Parenting Tips by Psychologist Delhi India

Schools - Are they getting too Competitive ?

Schools - are they becoming too competitive day by day? Are they focusing more on numerical scores and quantitative grades than developing a child into a fully-functional individual? Are the topmost grades, only criteria for judging their own students? And if schools are getting more inclined to such factors day by day, perhaps, our society is somewhere demanding such kinds of “levels” from the schools. These days parents are focusing more and more on their child getting “renowned” in school and basically, in the academics and scores rather than recognizing their own child’s talents.

After all, most of the parents want their child to stand first in the class and score highest in all the subjects. This is the only criterion where all –the parents, teachers and our Indian society agrees- to declare that such kind of children are really bright students. But are these students really the “brightest” of all the students as it is believed by the masses? And what about those students who were not the “brightest” lot in their schools, yet they are exceptionally doing well in their practical lives and later these are more renowned than their favorite and bright scholars? Live examples are available like Azim Premji- who had to leave his engineering education midway after his father’s death to take over his family’s business. Though, he belonged to a wealthy family and he was supposed to take over his family business of vegetable and hydrogenated oil or soaps and toiletries but he chose to diversify his business and stepped into the field of Information Technology which led him to the “Wipro Technologies…” and now he is known as the Bill Gates of India and finally the second richest Indian.

What are your views about Sachin Tendulkar? Recently, he almost broke the record of the cricket legend Don Bradman. He is now supposed to be the best batsman in the world, starting his cricket career from just the age of 15 years and still achieving highly even at the age of 37 years. I know , every Indian is proud of his achievements and till date when most of the cricketers retire when they are about his age or their glory of achievements starts declining even then he surprises the world through his amazing achievements. Do you know his one secret? He is a school drop out, not even able to qualify his exams still he is so extra-ordinary for all you. Why an ordinary school failure is a star today? Can you call him under-achiever or “retarded”? I can bet nobody can in this whole world. Though, he did not meet the criteria of all of you to survive the academic theoretical education of becoming a bright scholar, he even did not qualify to be a dull scholar, still he is educated. Yes, educated differently. He has been coached for his cricketing right from the schooling days. Probably, there was something which kept him motivated for this game. And, it is not that he got this success in one shot. Initially, he tried his luck as a bowler but he could not impress his coach about it and so finally the coach only guided him to choose for batting. Now, see the difference his bowler coach guided him what was the best suitable for his interests. Even in cricket, one could not be successful in all types of abilities like one could be expert in fielding, other in batting, another in bowling(that too could be fast or spin etc.), or in wicket keeping. So cricket is one field but still so many options where you could excel in.

Now, you could say that these people are selected, trained and encouraged for sports. May be that is true. But what about school drop outs who excelled in science, technology, mathematics or writing and so on, which is supposed to be developed and nurtured by only those “bright students” who proved academically (rather theoretically I would say). What you have to say about Ramanujan, who just excelled in Mathematics but denied the scholarship to continue his studies further as he failed in other non-mathematical subject. Ramanujan who discovered his own theorems of mathematics at just at the age of 12 years only got later renowned because one of the Collectors, who himself was a scholar of mathematics, during the British Regime in India, discovered Ramanujan’s talents by chance and made attempts for his international recognition.

Not everyone is so lucky though to be recognized that way. For example, I could recall one of my own classmates, who just migrated from Punjab to a small town in Uttar Pradesh and his father was an illiterate farmer, who came to Uttar Pradesh to avoid the burning Punjab of 1980’s and got his son admitted in the so called “best school” in that town. He happened to be my classmate. A very tall fellow, who never used to speak much but used to observe everything sharply. We were in class VII then. We had our quarterly exams after three months of the start of this new session and this student –named as Bachattar Singh – failed in all the subjects –not just failed but he got “zero” in all the subjects- except for Mathematics- where he score 100 out of 100. And then we kept on beating exams after exams for the whole year, he kept even the toppers in mathematics always behind him-for he never scored less than 100% in any of the class tests or any exams. Finally, the session ended for that year and class and we wrote the final exams. He again scored 100% in mathematics but again nearly “zero” in all the other subjects. Reports cards were handed over the students in the presence of their parents-teachers “judging” their students abilities and drawbacks- giving suggestions how to improve in certain “weaker subjects”- but Bachattar Singh was expelled from the school. Our class teacher just told him, that you are brilliant in mathematics but still to continue your education you need to score at least “passing marks” in the other subjects. Alas, the great talent in Mathematics, who could have been another Ramanujan, if and only if, he was allowed to continue his interests in mathematics, perhaps ended only in the geometric dimensions of his the agricultural fields and his interests in mathematics which was just reduced to manage the accounts of his crops being sold, but never had of any such chance to get recognized in mathematics.

