Psychiatric diagnoses in children. Neuropsychiatric disorders in children

The concept of a mental disorder in children can be quite difficult to explain, not to say that it needs to be defined, especially on your own. The knowledge of parents, as a rule, is not enough for this. As a result, many children who could benefit from treatment do not receive the care they need. This article will help parents learn to recognize the warning signs of mental illness in children and highlight some of the options for help.

Why is it difficult for parents to determine the state of mind of their child?

Unfortunately, many adults are unaware of the signs and symptoms of mental illness in children. Even if parents know the basic principles of recognizing major mental disorders, they often find it difficult to distinguish between mild signs of abnormality and normal behavior in children. And a child sometimes lacks the vocabulary or intellectual baggage to explain their problems verbally.

Concerns about stereotypes associated with mental illness, the cost of using certain medications, and the logistical complexity of possible treatment often delay therapy or force parents to attribute their child's condition to some simple and temporary phenomenon. However, a psychopathological disorder that begins its development will not be able to restrain anything, except for the correct, and most importantly, timely treatment.

The concept of mental disorder, its manifestation in children

Children may suffer from the same mental illnesses as adults, but they manifest them in different ways. For example, depressed children often show more signs of irritability than adults, who tend to be more sad.

Children most often suffer from a number of diseases, including acute or chronic mental disorders:

Children suffering from anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder show vivid signs of anxiety, which is a constant problem that interferes with their daily activities.

Sometimes anxiety is a traditional part of every child's experience, often moving from one developmental stage to another. However, when stress takes an active position, it becomes difficult for the child. It is in such cases that symptomatic treatment is indicated.

Attention deficit or hyperactivity.

This disorder typically includes three categories of symptoms: difficulty concentrating, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior. Some children with this pathology have symptoms of all categories, while others may have only one symptom.

This pathology is a serious developmental disorder that manifests itself in early childhood - usually before the age of 3 years. Although the symptoms and their severity are prone to variability, the disorder always affects the child's ability to communicate and interact with others.

Eating Disorders.

Eating disorders - such as anorexia, and gluttony - are serious enough diseases that threaten the life of a child. Children can become so preoccupied with food and their own weight that it prevents them from focusing on something else.

Mood disorders.

Mood disorders, such as depression and depression, can lead to the stabilization of persistent feelings of sadness or extreme mood swings much more severe than the usual variability that is common in many people.

Schizophrenia.

This chronic mental illness causes the child to lose touch with reality. Schizophrenia often appears in late adolescence, from about 20 years of age.

Depending on the condition of the child, illnesses can be classified as temporary or permanent mental disorders.

The main signs of mental illness in children

Some markers that a child may have mental health problems are:

Mood changes. Look out for dominant signs of sadness or longing that last at least two weeks, or severe mood swings that cause relationship problems at home or school.

Too strong emotions. Sharp emotions of overwhelming fear for no reason, sometimes combined with tachycardia or rapid breathing, are a serious reason to pay attention to your child.

Uncharacteristic behavior. This may include abrupt changes in behavior or self-esteem, as well as dangerous or out of control actions. Frequent fights with the use of third-party objects, a strong desire to harm others, are also warning signs.

Difficulty of concentration. A characteristic manifestation of such signs is very clearly visible at the time of preparing homework. It is also worth paying attention to teachers' complaints and current school performance.

Unexplained weight loss. Sudden loss of appetite, frequent vomiting, or use of laxatives may indicate an eating disorder;

physical symptoms. Compared to adults, children with mental health problems may often complain of headaches and stomachaches rather than sadness or anxiety.

Physical damage. Sometimes a mental health condition leads to self-injury, also called self-harm. Children often choose far inhumane ways for these purposes - they often cut themselves or set themselves on fire. These children also often develop suicidal thoughts and attempts to actually commit suicide.

Substance abuse. Some children use drugs or alcohol to try to cope with their feelings.

Actions of parents in case of suspected mental disorders in a child

If parents are truly concerned about their child's mental health, they should see a specialist as soon as possible.

The physician should describe the present behavior in detail, emphasizing the most striking inconsistencies with the earlier period. For more information, it is recommended that you talk to school teachers, the form teacher, close friends or other people who spend some time with your child for a long time before visiting the doctor. As a rule, this approach helps a lot to decide and discover something new, something that the child will never show at home. It must be remembered that there should not be any secrets from the doctor. And yet - there is no panacea in the form of tablets from.

General actions of specialists

Mental health in children is diagnosed and treated on the basis of signs and symptoms, taking into account the impact of psychological or mental disorders on the child's daily life. This approach also allows you to determine the types of mental disorders of the child. There are no simple, unique, or 100% guaranteed positive tests. In order to make a diagnosis, the physician may recommend the presence of allied professionals, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, psychiatric nurse, mental health educator, or behavioral therapist.

