Behavior or Emotional Disorder: Diagnose And Deal Before The Delay
Negative Behavior Traits in Children can be due to number of reasons. A lot of times causes may be hidden and serious wherein child suffers from behavior or emotional disorder while other times a typical behavior change is a result of occasional occurrence (which could be anything like a child having a bad day, etc.) or a stage of development.
It is therefore very important to observe if such change in behaviour is temporary or not; as persistent changes can be due to behaviour or emotional disorder and can be problematic for both; you (parent) as well as your child.
Diagnosis: The first step for parents is to notice a few behavior traits among children which include:
inability to learn at school which can be other than intellectual, health or sensory factors
lacking to maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships
persistent unhappiness or depression
improper behavior under normal circumstances
tendency of developing physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems
On positive signal of any of the above, parents can proceed for diagnosis which should involve:
A formal diagnosis of a child by specialist or an expert, i.e. a psychologist or child psychiatrist
Detail interviews with parents, child and teachers
Behaviour check lists or standardized questionnaires
Treatment: Treatment is comprised of:
- Medication to help control reckless behavior
- Parental Education &Family Training on how to communicate and deal effectively with children
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy to help children to gain control over their thoughts and behavior
- Social Interaction Skills Training for a child on how to have a conversation; or how to play or participate in co-operation with others
- Other Remedies that may be more specific relating to a particular problem (as Behavior or Emotional Disorders have various types of disorders under the category, which include anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder), conduct disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), among others.)
Complications: Untreated, poorly controlled or even unrecognized behavioural/emotional disorders will have unfavorable consequences a few of which may include:
- lower graduation rates and grade point averages (GPAs) while higher dropout rates and absenteeism (as been documented a number of times by now)
- high likelihood of children turning into dysfunctional adults
- suicide deaths
With early intervention, regular medical care and proper treatment, severe complications and serious consequences can be avoided.
Start right away to deal with behavior and emotional disorders in your children.
Eva Foxman is a mother of 2 tremendous teens and passionate about having fulfilling relationships, especially with her children. Apart from raising 2 amazing adolescents, she loves to read, write and share parenting experiences, stories, articles and much more that can help others to parent their young children. Eva is a single parent though, she maintains a balance between her parenting and professional role as a Corporate Manager with 180 Parenting - One Stop Support for parents offering useful help, advice, techniques, tools and information about Behavior Emotional Disorder as well as Boot Camps, Chlld Behaviour Problem, Child Behavior Disorder.
