Category Archives: teachers

by | November 9, 2010

On psychiatry and stigma

When parents complain about psychiatrists, it’s often due to them judging the parent as being the reason for child’s problems; one might call this a bad “bedside manner,” but with huge consequences for the family.  If parents aren’t listened to, or are talked down to, they can’t help, nor live with, their incredibly stressful child.  Yet poor customer service is not unique to psychiatry; the medical field has lots of practitioners who aren’t helpful or people-friendly.  What’s different about psychiatry is that The Rest Of The World often thinks it is sinister and evil.

Our Own Worst Enemies
Nada Logan Stotland, MD, MPH

“Oncology manages to cloak the most primitive possible treatments—poison and burning—with elaborate protocols. Yet the mention of psychiatry conjures ECT, and ECT conjures images of the snake pit.  …We are the only specialty with our own dedicated hate group. We shouldn’t be our own worst enemies.”  May 18, 2010, Blog @ www.psychiatrictimes.com

o        Dr. Stotland, above, mentions ECT  (electroconvulsive therapy), or “shock therapy.”  It reboots the brain and is the only thing that keeps some people alive and eases their suffering.  So how is ECT worse than shocking a stopped heart with a defibillator–two paddles on the chest and BOOM!  Which is more barbaric?

o        In the TV medical dramas, there’s this common scene:  a patient is in a hospital bed surrounded by doctors, and the patient is bleeding, or screaming in pain, or convulsing.  Somehow this is acceptable in prime time.  What if the scene was different.  Instead, an agitated, hallucinating patient is being restrained, and injected with a drug that immediately calms and relaxes them.  My guess is the public would find it sickening and unethical.

o        When a sweet-looking child loses all of his or her hair after being poisoned by chemotherapy, it evokes sympathy and compassion.  But if this same  child’s hair was lost while taking a psychiatric medication, then it would be seen as a barbaric side-effect of forcing drugs on children to send them to zombie-land.  Cancer treatment is forgivable,  treatment for brain diseases is not.

This public attitude must change.   It victimizes the victims who live with mental disorders, and their providers and families.   Mental health treatments are no more barbaric than those of other medical illnesses, but the stigma manifest in blame, prejudice, and ignorance of brain function are cruel–can’t people see we are doing the best we can to get help for sick people?  Let the dialogue be about improving lives instead of finding fault with doctors, sufferers, and families.

mp


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by | March 22, 2010

ADHD kids become troubled adults

I have been so wrong about ADHD.  I confess I used to think attention disorders were not as serious as other disorders.  Sure, these kids had big problems, but they didn’t seem to compare with the disabling, even dangerous, symptoms of disorders like bipolar or schizophrenia.  ADHD kids just seemed more ‘functional’ to me, and the treatments seemed to work better.  While other families talked about psychotic breaks, suicide, and uncontrollable rages, I heard parents of ADHD kids talk about intense frustration and daily calls from school.  Heck, ADHD kids could attend school!  When I attended children’s mental health conferences, the ‘youth-talk-back’ workshops were all led by young people with ADHD.  They were articulate about their experiences and needs, answered questions, and interacted appropriately with audiences.  So many strengths!  Youth with other disorders are challenged by all of these tasks.

I confess, I also found ADHD funny…

…but my perception changed radically when I found recently published research on children with ADHD who were followed from childhood to adulthood.  These studies revealed deeply unsettling news—the long-term effects of ADHD can be serious.  Adults with ADHD have a higher risk of developing other psychiatric problems, being victimized and incarcerated, and facing lifetime struggles with education and employment.  Summaries from 10 research studies on the long term prognoses of ADHD are found at the end of this post.

Children and teens with ADHD deserve the chance to reach adulthood with skills that keep them from sliding inexorably downhill, which studies show is common.