Just think of many other talents, in your own locality, amongst your own relatives and acquaintances, amongst your own school and most importantly amongst your own children. Have you ever thought of about these extra-ordinary talents which if given little encouragement and direction in life may do wonders. These talents are not so rare as you think .Usually people think that these talented people are “too lucky” and “extra-ordinarily gifted” and perhaps you could not accept your own child to be that gifted because he cannot take the “risk” your child’s career in these extra-ordinary pursuits as it may not turn out to be that fruitful. Of course, it is little risky if you are still in doubt of your child’s talent and especially if you are not an ordinary family when you cannot afford to give him the education of that “extra-ordinary” talent on your “extra-ordinary” expenses. But at the same time who is responsible for all this? You may blame the educational system and educational policies- each one of you-whether you are a parent or a teacher or even you are a student. Aren’t you responsible for it? Who has made this educational system, it is one of you. May be you can say that whatever the policy and system is ,one as a school teacher, or a parent –they have to accept it and follow it. Why you need to accept anything blindly? If you accept anything blindly, then again you are also responsible for its establishment, as you have accepted it blindly without thinking over it logically. Please do not be so irresponsible to avoid your responsibilities. Not only the policy makers but each one of us are responsible for it, only few made the policies but all of us accepted it and not only accepted it followed and implemented it in our day to day lives. Being a democratic country, having complete rights of expressions, how can you just be transferring your responsibilities to the policy makers only. You share an equal part. Don’t give excuses. At the same time I do not believe that anyone kind of demonstrations or road blocks, closure of markets etc. would help this cause or any cause. You have to think logically, debate it with the qualified professionals and take a little bold step ahead of others protect your child’s or student’s rights.

I would like to first describe your responsibilities as a school teacher. How do you evaluate your student who is extra-noisy in the class? A student who cannot sit patiently in the class on his respective seat, who does not follow your instructions in one go and asks lot of questions like “why do you do this, act like this or why it cannot be this way…why you tell us this way only?...why we cannot describe things some other way?” Teachers usually call such student as a naughty, indisciplined child and so on. But did you ever think actual why he or she behaves like that. He or she might be just specifically talented, extra-curious child with divergent thinking who could not think in the class because he or she gets bored of those extra dozes of teaching which he already knows and is tired and bored of learning again and again. Sometimes, such children do not prefer to answer those boring questions in the school exams because they feel these are “below their standards” but they do not think of the term standards or something like that –only they find it too boring. They keep getting bored by those less appealing, sort of average or normal tasks for these above –average and abnormally intelligent who are exceptionally talented and gifted in some way or the other. All the more they could not tolerate lot of revisions of such tasks-as this loses their interests further in those topics. For such reasons many exceptionally talented children refuse to write exams for those boring topics or if forced to write exams may fail or turn out to be a drop outs like Albert Einstein or Thomas Alva Edison- who were actually unable to clear formal exams in schools but known to be the scientists and their inventions are well known to the world. Some others children find out the alternative ways to keep themselves interested in answering those questions like writing little different answers which are actually not wrong but is beyond your syllabus and finally got discouraged by their surroundings-parents, teachers or even the seniors.

