By Caroline Miller
With more and more testing in our schools, and more and more pressure on children to ace them, test anxiety is becoming an issue for a lot of kids. "When kids are having test anxiety they can't think clearly, they can't judge things the way they could if they weren't anxious," explains neuropsychologist Ken Schuster. "All of your other abilities get clouded up by anxiety."
This week on childmind.org we explore strategies experts use to help kids overcome test anxiety, from study strategies that build confidence to techniques to keep from getting rattled. We discuss reasons why some kids are prone to anxiety. The common denominator: If you think you aren't going to do well, you're going to feel more anxious.
Last night the Child Mind Institute launched our 2015 Speak Up for Kids campaign with the first Change Maker Awards, honoring five great people and organizations changing the way we think about and treat kids with mental illness. As the host for the evening, actress and comedian Ali Wentworth put it: "Raising our voices lets struggling young people know that it's okay to ask for help and that help exists." You can read here about the honorees.
We also released our first interactive Children's Mental Health Report, highlighting how many kids have mental illness, the gap between prevalence and care, and the cost to kids, families, and the community. You can see it here.
Caroline Miller is the Editorial Director of the Child Mind Institute
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