United States Public Schools Ought to Require Mental Health Testing for its Students

I affirm the resolution that Mental Health Testing Ought to be Required for United States Public Schools. Mental health has become an unaddressed pandemic. School shootings, specifically that of Columbine in which the Eric Harris is considered an undiagnosed psychopath and Dylan Klebold is considered an undiagnosed depressive. Mrs. Klebold even published a book on the topic of mental health in schools, with all proceeds going towards mental health advancements.However, while school shootings are the most dramatic consequence of the lack of mental health advocacy, many teens suffer equally as much without committing acts of crime. Burden of Mental Illness:NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, states that 20% of adolescents between the ages of 13-18 live with a mental health condition. The alliance continues by saying that suicide is the second leading cause of death in the ages 10-24, with many of these suicides caused by undiagnosed mental illnesses, stating that 90% of those who died by suicide had an underlying mental illness. NAMI notes that half of all chronic illness begins by the age of 14; and three-quarters by the age of 24. Over one-third (37%) of students with a mental health condition age 14­–21 and older who are served by special education drop out—the highest dropout rate of any disability group.Along with violence, drug abuse has also become a topic of concern involving school students. NAMI states that among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5%—10.2 million adults—had a co-occurring mental illness.Lack of Attention:However, with all of these issues, mental health has still not developed enough attention, as only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year, and just over half (50.6%) of children aged 8-15 received mental health services in the previous year.With suicide as the second leading cause of death in the school-grade age group and it's link to chronic drug abuse, 50% of sufferers receiving help is not enough.Prevalence of the Crisis:An estimated 9% of children between ages 3–17 have ADHD, which causes significant decrease in school performance and critical thinking. Approximately 8% of children and teenagers experience the negative impact of an anxiety disorder at school and at home. Most people develop symptoms of anxiety disorders before age 21. This can lead to panic and fear of attending school, leading to lack of school participation and attendance. Young adults aged 18–25 are 60% more likely to have depression than people aged 50 or older, which is one of the leading causes of suicide. And according to the World Health Organization,mental illnesses account for more disability in developed countries than any other group of illnesses, including cancer and heart disease. The World Health Organization continued by saying that few get help: 76-85% of serious cases went untreated in low and middle income countries, 35-50% of cases in high income countries. Children are suffering in American schools. These statistics substantially outweigh any probative value of Con. If we allow for more mental screening in public schools, we can prevent suicide by diagnosing the undiagnosed. We can relieve the stress of anxiety disorders. We can help those who are too afraid to ask for help. We need to affirm the resolution in order to save the lives and quality of life for children everywhere.SOURCES:Columbine School Massacre:http://www.history.com.........Mrs. Klebod's novel, A Mother's Reckoning:http://www.amothersreckoning.com.........NAMI:https://www.nami.org......... CDC:http://www.cdc.gov.........WHO:http://www.who.int......;