During Suicide Prevention Month, we hear a lot about checking on the people we love, recognizing warning signs, and encouraging people to ask for help. Those conversations are important, but there is another side of prevention that we do not discuss nearly enough: the way we treat people before they reach a crisis. Suicide prevention cannot focus only on what a struggling person should do. We also have to talk about what other people may be doing to them. Bullying, harassment

A family can be good at adapting and still be completely exhausted. That is what stood out to me in a new University of Kentucky study about families raising autistic children. Researchers found that these families reported higher stress than families without an autistic child. When they compared families experiencing similar levels of stress, the families raising autistic children also reported higher levels of resilience, including communication, problem-solving, inner stre

At Anniston Academy, we believe some of the most meaningful learning happens when children have the opportunity to experience something instead of simply hearing about it. That is why we created our Community Helper & Hobbyist program, an opportunity for people in our community to bring their careers, talents, interests, and experiences directly to our students. Recently, we were fortunate to welcome Sergeant Logan Shrum with the City of Cookeville, who volunteered to visit A

Social media platforms may place a small “AI content” or “AI info” label on an image or post when its systems detect indicators that artificial intelligence was used or when the person posting it discloses that it was AI-generated. That label may technically provide transparency, but it does not erase the harm a fabricated image can cause. AI can create a convincing picture of real people sitting together, smiling, hugging, attending an event, performing an activity, or parti

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and there is a group of people I don't think we talk about nearly enough when we talk about suicide prevention: parents of children with special needs. We talk a lot about how strong these parents are. We know they are advocates. We refer to them as "fighters", mostly because they somehow figure things out because they have to. But I think sometimes we talk so much about how strong special needs parents are that we forget they are people

Children listen even when adults believe they are not listening. They notice changes in tone, overhear conversations, see messages on phones, and recognize when the adults they depend on no longer speak respectfully about one another. Negative talk about a parent, family member, teacher, therapist, or other trusted caregiver can place a child in an emotional position they were never meant to occupy. Instead of being free to maintain their own relationships and form their own

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and there is one part of this conversation that does not get nearly enough attention: autistic people are at a significantly higher risk of suicide than the general population and it isn't a small difference. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis combined studies involving 10.4 million people and found that autistic people had 2.85 times the risk of dying by suicide compared with the broader population. In other words, the best avai

Inclusion is often discussed as though it has one appearance: a neurodivergent child sitting in a general education classroom beside neurotypical peers for the entire school day. For many children, that setting—when paired with meaningful support—is exactly where they learn, build relationships, and thrive. For others, the same classroom may be so loud, socially demanding, fast-paced, or poorly supported that most of their energy is spent trying to remain regulated rather tha