The doctor or other professionals will work with the child, usually on an individual basis, to determine first whether or not the child actually has an abnormal mental health condition based on the diagnostic criteria. For comparison, a special database of children's psychological and mental symptoms, which are used by specialists around the world, is used.

In addition, the doctor or other mental health care provider will look for other possible explanations for the child's behavior, such as a history of previous illness or injury, including family history.

It is worth noting that diagnosing childhood mental disorders can be quite difficult, since it can be a serious problem for children to express their emotions and feelings correctly. Moreover, this quality always fluctuates from child to child - there are no identical children in this regard. Despite these problems, an accurate diagnosis is an essential part of correct, effective treatment.

General therapeutic approaches

Common treatment options for children who have mental health problems include:

Psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy, also known as "talk therapy" or behavior therapy, is a treatment for many mental health problems. Speaking with a psychologist, while showing emotions and feelings, the child allows you to look into the very depths of his experiences. During psychotherapy, children themselves learn a lot about their condition, mood, feelings, thoughts and behavior. Psychotherapy can help a child learn to respond to difficult situations while healthyly overcoming problematic barriers.

pharmacological therapy.

A combination of approaches.

In the process of searching for problems and their solutions, the specialists themselves will offer the necessary and most effective treatment option. In some cases, psychotherapy sessions will be quite enough, in others, medications will be indispensable.

It should be noted that acute mental disorders are always stopped easier than chronic ones.

Help from parents

At such moments, the child needs the support of the parents more than ever. Children with mental health diagnoses, in fact, like their parents, usually experience feelings of helplessness, anger and frustration. Ask your child's primary care physician for advice on how to change the way you interact with your son or daughter and how to deal with difficult behavior.

Look for ways to relax and have fun with your child. Praise his strengths and abilities. Explore new techniques that can help you understand how to calmly respond to stressful situations.

Family counseling or support groups can be a great help in treating childhood psychiatric disorders. This approach is very important for parents and children. This will help you understand your child's illness, how they feel, and what can be done together to provide the best possible care and support.

To help your child succeed in school, keep your child's teachers and school administrators informed about your child's mental health. Unfortunately, in some cases, it may be necessary to change the educational institution to a school whose curriculum is designed for children with mental problems.

If you're concerned about your child's mental health, seek professional advice. Nobody can make the decision for you. Do not avoid help because of your shame or fear. With the right support, you can learn the truth about whether your child has a disability and be able to explore treatment options, thereby ensuring that your child continues to have a decent quality of life.

Children, just like adults, often suffer from various acute or chronic mental disorders that have a negative impact on the normal development of the child, and this resulting lag is not always possible to catch up.

However, with a timely referral to a specialist at the very initial stages, it is possible not only to stop the development of such a disorder, but, in some cases, to completely get rid of it.

Moreover, according to experts, many deviations are easy to recognize. Each has certain characteristics that an attentive parent will definitely notice.

Today on the site "Popular about Health" we will briefly review the symptoms and types of mental disorders in children, and also find out the possible causes of their development:

The main causes of disorders

There are many factors that influence the development of mental disorders in children. The most common of them are genetic predisposition, various mental disorders, head injuries, brain damage, etc.

In addition, problems in the family, constant conflicts and emotional upheavals (death of a loved one, divorce of parents, etc.) can serve as a cause. And this is not a complete list of reasons that affect the development of a mental disorder in a child.

Types of disorders and their symptoms

Signs of pathology depend on its type. Let us briefly list the main mental disorders in children and the main symptoms that accompany them:

Anxiety disorders

Quite a common pathology. It is expressed in a regularly arising feeling of anxiety, which eventually turns into a real problem for the child and his parents. This disorder disrupts the daily rhythm of life, affects the full development.

ZPR - delayed psychoverbal development

Among mental disorders in children, this disorder is in one of the first places. It is characterized by delayed speech and mental development. It is expressed in varying degrees of lag in the formation of personality and cognitive activity.

Hyperactivity (attention deficit)

This disorder is defined by three main symptoms:

Violation of concentration;
- excessive physical and emotional activity;
- impulsive behavior, frequent manifestations of aggression.

Pathology can be expressed by one, two or all of the described signs.

eating disorders

Anorexia, bulimia or gluttony are eating disorders that are directly related to the psyche. If left untreated, they can be fatal.

They are expressed in the fact that the child concentrates all his attention on his own weight, or on food, and therefore cannot fully fulfill his duties, cannot concentrate on anything else.

