Mental health and learning disabilities

We have been sharing The Calgary Herald's series on mental health and kids over the last several days, but there is plenty of further information out there on the issue, if you're interested.  Here's an abstract from a major study on learning disabilities in Canada which was done about seven years ago.  Click on the headline below or visit the PACFOLD website for more info.

TheMental Health of Canadians With Self-Reported Learning Disabilities

Alexander M. Wilson, Mount Allison University
Catherine Deri Armstrong, University of Ottawa
Adele Furrie, Ottawa, Canada
Elizabeth Walcot, Université de Sherbrooke

Abstract

There has been growing concern as to the mental health status of persons with learning disabilities (PWLD). This study examined rates of mental health problems among PWLD aged 15 to 44 years using a large, nationally representative data set. PWLD were more than twice as likely to report high levels of distress, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts, visits to mental health professionals, and poorer overall mental health than were persons without disabilities (PWOD). Multivariate regression analyses determined that these significantly higher rates of mental health problems remained for all six measures after controlling for confounding factors including income, education, social support, and physical health. Differences found in the older adult sample (ages 30—44) were even larger than in the adolescent sample (ages 15—21) for suicidal thoughts, depression, and distress. Males with learning disabilities were more likely to report depressive episodes, anxiety disorders, and consultations with health professionals, whereas females with learning disabilities were more likely to report high distress, suicidal thoughts, and poor general mental health relative to PWOD. On balance, learning disabilities were not found to be more detrimental to mental health for one gender or the other.

A mental health toolkit for parents

As a parent, we all want to do what we can to help our kids.  Here are a few tips for keeping your kids mentally healthy from the Calgary Herald series.

What can parents do to help keep their children and youth mentally healthy? Jodie Cossette, a recreation therapist with the Eating Disorders Clinic at Alberta Children’s Hospital offers these tips:

• Find the balance between work and play. Work, school, being productive and goal-oriented are important, but so is making time to rest, rejuvenate and recharge.

• Play together as a family — and not just at sports. It can be board games, goofing around in a park, hanging out with friends and family. Have fun, keep it lighthearted.

• Aim for a healthy, balanced lifestyle on a budget. “It doesn’t have to be Hawaii for three weeks. Entertainment can be very simple, like a game of charades. Finances don’t have to be a barrier. Get back to the basics”

• Find a passion. “Life can be very difficult, demanding and stressful, whether you’re working or going to school, whether you’re a child, adolescent or adult. Having an outlet, an activity, a hobby can help restore, help heal and distract us from the difficulties — not to avoid them but to take a break from them.”

• Humour is vital. Laughter helps us breathe, let go of tension and look at life from a different perspective. “We need to be able to laugh at ourselves, knowing that we as human beings are not perfect; we are incredibly flawed. Look at the lighter side of life. Be playful.

“We cannot laugh and play all day because that’s not healthy either. Again, it’s finding the balance.”


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/mental+health+toolkit+parents/5523751/story.html#ixzz1aQLk5Cs4

How to build mental health wellness in our children

The series on mental health and our children continues with this look at the impact of mental illness on our health care system - and how we can help our children stay healthy.

By Valerie Berenyi

We’ve all heard about the mind/body connection.

Psychiatrist Dr. Chris Wilkes likes to put a finer point on it.

“There is no health without mental health,” Wilkes says, explaining that it is profoundly connected to our physical health and overall well-being.

He’s got the numbers to prove that poor mental health equals poor physical health — and therefore a huge cost to our health-care system.

Wilkes and a group of other Calgary researchers recently published a paper in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry that found Calgarians living with a psychiatric diagnosis cost Alberta’s health-care system three times more for physical (non-psychiatric) health care than those without a diagnosis.

A year ago, the same journal published a study reporting that a person with a mental health diagnosis had a 70 per cent increase in mortality.

“And it wasn’t through suicide; it was through things like diabetes, cancer, heart disease,” says Wilkes.

“There is a health care problem associated with mental health diagnoses.”

Indeed, mental illness costs the Canadian economy an estimated $51 billion annually in terms of health care and lost productivity, according to 2003 figures from Statistics Canada. It’s the No. 1 cause of disability in Canada, with 500,000 Canadians absent from work every day due to psychiatric problems.


