Jan
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Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 27, 2010
According to new research, insomnia in children is a widespread problem, and psychiatrists often resort to medication.
Dr. Judith Owens from the Brown Medical School in Providence and her colleagues found that in a survey of child psychiatrists, â€insomnia was a major problem in almost a third of their school-aged and adolescent patients and (they) endorsed using medication to treat the insomnia in at least a quarter of these patients.”
Insomnia in children has been linked to a wide variety of medical, psychological and behavioral problems, including neurodevopmental problems, ADHD, poor concentration in school, aggressive behavior, oppositional behavior, and anxiety. Up to 25 percent may have difficulty sleeping at some point in childhood. Causes can vary widely but include medical and neurological conditions as well as psychological disorders. In addition to medication, treatment options include improved sleep hygiene (careful attention to bedtime conditions that promote sleep), relaxation techniques, meditation, hypnosis, and cognitive behavioral therapy. At present in the there are no FDA-approved sleep medications for children.
To assess what methods are currently used by child psychiatrists, Owens sent surveys to 6,018 members of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry regarding practice patterns in their school-age and teenage patients. 1,273 psychiatrists responded, reporting that insomnia was an important problem in nearly one-third of these patients.
Among the children with insomnia, more than 25 percent were treated with medication.
In addition, 96 percent of the doctors surveyed had prescribed one or more prescription medication per month, and 88 percent had recommended an over-the-counter medication. Those surveyed were highly concerned about the effects of untreated insomnia. The psychiatrists perceived the lack of data on sleep medication in children and possible side effects as a reason to not use medication more often.
Of the medications prescribed, alpha agonists (medications like clonidine) were used most frequently for ADHD, and trazodone was used often for mood and anxiety disorders, as well as antidepressants.
Children with mood disorders were also treated with atypical antipsychotics (medications like Abilify), anticonvulsants (medications like Tegretol or Neurontin), and short-acting hypnotics (medications like Ambien).
Over-the-counter medications were also recommended often; for example, melatonin was recommended to more than one third of patients.
“The most important rationale for the use of sleep medication among child psychiatrists is to manage the effects of sleep disruption on daytime functioning. It is important to note, however, that concerns about side effects and the lack of evidence regarding their effectiveness were cited as significant barriers to their use,†said Owens.  â€Despite the high frequency of use and the wide range of medications chosen, practitioners also expressed a number of significant concerns about the appropriateness of sleep medication in general for children.”
These results are important in demonstrating the frequency of sleep disorders in children and how often child psychiatrists feel it necessary to resort to medication. There is clear evidence that lack of sleep not only can create behavioral and psychiatric problems, but can exacerbate existing mental health issues.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/27/children-and-sleeping-pills/16048.html
 
Article Date: 27 Jul 2010 – 0:00 PDT
New research shows people with severe depression find it harder to interpret facial expressions than healthy people – particularly expressions of disgust.
The study, published in the August issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, was carried out by researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand. Researchers Katie Douglas and Professor Richard Porter asked 68 people who had been diagnosed with severe depression to take part in a facial expression recognition task. They were shown a total of 96 faces displaying 5 basic emotions: angry, happy, sad, fearful and disgusted expressions. The participants were also shown faces displaying neutral expressions. Their performance was compared with a control group of 50 healthy individuals.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/195852.php
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Article Date: 27 Jul 2010 – 0:00 PDT
New research shows people with severe depression find it harder to interpret facial expressions than healthy people – particularly expressions of disgust.
The study, published in the August issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, was carried out by researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand. Researchers Katie Douglas and Professor Richard Porter asked 68 people who had been diagnosed with severe depression to take part in a facial expression recognition task. They were shown a total of 96 faces displaying 5 basic emotions: angry, happy, sad, fearful and disgusted expressions. The participants were also shown faces displaying neutral expressions. Their performance was compared with a control group of 50 healthy individuals.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/195852.php
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 27, 2010
A new study has determined that only some epilepsy drugs increase the risk for suicide. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires a warning of an increased risk of suicide for all epilepsy drugs.
