There’s been an increase in depression and anxiety in kids in recent years, which is why I wanted to have an expert on the show who’s had years of experience working with childhood trauma and anxiety.In this episode, I talk with Dr. Ambroes Pass-Turner, who has worked in mental health for over 20 years and has experience working with children and adults. Dr. Pass-Turner is an expert in working with behavioral and emotionally disturbed children, adults, families, and offenders within the criminal justice system. She is a Doctor of Counseling Psychology and the owner of APT Counseling Services, LLC. She is a professor at Grand Canyon University in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Georgia Military College. In this conversation, we talk about: ✅ Red flags of anxiety and depression in kids; as well as signs and symptoms of abuse and trauma.✅ The school-to-prison pipeline: What it is and how to take steps to prevent it✅Navigating special education eligibility for kids with mental health diagnoses; as well as effective educational accommodations for kids with anxiety. ✅How to use self-talk to build self-esteem in kids.  ✅How to encourage kids to take care of their mental health, even when they don’t want to. Dr. Ambroes Pass-Turner is an author and published the books, Rex’s Journey: Helping Children Understand and Cope with Emotions and Childhood Sexual Abuse: Pathway to Mental Health Issues and Delinquent Behavior.You can learn more about Dr. Ambroes Pass-Turner at her website here. The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding. 
We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL and MyFlexLearning. IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you simplify and streamline technology, reliably meet Tier 1 standards, improve assessment performance, and more. Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.MyFlexLearning is the scheduling platform that helps middle and high schools meet the individual needs of all students. Create and manage time for flex blocks, WIN time, activity periods, RTI, counselor and teacher appointments and much more. And with a built-in accountability tool and reporting features, solve your challenges around getting kids where they need to be and understanding how flex time is spent. Make your flex time work for you. Visit myflexlearning.com/BE to learn more and receive $500 off the first year.