yikes! i'm glad i'm homeschooled!
hannah | Homepage | 01.04.06 - 5:38 am | #

President Bush has promoted legislation that would require so-called mental health screening for all school-age youth in America. So I hope the first poster isn't a registered homeschool student...
Southern Lawyer | 01.04.06 - 11:55 am | #

Not to put you down, but it says "every single American teen". They want to screen all teens, not just public and private school teens.
If their motives really are what the article points out, this is sick. I can't believe that if a student takes the test, is labelled mentally ill, and the parent refuses to have their kid drugged, the company could get child welfare involved. This is really out there-if this is the whole story. I'm glad that family is sticking up for others.
Anonymous | 01.04.06 - 2:07 pm | #

Many of these tests look for behavior or beliefs that might be seen as "irrational", such as Christianity.

I don't know about TeenScreen, but most of these "Mental Health Tests" will flag and fail Christian students that have a Biblical worldview.
So called "Christian" students with a Marxist or pagan worldview should pass just fine, on the other hand.
David B. | 01.04.06 - 8:23 pm | #

Yikes! This is v. scary...thanks for bringing it to our attention. I will definitely pass this along to family and friends.
Adrielle | 01.04.06 - 8:43 pm | #

Brett, this bears some more investigation. Here's the author's credentials:

http://chicago.indymedia.org/new...splay_any/ 67903
"Sandra Lucas is the Executive Director of the Utah Chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a mental health watchdog group. She was born in Sydney, Australia, raised on the French South Pacific island of New Caledonia. She moved to the United States at the age of 15 and has lived in Salt Lake City with her family since 1992."

She has garnered some impressive facts, but I'm not sure we're getting the whole story. First off, there is no immediate reason to doubt TeenScreen's motives or honesty, solely based on what the article says. The TeenScreen website says they want universal screening available, not mandatory screening, which means the parents would have to consent.
http://www.teenscreen.org/cms/co...t/view/107/139/

Also, the statement that "Considering that 71% of teens who were screened in Colorado were labeled with a mental disorder" is inaccurate. The results I found was that at a youth homeless shelter in CO, 71% of those screened presented positive results for a psychiactric disorder. Those in homeless shelters are not usually a balanced cross-section. TeenScreen says according to the US Surgeon General, 2001, one in ten American kids suffer from mental illness.
http://www.mhacolorado.org/ about...outUs.html#LINK
http://www.teenscreen.org/cms/co...view/107/139/ #1

According to the TeenScreen FAQ, they realize their tests are not diagnoses, but they think they are useful for finding indicators of potential problems, so as to single kids out for further testing. They also say that they don't recommend any particular treatment, but want to present their findings to the parents, so they can be aware.

Personally, I think that the real problem with the mental health juggernaut is twofold. They do not take the Bible seriously to find out what should be normal in a child, so the basis for their datagathering is flawed. Second, because they do not work within a Biblical worldview, they cannot adequately grasp both truths, that chemical factors and free will can coexist and personal responsibility still be an outlying conclusion. Third, I agree that 71% of teens do have behavioral, moral, mental, and spiritual problems. Many of these do lead to suicidal thoughts. And that they should talk about them with an adult they trust. This much one can tell from a survey questionnaire.

But the large number of them are unresolvable by medical treatment, and can only be dealt with by resolving the root problems such as bitterness, moral failure, and greed. These are results of resisting God's grace. Until a person becomes reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and follows the prescriptions of God's Word, he is destined to be a statistic.
Nathan Straub | 01.05.06 - 4:09 pm | #

Thanks for bring that information to our attention, Nathan. We'll be looking into this some more.

Regarding the mandatory screening, my brief research seems to indicate that, at least in some instances, TeenScreen has been securing only "passive" consent, which doesn't line up with the PPRA (Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment). You can find that information here.
Alex Jordan Harris | Homepage | 01.05.06 - 4:21 pm | #

Another impressive research job, Nathan! However, I liked your analysis even more. Thanks for bring this to our attention.
Brett Harris | Homepage | 01.05.06 - 4:27 pm | #

Is there any information that similar testing is being administered to entry-level military personnel?
Kelly Reins | Homepage | 01.06.06 - 2:13 pm | #

Kelly: I haven't heard anything about that. But, if they really are trying to implement this kind of screening in high schools it doesn't seem a huge stretch to think they eventually will administer the test to young people entering the military. Especially if those young people never took the test in highschool.
Brett Harris | Homepage | 01.06.06 - 6:29 pm | #