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/build+mental+health+wellness+children/5523755/story.html#ixzz1aQLNfHcI

What to say to support family or friends whose child may be dealing with mental health issues

When you're struggling to help a child deal with a mental health issue, you can feel alone.  Here's some advice on supporting friends or family who are trying to cope.


By Theresa Tayler, Calgary Herald

What would you do if a family member or close friend confided in you their child was struggling with a mental health issue?

It can be hard to find the right words to support someone who may be worried about their child’s health and their future.

Here are some tips from Dianna Campbell-Smith, Director, Counselling Initiatives, Calgary Counselling Centre, on what you can say to help support a parent or family during this time.

1. Assure them that their child’s mental health issue does not reflect on their parenting.

2. Let them know it’s not a big deal to ask for help by reminding them that if their child had an earache, they would visit a doctor. This is no different: checking on a concern is better than writing off a child’s behaviour as “just a phase.”

3. Tell them to trust their gut feelings — if something doesn’t seem right with their child, encourage them to ask a knowledgeable, trusted adviser for their opinion.

4. If a parent says their child has not expressed to them that they feel depressed or out of sorts, remind them that kids may not have the words for what they’re feeling. Acting out may be a signal of distress. Behavioural changes should be the alert that something may be up.

5. Remind them that it’s important to listen to their child, no matter what age they are, and to take the child’s concerns seriously.

6. Encourage them to act quickly. Getting a child treatment as soon as possible lessens the impact and long-term effects of mental health issues. Suggest that it may be better to have their child see a professional who can assess them than to leave the situation to get worse.

7. Long-term health gains far outweigh any short-term inconvenience involved in accessing help or getting treatment. Let the parent know it’s OK to be an aggressive advocate for their child; they don’t have to apologize. Mental health is just as important as their child’s marks and their physical health.


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/What+support+family+friends+whose+child+dealing+with+mental+health+issues/5523736/story.html#ixzz1aQKHQxvI

Does family income have an effect on children's mental health?

Does a family's income have an impact on a child's mental health?  Statistics say it might.  Enjoy another of the terrific series appearing recently in the Calgary Herald.


By Gwendolyn Richards, Calgary Herald

As school started for another year last fall and students readjusted to busy schedules, Mary had more to worry about than getting her teenage daughter out the door in time for the day’s first class.

Physically beaten — and beaten down — at the hands of her then 14-year-old daughter, who was ready to take her own life, Mary had her daughter hospitalized.

For the next two weeks, doctors were able to work with Lori and make recommendations to Mary, giving the mom access to much more help than she had when her daughter was at home.

Lori (not her real name) was Mary’s fourth child, so she knew something was amiss from the start. Her baby daughter slept with her eyes open, would be caught sleepwalking and — when she headed to preschool at the age of three — teachers reported she was hitting.

The child was angry and stressed.

But not even Mary’s now ex-husband believed anything was wrong.

Alone, Mary pursued help, looking for a diagnosis that took five years to secure: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiance disorder, plus depression and anxiety issues.

“If she had been my first child, maybe I would have just ignored it. But I started to see behaviours that didn’t seem normal,” Lori says. “I just kept fighting; the only thing that mattered to me was helping my kid.”

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Does+family+income+have+effect+children+mental+health/5523732/story.html#ixzz1aQJ1ZV00

Breaking through the stigma surrounding mental health issues

By Theresa Tayler, Calgary Herald

“It’s all in your head.”
These are words Nayely Trujillo became accustomed to hearing from friends and family as the then 14-year-old started to spin into a deep and debilitating state of depression.

Once a happy and outgoing little girl, the teen began to change just months after her great-grandmother and primary caregiver passed away. She became angry, confused and isolated.

Trujillo’s parents wondered how their once effervescent and academically proficient little girl came to be such a “problem child.”

Born in Mexico, the now 20-year-old immigrated with her family to Canada when she was a baby, eventually settling in Calgary.

“I was very close with (my great grandmother). She helped raise me, tucked me into bed at night and walked me to school in the mornings,” Trujillo explains.

“When she died it was a total reality check. I felt really lonely and I didn’t talk to anyone about it. I kept it all to myself. I was expected to stay strong for my family and for my little brother.”

As she began to isolate herself from her peer group and fight with her mom, Trujillo’s friends and family questioned her mood swings.

