Archive for the 'Child Health' Category

Children taken to mental health facilities from school grounds

Taking “care” or taken for a ride?

by Ms. Laurie Anspach, Mental Health Activist and Executive Director of Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida (CCHR)

There has been a real “buzz about town” regarding the controversial subject of mental health screening within our public schools. Many parents are left with questions about their rights to protect their children. Parents have the right to know what actions will being taken, by the school, when their child is late for class, skips class, doesnt sit still in class or generally, is deemed “inappropriate” by a school counselor or teacher.

One young girl made the news after she was subjected to a so-called suicide prevention movie that provided extremely controversial criteria for how to determine if someone is “at risk”. The idea of “mental health” entering our childrens school day, is perhaps surprising to some. Unfortunately, the public schools are ridden with different programs that ask intrusive questions of the students; shows them films in the name of “suicide prevention”; and generally opens the door to “diagnosing” any child with an apparent “disorder” that is not backed up by any medical proof.

According to the Florida, WESH T.V, channel 2 report “Jenny Helmick, a student at Wolf Lake Middle School, went to see a guidance counselor and ended up spending the night at Lakeside Alternatives.” (a mental health facility). This student was involuntarily committed from the school grounds following the showing of a movie about suicide prevention. That is just one way a student can end up being extracted from school and involuntarily committed through the Baker Act (Floridas involuntary commitment law). Jenny was one of four students taken to Lakeside from Wolf Lake Middle School in one year, according to the WESH report.

Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida is a non-profit watchdog group that investigates and exposes violations of human rights in the field of mental health. At our offices, we have received many calls regarding children who were taken from school grounds and brought to a psychiatric ward.

A sample of the typical mental health questionnaire is below. The child needs to answer a multiple choice set of statements and rate them per this numerical system.

1= None of the time

2= Very rarely

3= A little of the time

4 = Some of the time

5= A good part of the time

6= Most of the time

7= All of the time

__________ I feel I get pushed around more than others

__________ I feel that I am a likable person

__________ I am afraid I will appear foolish to others

Imagine if children, who know they have already broken a school rule, under the pressure of getting in trouble at home, answer these questions and 20 more questions like it, but in addition, depending on their answers, they may be deemed by the psychologist administering this questionnaire, to be a “risk to themselves or a risk to others”. Once the child is deemed such a risk, they are escorted by a law enforcement official, to a receiving facility for the “Baker Act”, involuntary commitment.

There is an entire array of “intervention programs” that have been implemented throughout our public schools. Teen Screen, Signs of Suicide and On Campus Intervention Program are a few of them. CCHR Florida has received calls from parents who have told us that their children are subjected to the questionnaires for wearing a shirt that is too short, for being late to school, skipping class or fist fights in the playground. The problems seem to be problems that anyone who is 30 years or older, would have remembered as being handled by “detention” after school, extra school work and cleaning erasers for the teacher. Now, we have “intervention” programs, mental health counselors, psychiatric drugs being dispensed to children right in the school by the school nurse.

Perhaps, it is important to either fully educate the parents about the full procedure of these intervention programs, which would include educating them about the potential of their child being involuntarily committed and held in a psychiatric facility for up to 72 hours, minimally. Perhaps, it is time to fully educate the parents about the fact that there are no medical tests, chemical imbalance tests or blood tests to prove that any mental health disorder exists and that the psychiatric drugs that are prescribed to these children are in the same class as cocaine and carry dangerous side effects (some include the FDA black box warning of suicidal ideation).

Additionally, perhaps it is time to review the aspect of parental consent.

CCHR Florida has copies of the mental health screening consent forms. One of these is a two page “parental consent” form written in 8pt type (which is very difficult to read due to it’s small size) and does not mention the potential of a students evaluation leading to the involuntary commitment.

Minimally, we need to ask ourselves, are parents fully informed? Are the childrens rights fully protected and are the children’s best interests being looked after?

Diagnosing and Treating Acid Reflux in Children

Every year millions of adults suffer the affects of gastro esophageal reflux disease or GERD for short. But what most people don’t realize is that acid reflux in children is also a very common problem. Just like an adult if a child’s GERD is left untreated a whole multitude of problems can occur, including esophageal damage, trouble breathing, larynx damage, and an increased chance of cancer of the esophagus.