Treatment is imperative, not optional!  ADHD hits hardest in adulthood, but starts in childhood when parents have an opportunity to change it’s course.  Parents and caregivers should aggressively and persistently seek an appropriate treatment for their ADHD child that improves functioning:  behavior at school and home, school attendance and educational attainment, self-esteem, and self-actualization.  In addition to medical/medication treatment as recommended, the child must learn self-management and self-calming skills so they can control impulses when they reach adulthood.

Little things start adding up – Without skills (and/or medication), a person with ADHD slips up on life’s daily little challenges–losing, forgetting, neglecting, overreacting, disappointing others, and undermining themselves in a thousand different ways.
Needing others and resenting it – I’ve noticed that those with ADHD seem to find or attract others they can depend on.  They seek and get support to be functional, but the effort can weigh heavily on their “caretakers” (spouse, friends, co-workers) and family.  They lose opportunities to practice self-reliance when this happens, and they resent their dependence on others.  Who wants to be stuck within other’s limits, and on the receiving end of their frustration and impatience?

 
Unfinished business – Those with ADHD drag unfinished projects with them indefinitely, keeping them in an actual or metaphorical garage full of costly but unfinished projects.  Little repairs become big expensive repairs through lack of maintenance.  Bills don’t get paid, licenses don’t get renewed, debtors get away with never paying them back.
 
Guide your child to his or her gifts – From personal experience with ADHD children and adults, I know they can love, be affectionate, funny, generous, and show empathy for others.  They strive to be better.  Think of careers your child or teen might pursue that require creativity, energy, and enthusiasm.  Introduce them to experiences that challenge them, and ignore the myth that they can’t focus or that they mess things up, not true.  ADHD kids readily focus on projects they enjoy, demonstrate mental nimbleness with complexities, multitask with accuracy, and shine in emergencies, whether debugging software, making music, or even doing surgery.

Writer’s commentary: To medicate or not to medicate?  Two extremes, neither appropriate. I’ve read articles that question the existence of ADHD, or vilify the families that treat with medications. Prejudice against this disorder and parents is common. Even uninformed people think they understand ADHD, and comfortably spread personal opinions about the use of medications or consequences for ADHD behaviors. This is unhelpful. Public controversy over ADHD negatively influences parents’ decisions regarding diagnosis and their choice of a child’s treatment.

At one extreme: some think medications turn children into zombies, and that ADHD is a fake diagnosis or treatable with natural substances or meditation, etc. Non-drug options may help, but what if the results are marginal and short-lived? What if a parent stubbornly sticks with a treatment that fits a personal goal and refuses to notice that it’s not working? If a non-drug remedy is effective, there will be hard proof: the child will keep up with school, maintain grade level, exhibit behaviors appropriate for their age, and show signs of self-control. These are more important to a child’s future than a parent’s loyalty to a belief.

Ironically, the choice of drugs for those of us with children with severe disorders may be easier than for parents of ADHD kids. Drugs keep psychotic kids safe and alive, here and now. Worrying about side effects is a luxury.

At the other extreme: some parents want a “quick fix” with pills, but chemical control also makes it easier for these parents to avoid hard parenting work like teaching their child to check impulses and set boundaries. And if parents are happy with the drug, might they overlook their child’s discomfort with side effects and ignore this child’s need for an adjustment? Might they also overlook how their home environment promotes distraction and chaos? A pill will compensate for bad parenting and a crazy-making lifestyle until the child reaches adulthood, having never been taught to make choices that promote their gift of creativity and reduce their risk of addiction, or having never been taught self-discipline.

Margaret

 
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All T-shirt photos found at Dr. Kenny Handelman’s ADD ADHD Blog

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High School Students With ADHD: The Group Most Likely to…Fizzle

 Breslau J, Miller E, Joanie Chung WJ, Schweitzer JB.Childhood and adolescent onset psychiatric disorders, substance use, and failure to graduate high school on time. Journal of Psychiatric Research.  Jul 15 2010

 Adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder, or who smoke cigarettes are least likely to finish high school (HS) on time or most likely to drop out altogether, researchers at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine (UC Davis) have found.

