Call for Kids' Stories
"To Tell the Truth"
Youth Perspectives on Their Diagnoses, Treatment and Education

Permission Forms   |   Questions Which May Assist in Developing Stories

Sharing stories from our own personal experiences, especially stories of pain or struggle or stories reflecting our strengths and imperfections, can radically change how we see one another. This is an invitation for you to share your story.

We would like to obtain written statements from a variety of youth in EBD programs or who have had mental health issues, and in particular obtain their perspective on their education and treatment. We would like to hear a brief description of their story from their own perspective, and any recommendations they may have for the helpers in their lives or for better helping other kids.

We would like to be able to post these statements indefinitely on the MSLBD website. These stories or statements (or excerpts from them) may also be used in written materials books, reports, handouts for teacher preparation courses at Colleges and Universities, in professional presentations by faculty members or in other ways which relate to professional development for human service professionals.

We are therefore requesting that parents and teachers consider assisting students to write and submit these student statements. The statements may be of any length or format, but some of the questions which might be addressed are listed. The statement can be in hard copy or an electronic format. It would be ideal if the story were sent as an e-mail attachment in a Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format file.

All statements will be posted with first names only (students may choose a fictitious name if they wish) and the state from which the material came. The material will also be edited to remove any other identifying information which may be in the statement or any content not suitable for posting or publication. We may also edit the format.

If a digital photo can also be provided, that would be wonderful! In such a case the photo permission form must also be completed and signed by the student and the parent or guardian. The photo should be sent as an e-mail attachment.

The student and if necessary, the parent should sign the permission form and return it with the story and photos .

Adobe® Reader® 6.0 is free software that lets you view and print Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files on a variety of hardware and operating system platforms.

Questions which May Assist in Developing Stories

Although any format or length for these stories would be ok, we are hoping for a narrative of about 1-5 pages. These can be just as a story or in question and answer format. Each youth might choose to address some or all of the following topics:

Describe yourself

What is your DSM Diagnosis?

What are you like at home or in the community?

Are you in special education- do you have an IEP?

How have the experiences affected your life?

What are your recommendations for people who have tried to help you?
(These may include classroom and special education teachers, administrators, psychologists, social workers, therapists, doctors, etc.)