ABLE SC, National Minority Mental Health Month

Minority Mental Health Month: Laquanda's Story Trigger warning: mention of psychiatric disabilities and related symptoms Continuing Able SC’s recognition of Minority Mental Health Month, we are pleased to share a powerful recovery story from our colleague, Laquanda Clark.  Laquanda is a middle-aged Black woman, a burn survivor, and a member of the Deaf community. She experienced postpartum depression after the birth of both her children.  "Postpartum" means the time after having a baby. Some people feel sad, worried, or tired in the days after giving birth, known as the "baby blues." These feelings usually go away within a few days. But if they last more than 2 weeks, it might be postpartum depression, which is not a normal part of motherhood.  Postpartum depression is a serious condition that affects your mind and body. It makes sad and hopeless feelings stay and can disrupt your daily life. You might not feel connected to your baby, or you might not feel love or care for them. These feelings can range from mild to severe.  Two months after her first child was born, Laquanda felt extremely sad. She wasn't enjoying motherhood and felt anxious whenever her daughter was out of sight. Her husband and family noticed she wasn't doing well and encouraged her to talk to her obstetrician (the doctor that delivered her baby). The doctor told her that postpartum depression is common and prescribed medication to help. Once she started the medication, her depression eased, and she began to enjoy motherhood.  When her second child was born, Laquanda experienced postpartum depression again, but with different symptoms. She didn't want to hold her baby, cried a lot, and felt sleepy all the time. She just wanted to stay in bed. Again, she sought help from her doctor, who prescribed medication. This time, she decided to stay on the medication after the postpartum period because her anxiety increased after the second birth.  Laquanda’s tips for recovering from postpartum depression:  Ask your family for help and support – you don’t have to do it all alone.  Learn about your depression to understand what’s happening with your mind and body. Knowing more can help you feel stronger and more in control!  Get help and support from your obstetrician – they are experienced with treating postpartum depression. If you don’t receive the care you need, change doctors!  Bond with your baby even when it’s hard and your mind is sending you other messages.  Do not be ashamed. Postpartum depression affects many people who’ve just given birth. It is a medical condition that needs treatment.  Do you need support for postpartum depression? Here are some resources to learn more and seek help:  Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health, Postpartum Depression  Mental Health America, Pregnancy and Postpartum Disorders  NPR, Life Kit, What is postpartum depression? How to recognize the signs and get help  Able South Carolina 720 Gracern Road Suite 106 | Columbia, South Carolina 29210 803.779.5121 | advocacy@able-sc.org Follow Us Having trouble viewing this email? View it in your web browser Unsubscribe or Manage Your Preferences

AAIDD, Leadership in IDD

 

Perspectives Commentary from the field    Nurses, Parents with IDD, and Mandated Reporting of Child Maltreatment   Lauren Clark, RN, PhD, FAAN Shapiro Family Endowed Chair in Developmental Disabilities Studies UCLA School of Nursing   Mothers with IDD may feel afraid that child protective services will analyze how they parent and then take their children away. Their worries are justified. Without evidence of injury or other abuse, mandated reporters tend to escalate concerns about parents with IDD to child protective services based on their own assumptions about what makes a ‘good enough’ parent.   I’m a nurse and I teach nursing students. Nurses can have biases. They are taught that high-tech health care can ‘fix’ people. Nursing students seldom have clinical experiences with adults with IDD. They may graduate with a limited understanding of disability and reproductive justice. Those biases lead to inaccurate assessments of child maltreatment in families with a parent with IDD.   It’s time to fix lapses in IDD competence among nurses. Nursing education can include how to respect autonomy, support decision-making, and provide person- and family-centered care across the lifespan. Including nurses with disabilities in the workforce will narrow the gap between the nurses and parents with a disability. Collaborating with parents with IDD to develop and teach parent support programs will involve those most affected by oversurveillance in preventing child maltreatment. Nurses can become mandated supporters, not just mandated reporters.     Notables  Recent awards, accolades, appointments, and other honors.   Katie Arnold, PhD, FAAIDD Appointed New Executive Director of Our Place of New Trier Township Our Place of New Trier Township (“Our Place”) has appointed Dr. Katie Arnold, a widely respected leader and expert in the field of disability services and programs, as its new Executive Director.    Tony Anderson's Article, "What Policy Advocates Do" Published in The University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration Frontline Initiative.  Tony Anderson's article focuses on the importance of ensuring all voices from the IDD community are heard and impact policy decisions and policy development.     Notables  Recent awards, accolades, appointments, and other honors Perspectives Commentary from the field    AAIDD is looking to feature notables and perspective pieces from our members in the field! Send us your commentary to be featured in a future Leadership in IDD Newsletter.     Produced by AAIDD, this monthly digest features the recent (first made available within last 3 months) and emergent (will be available within the next 4-6 weeks) work of AAIDD members only. Journal articles, while important, are not featured in this publication.    View the archive of the Leadership in IDD newsletter here.     Not yet a member? Join AAIDD online!     Click here to unsubscribe. Message sent by AAIDD, membership@aaidd.org American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities | 8403 Colesville Road | Suite 900 | Silver Spring, MD 20910