Children's Mental Health Week 2018

Mental Health Disorders in Children and Youth

It is estimated that nearly 1 in 5 Ontario children under the age of 19 experiences a mental, emotional or behavioural disorder that is severe enough to seriously affect their daily functioning at home, school or within the community. The good news is that early diagnosis and treatment lead to better outcomes for children later in life.

Some of the more common mental health disorders affecting children and youth are listed below.

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
  • Behaviour Disorders (including Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Conduct Disorder (CD)
  • Mood Disorders (including Depression, Bipolar Disorder (Manic-Depression)
  • Eating Disorders
  • Schizophrenia
  • Substance Abuse
  • Tourette Syndrome

Identifying the Signs

Recognizing symptoms is key! Family awareness and early identification are often the first steps to effective treatment for children and youth with mental health disorders.

It's easy to recognize when a child has a fever. But a child's mental health is different. It can be difficult to distinguish between 'normal' problems that all children and adolescents experience from time to time, and behaviour that may be indicative of a mental health disorder.

The following characteristics and behaviours may be signs of an underlying mental health disorder:

  • getting significantly lower marks in school
  • avoiding friends and family
  • having frequent outbursts of anger and rage
  • losing his or her appetite
  • having difficulty sleeping
  • rebelling against authority
  • drinking a lot and/or using drugs
  • not doing the things he or she used to enjoy
  • worrying constantly
  • experiencing frequent mood swings
  • not concerned with his or her appearance
  • obsessed with his or her weight
  • lacking energy or motivation
  • hitting or bullying other children
  • attempting to injure him or her self

Children and youth with the most serious mental health disorders (e.g., severe psychosis or schizophrenia) may exhibit:

  • distorted thinking
  • excessive anxiety
  • odd body movements
  • abnormal mood swings
  • acting overly suspicious of others
  • seeing or hearing things that others don’t see

 

Colour Your World With Compassion!

Special Edition CMHW T-Shirts were available for purchase until March 7th

Everyone was invited to purchase a special edition t-shirt in support of the 2018 Children’s Mental Health Campaign. T-shirts were available through Tee’s For the People and the proceeds from the sale of the shirts will go towards the CMHW bursary. We sold 198 t-shirts, raising close to $1000.

 

WORD SEARCH AND COLOURING CHALLENGE

Challenge for Children & Youth – Complete the Word Search/Colouring Page and have the chance to be presented with a new bicycle/scooter/roller blades. Information and submission forms can be picked up at any North Eastern Ontario Family and Children’s Services office or by clicking below. Thank you to Imerys Talc for sponsoring the CMHW Word Search and Colouring Challenge.

2018CMHWExpressionChallengeEN --pdf