The REACH (The Resource for Advancing Children's Health) Institute developed a toolkit for detecting warning signs of potentially serious educational, mental, or behavioral difficulty. The toolkit includes warning signs of ADHD, bipolar, conduct disorder, depression, eating disorders, suicide, and substance abuse. The toolkit provides a bibliography of books, a list of helpful websites, and listings of advocacy and professional organizations. The toolkit also contains useful instructions geared toward patients who may be experiencing warning signs.
Click here for a link to the Action Signs Project Toolkit
How’s Your Child’s Mental Health?
You may notice that your child or adolescent:
- Often seems unhappy, angry, or withdrawn, and nothing seems to help;
- Seems distracted and restless and can’t sit still as long as other children of the same age;
- Is falling behind in school work or has problems in the classroom;
- Puts him or herself down and seems to feel worthless;
- Has few friends and doesn’t get along with family members;
- Seems to be upset and highly stressed about family problems;
- Shows signs of using drugs or alcohol; or
- Is making comments about suicide
If your child has any of the above issues, it’s best to mention these as soon as possible to your child’s doctor.
You know that your child’s doctor can help when your child has a stomach ache, rash, or a fever……
Your child’s pediatrician or family practitioner can help with your child’s mental health issue too!
Your child’s primary care doctor can help!
It’s best to mention these issues as soon as possible to your child’s primary care doctor. Your pediatrician, family physician, or nurse practitioner considers your child’s mental health as important as physical health. A healthy child means a healthy body and a healthy mind. You can’t have one without the other!
You can see a mental health specialist without talking to your child’s primary care doctor. However, talking to his/her primary care doctor can be a very helpful place to start if you have mental health concerns about your child or adolescent. Doctors and nurses are trained and have experience in how children normally grow, and they know about the most common mental health problems that your child may face.
Your child’s primary care doctor will not make you feel embarrassed if you want to discuss his/her mental health issues. These problems are very common and can happen in any family. Your child’s doctor can help you find treatments that work.
What will your pediatrician or family practitioner do?
The first thing the doctor or nurse will do is to ask you some questions about your child’s behavior. Depending on your child’s age, your doctor may want to talk alone with him/her to find out more about what he/she is thinking and feeling.
Your child’s doctor may also ask you to fill out a form that asks you to check off symptoms that your child may have, such as “having trouble sleeping.” You may also be asked if the symptom is “severe” or “mild” and how often it happens.
Through this form and by talking with you and your child, the doctor will determine if these symptoms are related to a mental health problem. He or she will also consider other health problems that may be the cause of your child’s symptoms.
* * * * *
If you need more services, your child’s pediatrician or family practitioner will help coordinate these services with you. You and your child will always play an important role in the treatment plan.
The Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP)
In Massachusetts, your child’s primary care doctor can get extra help or information about treating children’s mental health problems through the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project (MCPAP). He or she may call during your appointment to speak to a MCPAP child psychiatrist or another child mental health specialist.
The MCPAP specialist can give advice to your child’s doctor about how to help your child or suggest a referral to other mental health services.
After you talk about your concerns, your child’s doctor should be able to answer the following questions:
• What type of problem is it? (What does he or she think is the suspected diagnosis?)
• How serious is the problem?
• What are you, your doctor, and your child going to do about the problem?
• Should your child or adolescent see a specialist?
What kind of treatment can you expect?
The treatment depends on what the problem is and what usually works the best. Sometimes your child or adolescent may get a referral for counseling. Or he or she may be referred to special education services or for psychological testing. Some children may need to take medications. Depending on the problem, either your child’s doctor or a psychiatrist can give you a prescription.
Support for families
Children’s mental health problems can be very stressful for families. It can be tough to find people who really understand what you’re going through. If you need support, there are several resources in the community. One option is the Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PAL). Many PAL staff members are also parents of children with mental illness. PAL offers education, advocacy, and support for families with children who have mental health needs. Specifically, PAL offers:
• Parent support groups all over the state
• Help to families so they can get the services they need for their children
• Information for families about mental health issues and treatment options To reach PAL, call the Parent Resource Network (PRN) Line at (866) 815-8122. You can also visit them online at www.ppal.net.