Newer drugs with a higher risk of causing depression than other epilepsy drugs, such as levetiracetam (Keppra), topiramate (Topamax) and vigabatrin (Sabril) were found to increase the risk of self-harm or suicidal behavior among people with epilepsy.
In contrast, newer drugs that have a low risk of causing depression and conventional epilepsy drugs did not have any increased risk of self-harm or suicidal behavior. These groups include drugs such as lamotrigine (Lamictal), gabapentin (Neurontin), carbamazepine (Tegretol), valproate (Depakote) and phenytoin (Dilantin).
“These results may be helpful for doctors and people with epilepsy as they decide which drugs to use,†said study author Frank Andersohn, MD, of Charité University Medical Center in Berlin, Germany.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/27/only-some-epilepsy-drugs-increase-risk-ofsuicide/16068.html
Related News Articles
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Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 27, 2010
A new study has determined that only some epilepsy drugs increase the risk for suicide. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires a warning of an increased risk of suicide for all epilepsy drugs.
Newer drugs with a higher risk of causing depression than other epilepsy drugs, such as levetiracetam (Keppra), topiramate (Topamax) and vigabatrin (Sabril) were found to increase the risk of self-harm or suicidal behavior among people with epilepsy.
In contrast, newer drugs that have a low risk of causing depression and conventional epilepsy drugs did not have any increased risk of self-harm or suicidal behavior. These groups include drugs such as lamotrigine (Lamictal), gabapentin (Neurontin), carbamazepine (Tegretol), valproate (Depakote) and phenytoin (Dilantin).
“These results may be helpful for doctors and people with epilepsy as they decide which drugs to use,†said study author Frank Andersohn, MD, of Charité University Medical Center in Berlin, Germany.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/27/only-some-epilepsy-drugs-increase-risk-ofsuicide/16068.html
Related News Articles
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 27, 2010
The power of negative stereotypes should not be underestimated: Stigmatized individuals often exhibit diminished performance on exams and other skill-based activities.
Now, the effects of detrimental stereotypes are believed to inhibit learning, according to a new study by Indiana University researchers.
While the effect of negative performance stereotypes on test-taking and in other domains is well documented, the study by social psychologist Robert J. Rydell and his colleagues is the first to show that the effects might also be seen further upstream than once thought — when the skills are learned, not just performed.
“The effect on learning could be cumulative,†says Rydell, whose research focuses on stereotype threat involving women and mathematics.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/27/harmful-stereotypes-hinder-learning-and-performance/16062.html
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Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 27, 2010
The power of negative stereotypes should not be underestimated: Stigmatized individuals often exhibit diminished performance on exams and other skill-based activities.
Now, the effects of detrimental stereotypes are believed to inhibit learning, according to a new study by Indiana University researchers.
While the effect of negative performance stereotypes on test-taking and in other domains is well documented, the study by social psychologist Robert J. Rydell and his colleagues is the first to show that the effects might also be seen further upstream than once thought — when the skills are learned, not just performed.
“The effect on learning could be cumulative,†says Rydell, whose research focuses on stereotype threat involving women and mathematics.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/27/harmful-stereotypes-hinder-learning-and-performance/16062.html
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July 26, 2010
by Roseann Keegan
Once fearful of animals, 10-year-old Keegan Yaghlegian now runs to grab his cowboy boots and hat every Sunday when he gets to ride Violet at Kids & Horses in Minden.
Keegan, a special education student at Sierra House Elementary School, was diagnosed with mild autism a few months after his second birthday.
The signs of autism appeared when Keegan was 18-months-old. His speech began to regress and he made less eye contact with his parents, Dick and Lauren Yaghlegian, who go by the shortened last name of Yost.
Then the Yosts, who own the Village Board Shop in South Lake Tahoe, attended a fundraiser for Kids & Horses, a Carson Valley nonprofit that provides equine therapy to adults and children with special needs. Keegan was on the waiting list for three years. Then in 2007, just as the Yosts were about to give up on the program, a spot opened.
Lauren Yost said the change was instant. Keegan was making more eye contact. There was some unexpected speech when they got in the car after a lesson. Today, he’s no longer afraid of cats, dogs and other animals.
