Medical Marijuana Legalization Does Not Increase Teen Use

Topics: Child Psychiatry | News of Note

Kids with ADHD More Likely to Have Allergies, Asthma

Topics: ADHD | Child Psychiatry | News of Note

The Real Story About Food Dyes and Behavior

Topics: ADHD | Child Psychiatry

We’ve seen these parents in our practice: those that say their children get “hyper” from eating a red Popsicle or that the orange mac and cheese makes their ADHD somehow worse. But what’s the evidence that food dyes are actually related to behavior? The safety of artificial food colors (AFCs) has been questioned since as far back as 1973, whe

Using Integrative Psychiatry to Treat Childhood Obesity

Topics: Child Psychiatry

Missing the Forest for the Trees: How to Treat Children With Nonverbal Learning Disability

Topics: Child Psychiatry | Learning & Developmental Disabilities

Nonverbal learning disability (NLD) can present a diagnostic and treatment conundrum to the child psychiatrist, with children presenting with a number of symptoms and deficits that are common with other conditions. While the definition of what exactly NLD is varies depending on the researcher or the clinician using it, it most commonly combines defic

Brain Development Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Drugs and Alcohol

Topics: Child Psychiatry | Learning & Developmental Disabilities

Every day in the United States, about 650 babies are born that have been exposed to illicit drugs in the prenatal period (Keegan K et al, J Addict Dis 2010;29(2):175–191). The number would be even larger if we include women who continue to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and abuse prescription drugs during pregnancy. Figures are alarming when we l

Working With Schools and Children With Learning Disabilities

Topics: Child Psychiatry | Learning & Developmental Disabilities

Basic Questions to Evaluate for Learning Disabilities Questions to ask about reading Can the child decode words at age level? Can the child read fluently and understand what he or she is reading? Questions to ask about writing Can the child print the letters of the alphabet and transcribe letters fluently? Can the child spell pro

Long-Term Outcomes in Anxiety Treatment

Topics: Anxiety Disorder | Child Psychiatry

Childhood Sexual Behavior: What’s Normal and What’s Not

Topics: Child Psychiatry

On the list of anxiety-provoking topics for parents, children’s sexual development and behavior is near the top for many. Parents may interpret normal sexual behavior in their children as a sign of abuse or other emotional problems, or they may under-react to sexualized behavior that indicates a major disturbance. As clinicians, it’s crucial that

Medication Non-Adherence: The Make-It-or-Break-It of Psychopharmacology

Topics: Child Psychiatry | Psychopharmacology Tips

Both in general medicine and in psychiatry, the number one cause of treatment failure is not taking medications as prescribed. There are a number of reasons for non-adherence, ranging from physical side effects to psychological issues. Here, we’ll discuss the most common reasons for non-adherence, and some strategies for helping your patients stay on

Navigating the Child Welfare System from Foster Care to Reunification

Topics: Child Psychiatry

Foster Care Facts According to the most recent statistics available (2012) About 400,000 children are in foster care in the US Almost half (47%) were in non-relative foster homes; 28% were in kinship care 53% of children in foster care had the expressed goal of reunification; 24% had the goal of adoption About half of kids discharged fr

Priapism Warning for Some ADHD Meds

Topics: ADHD | Child Psychiatry | News of Note

Exposure Therapy Best for Some Girls’ PTSD

Topics: Child Psychiatry | News of Note | PTSD

Death Within Nuclear Family in Childhood Increases Risk of Psychosis

Topics: Child Psychiatry | News of Note

Study Finds Multiple Health Disparities for Transgender Youth

Topics: Child Psychiatry | Gender & Sexuality | News of Note

Diagnostic Comorbidity in DSM-5: More of the Same

Topics: Child Psychiatry | DSM | Free Articles

The epidemic of psychiatric comorbidity has been a problem since DSM-III appeared way back in 1980. Not much has been done to improve this area in the subsequent editions of the manual. Nonetheless, in this article we’ll explore psychiatric comorbidity in DSM-5: its origins, current status, and potential solutions for the next go-around. Comorbidity

PTSD in DSM-5

Topics: Child Psychiatry | DSM

“The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the central dialectic of psychological trauma.” Judith Lewis Herman, MD, Trauma and Recovery Unfortunately, children are exposed to traumatic events—isolated ones such as natural disasters or serious accidents, and recurring traumas such as domestic viol

The Problem with Child Psychiatry in DSM-5

Topics: Child Psychiatry | DSM

In Defense of Child Psychiatry: A Note from the Editors We, the editorial board, do not feel that Dr. Frances’s assessment of child psychiatrists or child psychiatric practice is entirely correct. Inappropriate and excessive use of medication is a real concern, however, and the solution is, in our view, two-fold. First, because primary care phys

Does Guanfacine Work for Pediatric PTSD?

Topics: Child Psychiatry | PTSD | Research Updates

Are there Really Two Types of Antisocial Behavior in Children?

Topics: Child Psychiatry | Research Updates