News, commentary, resources, and more about Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.
Here’s a special opportunity to learn about how to address challenging behavior problems. This is a star-studded line-up.—JohnL
Professional Development
2 0 0 9 International Forum
Continue reading ‘CCBD forum 2009′
I recently learned of the existence of the The Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation, and I wanted to note it here. Alert readers (I know I make you feel snoozy most of the time) probably noted that a link to the JBRF appeared in the Web Resources section a few days ago, but this is the first post that refers to the organization. Here’s a snippet from the about page at the foundation.
The Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation is the first charitable organization solely dedicated to the support of research for the study of early-onset bipolar disorder. Our board is a remarkable one, made up of dedicated parents, treating professionals and world class clinical investigators and basic science researchers.
JBRF has organized a consortium of collaborating research groups and individual investigators from a number of medical schools and treatment centers including the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and SUNY-Syracuse, and will continue to establish collaborations with researchers from other centers around the world to further the goals of the foundation.
JBRF sponsors research, maintains discussion lists, provides links to clinical services, and more. Visit the site at http://jbrf.org/
Children who show behavioral inhibition in video-taped sessions at a child development laboratory are substantially more likely to manifest social anxiety five years later than their peers who do not exhibit behavioral inhibition, according to a recent study appearing in . In the study by Hirshfeld-Becker and colleagues of the Harvard Infant Study Laboratory, the researchers found that the children who do and do not have behavioral inhibition are about equally likely to exhibit other developmental disorders (e.g., ADHD). The children showing behavioral inhibition did not differ significantly in gender, family intactness, or race, from those who did not show behavioral inhibition.
Objective: Behavioral inhibition (BI) to the unfamiliar represents the temperamental tendency to exhibit fearfulness, reticence, or restraint when faced with unfamiliar people or situations. It has been hypothesized to be a risk factor for anxiety disorders. In this prospective longitudinal study, we compared the psychiatric outcomes in middle childhood of children evaluated at preschool age for BI.
Method: The baseline sample consisted of 284 children ages 21 months to 6 years, including offspring at risk for anxiety (children of parents with panic disorder and/or major depression) and comparison offspring of parents without mood or major anxiety disorders. They had been assessed for BI using age-specific laboratory protocols. We reassessed 215 of the children (76.5%) at 5-year follow-up at a mean age of 9.6 years using structured diagnostic interviews.
Results: BI specifically predicted onset of social anxiety. The rate of lifetime social anxiety (DSM-IV social phobia or DSM-III-R avoidant disorder) was 28% versus 14% (odds ratio [OR] = 2.37; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10–5.10) in inhibited versus noninhibited children. BI significantly predicted new onset of social phobia among children unaffected at baseline (22.2% vs 8.0% in inhibited versus noninhibited children (OR = 3.15, 95% CI: 1.16–8.57). No other anxiety disorders were associated with BI.
Conclusion: BI appears to be a temperamental antecedent to subsequent social anxiety in middle childhood. Children presenting with BI should be monitored for symptoms of social anxiety and may be good candidates for preventive cognitive behavioral strategies.
Students with social anxiety and other acting in disorders (e.g., shy or withdrawn) are too easy to overlook. Educators need all the help they can get in catching these problems early and addressing them with effective interventions.
Hirshfeld-Becker, D. R., Biederman, J., Henin, A., Faraone, S. V. Davis, S., Harrington, K., & Rosenbaum, J. F. (2007). Behavioral inhibition in preschool children at risk is a specific predictor of middle childhood social anxiety: A five-year follow-up. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 28, 225-233. Link.
Here’s a description of a highly touted intervention.
[Method X] is recognized worldwide as a general method to reinforce the body’s protective abilities for people of all ages who suffer from various disorders and pre-illness conditions, i.e. practically healthy people.
[Method X] involves the organized interaction between [therapy agent] and person, with optimal conditions to offer benefits to the person as well as the [therapy agent].
[Method X] can assist in the following tasks:
- Correction of psychological development for people with nervous system disorders
- Development of cognitive activity for people with psycho-neurological disorders
- Development of children’s speech
- Removal of chronic pain
- Reduction of neurological and vegetative-vascular reactions
- Relief from psychosomatic conditions
- Reduction of unintentional movements, tics and spasms
- Rehabilitation of people, victims of violence or other stressful situations
- Psycho-emotional training for specialists whose work is connected with extremely stressful situations
- Leisure and relaxation for healthy people–children and adultsThe main component of [Method X] is the psychological effect from the interaction between [the client] and [the therapy assistant] in an unaccustomed environment and the physical therapy effect from [Y and Z] made by these [therapists].
Would you want to use this therapy for yourself or your child?
I would! But, that’s because I know what the therapy is.
The paper mail included a copy of Focal Point, the periodical from the Research and Training Center (RTC) on Family Support and Children’s Mental Health at Portland (OR, US) State University. As usual, it includes many worthwhile articles. It reminded me that I should reminder readers of EBD Blog about the RTC.
Continue reading ‘PDX RTC’
Over on WrightsLaw, Sue Whitney Heath responded to a question from a parent about a school that made a questionable decision about a student’s school placement. Under the headline “Behavior Problems: It Isn’t Okay Just to Teach the Easy Kids,” Ms. Heath provides advice to the parent about how to address the problem.
Your son is either misbehaving and the school should follow the rules for kids who misbehave, or he is behaving like a kid with anxiety and ODD, so the school staff need to deal with this as an educational issue.
It is okay for the school:
- to provide a teacher who is able to teach your son.
- to expect all teachers to follow the steps in school policies for disciplining students.
- to get teachers more training in classroom management and discipline when they need it.
It is not okay:
- just to teach the easy kids.