Adolescents suffering from bulimia, anorexia almost completely lose their appetite, rapidly lose weight, they have frequent urge to vomit.

Gluttony is expressed in a constant desire to eat, rapid weight gain, which also prevents the child from living a normal, fulfilling life.

Bipolar disorder

It is expressed in long periods of depression, feelings of sadness, causeless longing. Or it can be determined by sudden mood swings. In healthy people, such conditions also occur, but in the case of pathology, these signs are much more serious and manifest and are much more difficult to tolerate.

Childhood autism

The disorder is characterized by limited social communication. A characteristic symptom of this disorder is isolation, refusal to contact others. Such children are very restrained in their emotions. Disturbances in mental development affect the child's perception and understanding of the world around him.

The main distinguishing feature of autism is that such a child refuses to contact people around him, shows restrained emotions and is very withdrawn.

Schizophrenia

This pathology in children, fortunately, is quite rare - one case per 50,000 people. The main reasons include, in particular, genetic disorders. The characteristic features include:

Loss of connection with reality;
- memory losses;
- lack of orientation in time and space;
- lack of ability to build interpersonal relationships.

Common Symptoms of Psychiatric Disorders

There are clear signs of violations that should alert parents. Let's list them briefly:

Frequent changes in mood.

Long periods of sadness or anxiety.

Unreasonable pronounced emotionality, unreasonable fears, strange, obsessive repetition of certain movements.

Visible deviation in the development of thinking.

Atypical behavioral reactions, including: violation of the rules of behavior, their complete disregard, frequent manifestations of aggression, a desire to harm others or yourself, a tendency to suicide.

Finally

If parents note the atypical behavior of their child, if there are signs described above, or other violations, it is necessary to show it to a psychoneurologist or psychiatrist as soon as possible. Allied specialists are also involved in these pathologies - psychologists, behavioral doctors, social workers, etc.

The sooner a diagnosis is made and treatment is prescribed, the higher the chances of a full and healthy life in the future. In addition, the help of a specialist will help to avoid the possible development of severe mental disorders.

Mental disorders in children or mental dysontogenesis is a deviation from normal behavior, accompanied by a group of disorders that are pathological conditions. They arise due to genetic, sociopathic, physiological reasons, sometimes injuries or diseases of the brain contribute to their formation. Violations that occur at an early age cause mental disorders and require treatment by a psychiatrist.

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Causes of disorders

The formation of the child's psyche is associated with the biological characteristics of the organism, heredity and constitution, the rate of formation of the brain and parts of the central nervous system, acquired skills. The root of the development of mental disorders in children should always be sought in the biological, sociopathic or psychological factors that provoke the onset of disorders, often the process is triggered by a combination of agents. The main reasons include:

genetic predisposition. Assumes initially incorrect functioning of the nervous system due to the innate characteristics of the body. When close relatives had mental disorders, there is a possibility of passing them on to the child.
Deprivation (inability to meet needs) in early childhood. The connection between mother and baby begins from the first minutes of birth, it sometimes has a major impact on a person’s attachments, the depth of emotional feelings in the future. Any type of deprivation (tactile or emotional, psychological) partially or completely affects the mental development of a person, leads to mental dysontogenesis.
Limitation of mental abilities also refers to a kind of mental disorder and affects physiological development, sometimes causing other disorders.
Brain injury occurs as a result of difficult childbirth or head bruises, encephalopathy is caused by infections during fetal development or after past illnesses. According to the prevalence, this reason occupies a leading place along with the hereditary factor.
The bad habits of the mother, the toxicological effects of smoking, alcohol, and drugs have a negative effect on the fetus even during the period of bearing a child. If the father suffers from these ailments, the consequences of intemperance often affect the health of the child, affecting the central nervous system and the brain, which negatively affects the psyche.

Family conflicts or an unfavorable situation in the house are a significant factor that traumatizes the emerging psyche, aggravating the condition.

Mental disorders in childhood, especially under one year, are united by a common feature: the progressive dynamics of mental functions is combined with the development of dysontogenesis associated with impaired morphofunctional brain systems. The condition occurs due to cerebral disorders, congenital features or social influences.

Association of disorders and age

In children, psychophysical development occurs gradually, is divided into stages:

early - up to three years;
preschool - up to six years of age;
junior school - up to 10 years;
school-puberty - up to 17 years.

