Good News For At Risk Youths
The use of text messaging to communicate among young people has experienced an incredible growth in recent years, and may have applications that wouldn't seem immediately apparent. One such application has been the development of a text-based mental health crisis service in New Zealand, which recently reported an awe-inducing 1280% increase in program use.
Helping to answer questions and provide counsel for difficult situations in an anonymous, instant way, the service cites that concerns about relationships constitute the most frequently broached subjects. Though feeling overwhelmed, the service is bracing for further increases in use as it works to bring mental health to a whole new platform.
A.T.L.A.S. TECHNOLOGY, a muti-platform service that employs the use of Therapeutic Short Text Messaging (TSMST), was developed for children with serious emotional disturbances from birth to age of majority and/or for children who have had diagnosable mental, behavioral, and/or emotional disorders.
Advancements Towards Learning Aiming for Success
"Carrying The Torch For Improved Education In The U.S."
Our State Of The Art Technology In Tandem With A Comprehensive Collaborative Team Effort Delivers An Unparalleled Service For Students With Certain Special Needs.
Hourly contact with clients from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM every weekday
Five contacts daily during weekends and holidays
Daily reports sent to referring agencies every business day
Crisis intervention counseling during all client contact hours
Contact provided by licensed personnel
An extremely low cost service
Cell phones with unlimited talk, text and data provided to all clients at no additional cost
Technology Can Improve Services
The latest amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), encouraged implementation and development of technology in the classroom. Congress suggested that the use of technology (including Assistive Technology Devices) within the classroom would improve access to the general curriculum for students with special needs. This move was intended to remove barriers for these students and improve the ability of teachers and administrators to better address the diversity of their needs. Utilizing these alternative solutions in technology are accommodating students with physical, sensory and cognitive impairments.
With the increase of technological implementation across most academic settings, there are often questions that arise as to the effectiveness and validity of it's use. Critics warn that students may lose their ability to become independent thinkers thereby becoming totally reliant on the devices however, EdStar recognizes the value of the use of wireless technology as a learning tool.
Today there is a mobile phone revolution in the developing world. From the rural Maasai to the slum dwellers of Mumbai, poor people are acquiring mobile phones by themselves – without the government subsidies of the telecenter era. In fact, mobiles represent a huge shifting in the technology deployment burden from the state to private companies and individual consumers.
And yet saturation levels are nearing one-to-one in the developed world already, and gaining quickly in the urban areas of the developing world. Because of their relative low costs and low operating needs, its now a given that mobile phones will always out number computers. In addition, phones are gaining in capacity and computing power, with high-end smart phones rivaling some of the many low-end notebooks already and although there are many barriers that exist for special needs students, technology shows itself to be the tool to reduce and/or eliminate those walls. To learn more about EdStar, please click here.
