| The physical well-being of a newborn baby or | | | | in older patients. Things such as stealing, |
| child is relatively easy to determine. Simple | | | | conduct disorder, vigilantism, and vandalism |
| examinations and observations are often | | | | are all signs that can only definitively be |
| enough to tell if there's something | | | | identified in older children. In younger |
| physically wrong with a young child. However, | | | | ones, vandalism may be little more than the |
| that same ease of identification does not | | | | natural curiosity some children have towards |
| extend to the arena of mental health. Due to | | | | taking their toys apart, an outcrop of their |
| the nature of a child's mind and the way | | | | natural curiosity. This reliance on signs |
| human minds mature, it can often be difficult | | | | that can either be mistaken or do not |
| to determine if someone has some sort of | | | | immediately manifest are the main issues that |
| anxiety problem or personality disorder at an | | | | bottleneck attempts to establish a system for |
| early age. These problems can be identified | | | | diagnosing children with mental health |
| later on in life, but in a few cases, by the | | | | disorders. |
| time this is done, the problem is already | | | | |
| deeply-rooted into the psyche of the patient | | | | The need here is for a way to spot children |
| in question. | | | | with these problems early on, hopefully |
| | | | before such problems escalate into juvenile |
| Most of the time, things like behavioral | | | | delinquency. The previously stated problem |
| disorders are easily skimmed over by doctors | | | | makes this a difficult task, with even the |
| whenever children are the patient. This is | | | | most obvious sign, antisocial behavior, being |
| because a number of mental health disorders | | | | perfectly normal for a child. There are |
| have symptoms that coincide with what are | | | | currently no established signs that help |
| seen to be typical childhood behaviors. These | | | | professionals determine whether the behavior |
| can include things such as temper tantrums, | | | | is stemming from some sort of problem, or if |
| fits of uncontrolled anger, and poor impulse | | | | it is still within the definition of |
| control, which are also common facets of | | | | "normal." For the time being, there are a few |
| childhood. Most doctors would simply brush | | | | warning signs that people should be made |
| off these signs as ordinary aspects of | | | | aware of when attempting to see if a child |
| development, things that the child will | | | | has a problem. |
| eventually grow out of. This could easily be | | | | |
| the truth in a number of cases, but that does | | | | The first stems from the temper tantrums that |
| not mean that there isn't a percentage of | | | | children throw. Children are quick to anger, |
| these instances that cannot be linked to | | | | but are also just as quick to revert back to |
| things like anxiety disorders and other | | | | normal. If a child requires adult support in |
| potentially serious mental health issues. | | | | recovering from a fit, this can be a sign of |
| | | | some deeper problem. Continued defiance is |
| One of the core problems of spotting problems | | | | also taken as a possible sign of a behavioral |
| such as behavioral disorders is the symptoms. | | | | disorder, since most children will back away |
| Aside from symptoms that can easily be | | | | after being reprimanded once, while problem |
| identified as typical childhood responses, | | | | children will continue to defy authority |
| some of the clearer signs are only manifest | | | | figures. |