“People kept telling me that I was creating it. That made it worse,” she says.

Her mother became concerned that Trujillo’s behaviour was something much more than teenage angst or grief. She took her daughter to see a counsellor, and Trujillo was eventually diagnosed with depression.This wasn’t something the teen could control or simply will away.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Breaking+through+stigma+surrounding+mental+health+issues/5520837/story.html#ixzz1aQH2F17F

Recognizing the signs - mental health issues in kids

Another valuable piece of information on mental health issues in children - warning signs that all parents should be looking out for.  Here's a list, as published in The Calgary Herald last week.


Babies and toddlers
Disturbed biorhythms for eating, sleeping and playing

Preschoolers
Unusually withdrawn or aggressive
Persistent nightmares
Frequent, unexplainable temper tantrums

School children
Frequent physical complaints about headaches, stomach aches
Significant fall in school work
Constant worry or anxiety that has the child refusing to go to school, to sleep or to take part in regular activities
Persistent nightmares
Persistent disobedience or aggression (longer than six months) and provocative opposition to authority figures
Frequent, unexplainable temper tantrums
Avoiding family and friends
Problems with memory, attention or concentration
Big changes in eating and sleeping patterns
Feelings of hopelessness, sadness, anxiety or crying a lot
Neglects personal appearance or basic hygiene
Substance use
Disruptive, hyperactivity; fidgeting; constant movement beyond regular playing
Hitting and/or bullying others

Preteens and youth
Marked change in school performance.
Inability to cope with problems and daily activities.
Marked changes in sleeping and/or eating habits.
Frequent physical complaints.
Sexual acting out.
Prolonged negative mood and attitude, often accompanied by little or no energy, sadness, poor appetite, difficulty sleeping
Drinking a lot and/or using drugs.
Obsessed with weight control; purging food, restricting eating, over-exercising
Avoiding family and friends and stopping activities he or she used to enjoy
Neglecting personal appearance and basic hygiene
Damaging others’ property
Frequent outbursts of anger and rage; frequent mood swings
Worrying constantly
Talk of suicide or thoughts of death
Attempts to injure themselves or attempting suicide
Acting overly suspicious of others
Seeing or hearing things that others don’t see or hear

Sources: American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information (heretohelp.bc.ca); The Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (canmat.org); Children’s Mental Health Ontario (kidsmentalhealth.ca); Dr. Chris Wilkes


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/flags+checklist/5515314/story.html#ixzz1a6h3qfV2

Children's mental health issues can start early in life

Here's another great article in the series on children and mental health that appeared this week in the Calgary Herald.  Let us know what you think...

Children's mental health issues can start early in life

“The foundations of mental health are shaped from the earliest days of life” — from Handle With Care, a report by the Canadian Mental Health Association

Jodi came into the world six weeks early. She wasn’t a difficult baby, but she “always needed a little extra attention,” says her mom Linda.

“We were very overprotective because she was a preemie. And I was not well as a mom because I had toxemia. It was a hugely difficult time for our family,” says Linda, a Calgarian who requested we not use the family’s last name.

As a toddler Jodi was bright and full of life; she followed her big sister around, soaking up the world like a sponge.

Just before she had her tonsils out at age six, Jodi learned about the “germs in her throat” during a preparatory session at the hospital. She began washing her hands to get rid of those germs. Constantly.


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Children+mental+health+issues+start+early+life/5515306/story.html#ixzz1a6gDkR4e

Huge gaps in mental health care for kids

Mental health issues in children are often misunderstood, or missed completely! The Calgary Herald is running a terrific series on mental health issues and kids, and we will be sharing it with you. Read, think and share your comments here.

Huge gaps in mental health care for Canada's kids

CALGARY — The breaking point came in 2009 when — after she threatened her family with violence and set a fire in her school — two burly police officers bundled Shyana Popplestone, then 11, into an ambulance that whisked the troubled girl to the emergency department of Alberta Children's Hospital.

That's where mom Jacqueline Popplestone desperately told a psychiatric nurse: "Either she gets admitted or I get admitted . . . Something has to be done. Something's not right. I'm tired of her being pushed around and her falling through the cracks and people not following up."


Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Huge+gaps+mental+health+care+Canada+kids/5512818/story.html#ixzz1a6fF25lJ