Question

• Only about half of children with a mental health diagnosis receive treatment. What steps should be taken to address the barriers to treatment? Why do you think that those steps have not already been taken?
• Also, please comment on why you think prescribingmedication for children and teens is so controversial. Make sure to use classroom material and videos in your answer.

Answer 1

All the children with mental illness do not get treatment. It is because most of the parents are not properly aware of the problems. They think that it is useless to treat the children with mental illness. Besides they are victim of the superstition. They think that the mental disorder can only be repaired with the help of heavenly power. Besides, there are many parents who become helpless and therefore they do not take any steps for the treatment of the mentally handicapped children.

Many steps can be taken so that the mental health diagnosis of all the children can be possible:

• With the first schooling children's full psychological assessment should be done.
• The case history of every student should be preserved in the school.
• The IQ test of the students should be done periodically.
• If any odd behavior is seen in the students, then the teachers and parents must take immediate steps.
• The parents of the mentally retarded children should be trained.
• People should have least idea about mental problems through awareness campaign.

But such steps have not been taken.

It is true that the success of medication for treating mental illness is not certain. It is a drug therapy. In case of young people drug therapy is not applicable as it has many side effects. It may be worse to them. At the initial level various therapy is imparted to the mentally retarded children. It gradually brings development in the mentally backward children.