Critical periods are considered to be time periods during the transition to the next stage, which are characterized by a rapid change in all body functions, including an increase in mental reactivity. At this time, children are most susceptible to nervous disorders or worsening of the pathologies of the psyche present. Age crises occur at 3-4 years, 5-7 years, 12-16 years. What are the features of each stage:

Up to a year, babies develop positive and negative sensations, and initial ideas about the world around them are formed. In the first months of life, disorders are associated with the needs that the child must receive: food, sleep, comfort and the absence of pain. The crisis of 7-8 months is marked by awareness of the differentiation of feelings, recognition of loved ones and the formation of attachment, so the child needs the attention of the mother and family members. The better parents provide satisfaction of needs, the faster a positive stereotype of behavior is formed. Dissatisfaction causes a negative reaction, the more unfulfilled desires accumulate, the more severe the deprivation, which subsequently leads to aggression.
In children of 2 years old, active maturation of brain cells continues, motivation of behavior appears, orientation to the assessment by adults, positive behavior is identified. With constant control and prohibitions, the impossibility of self-affirmation leads to a passive attitude, the development of infantilism. With additional stress, behavior takes on a pathological character.
Stubbornness and nervous breakdowns, protests are observed at the age of 4, mental disorders can manifest themselves in mood swings, tension, internal discomfort. Restrictions cause frustration, the mental balance of the child is disturbed due to even a slight negative influence.
At the age of 5, violations can manifest themselves in advance of mental development, accompanied by dyssynchrony, that is, a one-sided orientation of interests appears. Also, attention should be paid if the child has lost the skills acquired earlier, has become untidy, limits communication, his vocabulary has decreased, the baby does not play role-playing games.
In seven-year-olds, schooling is the cause of neurosis; with the beginning of the school year, violations manifest themselves in instability of mood, tearfulness, fatigue, and headaches. The reactions are based on psychosomatic asthenia (poor sleep and appetite, decreased performance, fears), fatigue. The disruption factor is the discrepancy between the mental capabilities of the school curriculum.
In school and adolescence, mental disorders are manifested in anxiety, increased anxiety, melancholy, mood swings. Negativism is combined with conflict, aggression, internal contradictions. Children react painfully to the assessment of their abilities and appearance by those around them. Sometimes there is increased self-confidence or, conversely, criticality, posturing, disregard for the opinion of the teacher and parents.

Psychiatric disorders must be distinguished from anomalies of post-schizophrenic defect and dementia due to organic brain disease. In this case, dysontogenesis acts as a symptom of pathology.

Types of pathologies

Children are diagnosed with mental disorders characteristic of adults, but babies also have specific age-related ailments. Symptoms of dysontogenesis are diverse, due to age, stage of development and the environment.

The peculiarity of the manifestations is that in children it is not always easy to distinguish the pathology from the characteristics of character and development. There are several types of mental disorders in children.

Mental retardation

Pathology refers to acquired or congenital underdevelopment of the psyche with a clear lack of intelligence, when the social adaptation of the child is difficult or completely impossible. In sick children, the following are reduced, sometimes significantly:

cognitive abilities and memory;
perception and attention;
speech skills;
control over instinctive needs.

Vocabulary is poor, pronunciation is fuzzy, emotionally and morally the child is poorly developed, unable to predict the consequences of his actions. In a mild degree, it is detected in children with admission to school, the middle and severe stages are diagnosed in the first years of life.

The disease cannot be completely cured, but proper upbringing and training will allow the child to learn communication and self-service skills; with a mild stage of the disease, people are able to adapt in society. In severe cases, care for a person will be required throughout life.

Impaired mental function

The borderline state between oligophrenia and the norm, violations are manifested by a delay in the cognitive, motor or emotional, speech sphere. Mental delay sometimes occurs due to the slow development of brain structures. It happens that the state disappears without a trace or remains as an underdevelopment of one function, while it is compensated by other, sometimes accelerated abilities.

There are also residual syndromes - hyperactivity, decreased attention, loss of previously acquired skills. The type of pathology can become the basis for pathocharacterological manifestations of personality in adulthood.

ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)

A common problem in children of preschool age and up to 12 years old, characterized by neuro-reflex excitability. Shows that the child:

active, unable to sit still, do one thing for a long time;
constantly distracted;
impulsive;
unrestrained and talkative;
does not finish what he started.

Neuropathy does not lead to a decrease in intelligence, but if the condition is not corrected, it often becomes the cause of difficulties with study and adaptation in the social sphere. In the future, the consequence of attention deficit disorder may be incontinence, the formation of drug or alcohol addiction, family problems.

Autism

A congenital mental disorder is accompanied not only by speech and motor disorders, autism is characterized by a violation of contact and social interaction with people. Stereotypical behavior makes it difficult to change the environment, living conditions, changes cause fear and panic. Children are prone to making monotonous movements and actions, repeating sounds and words.

