Hello,
My name is Quinn. I have manic depression/bi polar. I am 14 and just finished the 8th grade. (Last grade of middle school). To tell you a bit about myself: In the beginning of the 7th grade, I became very depressed and that caused angry tension among my parents, my friends, and myself. I hated myself for upsetting people and started cutting.(self mutilation). My parents were concerned. I would promise them it was from art class or from falling down or something such as. They were suspicious but left it alone for a few days. I eventually came to my mother crying, (she also suffers from depressions but is correctly medicated), and I explained the whole thing. She called my psychiatrist who immediately sent me to a mental rehab center. Through treatment and a different psychiatrist and a long period of switching medication, I am finally feeling happy again.

My situation though, got me to thinking. What if there was a way I could have had this fixed at the end of 6th grade when things started to go wrong? What if there was a way to get this to my parents before I couldn’t control it anymore? That’s where I came up with the idea of a MENTAL ASSESSMENT TEST. They already have a test every year, rather a questionnaire, about how the school is doing. Yes, that is mildly important, but what if they had a test on mental health? It would ask simple questions that would assess any problem that might be there. Then after the test is completed it would be looked over and parents would be notified if there is any risk of depression or mental diseases such as. The results could be put on a child’s record and possibly make accommodations. A program called the ‘504' helped me. It made my school life easier by allowing more time on tests, and such.

Sincerely,
Quinn

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