Trying to figure out exactly which illness is affecting your child is not easy and requires the expertise of a mental healthcare provider.
If a child is experiencing certain symptoms, a mental healthcare provider can evaluate the child and figure out if they have a mental health issue. Sometimes the symptoms are just part of normal child development. Sometimes they aren't and the child is diagnosed with a mental illness.
If your child is receiving treatment for a mental health illness and they are not getting better, this may mean that you need to change your child’s treatment plan. It also may be a sign that you should take a look at your child’s diagnosis. Your child may not have the correct diagnosis or may have an additional diagnosis that has not been considered yet.
The conditions below explain some of the most common mental health diagnoses in children. They are not meant to be a comprehensive, but rather an introduction to the common types of conditions. The conditions are listed in alphabetical order. Each condition provides a definition of the illness, describes common signs and symptoms, explains how the illness is diagnosed, lists typical co-existing diagnoses, introduces possible treatment options, and provides a few resources specific to that illness.
If you think that your child may have one of these illnesses, it is important that you first contact your child’s pediatrician.
Your child’s pediatrician can do an initial screening and refer you for an appropriate evaluation.
More information about mental health evaluations
