Childhood psychosis: causes, symptoms, treatment of mental disorders. Nervous mental disorders in children What are the symptoms of mental children

29.04.2020

Due to special factors, whether it is a difficult atmosphere in the family, a genetic predisposition or a head injury, various mental disorders can occur. When a child comes into the world, it is impossible to understand whether he is mentally healthy or not. Physically, these children are no different. Violations appear later.

Mental disorders in children are divided into 4 large classes:

1) Mental retardation;

2) developmental delays;

3) Attention deficit disorder;

4) Early autism childhood.

Mental retardation. Delayed development

The first type of mental disorder in children is mental retardation. The child's psyche is underdeveloped, an intellectual defect is observed. Symptoms:

Violation of perception, voluntary attention.
Narrowed vocabulary, speech is simplified and defective.
Children are led by their environment, not by their motivation and desires.

There are several stages of development, depending on the IQ indicator: mild, moderate, severe and deep. Basically, they differ only in the severity of the symptoms.

The causes of such a mental disorder are the pathology of the chromosome set, or trauma before birth, during childbirth, or early in life. Maybe because the mother drank alcohol during pregnancy, smoked. Infection, falls and injuries to the mother, and difficult childbirth can also be the cause of mental retardation.

Developmental delays (SD) are expressed in impaired cognitive activity, personality immaturity in comparison with healthy peers, and in a slow pace of mental development. Types of CRA:

1) Mentally infantilism. The psyche is underdeveloped, behavior is guided by emotions and games, the will is weak;

2) Delays in the development of speech, reading, counting;

3) Other violations.

The child lags behind his peers, learns information more slowly. CRD can be corrected, the most important thing is that teachers and educators know about the problem. A child with a delay takes longer to learn something, but with the right approach it can.

Attention deficit disorder. Autism

Mental disorders in children can take the form of attention deficit disorder. This syndrome is expressed in the fact that the child concentrates very badly on the task, cannot bring himself to do one thing for a long time to the end. This syndrome is often accompanied by hyperreactivity.

Symptoms:

The child does not sit still, constantly wants to run somewhere or start doing another thing, is easily distracted.
If he's playing something, he can't wait for his turn to come. Can only play active games.
He talks a lot, but never listens to what they say to him. Moves a lot.

Heredity.
Injury during childbirth.
Infection or virus, drinking alcohol while carrying a child.

There are various ways to treat and correct this disease. You can treat with medication, you can psychologically - by teaching child to cope with their impulses.

Early childhood autism is divided into the following types:

- autism, in which the child is not capable of contact with other children and adults, never looks in the eyes and tries not to touch people;

- stereotypes in behavior when a child protests against the smallest changes in his life and the world around him;

- impaired development of speech. He needs speech not for communication - the child can speak well and correctly, but cannot communicate.

There are other disorders that children may be susceptible to different ages... For example, manic states, Turret cider and many others. However, they are all found in adults. The disorders listed above are characteristic of childhood.

Signs of mental illness can go unnoticed for many years. Almost three quarters of children with serious mental disorders (ADHD, food and bipolar disorders), without receiving help from specialists, are left alone with their problems.

If you define a neuropsychiatric disorder at a young age, when the disease is on initial stage, the treatment will be more effective and efficient. In addition, it will be possible to avoid many complications, for example, the complete disintegration of the personality, the ability to think, to perceive reality.

It usually takes about ten years from the moment the first, barely noticeable symptoms appear until the day when the neuropsychiatric disorder manifests itself in full force. But then the treatment will be less effective if this stage of the disorder can be cured at all.

So that parents can identify symptoms on their own mental disorders and help your child in time, psychiatrists have published a simple test consisting of 11 questions. The test can help you easily recognize warning signs that are common in a wide range of mental disorders. Thus, it is possible to qualitatively reduce the number of suffering children by adding them to the number of children who are already undergoing treatment.

