East Baton Rouge Parish Library

Please don't label my child, break the doctor-diagnosis-drug cycle and discover safe, effective choices for your child's emotional health, Scott M. Shannon with Emily Heckman

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-261) and index

index present

non fiction

Please don't label my child

131068529

Scott M. Shannon with Emily Heckman

break the doctor-diagnosis-drug cycle and discover safe, effective choices for your child's emotional health

In recent years, the diagnosing of serious mental conditions in children has skyrocketed. From 1987 to 1996, the number of kids in the United States given prescriptions for psychiatric medications tripled. If this trend continues, fully half of all American kids will be on some kind of psychiatric drug within a generation. Are more and more of our children really born with faulty brain chemistry? Or are we simply too willing to label and medicate them? [In this book, the author] answers these compelling questions. [He] believes in the innate "wellness" of our children, and he views the escalating diagnoses of major psychiatric conditions (such as depression, ADHD, and bipolar disorder) as more of a reflection of a well-meaning but flawed medical system than a gauge of the health and quality of our kids' brains. What sets [him] apart is his belief that the behavioral, social, and emotional problems we see in our children today are symptoms of real stressors that are not being addressed. In [the book, he] identifies the most common stressor - such as inadequate nutrition, hidden environmental issues, strained parent-child relationships, unaddressed trauma, and poor "fit" between a child's learning style and his school - and shows parents how to tackle them head-on. -Dust jacket

Introduction -- The high cost of labeling -- How your child's brain grows -- Relationships and the young brain -- Feeding your child's brain for emotional and mental health -- Environmental causes of disharmony in our kids -- Family relationships and the young brain -- School, learning, and the young brain -- Understanding trauma -- Parenting for emotional and mental health -- Appendix 1: The most common psychiatric labels given to children -- Appendix 2: Glossary of mental health therapies -- Appendix 3: Glossary of supplements -- Appendix 4: Family stress index -- Appendix 5: Trauma questionnaire -- Appendix 6: Resources and recommended reading -- Appendix 7: Choosing a practitioner