Lead investigator Joshua Breslau, PhD, ScD, medical anthropologist and psychiatric epidemiologist reported that of a total of 29,662 respondents, about one third (32.3%) of students with combined-type ADHD were more likely to drop out of high school than students with other psychiatric disorders. This figure was twice that of teens with no reported mental health problems (15%) who did not graduate. Students with conduct disorder were the second at-risk group (31%) to drop out or not finish on time. Cigarette smokers were third in line, with a staggering 29% who did not finish high school in a timely manner.

Educational achievement squelched in children with ADHD
Newsletter – NYU Child Study Center, New York, NY, February 2009
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common disorders in childhood and adolescence, with prevalence estimates ranging from five to ten percent.  Children with untreated ADHD drop out of high school 10 times more often than other children.

Adult psychiatric outcomes of girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
American Journal of Psychiatry, January 2010
Researchers studied age 6 to 18-year-old girls with diagnosed ADHD and followed up after 11 years.  Conclusions:  By young adulthood, girls with ADHD were at high risk for antisocial, addictive, mood, anxiety, and eating disorders. However, ADHD medications appear to reduce the prevalence of multiple disorders at least in the short term.  These findings, also documented in boys with ADHD, provide further evidence for negative long-term impacts ADHD across the life cycle.

Brain abnormality found in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Journal of Abnormal Psychology, March 2009
Researchers trying to uncover the mechanisms that cause ADHD and conduct disorder found an abnormality in the brains of adolescent boys suffering from the conditions. The research focused on two brain areas, the “mid brain” striatal, and cerebral cortex.  The mid brain motivates people to engage in pleasurable or rewarding behavior.  The cortex notices if an expected reward stops and considers options. However, this doesn’t occur as quickly in boys with ADHD or conduct disorders.  Instead, the mid brain region keeps trying for rewards, which is a quality of addictive behavior.

Kids with ADHD more likely to bully, and those pushed around tend to exhibit attention problems
Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, February 2008
Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are almost four times as likely as others to be bullies. And, in an intriguing corollary, the children with ADHD symptoms were almost 10 times as likely as others to have been regular targets of bullies prior to the onset of those symptoms.  Bullies were the kids in class who couldn’t sit still and listen, didn’t do their homework and were almost constantly in motion.  Children with ADHD symptoms make life miserable for their fellow students, and they too can develop attention problems related to the stress of being bullied.

Girls’ hyperactivity and physical aggression during childhood and adjustment problems in early adulthood:  A 15-year longitudinal study.
Archives of General Psychiatry, March 2008
Girls with hyperactive behavior such as restlessness, jumping up and down, and difficulty keeping still or fidgety, and girls exhibiting physical aggression such as fighting, bullying, kicking, biting or hitting, all signs of ADHD, were found to have a high risk of developing adjustment problems in adulthood.

Teen’s inattentive symptoms may determine how long they stay in school
Forum for Health Economic & Policy, November 2009
Poor mental health of children and teenagers has a large impact on the length of time they will stay in school, based on the fact that at conception there are differences in genetic inheritance among siblings. This study provides strong evidence that inattentive symptoms of ADHD in childhood and depression in adolescents are linked to the number of years of completed schooling.

Children with ADHD more likely to participate in crimes
Yale School of Public Health and University of Wisconsin at Madison, October 2009
Children with ADHD are more likely to participate in crimes such as burglary, theft and drug dealing as adults.  Those who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as children were at increased risk of developing criminal behaviors.  Researchers said one reason is that children with ADHD tend to have lower amounts of schooling.

