Speak Up, Speak Out: Teen Suicide Awareness & Prevention

PLEASE BE ADVISED: This course contains sensitive and potentially distressing information including death and loss. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), in 2021 Arkansas lost 24 teens to suicide. Since 2000, suicide has been the second leading cause of death for Arkansans 13-19 years of age.  In this course, we will share the stories of two teens who died by suicide in 2021, and we will witness the effects those deaths had on families, peers, and communities. 

Recognizing warning signs and risk factors can help prevent deaths by suicide. Ms. Shawna Burns discusses with our host, Chris Kane, what we should look for and ways to approach someone who may be having suicidal ideations. Mr. Greg Adams shares statistics and the preferred terminology to use when discussing death by suicide. Then we learn from Travis Barrentine, the principal of Greenbrier High School, who shares about a time when his own school faced a student's death by suicide. Mr. Barrentine discusses the steps the school, the students, and the community took and how they came together to make changes for others who may need help. Finally, we hear from Dr. Tricia Benish, the psychologist from Greenbrier High School at the time of the student's death by suicide, who provides us with resources and ideas that teachers and schools can use to help other people who are struggling. 

United: Identifying Bullying Behaviors and Prevention Strategies

According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Study, 19.5% of high school students in the United States reported being bullied while on school property during the previous 12 months. In Arkansas, that percentage was even higher at 22.6%. Statistics for cyberbullying are similar in that 15.7% of American students reported being bullied electronically within the past 12 months and 17.4% of Arkansas students reported experiencing cyberbullying. Bullying has negative effects on those who engage in bullying behaviors, those who are targets of bullying behaviors, and those who are witnesses. This course addresses how educators can help.

Host Christina Muñoz leads a discussion about the issue of bullying with three Arkansas professionals who work in and around schools and children. Together they provide necessary information for educators and schools and discuss bullying behaviors, those who are affected by bullying, the signs, and ways to combat bullying in schools. 

This course meets the anti-bullying training requirements of ACA 6-17-711.

Paradigm Shift: Seeing Students Through a Trauma-Informed Lens

Research has shown that adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are more common for children in Arkansas than any other place in the nation. Children who have endured one or more ACEs are at a greater risk for health complications as they age, but they are also at a greater risk of struggling in school and social settings. Students with adverse childhood experiences or childhood trauma can benefit immensely from teachers and administrators who work through a trauma-informed lens. Just one caring adult can change a child’s life.

In order to implement trauma-informed practices in schools, we must first change our perspectives surrounding trauma. This course aims to create a paradigm shift in school personnel by discussing the biological ways trauma impacts the brains and bodies of growing students, then increasing understanding and empathy for students who have endured childhood trauma and adversity. It will also compel educators to ask different questions, be curious, and engage with students using a new mindset.

By taking this course, school personnel, counselors, nurses, and administrators can better understand how to lead trauma-informed practices within any school setting. While we learn that being trauma-informed is crucial in leading a successful educational experience, we also discuss just how important it is to take care of yourself. Because having empathy and compassion can be exhausting, this course highlights forms of self-care and self-compassion to ensure that you’re providing a healthy environment for your students.

Gatekeepers: Youth Suicide Prevention Awareness (Update 2015)

This course meets the requirements of Act 770 of 2011. Gatekeepers is a suicide awareness and prevention program made available through the Arkansas Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force. The purpose is to heighten suicide awareness in adults by providing knowledge about warning signs, risk factors, and protective factors. Many suicides are preventable if adults can recognize the warning signs and respond with specific intervention skills. Objectives for this course include: recognize the warning signs, distinguish between facts and myths about youth suicide, understand the risk factors for suicidal behaviors, demonstrate intervention strategies, and identify resources at school and in the community.

This presentation includes A Life Saved, a true story about a suicide intervention told by students and a guidance counselor. The video is appropriate to illustrate the value of teaching suicide prevention.

