Mental Health In Children & Adolescents By: Jo-Anna Ross Talladega College Professor Wells Business Communications 368 S2F 7/15/16

Did you know? At least two-thirds out of three million mentally ill children and adolescents in the United States do not get the mental health services they need. Females are 50% less likely to use mental health services than males. 1 in 10 ages 5-16 suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder . There has been a huge increase in the number of adolescents being admitted to hospital because of self harm. Over the last ten years, it increased by 68%. 21% of low-income children and youth ages 6 to 17 have mental health disorders. 67% to 70% of children in the juvenile system have a diagnosable mental health disorder.

My Personal Experience I have a son who has a mental disorder. He is diagnosed with ADHD, Depression, and Explosive Behavior. Before he was diagnosed I was always confused on why he was getting in trouble at school and having explosive outburst all the time. This went on for about two years. After he was diagnosed, His psychiatrist prescribed him Adderall, which showed no signs of improvement. After about a year, I took him back to his Psychiatrists and had him admitted to Hill Crest Behavioral Center , which he did not improve then. Three years later, he entered a behavioral program at Saks Elementary School where he did a 360˚ turn around with his behavior. During this time, his Psychiatrist prescribed him new medication which was: Prozac, Risperdol, and Tenex. Two weeks ago, he was admitted into Children’s Hospital Psychiatric Ward and is now doing very well since his medication has been adjusted.

References http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/use-of-mental-health- services-and-treatment-among-children.shtml http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED223346 http://www.youngminds.org.uk/training_services/policy/mental_health_statis tics http://youth.gov/youth-topics/youth-mental-health/prevalance-mental- health-disorders-among-youth