Should Children Under a Certain Age be Diagnosed or Labeled With a Mental Illness?

15 Jun

Posted by: admin in: Children's Mental Health, Diagnosing/Labeling, Mental/Emotional Health, Parenting

by KC Kelly, Ph.D., LMHC

Should Children Under a Certain Age be Diagnosed or Labeled With a Mental Illness?

In asking the question: “Should Children Under a Certain Age be Diagnosed or Labeled With a Mental Illness?” one is asking a question that has been under debate by expert doctors around the country, or world for that matter, for years.

In my research as a professional, it has not been determined whether or not children under 3 years old can be clinically diagnosed with depression, an anxiety disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, or bipolar disorder, just to name a few childhood disorders. However, let it be clear that the majority of professionals would probably refute the notion that a child under pre-school or early elementary school age, should be diagnosed, classified or labeled. I am in that majority.

I have often seen, however, many of the symptoms of separation anxiety, for instance, in children this age. The symptoms can often be devastating to witness. They should be closely monitored, but not necessarily labeled at such an early age.

There are many debates surrounding this issue:

1. Will a child “grow out of it” or if it will become a disorder in the future?

2. Are people biologically predisposed to mental/emotional disorders (and many articles prove this to be true) or are environmental factors the cause? (i.e. home life, parenting, social interactions)

When one is biologically predisposed to a mental/emotional disorder, this means that the genes have been passed down the family tree and research has shown that children can be born with these genes. Then the other side of the coin questions why one sibling but not the other from the same biological parents or even one twin over another will get the gene which causes the problem.

3. Is it a positive or negative move to diagnose, label, or classify a child in pre-school or even elementary school with a mental/emotional disorder for it to go into their records that will follow them throughout their school years?

Research has a long way to go to answer the questions and doctors, teachers, counselors, and parents all have their own views. I may not necessarily have THE answers to these questions, but I do have my own thoughts and opinions which are all based on each and every individual and unique case that comes my way.

I am not one of the doctors that is quick to shell out medication to anyone, let alone children, but I would in fact watch a suffering child very closely as they grow and mature. I would hate to think of anyone living a life not full of quality because of a mental or emotional disorder.

The only fact in the literature that I have found is that children can be diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum under the age of 3.

We, as clinicians in the medical and psychology field have a long way to go to answer the question, “Should Children Under a Certain Age be Diagnosed or Labeled With a Mental Illness?”

Please visit me at http://DOCintheBiz.com for mental health self help links and the opportunity to email me for professional and confidential help with any concerns you may have. You are never alone!

Dr. KC
http://DOCintheBiz.com

This article is copyrighted by docinthebiz.com and may be respectfully re-distributed for non-commercial educational purposes granted that website link and author credit remain intact.

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16 Responses

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15|Jun|2008 1

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15|Jun|2008 2

[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIn asking the question: “Should Children Under a Certain Age be Diagnosed or Labeled With a Mental Illness?” one is asking a question that has been under debate by expert doctors around the country, or world for that matter, for years. … [...]
Laurie
16|Jun|2008 3

As a teacher I feel parents are sometimes held hostage by the system. For kids with an emotional or mental problem but no learning disability, at least in Texas, there is not much help in the public schools without a “diagnosis.” With an official diagnosis, a 504 can be made which is a legally binding document allowing for modifications for the student. For example, a student suffering from major depressive disorder might get extended time on assignments and retesting opportunities because when he is depressed, he may not be in a frame of mind to care about homework or test scores. This way the teachers cannot fail a student because of the results of his medical condition. In saying this, at least in my area, the diagnosis will not be on permanent records sent to colleges. The records of the school are destroyed after 7 years.

This was a big help for my son. While the diagnosis was Major depressive disorder, he was on lithium for mood swings. The 504 helped. It gave him a little slack with teachers who did not look at each student as an individual but had to cling to some sheet of rules. When your teenage son is out of control and sobbing like a child, he doesn’t care about the test the next day. The challenge I had as a parent was not crossing that fine line between advocating for him and enabling him. Sometimes that line is very blurred especially with all of the emotion and desperation thrown into the mix.