Bell Ringer: A Concussion Awareness Course for Arkansas Coaches

Every year, as many as 3.8 million brain injuries occur in athletics, and they are more common among children and students than star athletes. We often hear about concussions in professional football, but they can be a problem in any sport and at any age. To ensure the lifelong wellness of active youth, it’s essential to better understand the brain and the process of safely navigating brain injuries.

This course features the award-winning AETN documentary Bell Ringer: The Invisible Brain Injury. Through eye-opening interviews with former professional players, medical experts, and renowned researchers, we explore the short-term effects and long-term risks of concussions, how to handle them when they occur, and the best methods of preventing them altogether.

This course meets the concussion training requirements for coaches as set forth in ACA 6-18-708 and in support of ACA 6-18-710.

Bullying Full Circle - Beyond the Victim

Bullying situations can be extremely tough for anyone to navigate; the word itself puts many people on edge quickly. Bullying Full Circle - Beyond the Victim is a panel discussion including a diverse group of Arkansas educators hosted by pediatrician Dr. Joseph Wright. Dr. Wright and the panel explain how bullying situations affect a much larger spectrum of individuals than just the victim and the bully. The panel also discusses differentiating actual bullying from one-time incidents and disagreements. Several educators share how their school or district works to prevent bullying and how educators, school staff, and students are trained to handle bullying when it does occur.

This course meets the anti-bullying training requirements of ACA 6-17-711.

This course was recorded May 25, 2016 at AETN studios in Conway, Arkansas.

Suicide Prevention - Looking Deeper

According to the Jason Foundation, four out of five teens display warning signs before they attempt suicide. In most cases, however, the seeds of trauma that brought them to that place were planted much earlier. Shawna Burns, licensed professional counselor and founder of Seed Digging Wellness Center, shares personal stories and case studies that show the connections between those seeds, student behaviors, and the innate needs within all of us. Burns discusses the importance of recognizing suicide warning signs, being aware of risk factors, and having a plan for prevention. She also shares classroom strategies for creating a safe and secure environment for students that speaks to the innate needs that are so often at the root of suicide.

This course meets the suicide awareness and prevention components of ACA 6-17-708.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest: When Seconds Count

Most student athletes are the picture of good health, but any seemingly healthy student could suffer from sudden cardiac arrest and when they do, seconds count. The good news is that with timely intervention sudden cardiac arrest is highly survivable. In Sudden Cardiac Arrest: When Seconds Count, Dr. Don Steely and athletic trainers Jason Cates, Keith Shireman, and T.J. White share their experience and expertise on sudden cardiac arrest. Learn what you can do to prevent sudden cardiac arrest, what the warning signs look like, how to respond to them, and how you can help a student in cardiac arrest survive.

This course includes additional videos as resources in the course materials section. Although these videos are not required to complete the course, they provide the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of cardiac arrest. The video resources feature reenacted emergency scenarios.

In 2019, Sudden Cardiac Arrest: When Seconds Count received a Bronze Telly Award for Non-Broadcast General Sports.

This course meets the sudden cardiac arrest training requirements for coaches as set forth in ACA 6-18-708 and in support of ACA 6-18-713.

Preventing the Spread of Communicable Diseases: Sports Medicine for Coaches

Communicable Diseases: A Course for Arkansas Coaches (Updated 2019)

Every day, athletes throughout Arkansas are training for victory. They are practicing hard, strengthening their muscles, eating right, drinking plenty of water, and getting plenty of rest. They know that to be successful, they have to be in excellent physical condition.

But there is another health issue that coaches and athletes need to be aware of - the risk of communicable diseases. Contracting a communicable disease can sideline an athlete before he or she even takes the field. This course will help coaches, staff, and student-athletes take the proper steps to avoid infection. Throughout this course, we will be looking at some of the communicable diseases that affect young athletes. We will look at their causes, how they spread, how they are treated, and how they can be prevented.

This course meets the communicable disease prevention training requirements for coaches as set forth in ACA 6-18-708.