Depression doesn’t just happen to kids from dysfunctional families or those who sit alone in the cafeteria. The illness strikes those in stable homes, engaged in activities, beneath the unknowing eye of those in their tightest circle.
Red Flags, a depression-awareness program for middle-school students, is working to take the stigma out of depression, introducing its first Chicago-area program on the North Shore. The program is sponsored by Erika’s Lighthouse, a Winnetka charitable foundation formed by Tom and Ginny Neuckranz after their 14-year-old daughter lost her battle with depression in 2004, taking her own life.
Based on a curriculum developed by the Ohio Department of Mental Health, Red Flags targets middle-school children. Most efforts are aimed at high school students, but depression often starts in the early teen years when kids undergo hormonal changes.
Red Flags’ goal is to educate students, parents and teachers about symptoms of depression, said Barbara Williams, a board member at Erika’s Lighthouse. Sometimes it’s difficult to differentiate depression from normal mood swings brought on by a tough class or a romantic break-up.
“Kids are new beings,” Williams said. “They have never experienced some of these situations, so they don’t know what feelings to expect.” For kids genetically predisposed to depression, a stressor such as divorce, death in the family or even moving can trigger the illness.
Washburne Middle School in Winnetka, where Erika attended school, launched Red Flags in winter 2005. The six-week unit is offered to 7th graders by the kinetic-wellness teacher and a social worker. A video about 13-year-old Claire Frese forms the basis for discussion. Claire seeks treatment for depression and does well in life and school despite her illness.
“It wasn’t until a few years ago that we realized kids could go through depression,” Williams said. “People say, `How could you be depressed? These are the best days of your life.'” But 1 in 33 children and 1 in 8 adolescents has clinical depression, according to the National Mental Health Association in Alexandria, Va. Two-thirds of depressed children go undiagnosed and untreated, while treatment for depression has an 80 percent success rate.
Warning signs for childhood depression include irritability, fatigue, social anxiety, a sudden drop in grades, and sometimes aggression, particularly in boys. Teachers may assume it’s a behavioral problem.
Next fall, Sunset Ridge Elementary in Northfield, North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka and the Glencoe Public Schools will offer Red Flags. “Our goal is to blanket the Chicago area and the state of Illinois,” Williams said.
Before the curriculum is introduced, all teachers undergo training to recognize the signs of depression and learn the protocol for getting a child treatment. “You never know who kids will go to for help,” Williams said. “It could be the art teacher or the home-room teacher.”
Since the program started at Washburne, many children have sought out school social workers and said, “I think I’m depressed,” or “I think I have a friend who is depressed,” said Victor Cooper, a kinetic-wellness teacher at Washburne who teaches the class.
“We talk about how depression is a disease, a biological thing that happens to the brain,” Cooper said. “If a child is feeling depressed or knows a friend who is showing signs, we want them to tell someone they trust. Even if the friend gets mad, it’s important that they tell to save a life.”
“I’ll never forget that day we got word about Erika,” Cooper said. “We didn’t know anything about what signs to look for. We thought nothing like that could happen here. Erika had friends and was involved in activities.”
“You can die from depression, and nobody is talking about it,” said Ginny Neuckranz of Winnetka, Erika’s mother. “We talk about drugs and cancer, and the reality is after accidents and homicide, suicide is the No. 1 cause of death in children.
“We need to set those developing minds onto a healthy path. . . . Early intervention can prevent self-medication with drugs or alcohol.We want to give kids permission to talk about the subject. The video can get conversation going where it hasn’t in the past.”
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For more information visit erikaslighthouse.org or redflags.org.