The disease is difficult to treat, but the efforts of doctors and parents can correct the situation and reduce the manifestations of psychopathological symptoms.

Acceleration

Pathology is characterized by accelerated development of the child in physical or intellectual terms. The reasons include urbanization, improved nutrition, interethnic marriages. Acceleration can manifest itself as harmonic development, when all systems develop evenly, but these cases are rare. With the progress of the physical and mental direction, somatovegetative deviations are noted at an early age, endocrine problems are detected in older children.

The mental sphere is also characterized by discord, for example, during the formation of early speech skills, motor skills or social cognition lag behind, and physical maturity is also combined with infantilism. With age, disagreements smooth out, so violations usually do not lead to consequences.

Infantilism

With infantilism, the emotional-volitional sphere lags behind in development. Symptoms are detected at the stage of school and adolescence, when already a big child behaves like a preschooler: he prefers to play rather than gain knowledge. Does not accept school discipline and requirements, while the level of abstract-logical thinking is not violated. In an unfavorable social environment, simple infantilism tends to progress.

The reasons for the formation of the disorder often become constant control and restriction, unjustified guardianship, the projection of negative emotions onto the child and incontinence, which prompts him to close and adapt.

What to pay attention to?

Manifestations of mental disorders in childhood are diverse, sometimes it is difficult to confuse them with a lack of education. Symptoms of these disorders can sometimes appear in healthy children, so only a specialist can diagnose the pathology. You should consult a doctor if the signs of mental disorders are pronounced, expressed in the following behavior:

Increased cruelty. A child at a younger age does not yet understand that dragging a cat by the tail hurts the animal. The student is aware of the level of discomfort of the animal, if he likes it, you should pay attention to his behavior.
Desire to lose weight. The desire to be beautiful arises in every girl in adolescence, when, with a normal weight, a schoolgirl considers herself fat and refuses to eat, the reason to go to a psychiatrist is “obvious”.
If a child has a high degree of anxiety, panic attacks often occur, the situation cannot be left unattended.
Bad mood and blues are sometimes characteristic of people, but the course of depression for more than 2 weeks in a teenager requires increased attention from parents.
Mood swings indicate the instability of the psyche, the inability to adequately respond to stimuli. If a change in behavior occurs without a reason, this indicates problems that need to be addressed.

When a child is mobile and sometimes inattentive, there is nothing to worry about. But if because of this it is difficult for him to play even outdoor games with peers, because he is distracted, the condition requires correction.

Treatment Methods

Timely detection of behavioral disorders in children and the creation of a favorable psychological atmosphere makes it possible to correct mental disorders in most cases. Some situations require monitoring and medication throughout life. Sometimes it is possible to cope with the problem in a short time, sometimes it takes years to recover, the support of adults surrounding the child. Therapy depends on the diagnosis, age, causes of formation and type of manifestations of disorders, in each case the method of treatment is selected individually, even when the symptoms vary slightly. Therefore, when visiting a psychotherapist and psychologist, it is important to explain to the doctor the essence of the problem, to provide a complete description of the characteristics of the child's behavior, based on a comparative description before and after the changes.

In the treatment of children are used:

In simple cases, psychotherapeutic methods are sufficient, when the doctor, in conversations with the child and parents, helps to find the cause of the problem, ways to solve it, and teaches how to control behavior.
A complex of psychotherapeutic measures and taking medications indicates a more serious development of the pathology. In depressive states, aggressive behavior, mood swings, sedatives, antidepressants, antipsychotics are prescribed. Nootropics, psychoneuroregulators are used to treat developmental delays.
In case of severe disorders, inpatient treatment is recommended, where the child receives a course of necessary therapy under the supervision of a physician.

During the period of treatment and after it, it is necessary to create a favorable environment in the family, eliminate stress and the negative impact of the environment that affects behavioral reactions.

If parents have doubts about the adequacy of the child's behavior, it is necessary to contact a psychiatrist, a specialist will conduct an examination and prescribe treatment. It is important to identify pathology at an early stage in order to correct behavior in time, prevent the progression of the disorder and eliminate the problem.

Mental disorders can complicate a person's life even more than obvious physical disabilities. The situation is especially critical when a small child suffers from an invisible illness, who has his whole life ahead of him, and right now there should be rapid development. For this reason, parents should be aware of the topic, closely monitor their children and respond promptly to any suspicious phenomena.

Causes

Childhood mental illness does not arise out of nowhere - there is a clear list of criteria that do not guarantee the development of a disorder, but strongly contribute to it. Individual diseases have their own causes, but this area is more characterized by mixed specific disorders, and this is not about choosing or diagnosing a disease, but about common causes. It is worth considering all possible causes, without dividing by the disorders they cause.

genetic predisposition

This is the only completely unavoidable factor. In this case, the disease is caused initially by improper functioning of the nervous system, and gene disorders, as you know, are not treated - doctors can only muffle the symptoms.