Test "11 signs"

Have you noticed in a child a state of deep melancholy, isolation, which lasts more than 2-3 weeks?
Did the child exhibit uncontrolled, violent behavior that is dangerous to others?
Was there a desire to harm people, participation in fights, perhaps even with the use of weapons?
Has the child, teenager made attempts to injure his body or commit suicide, or expressed his intention to do so?
Perhaps there were bouts of sudden unreasonable all-consuming fear, panic, while the heartbeat and breathing increased?
Did the child refuse to eat? Perhaps you found laxatives in his things?
Does the child have chronic conditions of anxiety and fear that inhibit normal activity?
Is the child unable to concentrate, restless, characterized by school failure?
Have you noticed that the child has repeatedly used alcohol and drugs?
Does the child's mood often change, is it difficult for him to build and maintain normal relationships with others?
Did the child's personality and behavior change frequently, were the changes abrupt and unreasonable?

This technique was created to help parents determine which behavior for a child can be considered normal, and which requires special attention and observation. If most of the symptoms are regularly manifested in the personality of the child, parents are advised to seek a more accurate diagnosis from specialists in the field of psychology and psychiatry.

Mental retardation

Mental retardation is diagnosed from an early age, manifested by the underdevelopment of general mental functions, where thinking defects prevail. Mentally retarded children are distinguished by a reduced level of intelligence - below 70, they are not socially adapted.

Symptoms

Symptoms of mental retardation (oligophrenia) are characterized by disorders of emotional functions, as well as significant intellectual disability:

cognitive need is violated or absent;
slows down, narrows the perception;
difficulty with active attention;
the child remembers information slowly, fragilely;
poor vocabulary: words are used inaccurately, phrases are undeveloped, speech is characterized by an abundance of cliches, agrammatisms, pronunciation defects are noticeable;
poorly developed moral, aesthetic emotions;
there are no stable motivations;
the child is dependent on external influences, does not know how to control the simplest instinctive needs;
difficulties arise in predicting the consequences of their own actions.

Causes

Mental retardation occurs due to any brain damage during intrauterine development of the fetus, during childbirth, or in the first year of life. The reasons are mainly due to:

genetic pathology - “fragile X-chromosome”.
taking alcohol, drugs during pregnancy (embryonic alcohol syndrome);
infections (rubella, HIV and others);
physical damage to brain tissue during childbirth;
diseases of the central nervous system, brain infections (meningitis, encephalitis, mercury intoxication);
the facts of social and pedagogical neglect are not a direct cause of oligophrenia, but significantly aggravate the remaining probable causes.

Can it be cured?

– pathological condition, the signs of which can be found many years after exposure to probable damaging factors. Therefore, it is difficult to cure oligophrenia, it is easier to try to prevent pathology.

but the child's condition can be significantly alleviated by special education and upbringing, to develop in a child with mental retardation the simplest hygiene and self-care skills, communication and speech skills.

Drug treatment is used only in the event of complications such as conduct disorders.

Impaired mental function

With a delay mental development (CR) the child's personality is pathologically immature, the psyche develops slowly, the cognitive sphere is disturbed, and the tendencies of reverse development are manifested. Unlike oligophrenia, where intellectual disabilities prevail, ZPR affects mainly the emotional and volitional sphere.

Mental infantilism

Often, children manifest mental infantilism as one of the forms of CRA. The neuropsychic immaturity of an infantile child is expressed by disorders of the emotional and volitional sphere. Children give preference to emotional experiences, games, while cognitive interest is reduced. Infantile child unable to make volitional efforts to organize intellectual activity at school, poorly adapts to school discipline. Other forms of CRA are also distinguished: writing, reading and counting.

What's the prognosis?

Predicting efficiency treatment of malnutrition, you need to take into account the causes of violations. For example, signs of mental infantilism can be completely mitigated by organizing educational and training activities. If the developmental delay is due to a serious organic insufficiency of the central nervous system, the effectiveness of rehabilitation will depend on the degree of brain damage by the main defect.

How can I help the child?

Comprehensive rehabilitation of children with mental retardation is carried out by several specialists at once: a psychiatrist, a pediatrician and a speech therapist. If a referral to a special rehabilitation institution is needed, the child is examined by doctors from the medical and pedagogical commission.

Effective treatment for a child with CRD begins with daily homework with the parents. Supported by visiting specialized speech therapy and groups for children with mental retardation in preschool institutions, where the child is assisted and supported by qualified speech therapists, defectologists, and teachers.

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If by school age the child has not been able to completely eliminate the symptoms of delayed neuropsychic development, you can continue education in special classes, where the school curriculum is adapted to the needs of children with pathologies. The child will be provided with constant support, ensuring the normal formation of personality and self-esteem.

