Counselor Johnson

"Nobody gets me because nobody else in this school has autism!"  one of my sweet students yelled in my counseling office one day.  I froze for a moment and sat down on the futon in my office.  "You are not the only student in this school with autism."  "Who?!  Who?!  Just tell me who!" he continued, still agitated.  In that moment, I knew two things.  I needed to find a way for my kids on the spectrum to not feel so alone.  I needed to find ways for them to connect to other students with the same challenges.  I also needed to do more to educate all students about different disabilities in my school. They don't understand people that are different from them.  They don't understand a kid with ADHD, if they don't have it.  They don't understand a kid with an emotional behavior disorder, if that's not something they have experienced.  The hard part is that students and their families are protected by confidentiality under FERP...

As an educator of 20 years, let me just say that it is all going to be okay if we miss some school this year! Teachers, nobody expects you to be able to provide the same level of education that you would in your classroom online. I am amazed how creative you are and how you are maintaining a connection with your students. That connection is far more important than the "content" you may feel you need to teach. Parents, nobody expects you to know how to homeschool your chil d or teach common core math!   🙂  You don't have to keep a strict schedule that mimics that of a traditional school day. Don’t spend this time fighting with your kids about school work.  It's okay that we are not going to cover all of the standards that we had planned in our pacing guides. It's not going to put your children behind or make them less competitive for college or jobs because we don't cover certain standards or we don't have state testing this year. Everybody else is goi...

Talking about scary things with your kids can be scary for parents, too!  Here's a little advice on talking about scary things like the coronavirus:  1.  Keep your kids away from the media as much as possible.  Don't spend hours watching the news, reading things on social media to them, etc.  This will add to their fear and anxiety. It is your job to get the information and then share it with your children in a way that is developmentally appropriate.   2.  Remain as calm as possible in front of your children, even if you are freaking out inside.  Many times, a child's anxiety is a reflection of our own.   3.  Remind your kids of all the things we are doing to keep safe like washing our hands,  social distancing, cancelling events, and staying home from school. Reassure them that you are doing what is necessary to keep them safe and healthy.   4.  Let them ask questions and answer as best you can....

“You’re changing schools!” can get a mix of reactions from students.  Some may be happy or excited for a change.  Others may feel the change is unfair, get angry, or feel sad because they will miss their friends and the place they feel comfortable.  They may be worried about making friends or that they may get lost at their new school.  They may tell you every single day why they don’t want to change schools and beg you to change your mind (or change the school district’s mind) or they may not say anything at all.  Sometimes, it is their behavior that will tell you that they are struggling with this change.  Whatever your child is feeling about the change is okay and they need to know that their feelings are validated.  Listen. But, they also need to know that change is part of life.  We cannot avoid it and it is through change that we grow the most.    This is a change we can’t control. ...

I am so excited to be starting a new therapy dog program at my current school. Believe me the students are excited, too!  The parents and teachers are, too.  Therapy dogs in schools can help reduce stress and anxiety among students, improve attendance, help teach social skills, increase confidence in reading, and encourage students to talk about their emotions.  This year, I have volunteers from a therapy dog organization that are visiting our school as we learn the best practices for having a therapy dog in our school.  They've been working with our RTI Reading Intervention Groups.  They've met with students with attendance problems.  They've visited classrooms and worked with me with groups in my office.  I'm excited to have a dog as my counseling partner next year.  Read more about our Therapy Dog Program on my website.    Here's a picture of our dog that is in training right now! What should we name him?

Today, my high school best friend is on my mind and I wanted to share this post that I shared on facebook from when he committed suicide just over two months ago.   I’m going to talk about something that may make a lot of you uncomfortable. Feel free to stop reading, if this is not something you are ready to hear a different opinion on. But, if we keep “not talking about” it is going to keep happening more and more and more. And, I am slowly realizing that talking about is something we need to do more often. I’m talking about suicide and the numbers are on the rise. I’ve looked at the statistics, but I also know it from personal experience. Chances are you know someone that has committed suicide or attempted it, but I guarantee there are people in your life (maybe even you) that have seriously considered it. I am far from an expert on the matter, but I do have lots of experience both personally and professionally in this area. Sadly, “suicide” is a word that comes out of my mout...

Imagine that you just graduated from college, you have student loan debt, but you are just offered your "dream job". When you sign your contract, you are informed (not your choice) that they will be taking 13-14% of every paycheck and putting it away in a retirement fund for you. On top of that, they'll even match your contributions and when you retire after 27 years, they will pay you a full salary! Yay! But, in exchange for this retirement system, you will not be able to draw social security and if your spouse dies, you can't get their social security benefits either. You're already getting paid less than other positions with your level of education, but this is your "dream job"! It's not all about the money.  You love your job, but it costs you a lot of money to do it. You buy a lot of supplies and tools that you need to do your job. Plus, you end up buying clothes, shoes, and food for your clients, because they don't have things you need. ...