Mental Illness In Children

There have also been questions regarding whether a child should be kept informed about their health status. Factors including age of the child, cognitive ability, and again personal preference of both the child and the parents should be considered. According to Levetown (2008) there is a “moral and ethical obligation” to keep children informed of their illness or condition. It is quite obvious that a young child may be incapable of understanding but as soon as they come of age they should be wholly involved in their healthcare. Levetown (2008) believes “Pediatric health care quality will improve if the child is recognized to have his or her own individual cognitive and emotional needs, is taken seriously, and is considered to be intelligent, capable, and cooperative” (p. e1445). However, parents reserve the right to choose how information is provided to their child. Some children even wish to be uninvolved in their own health treatment plan and care.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder. It is also quite a complex illness that affects daily functioning of those who suffer from it. Professionals across several fields who treat schizophrenics do not share a consensus regarding the cause of schizophrenia, though there are a few theories regarding potential and definitive causes. The on-set of schizophrenia often takes place in adolescence and adulthood, but there are cases when there is childhood on-set schizophrenia. Schizophrenia in children will be the focus of this paper. Children who show signs of schizophrenia may begin doing so at around age five.

The combination of inattentiveness, hyperactivity and learning disorder have caused academic failure that could eventuate to low self esteem. His self esteem it could be that has been further affected as a result of the rejection of his classmates calling him baby because of the way he reacts in social situations sometimes. If Tyler will not get treatment and special attention in school, the prognosis is not ideal. Furthermore there could be issues of juvenile delinquency in the future if family will not provide the proper support. Also, school has a big responsibility to mobilize provide educational evaluation and remedial teaching. The clinician’s ability to provide proper support, psychoeducation and suggest possible preventative and intervention pathways to the parents is crucial. Furthermore, the promotion of Tylers practical skills and athletic ability will help to compensate for his possible low self

When a person has schizophrenia many of their abilities are going to be compromised. Some of those abilities are that they may not be able to think clearly, manage their emotions, or have the ability to be able to make decisions (National Alliance on Mental Illness [NAMI], 2018). With the person not being able to have these specific abilities, they may seem like they are not in touch with reality. This mental illness is not as common as many of the other ones are (National Institute of Mental Health [NIH], 2016). This mental illness affects about 1% of Americans which equals out to be around 2.4 million adults (NAMI, 2018). With that being said many people may not know much about what schizophrenia is and how a personality develops in a person

One of the most debilitating, devastating, and incurable mental disorders is one that is plagued by severely abnormal functions, disturbed behaviors and the likelihood to seriously diminish nearly all functionality of life—this disorder is known as schizophrenia. While extremely rare, schizophrenia can develop in childhood, sometimes as young as two to four years. This is referred to as childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS). “Childhood-onset schizophrenia is a severe form of psychotic disorder that occurs at age 12 years or younger and is often chronic and persistently debilitating” (DSM-5). By a vast number of psychologists and other medical professionals, it is believed to be just as virulent and malicious as adolescent and adult schizophrenia. The DSM-5 criteria for child-onset schizophrenia requires at least two of the following five symptoms to be present for no less than a month, and at least one of these must be (1), (2), or (3): (1) delusions, (2) hallucinations, (3) disorganized speech, (4) grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior, and (5) negative symptoms. Other criteria must include: a significantly lower level of functioning in other areas, such as work, interpersonal relations or self-care; the persistence of signs of disturbance for at least 6 months, including at least 1 month of symptoms that meet one of the five symptoms; the ruling out of schizoaffective disorder and depressive or bipolar disorder; and the exclusion of substance abuse or another medical

Psychotropic medications are usually, and perhaps, overly prescribed as a first-line treatment for a range of psychiatric analyses in children in a diversity of clinical settings. A psychotropic drug (psychopharmaceutical) is a chemical material that changes brain function and results in adjustments in perception, mood, or consciousness. Consequently, these alterations often cause a bevy of side effects that create significant harm to prescribed patients. The brain of a child is infinitely more sensitive and susceptible to side effects from psychotropic drugs which makes their use even more dangerous. Adding further fuel to the fire, as Kardish states, “Children in the United States are on drugs for longer and more often than kids in any other country” (2015). Together with this dark truth, the over abundant usage and steadily increasing inclination towards psychotropic therapy amongst health professionals, is eliciting a dire and troubling situation that must be addressed by the medical horizon.