If there are cases of serious mental disorders among close relatives of future parents, it is possible (but not guaranteed) that they will be transmitted to the baby. However, such pathologies can manifest themselves even at preschool age.

Limited mental capacity

Brain damage

Another extremely common cause, which (like gene disorders) interferes with the normal functioning of the brain, but not at the gene level, but at the level visible in an ordinary microscope.

First of all, this includes head injuries received in the first years of life, but some children are not so lucky that they manage to get injured even before birth - or as a result of difficult births.

Violations can also provoke an infection, which is considered more dangerous for the fetus, but can also infect the child.

Bad habits of parents

Usually they point to the mother, but if the father was not healthy due to alcoholism or a strong addiction to smoking, drugs, this could also affect the health of the child.

Experts say that the female body is especially sensitive to the destructive effects of bad habits, so it is generally extremely undesirable for women to drink or smoke, but even a man who wants to conceive a healthy child must first refrain from such methods for several months.

A pregnant woman is strictly forbidden to drink and smoke.

Constant conflicts

When they say that a person is able to go crazy in a difficult psychological environment, this is not at all an artistic exaggeration.

If an adult does not provide a healthy psychological atmosphere, then for a baby who does not yet have a developed nervous system or a correct perception of the world around him, this can be a real blow.

Most often, the cause of pathologies is conflicts in the family, since the child is there most of the time, from there he has nowhere to go. However, in some cases, an unfavorable environment in the circle of peers can also play an important role - in the yard, in kindergarten or school.

In the latter case, the problem can be solved by changing the institution that the child attends, but for this you need to delve into the situation and begin to change it even before the consequences become irreversible.

Types of diseases

Children can get sick with almost all mental illnesses that adults are also susceptible to, but kids have their own (especially children's) diseases. At the same time, the exact diagnosis of a particular disease in childhood is much more complicated. The peculiarities of the development of babies, whose behavior is already very different from that of adults, are affected.

Not in all cases, parents can easily recognize the first signs of problems.

Even doctors usually make a final diagnosis no earlier than the child reaches primary school age, using very vague, too general terms to describe the early disorder.

We will give a generalized list of diseases, the description of which, for this reason, will not be perfectly accurate. In some patients, individual symptoms will not appear, and the very fact of the presence of even two or three signs will not mean a mental disorder. In general, the summary table of childhood mental disorders looks like this.

Mental retardation and developmental delay

The essence of the problem is quite obvious - the child is physically developing normally, but on a mental, intellectual level, it lags far behind its peers. It is possible that he will never reach the level of even an average adult.

The result can be mental infantilism, when an adult behaves literally like a child, moreover, a preschooler or a primary school student. It is much more difficult for such a child to learn, this can be caused by both a bad memory and the inability to focus on a particular subject at will.

The slightest extraneous factor can distract the baby from learning.

attention deficit disorder

Although by name this group of diseases may be perceived as one of the symptoms of the previous group, the nature of the phenomenon here is completely different.

A child with such a syndrome in mental development does not lag behind at all, and hyperactivity typical of him is perceived by most people as a sign of health. However, it is precisely in excessive activity that the root of evil lies, since in this case it has painful features - there is absolutely no activity that the child would love and bring to the end.

It is quite obvious that it is extremely problematic to force such a child to study diligently.

Autism

The concept of autism is extremely broad, but in general it is characterized by a very deep withdrawal into one's own inner world. Many consider autism a form of retardation, but in some forms, the learning potential of such children is not very different from their peers.

The problem lies in the impossibility of normal communication with others. If a healthy child learns absolutely everything from others, then an autistic child receives much less information from the outside world.

Gaining new experience also turns out to be a serious problem, since children with autism perceive any sudden changes extremely negatively.

However, autistic people are even capable of independent mental development, it just happens more slowly - due to the lack of maximum opportunities for acquiring new knowledge.

"Adult" mental disorders

This should include those ailments that are considered relatively common among adults, but in children they are quite rare. A noticeable phenomenon among adolescents are various manic states: megalomania, persecution, and so on.

Childhood schizophrenia affects only one child among fifty thousand, but frightens with the scale of regression in mental and physical development. Because of the pronounced symptoms, Tourette's syndrome has also become known, when the patient regularly uses obscene language (uncontrollably).

What should parents pay attention to?

Psychologists with extensive experience say that absolutely healthy people do not exist. If in most cases minor oddities are perceived as a peculiar, but not particularly disturbing character trait, then in certain situations they can become a clear sign of an impending pathology.