Here I would like to narrate cases whom I was sent for counseling or advise or addressing their problems efficiently. Either they were labeled as “mentally retarded” due to their low scholastic performances or they were named to be fit in highly complex disorders like learning disabled or autism or attention deficit hyperactive disorders or some times even labeled as having behavioral problems amounting to conduct disorders. Though, teachers and parents are increasingly getting aware of these terms but unfortunately they are not “trained in those professions” to make such diagnoses or labeling such disorders. Of course, they have full right to suspect such disorders but I have a request that before any professional assessment by a qualified and trained professional one could not claim such labels. So please be patient before labeling them for such complex terms just on the basis of your suspicions.

I would like to explain here a case of about five year old student who was labeled as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder commonly called ADHD by his school teachers. The child was the student of UKG in a renowned school but because he was able to grasp things very quickly than his other classmates, he used to get up tried to help his little weaker classmates, he was labeled by his teacher as a distracted child. His parents getting fearful about this classification brought the child for my advice. I found the child extra-ordinarily intelligent, at least three years ahead of his normal age and his mother told me that he could read the story books meant for 9-10 year old children and could read and understand the head-lines and high-lights in newspapers. How can you expect such a child to restrict himself just to write only three letter words starting with the letter “A” and not more letter words. His mother told me how his other words which was for about 6-7 letters, all starting from letter “A” only where encircled by his teacher only to be labeled him as an “average” or “under-performer”. When his mother gently asked for explanation, the teacher said “The question was very clear-to write just the three letter words starting from letter “A” and obviously if he writes something which is not asked for , then it would not be accepted. Also, these words were never taught to him or any of these are not even in his course books”. The child’s mother got stunned but did not know how to respond to this unnecessary description of the criteria of performance. The irony was that his mother informed us that he could maintain his attention at a stretch for about 90 minutes, which many normal adults find it difficult to maintain unless it becomes their habit or demanded in their profession. It is disgusting that people call these children as ADHD when even at this age they could concentrate for so long.

If you want to think or act in a little different manner than most of the other people are doing then do the other authorities have the right to label a child or an individual like this? But it is not the fault of the school or teacher either. The only problem is the proper awareness about these kinds of problems. So here I would like to request the school authorities to have some kind of periodic training for your teachers about “knowing about their students” and also holding some kind of workshops that are involving both the students and teachers as staff where they could have some interaction in a little relaxed discipline where they could understand the particular student as an individual. May be if due to work pressure it is not possible or for some reasons, at least you could enquire more about such children whom you suspect to be little different from others. Also, enquiring from the parents in detail about their other interests ad activities rather than just the academics would help teachers to understand their student as an individual as such and his or her perception about that student would not be limited to his or her academic activities.

There was another student whose parents came to seek advice for the similar reasons. His teacher also labeled his as ADHD but actually he was a normal , active child with average intelligence that too on the higher side. Whenever, he got free time he did some adventurous activities like climbing on the window grills in the class, or running over or standing over the desk , but otherwise he could concentrate on his class work or homework even for more than half –an-hour. He was again five years old in age. Also, he was said that since he could not complete his homework or class work unless and until somebody like his mother at home or teacher in class especially paid attention to him. In fact it is quiet normal for many children of his age.

Though, the above case indicated that teachers and parents are becoming aware of these kinds of problems but you have take every account of the other situations also in context. The problem with this student was that he came from a very small town from Haryana where he lived in a joint family earlier. It was only three months back that his parents shifted to Gurgaon to explore better employment opportunities, for their own restaurant. Parents themselves found it difficult to adjust in that National Capital Region where they were never exposed earlier. And now they had to help their son also to grow in a proper manner. Knowing the reality, that restaurant just opened, three months back would not give us any kind of profit, the mother took up a job near by her residence. Also, aware of their responsibilities towards their son, father used to spend time early in the morning , while mother used to reach office by 7:00 a.m and then father used to go for his restaurant business. When the mother returned back to home by 12:00 noon, picked up her child from school and fed him and then she prepared to go back to her 4.00pm duty leaving the child to tuitions till 8:00pm their until she returned back home from duty. It was difficult for them to balance the physical activities of their son, who had the facility of a huge house and a playground with lots of cousins and friends from neighborhood and started playing by climbing on the window grills, rather than tree at his home town for which he was used to. So we have to understand the child’s full context before making a diagnoses.

