Emotional or Behavior Disorders That Affect Young

Emotional or Behavior Disorders That affect Young

Children and Adolescents

By: Pamala Kimbrel

Professor Keane

Child Psychology

18 February 2015

Introduction

In this paper I will discuss the different types of Behavior disorders the young children and adolescents are faced with, and the dilemmas that a parent are faced with when a child suffers from any of the behavior or emotional problems that come with the disorders.  For instance, many children who have frequent, severe temper outbursts or who destroy their toys might appear to have serious problems to some parents, while some parents may see the same behavior as asserting independence or showing leadership skills.

Every child faces emotional difficulties from time to time, like feeling sadness or loss and extreme emotions.  These types of emotions are all just a part of growth and development, however, problems can either fade within time or they can grow and progress into mental health or behavioral problems.   Many parents are afraid that their children may become labeled inappropriately so coming to the decision that the child needs to be seen by a medical professional can be painful and frightening.  Once parents of emotional children have decided that their child needs to be evaluated by a professional because of their behavior, the question is what types of evaluations will they need to have done in order to find out exactly what behavior disorder they have.

Emotional or Behavior Disorders that affect Young Children and Adolescents

     There are many types of behavior disorders that can affect young children and continue on into adolescents as well as adulthood.  If a problem is not temporary or short-lived, then parents need to seek out a professional who can help their children with their problem. Many qualified professionals once thought that behavior disorders like bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, and depression only occurred after childhood, but now it is believed that it could start at a much younger age. For example, one of the main particular disorders in young children that are widely studied is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  This is one of the most common among children, and it can also follow a child all the way to adulthood, however, we have learned more about it in the past and how to treat it with medication as well as therapy.   Children with behavior disorders can learn to function in new ways with they right treatment.

     All children at some point in life will display repetitive behaviors but, whether or not they are diagnosed with a disorder would depend on how frequent and the effect they have on physical, emotional, and social functioning. There is also a primary difference in the way boys and girls present symptoms of disruptive behavior disorders (Kann, T, Hanna, F, 2000).  It is said that boys show a more aggressive behavior like fighting and being disruptive, than that of girls, where they are more shy, hypersensitive, and have anxiety problems. Behavior rating scales are among the most popular diagnostic measures for children with disruptive behavior disorders (2000).  A behavior rating scale is an assessment instrument that is designed to obtain the perceptions or judgments of a subject’s behavior in a standardized format.  It is also used to monitor progress during the treatment of behavior disorders.  However, even though this type of assessment is important and gives the health professionals viable information they need to for a diagnosis, naturalistic observations are also a great way to find out the information needed.