Since the systematization of mental illness in childhood is complicated by the similarity of symptoms in fundamentally different disorders, it is not worth considering disturbing oddities in relation to individual diseases. It is better to present them in the form of a general list of alarming "calls".

It is worth recalling that none of these qualities is a 100% sign of a mental disorder - unless there is a hypertrophied, pathological level of development of the defect.

So, the reason for going to a specialist may be a vivid manifestation of the following qualities in a child.

Increased level of cruelty

Here one should distinguish between childish cruelty caused by a lack of understanding of the degree of discomfort caused, and getting pleasure from purposeful, conscious infliction of pain - not only to others, but also to oneself.

If a kid at the age of about 3 years old pulls a cat by the tail, then he will learn the world in this way, but if at school age he checks her reaction to trying to tear off her paw, then this is clearly not normal.

Cruelty usually expresses an unhealthy atmosphere at home or in the company of friends, but it can either pass by itself (under the influence of external factors) or give irreparable consequences.

Fundamental refusal of food and hypertrophied desire to lose weight

concept anorexia in recent years, it has been heard - it is a consequence of low self-esteem and the desire for an ideal that is so exaggerated that it takes on ugly forms.

Among children suffering from anorexia, almost all are teenage girls, but one should distinguish between normal tracking of one's figure and bringing oneself to exhaustion, since the latter has an extremely negative effect on the functioning of the body.

panic attacks

Fear of something may look generally normal, but have an unreasonably high degree. Relatively speaking: when a person is afraid of heights (falling), standing on the balcony, this is normal, but if he is afraid to be even just in an apartment, on the top floor, this is already a pathology.

Such unreasonable fear not only interferes with normal life in society, but can also lead to more serious consequences, in fact creating a difficult psychological situation where it does not exist.

Severe depression and suicidal tendencies

Sadness is common to people of all ages. If it drags on for a long time (for example, a couple of weeks), the question arises as to the reason.

Children have virtually no reason to be depressed for such a long period, so it can be considered as a separate illness.

The only common reason for childhood depression may be difficult psychological environment however, it is precisely the cause of the development of many mental disorders.

By itself, depression is dangerous prone to self-destruction. Many people think about suicide at least once in their lives, but if this topic takes on the shape of a hobby, there is a risk of attempting to injure oneself.

Sudden mood swings or changes in habitual behavior

The first factor indicates the looseness of the psyche, its inability to resist in response to certain stimuli.

If a person behaves this way in everyday life, then his reaction in an emergency situation may be inadequate. In addition, with constant bouts of aggression, depression or fear, a person is able to torment himself even more, as well as negatively affect the mental health of others.

A strong and abrupt change in behavior, which does not have a specific justification, rather indicates not the appearance of a mental disorder, but an increased likelihood of such an outcome.

In particular, a person who suddenly became silent must have experienced severe stress.

Excessive hyperactivity that interferes with concentration

When a child is very mobile, this does not surprise anyone, but he probably has some kind of occupation to which he is ready to devote a long time. Hyperactivity with signs of a disorder is when a baby cannot even play active games for a long time, and not because he is tired, but simply due to a sharp switch of attention to something else.

It is impossible to influence such a child even by threats, but he is faced with reduced opportunities for learning.

Negative phenomena of a social nature

Excessive conflict (up to regular assault) and a tendency to bad habits in themselves can simply signal the presence of a difficult psychological environment that the child is trying to overcome in such unsightly ways.

However, the roots of the problem may lie elsewhere. For example, constant aggression can be caused not only by the need to defend oneself, but also by the increased cruelty mentioned at the beginning of the list.

Treatment methods

Although mental disorders are clearly a serious problem, most of them can be corrected - up to a full recovery, while a relatively small percentage of them are incurable pathologies. Another thing is that treatment can last for years and almost always requires the maximum involvement of all the people around the child.

The choice of technique strongly depends on the diagnosis, while even very similar diseases in terms of symptoms may require a fundamentally different approach to treatment. That is why it is so important to describe the essence of the problem and the symptoms noticed to the doctor as accurately as possible. In this case, the main emphasis should be placed on the comparison “it was and became”, explain why it seems to you that something went wrong.

Most of the relatively simple diseases are treated by ordinary psychotherapy - and only by it. Most often, it takes the form of personal conversations of the child (if he has already reached a certain age) with the doctor, who in this way gets the most accurate idea of \u200b\u200bunderstanding the essence of the problem by the patient himself.

