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Psychiatry in children and adolescents

Psychiatric disorders occur not only in adults, but also in children and adolescents. There are disorders that only occur in children, but that also occur in adults and can also be seen in a different form in some children. The psychiatric disorders this article is about are; autism, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), developmental disorders, antisocial behavior disorder, excretory disorders and tic disorders.

Autism

Autism occurs in many different forms in children. Characteristic is that it seems as if at one moment everything goes past a child, while at another moment there is an overly upset reaction to something. These children show little to no emotions and do not respond to the emotions of others. Children with autism often do not have friendships, but they can be very attached to certain objects in their environment.

Further features

  • Delayed language development,
  • Peculiar form of communication,
  • Echolalia; chatting in exactly the same way,
  • Neologisms; inventing and using new, meaningless words,
  • Talking in a flat, robotic manner,
  • Stereotypes; repeating aimless movements.

 

Therapy

You cannot cure autism, medication does not help. The treatment is therefore mainly aimed at learning new behaviors and stimulating language development, among other things.

Attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity

ADHD is an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Children with this disorder have difficulty separating stimuli by degree of importance. In addition/because of this, they are often impulsive and hyperactive. In addition to ADHD, there are two other psychiatric disorders that are very similar to ADHD, but do not involve hyperactivity or impulsivity, for example.

Characteristics of ADHD

  • Chaotic and disorganized,
  • Forgetful,
  • Easily distracted,
  • Hyperactive,
  • Impulsive,
  • Difficulty interacting with peers.

 

Therapy

With attention deficit disorder, children and adolescents can benefit from medication such as Ritalin, which allows them to sort things out more calmly. They can then concentrate better on things that need to be done. Behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy can also help.

Developmental disorders

Children and adolescents may also experience various psychological developmental disorders;

  • Reading disorders,
  • Arithmetic disorders,
  • Language – speech disorders,
  • Motor skills disorders.

 

Antisocial behavior disorder

Children and adolescents with antisocial behavior disorder have little respect for others and often end up in criminal circles.

Characteristics

  • Little respect for others
  • Lying and deceiving,
  • Skip class,
  • Running away from home,
  • Have difficulty putting themselves in the shoes of others.

 

Therapy

No matter how well you try to treat someone with this disorder, treatment will not work if the home situation does not also change. That is why family therapy is very important. There is often something wrong with the home situation of these people that causes a child to exhibit this behavior. Furthermore, both cognitive therapy and residential treatment can help.

Disturbances in excretion

Of course, especially in children, there can also be excretion disorders;

  • Nocturnal enuresis; Still wetting the bed after the age of 5
  • Enuresis; Still peeing your pants after the age of 5,
  • Encopresis; After the age of 4, still pass stools in your pants, or on the floor or something.

 

Tic disorders

Tic disorders are disorders in which a person suffers from involuntary, abrupt, rapid and irregular movements or verbal expressions. This may also involve coprolalia, which is when you say obscene words without meaning to. A well-known tic disorder is Tourette’s syndrome. If you want to know more about this, it is best to read the article about Cursing (without) under control.

Treatment of tic disorders

Relaxation training is an important part of the treatment. Tic disorders will not go away with treatment, but the worst symptoms often disappear in late adolescence. Relaxation training teaches children with tic disorders to relax their tense muscles. To prevent many tics, medication can be used and to gain insight into the types of tics that someone exhibits, the child (or the parents) must register at which times of the day which tics occur most often.