and Amy Lincoln Moore at almoore@vffcmh.org for the Washington County Family Round Table. We hope to see you there?
LIT PR Openings
We are looking for more Local Interagency Team Parent Representatives!
LIT PRs help parents navigate the Coordinated Services Plan (CSP) process from start to finish. This is a wonderful opportunity to have a flexible part time job and help other families just like yours!
We are looking for LIT PRs in the following regions:
St. Albans, Newport, St. Johnsbury, Bennington, Brattleboro, and Springfield
. Contact us for more info at 1-800-639-6071!
A message from your Vermont family run organization

Posted by on Wednesday, December 11th, 2019 @ 3:58PM
Categories: News

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