ADHD may affect adults’ occupational and educational attainments
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry September 2008
Adults who have ADHD generally have lower occupational and educational attainments as adults than they might have reached if they didn’t have the disorder, at least compared to what attainments would have been expected given their intellect.  “Educational and occupational deficits… are a consequence of ADHD and not IQ,” lead researchers Dr. Joseph Biederman said. The finding strongly underscores the need for “diagnosing and treating ADHD to avert these serious consequences,” he said.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the course of life.
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, September 2006.
ADHD is a pervasive disorder that extensively impairs  quality of life and that can lead to serious secondary problems.  Long-term studies have demonstrated that the disorder is not limited to childhood and adolescence. The clinical experience indicates substantial difficulties for adults whose ADHD is not diagnosed and treated, and they often create extensive costs for the welfare system. The evidence-based psychiatric treatment available is highly effective and inexpensive.

70% of crystal meth (methamphetamine) inpatients had ADHD
Journal of  Addiction Disorders. 2005, and the blog: Adult ADHD Strengths.
Methamphetamine-dependent inpatients were screened for childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and of the participants, 70.6% screened positive for ADHD and reported significantly more frequent methamphetamine use prior to baseline.  ADHD participants exhibited significantly worse psychiatric symptomatology.  At a three-week follow- up, all who didn’t complete treatment screened positive for ADHD.

 


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by | January 3, 2010

Teen rights vs. parent rights when the teen has a mental disorder

 If you’re a parent of a troubled teen, how much decision making power should your child have?

How can your teenager possibly make decisions for themselves if they’re brains aren’t functioning normally?  They hate you, or they say and do crazy things for unfathomable reasons.  You want to guide them with incentives and consequences but these haven’t worked.  You’re traumatized by their history of unstable behavior and it affects your thinking.  Perhaps you get stuck in a power struggle, or you give up power because asserting your authority just puts gasoline on their fire.  You know they can make good on serious threats, such as running or causing serious personal or material damage.  Or they may completely fall apart.

Decent, caring parents, who aren’t out to “fix” or punish their child, often feel their teen has too many rights:

Problem – A teen’s statements to treatment providers are completely confidential after age 14.  Privacy is important, and the therapist needs the young person’s trust to help them with therapy, but some information could be shared with parents on a case-by-case, “need to know” basis.  A parent should be able to partner with the therapist, so they can structure interactions at home that support therapeutic goals.  For example, if the teen talks about dangerous activities with a best friend that the parent doesn’t know about, I think the parent could be coached to appropriately reduce contact with this friend or defuse the dangerous influence they have over the teen.  If a therapist can’t reveal this much, can’t they at least tell a parent what to watch for, what to set boundaries on?  How to respond?

 Problem – A teenager has the right to refuse medication or therapy at age 14 (in practice, most providers are reluctant to force treatment at any age).  But if their refusal leads to a serious crisis, I know from experience that most parents have no option but calling 911 or using force to keep themselves and others safe.  Yet force undermines the parent-child relationship, and has lead to undeserved charges of child abuse.

Problem – A young person has the right to refuse school attendance even when there are consequences, and the parent can be held liable for neglect.  This is of special concern to a parent who risks losing custody to the state or to a vindictive ex.

Problem – A teenager can commit a crime and a parent can lose custody.  Sometimes crime is the only way for a young person to get the help they need, but sometimes this means they descend, step-by-step, into a justice system that presumes bad parents create bad kids.

Parents of troubled teens need greater control over their situation, and lots of outside support, to prevent losing too much to the Black Hole of their child’s disability.   The emotional, physical, and financial costs to all family members are exceptionally high.  If a parent’s authority is undermined by a society that thinks they are the kid’s problem, and an education and health care system that focuses only on the child’s needs, the parent and family see their own rights being trampled.

What about a Parent Bill of Rights?

  1. Parents and families have a right to personal safety including the safety of pets, and the right to protect themselves, their belongings, and personal space.
  2. Parents have a right to ensure and sustain their financial, social, and job stability, even if it means periodically putting aside the teen’s needs.
  3. They have the authority to create house rules based on respect, safety, and shared responsibility.
  4. And they have the right to enforce houserules and expect them to be followed.
  5. Parents and families members have the right to be human and make mistakes.
  6. Parents and families have the right to take time out for their own well being and self-care.

When does a youth’s rights supersede a parent’s rights?

