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Missed early warning signs and children’s mental health

Blind Spot. Missed early warning signs and children’s mental health. Children’s mental health: Disturbing statistics.

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Missed early warning signs and children’s mental health

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  1. Blind Spot Missed early warning signs and children’s mental health

  2. Children’s mental health: Disturbing statistics • In any given year, about one out of every five Connecticut children (87,500 to 125,000) struggles with a mental health condition or substance abuse problem. More than half receive no treatment.

  3. Early difficulties:Long-term impact • Interrelationship between mental health problems and poor academic outcomes is reflected in limited educational progress from school entry through secondary school years

  4. Troubling trends • Rates for expulsion from pre-school exceed those of children in Grades 1-12; • Connecticut had one of the highest rates of expulsion from state-funded preschool, with more than 10 students expelled per 1000; • Educational, social and behavioral outcomes worse for children with emotional disorders than for any other disability group

  5. Josue (Age 15) • Born to 12-year-old mother • History of early ear infections, auditory and speech problems • Exposed to sexual abuse and domestic violence • Age 13 – bipolar disorder, ODD, ADHD, LD • Suspension from school • Involvement with juvenile justice system

  6. Arianna (Age 15) • Age 4 – febrile seizures • Severe expressive language delays • Visual processing problems • Retained Grade 4, socially promoted Grades 3,4,5,6,7,8 • Grade 6 difficulty with peers • School suspensions for fighting

  7. Jaden (Age 14) • Sickle Cell trait • Age 1 ½ stopped talking • Limited social reciprocity, echolalia, perseveration • Age 7 – rule out Fragile X Syndrome • Grade 4 – deficits expressive language • Age 11 – PDD, Intermittent Explosive Disorder • Grade 9 – Language, communication disorders, underlying thought disorder?

  8. Early warnings • Anxiety, depression, information processing problems and academic delays • Phobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) • Genetic disorder with elevated levels of anxiety, disruptive behavior, poor anger management • Attentional issues, multiple suspensions for disruptive behavior, severe attendance problems, expulsion for possession of marijuana

  9. Options for screening • Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS; ages 3-18) combines information from three sources: parents, teachers, youth (5-10 minutes administration time); • Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-2; ages 3+) • Ages and Stages Questionnaire-Social Emotional (ASQ-SE; Birth-3)

  10. Recommendations • Improve screening for mental health risk factors • Improve referral for early intervention, communication and collaboration among service providers • Improve community and parent education around mental health risk factors and services available to children and families • Improve training for school staff, medical and other service providers to children and families

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