While reading the chapter one the advantages and disadvantages of labeling children with emotional and behavior disorders was evident. The book indicates how labeling children with emotional and behavior disorder carry some huge disadvantages based on a social aspect. For instance, as soon as the student has been identified they are often viewed differently by teachers and administration. Which often leads to expectations being placed causing students to become a “self-fulfilling prophecy”. Other disadvantages mention in chapter one is the emotional impact children often forgo for instance, the decrease in self-esteem which often causes the child to distract from the focus on learning, and Stigmatization. On the hand, some advantages can be

Although, the trends in infections, survival at birth and in infancy, accidents and deaths in the primary school years, death rates from severe diseases such as cancers, and overall life expectancy have all improved. However, the levels of many problems affecting children and young people are worryingly high and appear to be increasing. Therefore, while death rates have fallen, proportions of children and youth with complex diseases such as asthma, diabetes, overweight and obesity, intellectual disabilities and particularly psychological problems such as depression, suicide and eating disorders have increased. Similar is the trend in premature births and physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy.

“You really should pay more attention to your work, son; and sit down somewhere. You’re moving too much!” He dreads the repetition in this statement, as it endorses such a daunting task for a young boy like him. In his slighted moments of weakness, the idea of paying more attention can seem so unfathomable that the suggestion alone can be viewed as an insult to his condition. A mental debilitation rendering our young child to the instinct of a baby cub, a bear or lion maybe. A playful genius constantly in motion, forever searching for a new territory to explore. Loud, but brilliant, he finds himself succumbing to the quicksand pool of academic failure because he cannot sit still long enough to read Where the Red Fern Grows to his classmates. He has ADHD and forgot to take his pill this morning, thus third grade English is sure to be a struggle today for all involved.

Pets are a great addition to any family. They are very loving and caring creatures that are always there when no one else may be. With their loving personalities and unconditional love they can serve an indispensable role in the family. Pets are very intelligent but a little known fact is that they can serve as help for people with mental health issues. There are many ways that pets can assist in therapy from being a kind face, someone to talk to and can be invaluable to college students.

The purpose of this essay is to explore the findings of the health care assessments of children with special needs. It is the compilation of previous research papers in regards to special needs children and their specific challenges. It will detail the needs of these children, the struggles and challenges faced by the parents and how the health care assessments work to improve the quality of life for those children. It will also explain how the reports help in planning interventions within the community as well as how the information can be used in public policy planning. Additionally, this essay will detail the health assessment I have chosen for special needs children and discuss how that information was obtained.

It is also vital to consider mental health as an issue when discussing about behaviours that are described poor, negative or challenging. According to BeyondBlue (2017), mental health is ‘a state of wellbeing in which every individual, realises their potential, can cope with stress, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to their community’. Poor mental health can therefore lead to certain disorders such as depression and anxiety. If students are continually labelled or put down for their ‘challenging’ behaviour it can lead to low self-esteem which is then effects students’ social and emotional wellbeing (Donnellan et al, 2005). There is therefore a significant overlap between disability, mental health and kids who are described as having negative behaviours. Due to an increased rate of exposure to psychological disadvantage, there is also an increased risk of mental illness amongst children who have an intellectual disability (Emerson & Hatton, 2007). When a child has both a disability and a mental health issue, it can be described as co-occurrence and can expand the emotional and academic challenges that child faces (Armstrong, 2016). According to research conducted by Emerson & Hatton (2007), children with an intellectual disability have a 28% higher chance of developing a psychiatric disorder. The nature of the disability can increase the chances of a more severe mental health issue (Reference). Two examples of intellectual disabilities are ADHD

“Each child is unique and wonderful. And some children have differences we call special needs. Special needs can mean many things. Sometimes children will learn differently, or hear with an aid, or read with Braille. A Young person may have a hard time communicating or paying attention. A child can be born with a special need, or acquire it by an accident or through a health condition. Sometimes a child will be developing in a typical manner and then become delayed in that development. “Therefore, if a child is born with physical, emotion, learning, and behavior problems, we must remember that they are a human being with feeling and special needs first.

Statistics show that mental and physical disabilities are a worldwide problem. Within the United States alone, about 25 million adults suffer from serious psychological distress. It has been estimated that half of all Americans will have a diagnosable psychiatric condition at some point in their lives. In most situations, people who are born with

Approximately 20% of children exhibit symptoms consists with a diagnosable mental disorder; however, children often do not receive mental health services until their symptoms have become severe, and only 1% are identified with an emotional and/or behavior disorder in the school setting and receive special education for these disorders. Additionally, children who do not have a diagnosis, but exhibit challenges with social and behavioral skills, tend to have challenges in the academic setting, but often to do also receive effective supports.