Read More …Â http://www.recordcourier.com/article/20100726/NEWS/100729903/1062&ParentProfile=1049
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July 26, 2010
by Roseann Keegan
Once fearful of animals, 10-year-old Keegan Yaghlegian now runs to grab his cowboy boots and hat every Sunday when he gets to ride Violet at Kids & Horses in Minden.
Keegan, a special education student at Sierra House Elementary School, was diagnosed with mild autism a few months after his second birthday.
The signs of autism appeared when Keegan was 18-months-old. His speech began to regress and he made less eye contact with his parents, Dick and Lauren Yaghlegian, who go by the shortened last name of Yost.
Then the Yosts, who own the Village Board Shop in South Lake Tahoe, attended a fundraiser for Kids & Horses, a Carson Valley nonprofit that provides equine therapy to adults and children with special needs. Keegan was on the waiting list for three years. Then in 2007, just as the Yosts were about to give up on the program, a spot opened.
Lauren Yost said the change was instant. Keegan was making more eye contact. There was some unexpected speech when they got in the car after a lesson. Today, he’s no longer afraid of cats, dogs and other animals.
Read More …Â http://www.recordcourier.com/article/20100726/NEWS/100729903/1062&ParentProfile=1049
Jan
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July 25, 8:58 PM
Shreveport Autism & Parenting ExaminerMary Toso
History of the Word
No discussion of autism is complete without looking back historically at how it has been viewed and diagnosed. This is because autism and related conditions have fought a lingering effect of psychological and psychiatric diagnoses associated with the earliest observations of patients being called autistic. People need to be informed with so many more now dealing with this in their families, personally, or with someone they know.
Before Leo Kanner’s work in 1943, autism was viewed through the perspective first used by Swiss psychiatrist Eugene Bleuler in1912. Autism-Psychology Wiki informs that he used autism in an issue of The American Journal of Insanity, and that the word comes from the Greek word for ‘self’, autos. It was in the work of dealing with schizophenia, which he first named, that he went on to introduce the term autism. Kanner, however, saw a definable difference in a condition that he chose the word autism to describe. In doing so he separated it from schizophrenia, but the impact of the term already had greatly confused people about the condition of autism- schizophrenia being a major psychiatric illness. Associated with schizophrenia are symptoms such as losing touch with reality, hearing voices and even hallucinating. However, the onset is unusual in very young children. Still, autism originally was a severe to moderately severe condition compared with the possibly high functioning PDD (NOS) described in The mystery child of PDD (NOS), or high functioning others in the spectrum. It was of an extremely rare type which had traits that were more easily defined, and many feel the term needed to remain applicable only to this small minority of people. So what might the autistic child look like that autism first described?
The Severely Autistic Child
This child from early on appears out of touch. He does not connect with even his mother in ways expressing bonded relationship, to her disillusionment. For example, eye contact is rare if at all, and speech also. There is a chronically habitual fine motor motion that the child will do. He shows fixation in response to it. For example, he might flap his hand up and down while never even noticing anyone else in a room. Larger, rapid motor behaviors might also take place like repeated waving of arms, spinning and rocking.
Potential Implications:
Therefore, though great strides have been made to understand the condition, a stigma is still associated with the extreme of the original terms and their definitions. Both the mental illness associated with schizophrenia, and the images of one having more severe autism are lingering with the term autism. Many children today called autistic are so vastly different that the condition doesn’t even appear to be the same, and actually really in the obvious ways isn’t. Even more so it could impact this child to realize someone would associate him with the schizophrenic when he is of vastly healthier condition. Given this it seems wise to consider the opinions of those concerned, and see what they are suggesting when defining autism spectrum, and the range of conditions the term now refers to. Hopefully, each individual will be more appreciated this way.
Application:
Children here in the Shreveport, LA area need to be seen as the individuals they are. When they are diagnosed or appear to be in the autism spectrum please remember how diverse this group has become and be sensitive to the uniqueness they have. We need to be thoughtful not to box them into a preconception we may have of this term.
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