The youth, because of their disability, has a right to make progress at their own pace, and choose their own path of learning.  They also have the right to reasonable family accommodations because of their different needs.  Like any human being, especially one’s child, they have the right to respect and support regardless of inconvenience.  They also have the right to negotiate for what they want, and to expect earnest efforts towards compromise.  The last, and this is very important, they have the right to choose incentives and consequences that work best for them.

You know your teen will reach adulthood and independence whether they are ready or not.  They will do what they want, perhaps suffer serious consequences, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.  So do something about it now.

Look at the future from their perspective. Young people in the mental health system face life needs and challenges different from peers. They often don’t reach 18 without experiencing significant setbacks due to their disorders.  They have missed opportunities for the education and life skills needed for adulthood, and lack of youthful achievements that boost confidence and self-esteem. Teens and young adults with disorders may have to manage these the rest of their lives!  Once age 18 is reached, supports they’ve depended on are abruptly dropped.  They are exported to an adult system where they must start from scratch to establish a new support network that will assist them towards an independent life.  Your job is to change from parent to mentor as these new supports are developed.

What are parent responsibilities?

Acceptance:  this is the nature of your child and it’s OK.  They will still be part of the family and get your support.  Your child would function better if they could.

Positive attitude:  yours is not a lost child, there are resources out there to help them, and you really do have the energy to find and use these resources.

Realistic expectations:  brain disorders are termed “disabilities” for a reason.  You cannot expect their lives to unfold like yours did, or even like others their age.  They will redefine what progress means for them.

Support without strings attached:  your teen doesn’t owe you for the life you’ve given them, nor must they pay you back for your extra sacrifices.

Take good care of yourself so you can handle your situation.

Access and use information on the disorder and it’s treatment regime.

Learn and practice an entirely different approach to parenting.

What about youth responsibilities?

My previous post, “Youth with mental disorders demand rights!” presents a document created by members or Youth M.O.V.E (Motivating Others through Voices of Experience), a peer-to-peer organization for teens and young adults http://youthmove.us.  I have a suggestion for M.O.V.E.:  consider developing a youth Responsibilities document.  I believe young people are also responsible for acceptance and realistic expectations, like their parents, as well as being accountable for themselves.

The following list is a good place to look for other ideas.  It was developed by adult mental health consumers (part of this list has been de-emphasized because it does not yet apply to youth).  Everyone, regardless of their medical and mental health situation, should do what they can to take responsibility for their health treatment.

Adult responsibilities that could be applied to youth and young adults:

“In a health care system that protects consumers’ rights, it is reasonable to expect and encourage consumers to assume reasonable responsibilities. Greater individual involvement by consumers in their care increases the likelihood of achieving the best outcomes and helps support a quality improvement, cost-conscious environment. Such responsibilities include:

  1. Take responsibility for maximizing healthy habits, such as exercising, not smoking, and eating a healthy diet.
  2. Become involved in specific health care decisions.
  3. Work collaboratively with health care providers (teachers, parents) in developing and carrying out agreed-upon treatment plans.
  4. Disclose relevant information and clearly communicate wants and needs.
  5. Show respect for other patients and health workers (students, coworkers, neighbors, siblings).
  6. Use the health plan’s internal complaint and appeal processes to address concerns that may arise.
  7. Recognize the reality of risks and limits of the science of medical care and the human fallibility of the health care professional.
  8. Be aware of a health care provider’s obligation to be reasonably efficient and equitable in providing care to other patients and the community.
  9. Become knowledgeable about your health plan coverage and health plan options (when available) including all covered benefits, limitations, and exclusions, rules regarding use of network providers, coverage and referral rules, appropriate processes to secure additional information, and the process to appeal coverage decisions.
  10. Make a good-faith effort to meet financial obligations.
  11. Abide by administrative and operational procedures of health plans, health care providers, and Government health benefit programs.
  12. Report wrongdoing and fraud to appropriate resources or legal authorities.”

