​Managing Childhood Mental Health
Determining if your Child has a Problem
Parents invariably worry about their child's mental health. But where is the line for normal child behavior and mental disorders?
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The most important question: Do certain quirks interfere with daily, normal functioning?
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​Parents and educators should consider multiple factors in determining if a child should be evaluated for mental illness.
*If a child does not interact in certain situations, a parent should consider if the child does that all the time, or just in certain foriegn situations.
Situational behavior can include:
1. Language delay
2. Hyperactivity
3. Agression
Consider the Context
Consider the Age
*Children go through developmental stages that can appear to be a sign of a mental disorder, but often are not.
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*Parents and teachers should begin to worry if rituals or obsessions continue over a lengthy period of time.
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Anxiety
Autism
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Consider the Age:
*Children are normally not diagnosed
before age 8
*Young children often have "rituals"
-Nightime routines such as
reading stories many times
-Organizing toys in a particular
order
*Such rituals are completely NORMAL
*Continuation of rituals into late
childhood could be a sign of OCD.
Consider the Age:
By 18 months, children should:
*Interact with adults (smiling, pointing)
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Consider the Context:
*Being interactive at home but not in
public places is not abnormal
*This could simply be shyness
Consider the Age:
*At 8 months, babies begin to
understand that an object (parent)
out of sight is not gone forever.
*This leads to temporary, normal
seperation anxiety.
*Seperation anxiety occurs again at
ages 2 and 5.
*Concern should occur if older
children exhibit anxious symptoms.
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