I’m not saying a label is the way to go but there are times when the system makes it necessary to use one to protect your child from the system that is suppose to help him. The system is flawed.
cb
16|Jun|2008 4

It’s an interesting topic and one I have a personal interest in as I was under the care of a psychiatrist for a couple of years from around when I was 10/11 years old and would say that I haven’t had any difficulties with my mental health for the following 20 years (to date!).
I did not take any medication or have any ‘treatment’ apart from weekly sessions and to be honest, I am remarkably grateful that I wasn’t labelled in any further manner. Noone at my school knew about it (I presume some of the teachers did because my appointments were actually held with the doctor coming to my school). I’d say I had a lucky escape! I can’t help wondering if that had been the case today, if I would have had the same opportunities to grow up and away from the stigma that I even felt at that time and that age.
Doc KC
16|Jun|2008 5

Dear CB,

What a wonderfully inspirational story! Thank you so much for sharing your great experience with us. You were indeed, very lucky to have received great care at such a young age with someone who wasn’t interested in labels, but instead in helping you get through your issues to make you the person that you seem to be very happy with today! That is fantastic!

Thank you for your comment. Please keep reading and posting.

Dr. KC
http://www.DOCintheBiz.com
http://www.GLCzone.com
Doc KC
16|Jun|2008 6

Dear Laurie,

Thank you for sharing really great information about your son. I hope that it can be a great inspiration and help for others. I agree with you that sometimes labels can be a great thing and in your case, you are giving this as an example. Labeling or diagnosing can go either way (be positive or negative), but as you describe, it was positive and I appreciate you sharing the experience!

Thank you again for your comment!

Dr. KC
http://www.DOCintheBiz.com
http://www.GLCzone.com
Devin
17|Jun|2008 7

I’m so glad you chose to write on this subject. I’ve had a handful of parents bring in their 2 or 3 year old child for assessment. Most of the time I answered the parents’ questions, educated them on child development, and then helped them briefly to assess their own relationship to each other to see if they were displacing any patterns onto the child.

Autism or Child Disintegrative Disorder might show specific patterns under age 3, but there aren’t many other diagnoses that I might make even up to age 5. One important indicator for me as a therapist is academic and social functioning in a school setting, which means Kindergarten on up. Even then I’m tentative in diagnosing, but there is clearly more to work with in the grade school ages.

Excellent topic, Doc!
Doc KC
17|Jun|2008 8

Dear Devin,

Thank you for your comment. We see things very similarly. You are correct about autism and I agree with you about how you educate parents. It’s best to watch a child under 5 who shows symptoms of an academic or social functioning issue, but probably not to take any action as far as labeling before this age. After age 5, if the symptoms persist, I would begin with accommodations to school work or counseling well before even thinking about putting a diagnosis on the school aged child.

Great to have you here posting!

Dr. KC
http://www.DOCintheBiz.com
http://www.GLCzone.com
Shilpan | successsoul.com
17|Jun|2008 9

Dr KC,

I’m skeptical to categories young children under 3 to diagnose ADHD. I’m not a psychology major but my opinion is that children at that age tend to do things without focus as their mind tend to shift focus so quickly. Partly, it is their incessant desire to grasp everything that comes in their contact. Partly it is that unbound curiosity to learn everything and of course, their abundance energy also play a role in the focus shift.

Shilpan
Doc KC
19|Jun|2008 10

Dear Shilpan,

I completely agree with you! Many times, children are diagnosed with ADHD, when they show the symptoms of the disorder because they are:

-Bored
-School work is too easy
-Have a lot of natural energy and don’t get adequate time to release it by engaging in physical activities

These are just a few reasons. Look for a future article coming out on this topic.
Thank you for your comment!

