Child Mind Institute’s Speak Up for Kids!

National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week (May 6-12, 2012)

Fifteen million children in the United States have psychiatric and learning disorders, but very few of them will be identified and get the help they need. Stigma, lack of awareness, and misinformation about diagnosis and treatment mean kids miss out on early intervention we know can transform lives. The Child Mind Institute’s Speak Up for Kids is about standing with these kids and families so our message is heard: childhood mental health matters and treatment works.

During National Children’s Mental Health Week (May 6-12, 2012), Speak Up for Kids helps to break down the barriers of that prevent millions of children from getting the early intervention they deserve. Without treatment, children with psychiatric disorders are more at risk for school failure, bullying, substance abuse, incarceration, and suicide.

Join us! Help us to ensure that every child receives the early intervention that we know is crucial to transforming lives. Speaking up is the first step.

Visit childmind.org/speakup to add your voice to this important cause. Our goal is to turn the globe green—the color of children’s mental health.

As part of Speak Up for Kids, mental health professionals will give free talks in their communities to share helpful information about childhood mental health disorders and other topics relating to raising healthy, happy kids. Topics include: ADHD, anxiety, behavioral challenges, bullying,depression, trauma, and social media.

Find a talk near you: childmind.org/map

If you cannot attend a talk, participate in our Live Web Events. On Monday, May 7th, Dr. Steven Kurtz will present “Is it ADHD or Just Inattention?” LIVE on Facebook. We’re also hosting a live Facebook talk on Friday, May 11th with Dr. Melanie Fernandez, who will present “The Difficult Child: Managing Behavior.” The Child … Read more

Neurofeedback or EEG biofeedback is an off-spring of biofeedback.

It arose out of our growing understanding of the brain and how the brain’s electrical activity, as measured by an EEG readout, plays a role in the creation of symptoms, such as anxiety or inattentiveness. Put another way, our brainwave patterns reveal the brain’s functioning and the field of neurofeedback is looking at how that functioning can be altered to alleviate symptoms. For example, the brainwave patterns of individuals with ADHD will be different than in those without ADHD.

From the point of view of neurofeedback– or “brain training” as some call it—we see that with certain conditions such as ADHD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or anxiety disorder, the brain is habitually making maladaptive choices. Those maladaptive choices are visible in EEG patterns.

One way of explaining this habituation is to say that the brain is not reading the environment accurately and therefore, not responding in a way that is appropriate for the individual’s here-and-now needs. Often it is just repeating a “then-and-there” need, a response that was helpful long ago but no longer useful. We have come to understand that the brain gets habituated, in an attempt to be efficient—why reinvent the wheel each time?—not realizing that it is not being effective! Many of our current mental health conditions we could describe as the result of the brain’s misperception of what it needs to do in the present in order to be efficient and effective.

With the latest research on the brain and the brain’s ability to adapt and change (neuroplasticity), we realize that the brain is much more flexible and, given the right conditions, has the ability to re-organize itself to some degree. What it needs in order to do this is 1) to see … Read more

I was recently contacted by a representative from the Child Mind Institute. I had never heard of them before so I took a look at their new website. I learned that they provide treatment and help for children suffering from mental health disorders as well as neuro-behavioral and learning disorders such as ADHD, ODD, Autism Spectrum disorder and more. Right now Bloomingdale’s has partnered with the Child Mind Institute (www.childmind.org) to help transform mental health care for the world’s children. Bloomingdale’s is supporting the Child Mind Institute this holiday season through the sale of its annual Little Brown Bear. The 2010 edition of the annual collectible teddy bear by GUND is paired with the storybook A Magical Night Before Christmas, featuring a foreword by Jimmy Buffett, written by Dan Tucker, and with illustrations by Michael Storrings. For every bear and book sold for $29.95, $8 will be donated to the Child Mind Institute. I believe for the next four days the price will be $22.00.

I would not normally advocate for something like this, but after seeing the website and what the Child Mind Institute has to offer, I wanted to help promote their cause. The timing is apropos because I recently wrote an article pertaining to childhood depression. There are so many psychological disorders which affect children and go unnoticed that it is important to learn more about. Just this past Monday a fifteen year old boy took a class hostage for many hours and then shot himself when the police arrived to apprehend him. Each person who knew this young man claimed to be stunned by his behavior. Yet we know that healthy and well adjusted young people do not wake up and plan to take a class hostage at gunpoint or that they plan to kill themselves. There … Read more

Holiday cheer is not always uplifting. Many people suffer from depression at this time of year. What you may not know is that your child may be depressed as well.

 Holidays are not the only source of depression for children; schoolwork and peer pressure can create stress which can lead to depression. Many parents assume that preschoolers or pre-teens are too young to be down in the dumps. However, research shows that depression knows no age.

Times have changed over the last fifty years. Technology has given us the ability to do more and in less time. It has brought us Facebook and Twitter and instant information. It has also permitted online bullying which has led to many young suicides. We lead our lives faster and more publicly. It should come as no surprise that more and more young people are depressed. Sadly, some are even suicidal. According to statistics, about 3 of every hundred children are diagnosed with depression. While that number may not seem alarming, it is still significant. And the number only accounts for those who have been diagnosed.

Depression is difficult to detect. Adults often have trouble recognizing symptoms in themselves. So what do you need to look for in your child? Below is a list of possible indicators.

• Persistent irritability

• Withdrawn and lethargic

• Lack of energy or persistent fatigue

• Changes in eating and sleeping habits

• Withdrawal from family and friends

• Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness

• Lack of interest in play or other activities previously enjoyed

• Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure

• Anxiety

• Complaints of not feeling well

• Activities that cause self harm

• Memory loss or lack of concentration

Also, children who are depressed can become obsessed with one activity and pursue it for … Read more