Child & Adolescent Clinic
Athma Child and Adolescent Counselling and Guidance (ACE)
Vision
- To provide comprehensive, integrated and responsive mental health and social care services to child and adolescents in school or college settings for early recognition and management of childhood mental disorders;
- To implement strategies for promotion of psychosocial well-being, prevention of mental disorders and promotion of human rights of children with mental disorders.
Introduction
The Wealth of a nation is not so much in its of economical and natural resources but it lies more decidedly in the kind and quality of the wealth of its children and youth. It is they who will be the creators and shapers of a nation’s tomorrow.
So it is very important to ensure their physical health as well as their psychological health to contribute good for the self, family and the community. Child and adolescence is a phase where they go through / experience lots of changes irrespective of physically, emotionally, cognitively, behaviorally and socially.
It’s very difficult to distinguish their perception upon life as expected due to many factors and it’s on the parents hands how they choose to raise and how quickly they identify the children’s problems determines the outcome of our future.
Going by the statistics 25% of school going children are having some form of psychological problem besides being mentally or physically challenged. Suicide has been noticed as a major problem among adolescents in India. Tamil Nadu and Kerala hold the highest. Each year, between 30 and 40 people per 100,000 Indians aged between 15 and 29 kill themselves. We are all aware that students are put under enormous pressure to study.
Worldwide 10-20% of children and adolescents experience mental disorders. Half of all mental illnesses begin by the age of 14 and three-quarters by mid-20s. Psychiatric conditions are the leading cause of disability in young people in all regions. If untreated, these conditions severely influence children’s development, their educational attainments and their potential to live fulfilling and productive lives.
Children with mental disorders face major challenges with stigma, isolation and discrimination, as well as lack of access to health care and education facilities, in violation of their fundamental human rights.
Psychological Problems of children and adolescents
- Developmental delay
- Poor communication that needs a lot of articulation
- Hyperactive poor attention span.
- Aggressive, short-tempered and violent behaviour.
- Speech delay.
- Scholastic backwardness.
- Learning difficulty.
- Lack of concentration, memory problem
- Forgetfulness and fear of examinations.
- Playing truant, bullying other students, lying, stealing, and being abusive.
- Severe sibling rivalry.
- Stereotypic behaviour, not mingling or playing with other children and always keeping themselves aloof.
- Throwing tantrums, aggressive, crying very often. Fear or phobias.
- Sleep disturbances, nightmares caused by terror filled dreams and bed wetting.
- A disturbed melancholic mind that loses it’s will to live and triggers suicidal attempts.
- Always in opposition to what their parents feel or say.
- Problems in the family, broken homes and alcoholic abusive father’s. Inability to cope with stress.
- Difficulty in choosing academic courses.
- Cerebral palsy and any form of mental and physical disability.
- Misconceptions in sex.
- Infatuation and trivial love affairs.
- Failure in exams.
- Drug abuse
Warning signs
Warning signs that your child might have a mental health condition include:
Mood changes. Look for feelings of sadness or withdrawal that last at least two weeks or severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships at home or school.
Intense feelings. Be aware of feelings of overwhelming fear for no reason — sometimes with a racing heart or fast breathing — or worries or fears intense enough to interfere with daily activities.
Changes in sleep pattern. The child may sleep excessively or experience sleep disturbances.
Behavior changes. These include drastic changes in behavior or personality, as well as dangerous or out-of-control behavior. Fighting frequently, using weapons and expressing a desire to badly hurt others also are warning signs.
Difficulty concentrating. Look for signs of trouble focusing or sitting still, both of which might lead to poor performance in school.
Unexplained weight loss or weight gain. A sudden loss of appetite or increased food intake especially junk foods, ice creams and chocolates.
Physical symptoms. Compared with adults, children with a mental health condition might develop headaches and stomachaches rather than sadness or anxiety.
Physical harm. Sometimes a mental health condition leads to self-injury, also called self-harm. This is the act of deliberately harming your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself. Children with a mental health condition also might develop suicidal thoughts or attempt suicide.
Substance abuse. Some kids use drugs or alcohol to try to cope with their feelings.