I would like you to narrate you another case where the teacher called the child as “abnormal” because he did not speak much and did not answer exactly what the teacher wanted and moreover he had no friends in the class. His school counselor labeled him to be “autistic” and “retarded”, who herself was a qualified counselor and trained in Psychology! When I spoke to the child, amazingly, this eight year child spoke to me about food pipe and large and small intestines and digestive juices explaining me clearly its role and how we get energy from the food we eat and even the residual part which gets excreted and what part is responsible for it. Also, he spoke to me about how the electricity is generated. He explained me further of inhaling oxygen by human beings and exhaled Carbon-di-oxide by humans later inhaled by plants for themselves to prepare their own food with the help of sunlight. He spoke to me how rockets are prepared, how they get fuel and how they are launched which I did not even understand as I was never interested in knowing this “rocket technology”. He spoke to me about touch-me-not plant and other insect eating plants. Imagine just a third standard kid and having that much of knowledge. His mother revealed that he reads those books related to science and ask questions related to science , interested in Discovery Channels or National Geographic Channels and never interested in cartoon networks etc. An amazing painter and apparently great knowledge of science his only problem was that he did not like to write answers much in detail- perhaps that is the reason why he was called “retarded” and since he could not express himself properly to his fellow classmates- so labeled as “autistic”. I can bet had he been autistic he would not have been able to relate to me in just half-an-hour, would not be so comfortable with the surroundings etc. Also, perhaps he could not get along with the kids of his own age because he did not like to participate in their cartoon film discussions and he loved to believe in real concepts of science and geography and history and perhaps nobody tried to pay attention to him when he spoke such things in front of them. And “mentally retarded”- no way-even any lay person- not knowing the meaning of intelligence as such would never call him retarded!

My dear friends, these are just the glimpse of cases which I have come across in real life. So, please do not ignore this fact also if someone tries to point fingers on your childs’ capabilities but also do not follow any professional just “blindly”. Just think logically. If you some doubts about your student’s or own child’s talents or abilties then contact some professional efficient to handle this situation in a better manner. May be your child might have some of the problems which many others are thinking but even then do not get disappointed, because even the children with many kind of disorders also have something or the other which is unique special about them. And who knows, these apparent problems are not problems at all as these might have been appearing on the surface due to some other deep rooted talents, abilities, aptitudes and interests. And even if your child is weak, remember about Sachin Tendulkar, Ramanujan and many others- they were also weak in many things- so why not now start thinking about- what actually your students or children are especially good at. As you all know, nobody is usually remembered in life by his or her weaknesses but the fondest memories and the most beautiful and cherished moments are when the person whom you are remembering had done something great or special at least if not to others but to you. Remember those moments of your students and children and try to move them ahead in their natural strengths and talents. Why overstressing so much overcoming their shortcomings unless it is not harming to the society by and large.

Look into yourself, are you able to overcome your own shortcomings, for you have been criticized so much and even if to some extent whether you are still able to excel so much that you could still compete with those who were supposed to be the “best” in that. And at the same time if you spent even half the time overcoming your those weaknesses that you have been pointed out from time to time then certainly you would have been exceptionally well in that talent which you still secretly cherish!. So teachers and parents, please first try to look at your own strengths, rather than weaknesses, try to discover your own talents and then only you would be able to understand its special significance. May be the similar incident/s might have also troubled or discouraged you in the past for which you could not become what you wanted to be. Please do not repeat those mistakes to this younger kids! Let us join hands for their cause and may be we have many more Sachin’s or Ramanujan’s. It is still a dream but you can all make this dream to come true and convert it to reality!