- for a teacher to take his personal issues into the classroom.
There’s lots of detail at the site. Here’s a link to the full entry.
Link to on-line version of the Wrightslaw newsletter.
Few reasonable people champion the absolutist position that emotional and behavioral disorders are solely the result of biological or environmental problems. Still, when I come across work that re-emphasizes the mutual interaction of environmental and biological factors, I find it refreshing. In this review paper, Professors E. D. Leonardo and R. Hen present an integrated perspective about anxiety disorders. Here’s the abstract:
Neuropsychopharmacology (2008) 33, 134–140; doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1301569; published online 12 September 2007
Anxiety as a Developmental Disorder
E David Leonardo1,3 and Rene Hen1,2,3
1Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
2Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
3Division of Integrative Neuroscience, The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
Correspondence: Dr R Hen, Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Columbia University, The New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 87, New York, NY, USA. Tel: +1 212 543 5328; Fax: +1 212 543 5410; E-mail: rh95@columbia.eduReceived 27 June 2007; Revised 9 August 2007; Accepted 13 August 2007; Published online 12 September 2007.
Abstract
There is increasing recognition that many psychiatric disorders including anxiety disorders are neurodevelopmental in their origins. Here, we review and integrate data from human studies and from animal models that point to a critical period during which neural circuits that mediate anxiety develop. We then postulate that this highly plastic critical period is a time of heightened responsiveness that is particularly susceptible to adverse events. We discuss these concepts in the context the current heightened interest in gene by environment interactions in psychiatric illness emphasizing the importance of the temporal relationship between gene action and environmental milieu.
You’ll need a subscription or access from a subscribing organization (e.g., a university) to read the full text that is available at this link.
When should a student’s right to participate in education be denied because his or her behavior is inimical to rights of other students’ to benefit from education? When is one student’s behavior so problemsome that his “right” to be in a classroom is trumped by his peers’ right to participate in an orderly learning environment?
Most educators, I would hazard a guess, want to make it possible for students to participate in a minimally restrictive environment. Although the “least restrictive environment” clause of the US special education law is buried pretty deeply in the structural outline of legal guarantees, it is advocated strongly by many people (educators, parents, attorneys, etc.) concerned about special education. And, many advocates argue that it—the “right” to the “least restrictive environment”—is the ace of trumps.
Is it? When does the balance shift from the access rights of an individual to the access rights of the individual’s peers? When are the interests of an individual to participate in “mainstream” education of lesser importance than the interests of peer students’ access to an environment that is conducive to learning (i.e., not disrupted)?
These and some other matters are the likely subjects of discussion at a forthcoming meeting on classroom disruptions. Suitably scheduled for Hallowe’en, the meeting will be held in Washington (DC, US). here’s the basic info:
Class Disrupted: Disorder and Its Effects on Learning and School Culture
October 31, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Many teachers and principals struggle to create and maintain positive classroom and school cultures–free of disruption, disrespect, bullying, intimidation, and violence. While public school systems are rightly focused on meeting AYP and the other requirements of No Child Left Behind, they must also address the fact that without order and respect, little learning and progress can be achieved. Student misbehavior that goes unaddressed in the hallways and the classroom undermines instruction, stifles the development of character and social skills, and contributes to teacher burnout. This forum will:
* Examine disorderly conditions in schools, including factors contributing to the problem, looking beyond traditional concerns about safety and violence, to acts of disrespect, disregard for school rules, and disruptive behavior;
* Highlight the consequences of disorder in schools, specifically on learning and culture;
* Present new ideas on how law impacts student discipline at the school level; and
* Share key perspectives on what must be done to help restore respect and order and maintain safe and productive schools.Date: October 31, 2007
Time: 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Registration begins at 8:00 a.m.
Lunch will be provided
Location:Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C.
If you’re interested in this topic, contact RSVP@cgood.org. (or for more information, contact Ali Kliegman at akliegman [at] cgood.org or 212.681.8199 x14.
Flash of the electrons to Elona Hartjes of Teachers At Risk whose post, “Class Disrupted: Disorder and Its Effects on Learning and School Culture” brought this to my attention.
Under the headline “Schools hope mental health screenings will help end stigma,” Heather Parker reported that Carlsbad (NM, US) High School will conduct screenings for mental illness among students. The school will use grant funds to help identify students who might be at risk for depression, suicide, or other problems and, therefore, in need of further evaluation.
With parent permission, 475 ninth grade students will be screened for signs of depression and suicidal tendencies.
“This effort is part of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Suicide Prevention Grant the school district received,” said Janey Lynn, wellness and prevention coordinator at CHS.
I have to guess this effort will raise some of the same concerns as educators have see with Teen Screen (see here for an EBD Blog post and related comments).
Link to Ms. Parker’s article.
The annual meeting of Teacher Educators for Children with Behavioral Disorders (TECBD), now named after Rob Rutherford who founded it, will be held 15-17 November 2007 in Tempe (AZ, US). Steve Forness, Cheryl George, and John Maag are among the people who’ll be speaking this year.
Every year, EBDBlog has announced the call for papers, so this is nothing new. There is still time to propose a presentation for this year’s meeting. Potential presenters may submit proposals for sessions using the TECBD site.
Link to the Web site for TECBD. Link for proposing presentations.
The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy released a report endorsing the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy for preventing depression in youths at risk for this problem. The report covers the results of two well-conducted studies of the intervention.
Continue reading ‘Cog-mod for adolescent depression’
NARSAD: The Mental Health Research Association announced its grants for 2007, including 23 Distinguished Investigators and 222 Young Investigators. The awards represent more than $15 million in grants, and many of them are relevant to Emotional and Behavioral Disorders among children and youths.
Continue reading ‘NARSAD 2007′
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