Social withdrawal. Reduced ability to function during events and activities at home or with friends, in school, extracurricular activities, and in other hobbies, Vocal outbursts or crying.
Common Mental health problems of children and adolescents
Children can develop all of the same mental health conditions as adults, but sometimes express them differently.
Children can experience a range of mental health conditions, including:
Anxiety disorders
Children who have anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder experience anxiety as a persistent problem that interferes with their daily activities.
Some worry is a normal part of every child’s experience, often changing from one developmental stage to the next. However, when worry or stress makes it hard for a child to function normally, an anxiety disorder should be considered.
Depression
The symptoms of depression in children vary. It is often undiagnosed and untreated because they are passed off as normal emotional and psychological changes that occur during growth. Children may not always have clinical symptoms of depression; we term it as “masked” depression, where a child’s depressed mood was evidenced only by acting out or angry behavior.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
This condition typically includes symptoms in difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. Some children with ADHD have symptoms in all of these categories, while others might have symptoms in only one.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Autism spectrum disorder is a serious developmental disorder that appears in early childhood — usually before age 3. Though symptoms and severity vary, ASD always affects a child’s ability to communicate and interact with others.
Eating disorders
Eating disorders — such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder — are serious, even life-threatening, conditions. Children can become so preoccupied with food and weight that they focus on little else.
Mood disorders
Mood disorders — such as depression and bipolar disorder — can cause a child to feel persistent feelings of sadness or extreme mood swings much more severe than the normal mood swings common in many people.
Schizophrenia
This chronic mental illness causes a child to lose touch with reality (psychosis). Schizophrenia most often appears in the late teens through the 20s.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Is a persistent behavioral pattern of angry or irritable mood; argumentative, defiant behavior towards authority figures; and vindictiveness. In some children with ODD, these behaviors are only in evidence in one setting—usually at home.
Conduct disorder
Is a serious behavioral and emotional disorder that can occur in children and teens. fighting, bullying, being cruel to others or animals, Destructive behavior such as arson (deliberate fire-setting) and vandalism (harming another person’s property), repeated lying, shoplifting, or breaking into homes or cars in order to steal, Violation of rules ,frequent temper tantrums, abuse of drugs and alcohol are some of the symptoms.
Social Media Addiction
Social networking addiction is a phrase sometimes used to refer to someone spending too much time using Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media so much so that it interferes with other aspects of daily life.
Facts to know
- Not all children show clear warning signs. In fact, most will display different symptoms at different times and in different settings.
- Children’s problems/changes can be noticeable in social activities, their interest in school and academic performance, or a change in appearance.
- Children may also begin using drugs or alcohol, especially if they are over age 12.
- Rarely children under 12 attempt suicide — and may do so impulsively when they are upset or angry.
- Girls are more likely to attempt suicide, but boys are more likely to actually kill themselves when they make an attempt.
Children with a family history of violence, alcohol abuse, or physical or sexual abuse are at greater risk for suicide, as are those with depressive symptoms are more prone for suicide attempts or personality deviation.
What we do
ACE is the only counseling centre in Tiruchirappalli actively involved in counselling and providing guidance to the children, adolescents and students for and run entirely by qualified specialists in a humane and congenial atmosphere.
In the past 10 years 5974 cases were registered out of which 1025 MR children are identified who were all referred by other agencies, schools and special schools.
Features of ACE
- No long waiting hours- Consultation strictly by appointment.
- 200 assessment tools and scales to evaluate in detail about the personality.
- IQ & EQ assessments.
- Multi disciplinary approach- A team of experts including psychiatrist, psychologist, social workers, counselors and occupational therapist
- Convenient time slots- For the convenience of students the sessions are in the evening also.
- Detailed evaluation- Initial evaluation is done by counsellors and psychologists.
- 24 X 7 Emergency service- People can approach us anytime through our hotline number (98424-22121) in case of any emergency.
- Separate counselling chamber in order to maintain the confidentiality.
- Medications – if needed.
- Group therapy- focused group therapy for students and parents.
- School mental health programmes- mental health programmes are been organized in schools and colleges to handle stress, exam fear, suicidal thoughts, romantic break up issues and on memory & concentration and parental counselling.