Url : http://onlineconsultancy.blogspot.com

Behavioral Problems Child with ADD ADHD Dyslexia Emotional Kids Hyperactive Children Exam Phobia & Parenting Tips by Psychologist

Behavioral Problems in Children

Behavioral problems in children are common these days. The children throw tantrums, or do not listen to their parents, or do not pay adequate attention in studies, they do not eat properly or do not like to take the balanced diet and so on. Sometimes they love to throw stones on animals or they bully other children who are younger than them or they defy the authorities. If this is the case then it may be a serious problem leading to conduct and opposition ally defiant disorders. We should keep an eye on them and if they are highly aggressive then we must seek psychological treatment for it. Such treatments include, ignoring, time outs, reward management, withdrawal of reinforcements etc. If your child is throwing tantrums, ignore their behavior. If you are saying him or her even that "do not behave like this" then you are giving them negative attention. And the child knows that if he does that behavior then he would get attention from the authorities. So best technique is to not to give any attention to them. Similarly, if the child does not listen to you, give him a time out. Time out is the technique of sending the person to the safe but uninteresting place where he has to sit their without doing any activities eg: asking your child to sit in the corner of the room facing the wall. You have to specify them that your time starts when you start facing the all, withholding all the activities. Then know the interests of your children and try to manage it terms of rewards eg: If your child likes chocolates then give him chocolates only when he gives the desired behavior. Similarly, you can give tokens or stickers etc. to be exchanged for the rewards, defined beforehand. eg: One token could be exchanged with one "parantha" or two tokens could be exchanged for one favorite T.V. show, seven tokens could be exchanged for an outing and so on.

Actually, the selection of the technique depends upon the analyses of behavior according to the ABC model.” A" means antecedent so it is the cause of the behavior. "B" means behavior itself and "C" means the consequences resulting from that behavior. The basic conceptualization is that if we remove the causes itself we can improve or modify one's behavior eg: if two children are talking in the class then changing the environment itself i.e. changing their seats. This is called as environmental manipulation changing the cause of the behavior and manipulating it. The another method is to change the behavior itself, eg: giving them something that interests them more than talking .The third step is changing the consequences itself e.g. talking behavior followed by a time out. Thus understanding the basics of behavior we can manipulate the antecedents, behavior and consequences. These practices could be applied with the help of a psychologist to modify those behavioral problems.

Url : http://onlineconsultancy.blogspot.com

Child Psychologist & Parenting Tips by Psychologist Delhi India

Parenting and Child Care- Be Careful :

Please never ask your child to become like some other individual. Your child is unique, in fact every one is. Even two twins are not alike, who share same kind of genes, environment, nurturance etc. So respect each other’s individuality. Do not force your opinion on your children or anyone else through emotionally laden speeches or through examples of your experiences in your lives. Of course, you need to share your own opinions, experiences and many times- two people will be disagreeing with each other, howsoever close they are in relationships and not because they are rivals but because they are two different individuals and observes the same situation little differently. They are able to express to each other because they feel secured and bonded to express there -sometimes completely different views. That views are to be accepted and respected until these are not destroying anyone’s peace like a kind of anti-social activity or some criminal acts.

Moreover, as a parent you feel to choose your own preferred wishes, develop your own hobbies, so that you do not end up being just an over-involved or over cautious trying to control the child at every step, giving him or her lots of directions and allow them to take their own decisions according to their own age.

Too much of discipline or too much of liberty (actually lack of discipline) may lead your child to be emotionally impoverished or a rebel or may lead to antisocial activities.

Too much of discipline harms your child as he keeps on fearing himself or herself, always in conflict, never able to take proper decisions as he or she is always unsure of their decisions-in usual conflict whether I am thinking the right way or wrong ways., always needing some kind of directions, guidance or guidelines, could never discover or invent anything if he or she does not comes out of this mess, usually avoiding people for fear of being judged negatively and needs lots of assurances to find out whether he or she is performing normally. Emotionally these people are highly dependent individuals, always insecured of their significant others, fear of rejection constantly haunt them , are extra sensitive to even healthy criticism, sometimes resulting in extra possessiveness or extra dominating personality to compensate these conflicts. They try to be extra-cautious or extra- perfect and forget to take life in easy manner , ultimate result of which is lack of enjoyment and contentment. If they are too much suppressed then probably may turn out to be “rebellious” or “demonstrative campaigners” to their parents, and that too much of control converts into the extreme loss of control that they stop listening or paying heed to those “disciplines” which has pained them so much.

