A child is like a butterfly in the wind. Some can fly higher than others, but each one flies the best it can. Why compare one against the other? Each one is different, each one is special, each one is beautiful.
Music Therapy
What are common childhood mental disorders?
Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder
ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. Some people with ASD have a known difference, such as a genetic condition. Other causes are not yet known. Scientists believe there are multiple causes of ASD that act together to change the most common ways people develop.
Tourette Syndrome
Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a condition of the nervous system. TS causes people to have “tics”. Tics are sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly. People who have tics cannot stop their body from doing these things. For example, a person might keep blinking over and over.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Many children occasionally have thoughts that bother them, and they might feel like they have to do something about those thoughts, even if their actions don’t actually make sense. For example, they might worry about having bad luck if they don’t wear a favourite piece of clothing.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
All children may experience very stressful events that affect how they think & feel. Most of the time, children recover quickly & well. However, sometimes children who experience severe stress, such as from an injury, from the death or threatened death of a close family member or friend, or from violence, will be affected long-term.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Children sometimes argue, are aggressive, or act angry or defiant around adults. A behaviour disorder may be diagnosed when these disruptive behaviours are uncommon for the child’s age at the time, persist over time, or are severe. Because disruptive behaviour disorders involve showing unwanted behaviour towards others.
Learning Disorders
Many children may struggle in school with some topics or skills from time to time. When children try hard and still struggle with a specific set of skills over time, it could be a sign of a learning disorder. Having a learning disorder means that a child has difficulty in one or more areas of learning.
Language and Speech Disorders
Children are born ready to learn a language, but they need to learn the language or languages that their family and environment use. Learning a language takes time, and children vary in how quickly they master milestones in language and speech development.
Anxiety
When a child does not outgrow the fears and worries that are typical in young children, or when there are so many fears and worries that they interfere with school, home, or play activities, the child may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Conduct Disorder (CD)
Conduct Disorder (CD) is diagnosed when children show an on-going pattern of aggression toward others, and serious violations of rules and social norms at home, in school, and with peers. These rule violations may involve breaking the law and result in arrest.
Depression
Occasionally being sad or feeling hopeless is a part of every child’s life. However, some children feel sad or uninterested in things that they used to enjoy, or feel helpless or hopeless in situations they are able to change. When children feel persistent sadness and hopelessness, they may be diagnosed with depression.
Facts About Mental Illness
According to the latest World Health Organization report, about 7.5 per cent Indians suffer from major or minor mental disorders that require intervention of an expert and an Indian Council of Medical Research reported that 12 per cent children between the ages 4 to 16 suffered from psychiatric disorders in India.
This fast-paced life is damaging the mental health of adults and children alike. Life has become a rat race for children who are constantly battling and competing in their academic and personal life. Studies have suggested that the children suffering from significant mental health problems have affected social and physical functioning.
The continued issue of childhood psychiatric cases is more serious in middle and low income countries because such countries have a much larger proportion of child to adult population. It is also prevalent because there is a lack of infrastructure and resources to deal with the problems. Moreover, a wider population of people consider mental illnesses a social stigma or taboo since it is difficult for them to understand and prefer hiding them from society. This causes children to get inadequate or no treatment at all.