You are a school social worker who has been asked to address a parent-teacher association meeting. Many
parents in the audience have children who have been identified for special education services. They are
confused about how to understand the diagnoses they are seeing. Others have worries about overdiagnosis.
You have been advised that while these parents are generally well-informed, many don’t understand the
dimensional or spectrum aspects. All are worried.
You will start your video with your introductory talk to the parents on these factors. After you provide your
explanation, imagine that you open the meeting to questions. You will address the question noted below that is
posed by a parent in the audience. Consider your audience, and practice explaining in terms a nonprofessional might understand. Do NOT read from the book.
Review the questions (in the Assignment instructions below) ahead of time and plan your answer before
recording, as you will need to look up and integrate materials to answer the chosen question.
Submit a 3- to 5-minute video, considering the parents as your audience, in which you do the following:
Briefly describe what the DSM-5 is and how it is organized. In your description, define the concepts of
spectrum and dimensionality as explained by Paris and in the DSM-5 introduction.
Explain why social workers and mental health professionals use diagnoses and what receiving a diagnosis
means (and does not mean).
Explain general concerns about the risks of overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis versus not diagnosing. Also
explain how diagnosis is connected to services.
Explain other details that might help your audience understand the strengths and weaknesses of the diagnostic
system.
Provide a response to the following parental questions:
My teenager’s best friend died by suicide this year. It’s been months, and she doesn’t seem over it. Her
teachers tell me she should get help for depression, but I think it’s just grief. She talks about her friend all the
time and gets very upset. I am worried about her. Is it normal for her to still be feeling this way? I don’t want to
put her on medication for normal feelings. What is the difference between grief and depression?