 


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by | January 1, 2010

Youth with mental disorders demand rights!

Youth M.O.V.E. (Motivating Others through Voices of Experience) offers peer support, social and educational support, and advocacy for youth with brain disorders.  The Oregon Chapter, in  partnership with Portland State University, wrote  a Youth Bill or Rights for teens to young adults between ~13 to about 30.  As you can see in the Rights document below, they believe youth should be allowed to guide their mental health treatment, and receive respectful, humane care.

“YOUTH BILL of RIGHTS  -  We believe that all youth should have the following rights in their mental health care:

1) Youth have the right to be leaders of their psychiatric treatment plans.

Youth should be informed of the possible side effects of medications, how long recommended medications take to go into effect, and the possible long-term effects of recommended medication. Service providers should work with youth to explore possible alternatives to using psychiatric medication before medication is given. Communication between youth and all medical providers should be collaborative, clear, and with limited use of medical terminology.

2) Youth have the right to evaluate their mental health services.

Mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other service providers should provide opportunities for youth to evaluate the satisfaction of their services throughout the duration of care in a respectful and non-threatening manner. This includes evaluation of the relationship with the provider, counseling plans, and implemented treatment models.

3) Youth have the right to service transitions that are as non invasive as possible.

When youth are transitioning into new services, mental health programs should strive to make the transition as accommodating as possible for the youth. Youth should be consulted on the ways they would like to end their relationship with the current provider and whether they would like the current provider to share their file with their new provider. Providers should share if there will be any changes in the costs of services and/or insurance coverage.

4) Youth have the right to trained, sensitive treatment providers.

Youth should have access to mental health professionals that are familiar with the unique needs and challenges of youth with mental health needs. All mental health professionals should have specialized training that fosters positive youth development and support. Youth mental health service consumers should be included in the creation and implementation of these trainings.”

This document was created and signed in 2009 by 30 mental health service-experienced youth gathered in Portland, OR, from the following states: California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.  http://youthmove.us

 This list of rights is similar to the “Mental Health Consumer Rights” developed by adult mental health consumers, which is appended at the end of this article.

What do you think?  I say “bravo,” these are appropriate and necessary–anyone receiving treatment must be comfortable and safe with care providers, and treated with dignity and respect, period  But I’d like to see something similar for parents and caregivers, too, who also participate in treatment and need to feel respected and heard.

What does your teen or young adult child think?  Tell them about an opinion survey where they can comment and read other’s comments, http://mentalhealthyouthbillofrights.blogspot.com .

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Adult Consumer Bill of Rights – for adults in mental health service systems

  1. Information Disclosure:  Consumers have the right to receive accurate, easily understood information and may require assistance in making informed health care decisions about their health plans, professionals, and facilities.
  2. Choice of Providers and Plans:  Consumers have the right to a choice of health care providers that is sufficient to ensure access to appropriate high-quality health care.
  3. Access to Emergency Services:  Consumers have the right to access emergency health care services when and where the need arises.
  4. Participation in Treatment Decisions:  Consumers have the right and responsibility to fully participate in all decisions related to their health care.
  5. Respect and Nondiscrimination:  Consumers have the right to considerate, respectful care from all members of the health care system at all times and under all circumstances. An environment of mutual respect is essential to maintain a quality health care system.
  6. Confidentiality of Health Information:  Consumers have the right to communicate with health care providers in confidence and to have the confidentiality of their individually identifiable health care information protected.
  7. Complaints and Appeals:  All consumers have the right to a fair and efficient process for resolving differences with their health plans, health care providers, and the institutions that serve them, including a rigorous system of internal review and an independent system of external review.
  8. Consumer Responsibilities:  In a health care system that protects consumers’ rights, it is reasonable to expect and encourage consumers to assume reasonable responsibilities.

The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) established the Consumer Bill of Rights Workgroup to promote and implement the Presidential Advisory Commission’s Consumer Bill of Rights and Responsibilities in health care. http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/consumersurvivor/billofrights.asp


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