The first step to diagnosing acid reflux in a child is recognizing the symptoms of this disease. One of the first signs may be a child who has difficulty eating or swallowing, complaining of pain when doing so. They may also exhibit the signs of slow or stunted growth because of a lack of nutrition. Vomiting may also be present in a child with acid reflux as well as projectile vomiting. The thing to watch for with throwing up and children who have GERD is a vomit with a green bile look to it, or an appearance like that of coffee grounds or blood. If a child has any of these types of symptoms on a consistent basis a trip to the pediatrician is in order.

The diagnosing of acid reflux in a child begins with a description of the symptoms. Most doctors will be able to make an accurate diagnosis from this alone but depending on the severity of the symptoms and the risk of complications the doctor may order some more in depth diagnostic tests be done.

The most common test is the barium x-ray image test. By drinking barium an x-ray can be taken of the upper GI tract. This gives a detailed image of the esophagus and stomach helping a doctor to make a more accurate diagnosis. Another more invasive test is an Endoscopy in which a thin probe with a light and camera on the end is snaked down the throat and into the stomach. This gives the doctor a first hand view of any damage or underlying conditions that may be causing the acid reflux. This type of test does require general anesthesia and is usually done in a hospital.

The first recommendation your pediatrician will probably make is a change in diet for your child with acid reflux. This will not only involve avoiding the known foods that are known to set of symptoms but also eating smaller meals and avoiding any foods a good 2 to 3 hours before bed. This can be hard for a child or young adolescent because many of the foods they need to avoid are the ones they like best.

When dietary changes do not have the desired effect then your child’s doctor may suggest an over the counter medication or write a prescription for a proton pump inhibitor. These drugs work by controlling how much stomach acid the body produces.

Most children who suffer from acid reflux get it when they are babies and simply outgrow it as they travel towards adulthood. Even though this is the case it is still important to have any case of acid reflux in children properly diagnosed and treated by a pediatrician. The long term complications of not getting GERD properly treated can lead to a lifetime of discomfort, pain, and possible life threatening disease.

Advantages of Breast Feeding

With numerous guidelines being written on the importance and benefits of breastfeeding, more and more mothers are becoming aware of how beneficial it is to nurse their babies.

Along with saving you money on formula, breast feeding can also help you to keep your medical bills down. Babies that are formula fed get sick more often and more seriously than babies that are breast fed.

Breast milk is produced on demand and the best way to increase milk production is to allow the baby to suckle directly from the breast. It is the baby’s suckling action that encourages further milk production.

Breastfeeding protects against this by providing the infant with a substance called secretory IGA. This immunoglobulin in colostrum and breastmilk prevents the absorption of very large foreign molecules when the infant’s immune system is immature.

Breastfeeding also helps your baby’s brain to develop because it’s rich in fatty acids that protect the cells of the brain. It also helps your baby to develop strong muscles because breast milk provides the perfect mix of proteins for building muscle tissue.

Having a little baby in your arms is one of the most wonderful feelings you can have. Going one step further with breastfeeding puts butterflies in your tummy. These are moments that will last forever and will shape the new you a Mom.

Believe it or not, this is a benefit. Mother and baby belong together and breastfeeding makes sure that this happens more often than if the mother is formula feeding. If the family is serious about making breastfeeding successful, they can come up with creative ways to keep Mommy and baby together.

Some studies even indicate that breastfeeding may reduce the incidence of breast, uterine and ovarian cancers (Radetsky, 1999) and in the long term may reduce a woman’s risk of osteoporosis by increasing bone strength.

Breastfeeding helps the child having a better immune system and helps them in responding better to vaccinations.

What about the psychological benefits? Touch is so very important to any human, especially a newborn. With breastfeeding, there is skin on skin contact, whereas a bottle fed baby may not be touched by anything other than a hard plastic or glass bottle.

A long term plan is well needed is governments really want to help new mothers continue breastfeeding for longer periods and diminish the important drop rate after a few months.

Additionally, the fact that babies usually bring their food with them is wonderful. Not only does the food come pre-prepared, but also, it is always at the right temperature and it can be provided in a matter of seconds. By going this route, families will be able to save some money.