Mental Helath

Is your child refusing to listen or does he have auditory processing difficulties, short attention span, short-term memory problems or language processing problems? It's hard to know without a proper assessment. Is he constantly on the move - fidgeting, running, refusing to stay seated in his classroom - because he's a normal, active little boy or because he has attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD)? How can you tell if your ten year old is having frequent explosive rages because he's just "impossible" or because he has a brain condition called childhood bipolar disorder? There are so many biological conditions that look, at first blush, like old-fashioned, "bad behavior" in children but are actually mental health problems that the child cannot control.  Here are some more examples:

• A fifteen year old has become uncommunicative, antisocial and slightly unkempt. His grades have taken a serious dip. Many days he can't seem to get it together to go to school. His motivation has disappeared. Is he just a regular poorly-behaved teenage boy? Could it be that he is suffering from major depression? Or is he manifesting the effects of substance abuse? Or, is he in the early stages of schizophrenia?
• A thirteen year old has taken up an avid interest in religion. However, she seems to spend increasing amounts of time on religious rituals, choosing such activities over her previous free-time activities of socializing , listening to music and spending time on the computer. Lately, she has taken to reprimanding family members for their laxity in religious observance. Is she just living her latest fad? Or is she suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder?
• Your bright, engaging and popular 9 year old has a great report-card except for unexpectedly low grades in English - his mother tongue! What's going on? Is he not applying himself because of laziness or lack of interest? Or does he have a learning disability that is undermining his performance?
• Your five your old is refusing to sleep in her bed at night - she only wants to stay in your room. Is she a spoiled child or does she have an anxiety disorder?
• Your seven year old has a meltdown whenever he has to get his "shots" at the doctor's office. Is he a baby? Or is he suffering from a specific phobia?

There are many more common, confusing dilemma's of this kind: is the child just being a regular (maybe slightly badly behaved) child or is he suffering from a bona fide mental health disorder? The answer to this question determines how parents should intervene to help the child. Discipline, therapy, alternative remedies and medication are vastly different strategies suitable for different issues - it's essential that parents know why their child is experiencing emotional and/or behavior distress in order to know which approach will be most effective most quickly.

Shlomo Y. Radcliffe presents this section on mental health issues.  Shlomo provides definitions, diagnostic criteria, profiles, treatment approaches and more so that parents can learn about mental health issues that might affect their families. Some mental health diagnoses have a strong genetic basis, being passed down throughout the generations. Other conditions manifest as a result of the combination of genetic vulnerability and environmental stress. Some are triggered by outside stressors such as trauma, accidents, family conflict, poor health, medications, substance abuse or other physical or emotional experiences. Whatever the cause, parents can best help their child by understanding symptoms, diagnoses and treatment alternatives.

Using the information on these pages as a springboard, parents can take their child to a mental health professional (psychologist or psychiatrist) for a formal assessment.  Proper diagnosis and treatment can often bring rapid and profound relief for the child and the entire family. In addition, accurate assessment  prevents wasted time and effort on the parents' part employing strategies that will never help the child resolve his or her issues.

If you recognize symptoms of any condition in your child, arrange an appointment with a professional who is qualified to make or rule out diagnoses. If possible, select a child or adolescent specialist to assess your youngster. Since accurate diagnosis is a speciality in the mental health field, do try to consult someone whose main occupation is mental health diagnosis (i.e. not a general medical practitioner, family therapist or other professional who is not specially trained in diagnosis). Referrals can be obtained from pediatricians, local psychiatric or psychological organizations or mental health directories.