A specialist can assess the scale of what is happening, find out the reasons. The task of an experienced psychologist in this situation is to show the child the hypertrophy of the cause in his mind, and if the cause is really serious, try to distract the patient from the problem, give him a new stimulus.

At the same time, therapy can take many forms - for example, autistic people who are closed in themselves and schizophrenics are unlikely to support the conversation. They may not make contact with a person at all, but they usually do not refuse close communication with animals, which in the end can increase their sociability, and this is already a sign of improvement.

The use of medicines always accompanied by the same psychotherapy, but already indicates a more complex pathology - or its greater development. Children with impaired communication skills or delayed development are given stimulants to increase their activity, including cognitive activity.

With severe depression, aggression or panic attacks are prescribed antidepressants and sedatives. If the child shows signs of painful mood swings and seizures (up to a tantrum), stabilizing and antipsychotic drugs are used.

Hospital is the most difficult form of intervention, showing the need for constant monitoring (at least during the course). This type of treatment is only used to correct the most severe disorders, such as schizophrenia in children. Ailments of this kind are not treated at once - a small patient will have to go to the hospital repeatedly. If positive changes are noticeable, such courses will become rarer and shorter over time.

Naturally, during treatment, the most favorable environment should be created for the child. a stress-free environment. That is why the fact of the presence of a mental illness should not be hidden - on the contrary, kindergarten teachers or school teachers should know about it in order to properly build the educational process and relationships in the team.

It is absolutely unacceptable to tease or reproach the child with his disorder, and in general you should not mention it - let the baby feel normal.

But love him a little more, and then in time everything will fall into place. Ideally, it is better to respond before any signs appear (by preventive methods).

Achieve a stable positive atmosphere in the family circle and build a trusting relationship with your child so that he can count on your support at any time and is not afraid to talk about any phenomenon that is unpleasant for him.

You can learn more about this topic by watching the video below.

Due to special factors, whether it is a difficult atmosphere in the family, a genetic predisposition or a traumatic brain injury, various mental disorders can occur. When a child is born, it is impossible to understand whether he is mentally healthy or not. Physically, these children are no different. Violations appear later.

Mental disorders in children are divided into 4 large classes:

1) Mental retardation;

2) developmental delays;

3) Attention deficit disorder;

4) Autism in early childhood.

Mental retardation. developmental delay

The first type of mental disorder in children is oligophrenia. The psyche of the child is underdeveloped, there is an intellectual defect. Symptoms:

Violation of perception, voluntary attention.
Vocabulary is narrowed, speech is simplified and defective.
Children are driven by the environment, not by their motivations and desires.

There are several stages of development depending on the IQ: mild, moderate, severe and deep. Basically, they differ only in the severity of the symptoms.

The causes of such a mental disorder are a pathology of the chromosome set, or trauma before birth, during childbirth, or at the beginning of life. Maybe because the mother drank alcohol during pregnancy, smoked. The cause of mental retardation can also be an infection, falls and injuries to the mother, difficult childbirth.

Developmental delays (ZPR) are expressed in violations of cognitive activity, immaturity of the personality in comparison with healthy peers and in the slow pace of development of the psyche. Types of ZPR:

1) Mentally infantilism. The psyche is underdeveloped, behavior is guided by emotions and games, the will is weak;

2) Delays in the development of speech, reading, counting;

3) Other violations.

The child lags behind his peers, assimilating information more slowly. ZPR can be adjusted, the most important thing is that teachers and educators know about the problem. A delayed child needs more time to learn something, however, with the right approach, it is possible.

Attention Deficit Syndrome. Autism

Mental disorders in children can take the form of attention deficit disorder. This syndrome is expressed in the fact that the child concentrates very poorly on the task, cannot force himself to do one thing for a long time and to the end. Often this syndrome is accompanied by hyperreactivity.

Symptoms:

The child does not sit still, constantly wants to run somewhere or start doing something else, is easily distracted.
If he's playing at something, he can't wait for his turn to come. Can only play active games.
He talks a lot, but never listens to what they say to him. Moves a lot.

Heredity.
Trauma during childbirth.
Infection or virus, drinking alcohol while carrying a child.

There are various ways to treat and correct this disease. You can treat with medication, you can psychologically - by teaching child to cope with their impulses.

Autism in early childhood is divided into the following types:

- autism, in which the child is not able to contact other children and adults, never looks into the eyes and tries not to touch people;

- stereotypes in behavior when a child protests against the most insignificant changes in his life and the world around him;

- violation of the development of speech. He does not need speech for communication - the child can speak well and correctly, but cannot communicate.

There are other disorders that children of different ages can be affected by. For example, manic states, Tourret cider and many others. However, they are also found in adults. The disorders listed above are typical for childhood.