Childrens Mental Health Disorders
There are many different disorders that specifically affect children, and going without help can damage your child long-term. Disorders like ADHD, ODD and autism, and sensory issues, can have a lasting impact on your child’s academic career as well as their social life. ADHD and ODD affect the whole family as well, as the child’s behavioral issues can disturb relationships within the family dynamic.
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
ADHD is common in young children and adolescents, and affects performance in school and at home. ADHD inhibits a child’s attention span, behavior, and causes hyperactivity. Unfortunately, ADHD is often mistakenly diagnosed as behavioral problems and therefore the ADHD remains untreated.
There are three different types of ADHD –
Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive: hyperactivity is more prevalent than attention problems.
Predominantly inattentive: attention problems are more common than hyperactivity; children do not usually have behavior problems or act out, but they have trouble paying attention and usually zone out. This subtype is commonly overlooked, as it is hard to pinpoint since the symptoms can be hidden.
Combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive: most common type of ADHD in which symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity are present.
ADHD can be caused by genetics, environmental factors, brain injuries, increased sugar levels, and food additives.
Symptoms of inattention include:
- Distracted easily
- Forgetting things
- Inability to focus on one activity
- Easily bored with activities
- Trouble organizing
- Trouble completing things
- Losing things
- Daydreaming
- Trouble following instructions
Symptoms of hyperactivity include:
- Fidgeting
- Talking repeatedly
- Trouble sitting still
- Trouble completing quiet or calm tasks
Symptoms of impulsivity include:
- Impatient
- Interrupting others
- Blurting out inappropriate comments
Comprehensive Symptoms List
ADHD has been diagnosed in 5% of children, and the United States has higher rates than other countries. Approximately 11% of children ages 4-17 have ADHD. Diagnosis rates have increased steadily since 2003, and boys are more commonly diagnosed with ADHD than girls.
Children are sometimes diagnosed very young, but the average age diagnosed is age 7.
Statistics of ADHD
ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder)
Most children, especially young children, go through a temper tantrum stage where they act out, however if their behavior is frequent and uncontrollable, there might be a deeper issue. ODD symptoms sometimes begin before the age of 8, and usually symptoms are present before becoming a teenager. Symptoms of ODD include:
- Defiance
- Disobedience
- Hostility
- Temper tantrums
- Argumentative
- Blaming others
- Ignoring authorities
- Angry
- Vindictive
- Academic problems
- Behavioral problems
- Lacking self-esteem
Usually, ODD occurs in combination with other disorders, including ADHD, anxiety, and depression.
Managing ODD can be a huge relief for both the client and the family. If your child is experiencing troubles longer than six months and they are persistent and disruptive to their daily activities, it is important to seek help.
Overview of ODD
ODD is a disorder in which children repeatedly display defiant, hostile, and uncooperative behavior. ODD is present in anywhere from 2%-16% of children.
An effective treatment option for helping parents react positively to ODD behaviors is
PMT (Parent Management Training). PMT is effective in addition to psychotherapy and possibly medications.
CD (Conduct Disorder)
Conduct Disorder (CD) is similar to ODD, but with more severe symptoms. CD includes aggression toward people and animals, destruction of property, deceitfulness or theft, serious violations of rules, and these acting out behaviors affect daily activities in school and at home. Like ODD, CD also presents itself in conjunction with depression, ADHD, anxiety, Tourette’s, and OCD.
Overview of CD
SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) or SI (Sensory Integration)
Sensory Processing Disorder
and Sensory Integration refer to a disconnect in the nervous system and an inability to correctly communicate neural signals in order to accurately process motor and behavioral responses. This is often thought of as a “traffic jam” and because of this, appropriate responses are disorganized and therefore children with SPD have trouble performing everyday tasks.
Sometimes, children are affected by SPD regarding only one sense, i.e. only regarding their sense of touch or sight. Children with SPD respond inappropriately to certain stimuli because they are unable to accurately process the correct response. Sometimes, children over-respond to stimuli, or under-respond to stimuli, and this can sometimes be misdiagnosed as ADHD.
Children who suffer from symptoms of SPD benefit from occupational therapy (OT) with a sensory integration approach (SI). Also, listening therapy might be beneficial to help control symptoms of SPD.
Symptoms of SPD
include:
- Fear of sudden or loud noises
- Distracted by background noises
- Fear of touch
- Fear of climbing or falling
- Poor balance
- Constant need to touch people
- Clumsy
- Uncoordinated
- Indifferent to pain
- Harms other children or pets (doesn’t understand his or her own strength)
ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)
Autism is a developmental disorder that affects children as young as age 3. Mainly, autism affects a child’s ability to effectively communicate and interact, and effects of autism can range on the autism spectrum, from mild to severe.
Overview of Autism
ASD used to include subtypes with particular diagnoses; however they were recently combined into the one umbrella term: ASD. Previously, ASD consisted of autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not other specified, and Asperger syndrome.
Autism can affect different parts of a child, including their intellectual functioning, sleep patterns, gastrointestinal system, physical health, attention span, and usually children with autism excel in visual skills and fine arts.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), it is estimated that 1 in 8 children has autism of some degree. Autism is significantly more common in boys than girls. Autism affects all children differently, and children range on the autism spectrum, from fully functioning and excelling in arts of art and music, to nonverbal.
Symptoms of ASD
include:
- Social challenges, such as failure to respond to stimuli as a baby, and unusual attachment to parents
- Communication troubles, like delayed babbling and speaking, or loss of communicative behaviors if autism is not onset at birth; some children with autism are nonverbal and will learn to communicate with other methods such as sign language or electronic devices
- Repetitive behaviors, like hand-flapping, rocking, rearranging objects, or making repetitive sounds
Autism can take many forms and can also be influenced by other disorders. These include genetic disorders, such as Fragile X syndrome, Angelman syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, chromosome 15 duplication syndrome, gastrointestinal disorders, seizure disorders, sleep dysfunction, sensory processing problems, and pica.
In infants, autism is diagnosed by:
- Delayed babbling
- Delayed speech (no words by 16 months old)
- Does not respond to name
- Loss of language
- Loss of social skills
- Poor eye contact
- Obsession with lining up toys
- Does not smile
In older children, autism is diagnosed by:
- Unable to make friends
- Unable to initiate conversations
- Inability to imagine or engage in social play
- Repetitive use of language
- Preoccupation with objects or activities
- Inflexibility
Autism Diagnosis
Untreated disorders in children can lead to irreversible damage in family life, social relationships, and school. Leaving disorders untreated will inevitably form a wedge in your family that cannot be undone. Help your child today.
We encourage you to seek help from our trained counselors who can do whatever it takes to help your child return to fulfill their potential. We have professionals that are experienced in managing children’s disorders and can help your child maintain their well-being today.
We can help your child! Don’t wait!
See our Counseling Processes
for further information.