Too much of liberty results in loss of sensitivity towards others, lack of discipline in their lives, too easy going that they turn out to be irresponsible individuals, sometimes too insensitive that they turn out to be anti-socials for their sake of “fun” or “immediate enjoyment” or reluctant individuals who may turn out to be highly unproductive individuals- just enjoying and seeking sensations in whatever way they could- more chances of trying new addictive drugs for thrills which later turns into addictions.

Both these kind of parenting may lead to unhealthy and imbalanced personalities.

Url : http://onlineconsultancy.blogspot.com

Learning Disabilities Aggressive Kids Teenage Problems Child Psychotherapy & Parenting Tips by Psychologist Delhi India

Emotional Problems in Children

What to Look for

Among all the dilemmas facing a parent of a child with emotional or behavioral problems, the first question-whether the child's behavior is sufficiently different to require a comprehensive evaluation by professionals-may be the most troublesome of all. Even when a child exhibits negative behaviors, members of a family may not all agree on whether the behaviors are serious. For instance, children who have frequent, severe temper outbursts or who destroy toys may appear to have a serious problem to some parents, while others see the same behavior as asserting independence or showing leadership skills.

Every child faces emotional difficulties from time to time, as do adults. Feelings of sadness or loss and extremes of emotions are part of growing up. Conflicts between parents and children are also inevitable as children struggle from the "terrible two' s" through adolescence to develop their own identities. These are normal changes in behavior due to growth and development. Such problems can be more common in times of change for the family - the death of a grandparent or family member, a new child. a move to the city. Generally, these kinds of problems tend to fade on their own or with limited visits to a counselor or other mental health professional as children adjust to the changes in their lives. At times, however, some children may develop inappropriate emotional and behavioral responses to situations in their lives that persist over time.

The realization that a child's behavior needs professional attention can be painful or frightening to parents who have tried to support their child, or it may be accepted and internalized as a personal failure by the parent.

Many parents are afraid that their child may be inappropriately labeled, and point out that the array of diagnoses, medicines, and therapies have not been agreed upon by all specialists. Still others become alarmed after obtaining an assessment for their child only to discover that the evaluator believed emotional disturbances originate in family dynamics and that "parenting skills" classes were the best way to address the problem. While many parents will concede that they may need to learn new behavior management or communication techniques in order to provide a consistent and rewarding environment for their child, many also express deep anger about the blame that continues to be placed on families with children who behave differently.

Before seeking a formal mental health assessment, parents may have tried to help their child by talking to friends, relatives or the child's school. They may try to discover whether others see the same problems, and to learn what others suggest they might try. Parents may feel that they also need help in learning better ways of supporting the child through difficult times, and may seek classes to help them sharpen behavior management skills or conflict resolution skills. Modifications in a child's routine at home or school may help to establish whether some fine tuning" will improve performance or self-esteem. If the problems a child is experiencing are seen as fairly severe, and are unresponsive to interventions at school, in the community or at home, an assessment by a competent mental health professional is probably in order. Assessment will provide information which, when combined with what parents know, may lead to a diagnosis of an emotional or a behavioral disorder, and a recommended treatment program.

So when is that magical moment when parents should recognize their child's behavior has surpassed the boundary of what all children do and has become sufficiently alarming to warrant a formal assessment? There probably isn't one. It is often a gradual awareness that a child's emotional or behavioral development just isn't where it should be that sends most parents on a quest for answers.

Perhaps the most important question of all for parents of school age children to consider is, "How much distress is your child's problems causing you, the child, or other members of the family?" If a child's aggressive or argumentative behaviors, or sad or withdrawn behaviors are seen as a problem for a child or members of his or her family, then the child' s behaviors are a problem that should be looked at, regardless of their severity.

