July 21, 2018, Guardian: Identifying emotional, behavioural changes in your child https://guardian.ng/guardian-woman/identifying-emotional-behavioural-changes-in-your-child/ Is your child’s academic performance dwindling? Does you child react in some way that may seem weird from the norm? Has your once happy and active child now become reclusive? Then you may want to think toward an emotional and behavioural imbalance. While a lot of parents may not think that such traits can be linked to a mental disorder, it is therefore pertinent to rule out such when presented with similar symptoms. … According Ruqoyah Ogunbiyi, a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Professional, “Mental health discourse are just beginning to gather audience in Nigeria and indeed the world, thus it is no coincidence that the reaction of many when child mental disorders discourse arises is oftentimes stigmatizing. … She noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that one in five children have a mental disorder. Emotional and behavioural disorders are most common and they increase the likelihood of academic underachievement and poor behaviour. Emotional disorders can be seen in children as early as 4 months and behavioural disorders as early as 3 years. … The founder of SaneMindng said that to determine emotional and behavioural disorders, one must be well equipped with knowledge of developmental milestones. “Developmental milestones are set of skills children attain as they grow. … Emotional/behavioural disorders could cause a child to become withdrawn or more talkative/hyperactive. So how well do you know your child? Sometimes, children may also show symptoms of emotional disorders in form of consistent, unexplained physical health condition. For example a child with depression may present with seizures all of a sudden. This is often differentiated from physical health problems because routine tests show no biochemical explanation of the illness hence unexplained physical health problems.”
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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