James Donaldson on Mental Health - Starting High School

Building self-advocacy skills In high school, personal responsibility isn’t just about staying on top of your schoolwork — it’s about knowing how to speak up when you need something.

This is especially important for students with learning challenges.

Make sure your teen identifies at least one adult at school they can reach out to for extra help.

And if they need accommodations that they aren’t getting, practice language they can use to ask for them.

When students know how to ask for what they need, they may be more likely to ask for help if they’re having social or emotional issues as well.

If a student is struggling emotionally or socially, but also doing well in school, they aren’t likely to come to the attention of school psychologists and other support staff, notes Ashley Cameron, a New York City school counselor.

“If you don’t know how to ask for that help, a lot of times it goes unnoticed.” she says.

So, make sure your teen knows an adult at the school they can go to for help outside of academics, too.

Why you should stay involved For parents of high school students, it may be tempting to think that getting involved with larger school community, or even knowing other parents, is no longer important.

But Cameron cautions against thinking this way.