While there is no substitute for parental knowledge, certain guidelines are also available to help families make the decision to seek an evaluation. In Help for Your Child, A Parents Guide to Mental Health Services, Sharon Brehm suggests three criteria to help in deciding whether a child's behavior is normal or a sign that the youngster needs help:

The Duration of a Troublesome Behavior - Does it just go on and on with no sign that the child is going to outgrow it and progress to a new stage?

The Intensity of a Behavior - For instance, while temper tantrums are normal in almost all children, some tantrums could be so extreme that they are frightening to parents and suggest that some specific intervention might be necessary Parents should pay particular attention to behaviors such as feelings of despair or hopelessness; lack of interest in family, friends, school or other activities once considered enjoyable; or behaviors which are dangerous to the child or to others.

The Age of the Child - While some behavior might be quite normal for a child of two, observation of other children of the youngster's age may lead to the conclusion that the behavior in question is not quite right for a five year old. Not all children reach the same emotional milestones at the same age, but extreme deviations from age-appropriate behaviors may well be cause for concern.

Attempts at self-injury or threats of suicide, violent behaviors, or severe withdrawal that creates an inability to carry on normal routines must be regarded as emergencies for which parents should seek immediate attention, through a mental health or medical clinic, mental health hotline, or crisis center.

Parents will also want to consider whether their child's behavior could be influenced by other factors:

whether a specific physical condition (allergies, hearing problems, change in medication, etc.) could be affecting the behavior;

whether school problems (relationships, learning problems) are creating additional stress;

whether the adolescent or older teen might be experimenting with drug use or alcohol; or

whether changes in the family (divorce, new child, death) have occurred which may be causing concern for the child.

Young Children

Special consideration needs to be given to identifying behaviors of concern in very young children. Their well-being is so connected with that of the family that services must be developed with and directed to the family as a unit. The goal in assessing and providing services to a young child should include helping families to articulate their own stresses and strengths. It is in the context of family that a child first explores his or her world and learns to adapt to the varied demands of families and the world at large.

Historically, many professionals have not been anxious to have a child "labeled and judged" at an early age. On the other hand, the earlier that parents and professionals can intervene in the life of a young child with delays in emotional and behavioral development, the better it is for both the child and the family. Early assessment and intervention requires that parents be involved in both giving and receiving information about their child's development. Interviews with families and observations of their child to assess how well he or she communicates, plays, relates to peers and adults, and is able to self-regulate behavior is useful in deciding whether the child has a developmental problem that needs attention.

Most often, the first indications that an infant may be experiencing significant problems will be delays in normal development. An infant who is unresponsive to his or her environment (doesn't show emotion such as pleasure or fear that is developmentally appropriate, doesn't look at or reach for objects within reach or respond to environmental changes such as sound or light), who is over-responsive (easily startled, cries), or who shows weight loss or inadequate weight gain that is not explainable by a physical problem (failure to thrive), should have a thorough evaluation. If parents have questions about their child's development, they should call their child's pediatrician or family physician. Many doctors who include young children in their practice will have materials available for parents on normal childhood development.

Toddlers may have a tremendous range of behaviors that would be considered developmentally appropriate, depending on the child's own history. However, any significant delays (six months or more) in language development, motor skills or cognitive development should be brought to the attention of the child's pediatrician. Children who become engrossed in self-stimulating behavior to the exclusion of normal activities or who are self-abusive (head banging, biting, hitting), who do not form affectionate relationships with care providers such as baby-sitters or relatives, or who repeatedly hit, bite, kick or attempt to injure others should be seen by their pediatrician or family physician and, if indicated, by a competent mental health professional.