Dr. KC
http://www.DOCintheBiz.com
http://www.GLCzone.com
Jennifer
19|Jun|2008 11

This has been a great discussion with a lot of great insights.
To me it seems as though if you diagnose a child (or adult for that matter sometimes) that it gives them permission to act a certain way. It not only gives the child permission, but it gives the parents permission to allow or even encourge (maybe without realizing it) to act certain ways. I’m not saying that real conditions don’t exist at early ages. I’m sure they may, and I’m not qualified to say whether a child has something or not. But I think that a wrong diagnosis can easily be made too early and the child end up with a condition he/she never had to begin with. The child could very well be acting a certain way because of the raising they are receiving from their parents or the example the parents have set. This reminds me of Benny Greenberg’s post on hypochondriacs.

I also think we need to keep in mind that labeling is a thinking error. A diagnosis is necessary in many cases (whatever the right age is), but to “label” a child with a certain disorder gives you permission to say, “they’re just …….” I guess it’s the difference in seperating the child from the disorder instead of saying the disorder is the child.
Doc KC
19|Jun|2008 12

Dear Jennifer,

Yes, when diagnosing a person and giving them a label, it can happen that they “use it” as an excuse for their behavior. Instead of taking responsibility themselves, they blame it on the “disorder”. In addition, diagnoses are also sometimes given incorrectly. Everything, I would say is a “thinking error” where subjectivity plays a huge part. Lastly, nature vs. nurture will always be a long standing debate amongst doctors.

You bring up several wonderful points in your comment. Thank you very much for taking the time to share your ideas. Please keep reading and posting.

Dr. KC
http://www.DOCintheBiz.com
http://www.GLCzone.com
Jean
20|Jun|2008 13

Hi DcKC,

In my time, thank goodness, medications were not being dished out as they are today for every little thing - kids & adults. If I were a child of today, I probably would have been put on something.

I truly believe that there are some that do have legitimate problems, but I also believe that we, our country, have become so used to the “blame game” and not taking responsibility for our lives.

We just don’t take the time to dedicate the attention needed for each other. Unfortunately, it’s a dog eat dog world and every man for himself… even our own children - sometimes.

It starts with the parents. If the child is not receiving the correct direction, that child is lost. A lost child WILL act out.

Fortunately, I was brought up “old school” and brought up my 2 daughters the same.

Unfortunately, there was much dysfunction in my younger years after losing my mother @ 7. The adults in my life after age 7 did not want the additional responsibility to deal with a 7 yr old that just lost her mother. Ignore the problem & it will go away. As one uncle said, “I don’t want someone else’s problem.”

Long story short ;0), I was never put on any medication, however was labeled emotionally disturbed (which, well, I had no direction), I became a lost child. And, you better believe, I acted out.

So, I guess my point is that I believe that a lot of children today are just plain lost and the adults do not want the responsibility or want to take the time to do what is needed for the child’s sake. Unconditional love, attention, quality time, listen, hug, smile of approval.

Take a pill and all will be well. Sad.
Doc KC
20|Jun|2008 14

Dear Jean,

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us and I do empathize with your difficulties growing up without a loving parent. I agree with you that nurturing children is so very important. Teaching them good morals and values is essential in today’s world. That is why it is imperative that parents take time to truly love, appreciate and raise their children. There is no right or wrong way, but there is a way of loving, caring, empathizing, listening, disciplining, and teaching them how to make good decisions. After that, we hope we have brought up children who can love, appreciate, and respect themselves and others and the things that have been given to them and we send them out into the world to make their own good choices.

Thank you for your comment. Please keep reading and posting.

Dr. KC
http://www.DOCintheBiz.com
http://www.GLCzone.com
Mandy
22|Jul|2008 15

As a mother of a 16 year old autistic child, I think that it depends on the disorder and the severity when to medicate. Personally, my child was first diagnosed with ADHD at a very early age. While he does have some ADHD qualities he is mainly autistic. We waited until he was about 4 before we tried any medications.
Dr. KC
22|Jul|2008 16

Dear Mandy,

Every child is unique and has different symptoms of whatever disorder with which they may be diagnosed. Therefore, you are correct in saying that when or whether to medicate depends on the child. I hope your child is doing well now. You sound like a very caring and wonderful mom.

Thank you for your comment.

Dr. KC
http://www.DOCintheBiz.com
http://www.GLCzone.com