#depression #anxiety lack of #self esteem may not be expressed in so many words. Your #child may be doodling her #feelings secretly .
Pay attention and address the needs before they become the person .
#parenting
#Childmentalhealth

One of my 13yr old patient’s expression of her “ worries “ #anxiety . “ it’s like an iceberg “
She need not say .... ‘you cannot see half of it ‘ .
I can see it all ... trust me . #ChildrensMentalHealthWeek

If these are the feelings / emotions #school is provoking in your #Child .... you are best to put the #learning on the back burner and focus on the child’s #Wellbeing and #MentalHealth . Out of school eduction provision may be what your child needs .

We may be doing more damage to the #Child by forcing him / her to engage with school . We know the detrimental effects of excessive Cortisol secretion on the developing brain .

That horrible feeling of being “ hollow inside “ and just about hanging off a cliff with rotten roots is A #child shouting out 4 #mental health support in not so many words .
Suitable #MentalHealthAwareness could enable teachers and #parents to pick early signs of #depression

#Christmas ( festivals ) can be viewed as stressful for families with #Autism . Lining , colour coding and making lists of #chocolates may help to relieve #anxiety and #agitation.
#planing events and spacing activities may be helpful. #OCD

#School anxiety and refusal is a common presentation at CAMH clinics.
I cannot overemphasise the need 4 #parents to talk to their #Children and ask about how they manage school and the #Anxiety it generates #Bullying ,educational underachievement n #friends could b some reasons .

This representation was drawn by my 10 yr old patient who may have traits of #Autism and is perceived “ different “ “ odd “ by peers .
There is a need to normalise the concept of being “ different “ within schools . #awareness

Emotional Vocabulary is essential part of therapeutic experience . If you can’t say it , it has to be expressed by way of #art or #play .
My 14 year old patient who had struggled with expression drew this beautiful representation of how all these #emotions are best let out ..

Like the Genie from the lamp

#Sensory processing difficulties can present in various forms in #children and #youngpeople . One of the presentations is avoidance of personal hygiene needs . Delaying / avoiding washing / bathing could be one of the issues causing arguments and conflicts within the household .

It’s important to understand why the young person is avoiding personal hygiene needs . It isn’t always laziness .... low mood , trauma and sensory issues could impinge upon some essential day to day needs . It may be a good idea to get a sensory needs assessment done .

Other things indicating towards sensory issues are being picky about kinds of foods that they can have ( avoiding certain textures ) and the clothes that they can wear ( wearing the same worn out clothes repeatedly ) . Some #children avoid having their hair brushed due to ....

Heightened sensations in the scalp . Avoiding crowds and noise to the point of self isolation is another issue that may point towards #SensoryProcessingDifficulties .
#MentalHealthMatters
#Children

#Autism in #Children is characterised by ( but not limited to )

-social communication difficulties ( with or without language delay )
-Sensory processing difficulties.
-restricted / limited interests
-Need for structure / routine
-Lack of / little empathy

As it is a “ spectrum “ there may be absence of some symptoms or addition of others .

Some babies or toddlers exhibit identifiable characters from early days .... others may present later ( symptoms masked or not picked up )

Some of the difficulties that are presented due to above characters may include ..

- Child May not be able to make / retain friends .

- lack of varied interests may isolate children to doing the same thing on their own .

- Sensory processing difficulties may present with ..

Heightened response to various stimuli . Not wanting their hair brushed, not brushing teeth or washing .

Noise , and bright lights could present with distress and / or avoidance.

Some of the #MentalHealth presentations that may overlap at varied degrees with #Autism are
#OCD #Anxiety #Socialphobia #SelectiveMutism #ADHD and Learning Difficulties .

I will discuss #Anxiety and #OCD as I have already discussed sensory processing in the past .

Anxiety is often part of everyday life of a child with #Autism .

Some anxious #Children develop obsessive traits and compulsive #Rituals to manage their anxiety .

These could be anything from counting things to checking light switches and locks etc to more complex rituals ...

Which may involve other members of the family .

Some #parents struggle to stay disconnected with these rituals and can find themselves becoming an active member of the ritual regimen .

This is often the case where young people become agitated / aggressive if prevented from

Doing the ritual . To keep the peace in the household parents and often siblings can become a part of the ritual .

Parents are advised not to give in and become part of the ritual as this facilitates them and allows continuation .

Treatment is advised if / when the rituals get in the way of getting on with activities of daily living / school .

CBT with or without medication may be helpful for those who can engage with it .

Medication is useful for children with Learning needs who may not be able to .

I’m fortunate to have some amazing artists on my case load . This young 15 year old has come a long way in learning some useful #emotional vocabulary and is telling us how she keeps all these emotions “ bottled up “ .
Adults do it too as do children .
#MentalHealthMatters

#children are sensitive to “ labels “ we give them and those that are googled and given .
They worry about all their diagnoses to the extent that they may have an internal dialogue in their minds ( pseudo hallucinations) leading to the feeling of “ going mad “.

Sometimes the #anxiety may not be about themselves.
They may worry about parental health or interpersonal relationships considering themselves responsible for it all in some ways .

#school refusal , recurrent stomachaches / headaches may indicate towards #anxiety symptoms.

#children May loose interest in things they were interested in earlier . They may start to remain within their rooms and not engage with family .

The first step is to encourage communication of feelings and to understand what may be worrying them .

#Trust being key in such #communication .

#anorexia and morbid #obesity can both be linked to #mentalillness .

Have seen two patients this week , one with dropping BMI requiring hospital admission for re feeding ..the other gaining weight possibly due to sedentary lifestyle and use of medication .

One thing common...

Between both was that they had little ( or no motivation /will ) to change their condition .

Sometimes therapy can help you explore reasons behind your skewed relationship with food . Sometimes there just isn’t time to explore those issues and action needs to be taken ...

Children with #anorexia and #obesity both can assert certain kind of “ control “ on their parents / families which makes it very difficult for parents to help them make any change.

These are a few of the most #risky conditions seen in #Psychiatry and getting parents and

#children onboard remains a challenge .

#MentalHealthMatters