Especially with a first child, parents may feel uneasy, uncomfortable, or even foolish about seeking an evaluation for their very young child. While sorting out problems from developmental stages can be quite tricky with infants and toddlers, early identification and intervention can significantly reduce the effects of abnormal psychosocial development. Careful observation of infants and toddlers as they interact with caregivers, their family or their environment is one of the most useful tools that families or physicians have, since many mental health problems cannot be diagnosed in any other way.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states to provide services for children from ages three through twenty-one who have disabilities, and established an Early Intervention State Grant Program (part H of the IDEA) to serve infants and toddlers from birth through the age of two. The law specifies that states who apply for and receive funds under Part H must provide a multi-disciplinary assessment of infants or toddlers who are experiencing significant delays in normal development, and identify services appropriate to meet any identified needs in a written Individual Family Services Plan (IFSP). As of this writing, all states are receiving funds to provide services to infants and toddlers. Parents who have questions related to preschool or early intervention programs should call their local school district offices or their state Department of Health or Human Services for guidance.

Cultural Considerations

Appropriate assessment of a child's mental or emotional status is key to developing appropriate school or mental health services. For children who are cultural or racial minorities, parents will want to know how, or if, those differences will affect assessment results.

Tests, by their very nature, have been developed to discriminate. if everyone taking a test scored the same, then the test would be of no use. What's important, though, is that tests discriminate only in those areas they were designed to measure - such as depression, anxiety, etc. - and not along measures such as cultural background, race, or value systems.

If the professional who is responsible for assessment is not of the same cultural background as the child, parents should feel free to ask what his or her experiences have been in cross-cultural assessment or treatment. Professionals who are sensitive to issues of bias related to language, socioeconomic status or culture in formal assessment tools should willingly share such information with parents.

One way of minimizing the effects of cultural bias in obtaining an appropriate diagnosis is to utilize a multidisciplinary approach to assessment involving persons from different backgrounds (teacher, therapist, parent, social worker) in completing the assessment. Several questions to consider are:

Do the various professionals agree with one another?

Did the professionals use family information about the child's functioning at home and in the community to aid in making a diagnosis?

Does the family believe the assessment is accurate?

When a multidisciplinary approach is not practical or available, the person providing the assessment should give a battery of tests to reduce the effects of bias in an individual test when making a determination that a child needs mental health services.

If children from specific ethnic or cultural groups appear to be over-represented in the program that has been selected or recommended for a child, parents should carefully examine the procedures for determining their child's placement.

If parents decide that the placement decision was not influenced by racial or cultural bias, that perspective can increase confidence in the therapeutic program selected for their child.

Seeking Assessment

Once parents have decided that their child or adolescent has behaviors that deserve at least a look by a mental health professional, the question then becomes where to turn for an evaluation.

If the child is of school age, a first step could be to approach the school's special education director and request an assessment by the school psychologist or teacher. If the family doesn't want to involve the school at this point, there are several other places to turn for an evaluation.

A family doctor can rule out physical health issues and refer families to an appropriate child or adolescent psychologist or psychiatrist. Also, many hospitals and most community mental health centers offer comprehensive diagnostic and evaluation programs for children and adolescents.

Assessment can be costly, but there are some supports available for families. For instance, most insurance companies will cover all or a portion of the costs of an assessment or, Medical Assistance Medicaid) will cover costs for eligible families.

For Medicaid-eligible children, the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) Program provides preventive health care, including screening (assessment), diagnosis, and appropriate mental health services.

Under EPSDT, a screen is a comprehensive health evaluation, including the status of a child's emotional health. A child is entitled to periodic screenings, or an interperiodic screening (between normal screening times) whenever a physical or emotional problem is suspected and is entitled to receive health services to address such problems from any provider (public or private) who is a Medicaid provider. Because of the numbers of changes being proposed in the Medicaid program at the time of this waiting, it is a good idea for parents to check with their state Medicaid office if they are concerned about services under the EPSDT program.

Other parents, particularly those in rural areas, may want to first approach their county's public health nurse or mental health services director. Either may be able to direct them to an evaluation program available in their area.

Community mental health centers are also a good source of help, and can be less expensive than seeking out a private doctor or mental health professional. Parents will want to ask for professional staff with experience in evaluating the mental health needs of children if in doubt, ask for the credentials and expertise of the professional who is assigned to work with the child. Credentials should be offered and should be displayed in the professional's workplace.

Url : http://india-advertising.blogspot.com