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The Challenge of Change with Conduct Disorder

I work at a juvenile placement facility for adolescent boys. Today, while we were walking to school, one young man decided to turn around and punch the kid behind him in the face. Pretty much just because he was angry. As I was filling out the incidence report, I noticed that the teen had been diagnosed with Conduct Disorder. It made me laugh. Currently at my facility, we have over 250 residents, all teenage boys between the ages of fourteen and twenty. If you look closely, I would guarantee that all but ten have been diagnosed with Conduct Disorder. What … Continue reading →

“I Wish I Were Never Born.” Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder in Children

Like many childhood mental disorders, bipolar can be extremely difficult to properly diagnose. This is because bipolar disorder, which is sometimes called mania or manic depression, can mimic the symptoms of other disorders. Bipolar disorder may present with symptoms similar to conduct disorder or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Also, childhood bipolar disorder can manifest itself very differently from the symptoms we typically see in adults with the condition. In order for the diagnosis of bipolar disorder to be made, the symptoms must be causing the child serious problems at home and school. The child with bipolar disorder will have difficultly … Continue reading →

Conduct Disorder: A Frightening Reality

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When I first heard of conduct disorder, I wondered whether it was some conjured up name for kids who’ve been badly parented. I mean, honestly… “conduct” disorder? Have we gone so far with creating disorders and diseases that we’re giving bad behavior a medical excuse? But the symptoms of conduct disorder are so shockingly anti-social that, one must reason that something has gone wrong in the child’s psyche. This is not merely the case of a spoiled, manipulative child who throws tantrums. The child with conduct disorder has a surprising inability to feel empathy for other living things. This is … Continue reading →

The “Missing Link:” Autism and Vaccinations

For more than a decade, a suggested link between childhood vaccinations and autism has caused an outcry amongst many parents and autism advocates. A study in 1998 by Dr. Andrew Wakefield proposed a possible link between children with the disorder and the measles-mumps-rubella shot. It was suggested that the mercury, or thimerosal in the vaccine caused “widespread” neurological damage resulting in autism. Now experts are saying the link doesn’t exist. As the mother of a son with autism, I have never agreed with the theory that immunizations caused his autism. My son Kyle had unique behaviors and some physical anomalies … Continue reading →