Common problem in early childhood
Pre-school years (2-5 years)
In children from birth to the beginning of the fifth year, common problems include difficulties in feeding and sleeping, as well as clinging to the parents (separation anxiety), temper tantrums, oppositional behavior, and minor degrees of aggression.
| Disorder | Short Description |
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| Disorders where disturbances in sleep or dreaming are major features. |
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| Schizophrenia is a chronic and often debilitating mental illness. Schizophrenia is a kind of psychosis, which is an impairment of thinking in which the interpretation of reality is abnormal. |
| | Personality disorders are pervasive chronic psychological disorders, which can greatly affect a person's life. Having a personality disorder can negatively affect one's work, one's family, and one's social life. |
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| | Physical symptoms that seem as if they are part of a general medical condition, however no general medical condition, other mental disorder, or substance is present. |
| | Patients with this disorder knowingly fake symptoms, but do so for psychological reasons not for monetary or other discrete objectives as in the case of Malingering. They usually prefer the sick role and may move from hospital to hospital in order to receive care. |
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| | Learning Disorders occur in three major categories: reading, mathematics, and written expression. |
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| | Disruptive Behavior Disorders, also referred to also as Behavior Disorders, are the most common reasons children are referred for mental health practitioners for possible treatment. |
| | Sexual disorders are related to a particular phase of the sexual response cycle. Sexual disorders include problems of sexual identity, sexual performance, and sexual aim. |
| | Psychotic disorders are mental disorders in which the personality is seriously disorganized and a person's contact with reality is impaired. During a psychotic episode a person is confused about reality and often experiences delusions and/or hallucinations. |
| | A dissociative disorder is the breakdown of one's perception of his/her surroundings, memory, identity, or consciousness. |
| | Anxiety disorders are the most common of emotional disorders, annually affecting more than 20 million Americans (approximately one in nine). |
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| Sleeping Disorders |
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| | Approximately 25% of the UK population will develop a skin problem and, although self-medication is common, skin disease still accounts for 10% of the workload of family doctors. |
| | Premenstrual dysphoric disorder or PMDD is a condition associated with severe emotional andphysical problems that are linked closely to the menstrual cycle |
This phase brings a rapid increase in intellectual abilities, especially in the complexity of language. Social development occurs as the child learns to live within the family. He begins to identify with the parents and adopt their standards in matters of conscience. Social life develops rapidly as he learns to interact with siblings, other children, and adults. Temper tantrums continue, but diminish and should disappear before the child starts school. At this age, the child has much curiosity about the environment and may ask a great number of questions.
In children aged 2-5, fantasy life is rich and vivid. It can form a temporary substitute for the real world, enabling desires to be fulfilled regardless of reality. Special objects such as teddy bears or pieces of blanket become important to the child. They appear to comfort and reassure the child, and help sleep. They have been called 'transitional objects'.
The child begins to learn about his own identity. He realizes the differences between males and females in their appearance, clothes, behavior, and anatomy. Sexual play and exploration are common at this stage.
According to psychodynamic theory, at this stage defense mechanisms develop to enable the child to cope with anxiety arising from unacceptable emotions. They include repression, rationalization, compensation, and displacement.
Temper Tantrum
Occasional temper tantrums are normal in toddlers, and only persistent or very severe tantrums are abnormal. The immediate cause is often unwitting reinforcement by excessive attention and inconsistent discipline on the part of the parents. When this arises it is often because the parents have emotional problems of their own or because the relationship between them is unsatisfactory.
Temper tantrums usually respond to kind but firm and consistent setting of limits. In treatment it is first necessary to discover why the parents have been unable to set limits in this way. They should be helped with any problems of their own and advised how to respond to the tantrums.
Can Children and Adolescents Have Bipolar Disorder?
Both children and adolescents can develop bipolar disorder. It is more likely to affect the children of parents who have the illness.
Bipolar disorder (also known as manic-depression) is a serious but treatable medical illness. It is a disorder of the brain marked by extreme changes in mood, energy, thinking and behavior. Symptoms may be present since infancy or early childhood, or may suddenly emerge in adolescence or adulthood. Until recently, a diagnosis of the disorder was rarely made in childhood. Doctors can now recognize and treat bipolar disorder in young children.
Early intervention and treatment offer the best chance for children with emerging bipolar disorder to achieve stability, gain the best possible level of wellness, and grow up to enjoy their gifts and build upon their strengths. Proper treatment can minimize the adverse effects of the illness on their lives and the lives of those who love them.
Child Anxiety
In ICD-10, anxiety disorders in childhood are classified as emotional disorders with onset specific to childhood. DSM-IV does not contain this category and with two exceptions classifies childhood anxiety disorders in the same way as anxiety disorders in adult life. The exceptions are separation anxiety disorder and reactive attachment disorder, which are listed under the heading 'other disorders of infancy, childhood or adolescence'. ICD-10 has a diagnosis of sibling rivalry disorder. DSM-IV does not have this diagnosis in the main classification, but sibling relationship problems can be coded under 'other conditions that may be the focus of clinical attention'.
Communication Disorder (developmental disorders of speech and language)
Children vary widely in their achievement of speech and language. Half of all children use words with meanings by 12.5 months and 97% do so by 21 months. Half form words into simple sentences by 23 months (Neligan and Prudham 1969). Vocabulary and complexity of language develop rapidly during the pre-school years. However, when children start school, 1% are seriously retarded in speech and 5% have difficulty in making themselves understood by strangers. The process by which language is acquired is complex and is still not fully understood.
