Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2020

29 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.VOICEforMP.com T oo often, it seems our children have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Some of it is normal teenage angst, while other cases are more severe. The pressure to succeed in life — preceded by the pressure to excel in high school and college — can manifest as early as elementary school. Principal Gayle Morris of Cario Middle School was alerted to stress and anxiety as a growing concern for her students by eighth grade counselor Scott Trottier. “Several grade’s teachers had mentioned to him that they had students with test anxiety. Some parents had reached out to say that their children were having a hard time getting out of bed to go to school,” she explained. They decided to hold a workshop, and Trottier already had the perfect host in mind. Ashlin Blum is a Licensed Independent Social Worker of Clinical Practice (LISW- CP) in South Carolina, as well as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), with a practice in Mount Pleasant (www.empoweredfamilysc.com) . “He had contacted us about conducting a free workshop to get information out there for parents and kids,” explained Trottier. BY PAMELA JOUAN Stressed and Anxious in School A Growing Teen Trend and How Schools are Responding