Top Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor in Georgia

Michelle Quintero is the Center for Leadership in Disability's Bilingual Community Services Associate. In her role, she works closely with Spanish-speaking families and underrepresented communities, helping them access resources for their children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Michelle earned her master's in early childhood education in 2020, where she cultivated a strong passion for empowering families to recognize the significance of a child's early developmental years. Before this, Michelle was an elementary school teacher, providing behavioral, emotional, and academic support to students and their families, focusing on assisting Spanish-speaking households.

Can you describe your role as a bilingual behavior support and its importance?

As a Bilingual Community Services Associate, I support Spanish-speaking families and underrepresented communities in finding the best resources for their children, specifically those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. I also work on other projects focusing on mental well-being and understanding mental health challenges. I manage another training where teachers are taught mindfulness/stress reduction practices to avoid burnout. Although I wear many hats, my role is essential to help bridge the resources from higher education to the Atlanta community. There must be cultural and linguistic representation for families to feel seen and heard with their concerns. I thank my parents for teaching me Spanish as my first language, as it has allowed me to connect and advocate for Spanish-speaking families.

Tell us about your previous role as an elementary teacher and how you applied those skills to your current role.

I was an elementary school teacher for three years, teaching first and second grade. As a teacher, I focused on goal setting with differentiated and data-driven instruction to support students in becoming on grade level and meeting grade-level standards. I communicated with and involved parents in the students' education process to provide culturally relevant services, learn about our community's issues, and address them. Many of my students had IEPs - individualized education programs, and informing the parents of their student's progress was essential. I worked with many families who only spoke Spanish, and I was able to support them in understanding their children's education and how they were progressing. I can apply many of the skills I learned as a teacher in the projects I work on now, such as understanding the education system and how to support those with intellectual or developmental disabilities best. As well as in the Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE) for Special Educators project, where I serve as the coordinator, we are conducting a randomized controlled trial to examine the impacts of CARE on special education teachers, classrooms, and students with disabilities. Teachers are shown classes in mindfulness/stress reduction practices to avoid burnout.

Please briefly describe some of the projects you've worked on at CLD.

Latino Community of Practice Team Leader: I supported Latino families with children and youth with developmental disabilities through workshops and by building a network with Spanish-speaking families.

Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) Coordinator: Raise community awareness about mental health and the need for culturally competent and developmentally appropriate services for youth by conducting youth mental health first aid training, partnering with community organizations, implementing a mental health awareness campaign, and attending health fairs. Schedule, handle logistics, and facilitate YMHFA trainings that teach how to recognize signs and symptoms of mental health challenges in youth.

Bilingual Community Education and Outreach: A collaboration with the Latino Community Fund of Georgia and the General Consulate of Mexico in Atlanta, utilizing the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Learn the Signs and Act Early (LTSAE) campaign to disseminate information about healthy child development and resources.

Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE) for Special Educators Coordinator: An Institute of Education Sciences Grant where we conduct a randomized controlled trial to examine the impacts of CARE on special education teachers, classrooms, and students with disabilities.

Georgia Disability & Health Linkage Project Coordinator: This position links adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to preventive health care and health promotion programs in their community.

Positive Behavior Support Parent Academy Leader 2021-22: Facilitated a Spanish Parent Academy that offers caregivers an individualized training program that addresses the persistent challenging behavior of children 3 – 6.

Last year, you were recognized at the Mental Health First Aid Summit in St. Louis for being a top MHFA instructor and teaching the most First Aiders in Georgia. What makes a top MHFA instructor? How many first-aiders have you taught?

The primary role of Instructors is to teach the Mental Health First Aid course with fidelity to the core program model and key messages, including fidelity to systems and course reporting required by Mental Health First Aid USA. I was honored as the top YMHFA instructor for teaching the first aiders in Georgia. I couldn't have done it without the help of my co-instructor Guadalupe Arteaga, who also works at Georgia State University and has helped me facilitate countless trainings. The director of the project is Natasha De Veauuse Brown. Together, we trained 340 teachers, school counselors/social workers/psychologists, other school personnel, state vocational rehabilitation counselors, community service providers, and other community members to become certified First Aiders through the 27 trainings conducted during Year Two (2022-2023). We exceeded our training goal of 400 people in Year Three (2023-24).

Why is the Youth Mental Health First Aid course essential to take?

Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches parents, family members, caregivers, teachers, school staff, peers, neighbors, health and human services workers, and other caring citizens how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan to help people in crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders. This course is vital to take to learn about preventing, identifying, and responding to mental health issues in teens. We can make a difference in helping to bring awareness and reducing youth suicide.

Youth Mental Health First Aid is primarily designed for adults who regularly interact with young people. The course introduces common mental health challenges for youth, reviews typical adolescent development, and teaches a 5-step action plan to help people in crisis and non-crisis situations. Topics covered include anxiety, depression, substance use, disorders in which psychosis may occur, disruptive behavior disorders (including AD/HD), and eating disorders.

If you want to learn more about Youth Mental Health First Aid, contact Michele Quintero, [email protected] or visit our website.

Youth Mental Health First Aid Virtual Training: April 15th, 9 am - 2 pm REGISTER NOW!

About the Center:

The Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD) is a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities that moved to Georgia State University in August 2008. It is housed within the School of Public Health. The Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, funds the CLD, one of 67 programs nationwide.