Study quantifies the effect of depressive thoughts on memory [MedicalXpress.com]

Thank you Steven for demonstrating how the research can be put into action!!!

You made so many incredible points on how to uncover the mask of ADHD, which was also included at length in the ACEsTooHigh.com article Are there non-medication alternatives for ADHD?

I am currently in the process of trying to create a personal narrative to help recover and mend years of lost and misplaced memories and sequences of events that occurred during episodes of depression and high anxiety. Creating the narrative is a skill I learned about through trauma research and have intuitively gravitated towards in my reflective process.

Thank you trauma researchers and practitioners for bringing such important tools to life!!!

As an "upstreamist" who has always wanted to be as proactive as possible.....the major findings of this do not surprise me at all.

As a Director of Special education (10 years) overseeing Child Find under IDEA I would often engage in conversations with staff/parents (and as appropriate, the student themselves) when a student was being referred for consideration of services under the IDEA. I always would ask team members making this referral, "Do we suspect that this child is adversely impacted by a disability?" "What evidence do we have that this child is adversely impacted by a disability?"  

Over time I learned that staff/parents were somewhat dismissive of anything that sounded like it fit the description of "depression" or "depressive mood" in the child. There was, however, NO reluctance to say the child was AD/HD where outwardly ostensible/visible behaviors could be observed. I learned over time that after about 20-30 minutes of discussion, reviewing teacher and parent reports and observations, and probing and asking really good questions ......I could summarize the conversation by saying:

What I hear you saying is that this child has challenges with memory, often seems disoriented, struggles to complete tasks and turn in assignments on grade-level material that he/she is otherwise capable of doing (ie, no signs of a Specific Learning Disability), seems to be inattentive at times (episodic), and is easily redirected (ie, does not lash out when asked to re-engage a task) yet seems unable to do this consistently (ie, self-redirect their attention) for themselves??    

In many cases the team members (parents/Teacher(s)/Principal/Counselor) would indicate that I nailed it - though I had never observed the child I had heard what everyone was saying about this child being "stuck" at times. I would then share with them that based on this information gathered by the team I DID suspect a disabling health condition, NOT AD/HD..... but Depression. Predictably, the adults (parents/staff) would counter by claiming that it couldn't be "depression" because the child seemed happy most of the time, or had friends, or didn't seem like they were angry, or had a loving family, or you-name-it.....but there was almost zero awareness of what the symptoms of depression (and anxiety) looked like in young children and adolescents. There was visible resistance to "go there" (so to speak) as if considering the "D-word" was simply going to explode a volatile situation. Quite the opposite was true - by avoiding "going there" at this point it only assured that as the complications of adult avoidance of this topic would emerge at a later date with very predictable outcomes (self-medication, truancy, greater academic deficits, dropping-out, etc).  

The reality is that from there the conversation was primarily in the hands of the parent to seek a medical evaluation and if applicable, a diagnosis of a medical condition. The teaming at the school-level would go a number of directions from there.

The reason I bring this up is because depression is what is often referred to as a "hidden disability" in school settings. You absolutely have to know what you're looking for, or you'll miss it 90% of the time. Well-intentioned staff often think that since there is a cultural taboo around the label that it is not their place to bring it up. Parents, reluctant to pursue such a diagnosis (for a number of reasons), often take a "wait and see" approach. Even Doctors are at a disadvantage in diagnosing it because they lack proximity to the setting(s) where the child is most likely to experience the symptoms of their condition....while under stress and being asked to perform at very high levels = SCHOOL. In my 10 years of being a Director of Special Education there was not ONE Doctor who over observed the child during the school day. They relied entirely on parent report, student interactions with the Doctor in the clinical/hospital setting, and on any reports the school provided (again, problematic even when objective rating scales were completed for the referral process).

Sadly, this is a "perfect storm" situation for the child.  The student him/herself lacks the sophisticated language to say, "Hey people! I'm really struggling here with something I can't quite put my finger on.....got any great ideas of how to help me besides calling me lazy, distracted, unfocused or spaced-out or telling me to try harder?"  
After years of going unnoticed, misdiagnosed, or being dismissed as an "underachiever"....many students finally demonstrate enough symptoms not because the pattern emerges but because early detection has failed (miserably). Throw high ACE scores, family dysfunction, and maladaptive social skills in along with some teenage brain development factors and you've got a VERY complex individual for schools to support. Meanwhile, as it relates to memory and cognition, "high stakes testing" and an emphasis on grades increase in grades 6-12 and hit their absolute peak at a time  when staff/schools are telling the student they need to be "college and career ready."   

Let me ask you, how "college and career ready" would you be if you had just spent the better part of a decade in a school system going undetected or misdiagnosed for a very real medical condition that even the federal laws and state regulations require staff to report if/as/when they suspect it exists?

Ok - you get the point....I am glad to see that research such as that reported in this research report continues to shed light on what is one of the most challenging areas for parents, medical practitioners, and school personnel alike. Hopefully there is a way for school personnel (in particular) to learn more about how to translate this into a better lens for recognizing characteristics of mood, memory and concentration difficulties at the earliest possible junctures.....and getting it right for kids.