Ransom Notes Campaign

The NYU Child Study Center's has launched a very aggressive and some say an offensive campaign against mental illness with their bill boards in New York City, USA.  ""Ransom Notes" may be shocking to some, but so are the statistics: suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24, and serious emotional problems affect one out of 10 young people, most of whom do not get help. The strong response to this campaign is evidence that our approach is working."  Offensive, aggressive or proactive?  You be the judge.

My family's syndrome
By Jessica Vosgerchian: Assistant Magazine Editor

My mom called me earlier this semester to tell me that my brother had gotten in trouble again. This time for a new indiscretion - he had stayed out too late with friends on a school night.  "I'm just so happy," my mom said.  We both were. For years, the idea that my brother could be punished for being too social had seemed impossible.  For my brother, a 17-year-old with Asperger's syndrome, the road through adolescence has been more than bumpy. It's been landmine laden. Asperger's is one of several lesser-known autism spectrum disorders that are beginning to penetrate the sphere of public recognition. The growing recognition of such conditions is due in part to research done at the University of Michigan. University psychologists diagnosed both my brother and dad with Asperger's syndrome about eight years ago.

WRITING KIDS OFF IS NOT AN OPTION
If you're a parent or teacher or coach or youth leader, have you ever been tempted to write a child off? To expect little or nothing and put your efforts elsewhere? For an hour or a day or even permanently? Have you ever felt justified because a child was uncooperative or disinterested or disruptive? It can be a particular temptation when you have other children or students who need you and show more appreciation for your efforts and make more progress. But it's also an opportunity to be one of those special people who never gives up on a child. Who never mentally throws up his hands and says, "It's his own fault, he's not even trying." In John Elder Robison's book, "Look Me In The Eye: My Life With Asperger's," he writes about being frequently written o as a child. He makes the point that his parents and teachers and psychologists often misunderstood his intentions. For example, he said that child psychologists who said "John prefers to play by himself," got it dead wrong. "I never wanted to be alone...I played by myself because I was a failure at playing with others. I was alone as a result of my own limitations, and being alone was one of the bitterest disappointments of my young life." By Dan Coulter