Attention deficit disorder

Many children suffer from attention deficit disorder (ADD) preschool age, schoolchildren and adolescents. Children are not able to concentrate attention for a long time, are overly impulsive, hyperactive, not attentive.

Signs

Diagnose a child if there is:

excessive excitability;
restlessness;
the child is easily distracted;
does not know how to restrain himself and his emotions;
unable to follow instructions;
attention is distracted;
easily jumps from one case to another;
does not like calm games, prefers dangerous, mobile activities;
excessively talkative, interrupts the interlocutor in a conversation;
cannot listen;
does not know how to keep order, loses things.

Why does ADD develop?

The causes of attention deficit disorder are associated with many factors:

the child is genetically predisposed to ADD.
there was a brain injury during childbirth;
The central nervous system is damaged by toxins or a bacterial viral infection.

Effects

Attention deficit disorder is an intractable pathology, however, using modern techniques education, over time, you can significantly reduce the manifestations of hyperactivity.

If the condition of ADD is left untreated, it is possible that in the future the child will have difficulties with learning, self-esteem, adaptation in social space, and family problems. Adults with ADD are more likely to experience drug and alcohol addiction, conflicts with the law, antisocial behavior, and divorce.

Treatment types

The approach to the treatment of attention deficit disorder should be comprehensive and versatile, including the following techniques:

vitamin therapy and antidepressants;
teaching children self-control using various methods;
A “supportive” environment at school and at home;
special strengthening diet.

Autism

Children with autism are in a state of constant "extreme" loneliness, unable to establish emotional contact with others, socially and communicatively not developed.

Autistic children do not look in the eyes, their gaze wanders, as if in an unreal world. There is no expressive facial expressions, speech has no intonation, they practically do not use gestures. It is difficult for a child to express his emotional condition, the more understand the emotions of another person.

How does it manifest?

Children with autism show stereotypical behavior, it is difficult for them to change the environment, life conditions to which they are accustomed. The slightest change causes panic fear and resistance. Autists tend to perform monotonous speech and motor actions: shake their hands, jump, repeat words and sounds. In any activity, a child with autism prefers monotony: he becomes attached and performs monotonous manipulations of certain objects, chooses the same game, topic of conversation, drawing.

Violations of the communicative function of speech are noticeable. Autistic people find it difficult to communicate with others, ask parents for help, however, they are happy to recite their favorite poem, constantly choosing the same work.

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In children with autism observed, they constantly repeat the words and phrases they hear. Pronouns are misused, can call themselves "he" or "we". Autistic never ask questions, and hardly react when others ask them, that is, they completely avoid communication.

Development reasons

Scientists have put forward many hypotheses about the causes of the development of autism, identified about 30 factors that can provoke the development of the disease, but none of them is an independent cause of autism in children.

It is known that the development of autism is associated with the formation of a special congenital pathology, which is based on insufficiency of the central nervous system. This pathology is formed due to genetic predisposition, chromosomal abnormalities, organic disorders nervous system with pathological pregnancy or childbirth, against the background of early schizophrenia.

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Treatment

It is very difficult to cure autism, it will take enormous efforts on the part of the parents, first of all, as well as the teamwork of many specialists: a psychologist, speech therapist, pediatrician, psychiatrist and defectologist.

The specialists are faced with many problems, which need to be solved gradually and comprehensively:

correct speech and teach the child to communicate with others;
develop motor skills with special exercises;
using modern teaching techniques to overcome intellectual underdevelopment;
solve problems within the family in order to remove all obstacles to the full development of the child;
using special drugs, to correct behavioral disorders, personality and other psychopathological symptoms.

Schizophrenia

In schizophrenia, personality changes occur, which are expressed by emotional impoverishment, a decrease in energy potential, a loss of the unity of mental functions, and the progression of introversion.

Clinical signs

The following signs of schizophrenia are observed in preschoolers and schoolchildren:

babies do not respond to wet diapers and hunger, rarely cry, sleep restlessly, wake up often.
at a conscious age, unreasonable fear becomes the main manifestation, replaced by absolute fearlessness, the mood often changes.
states of motor oppression and excitement appear: the child freezes for a long time in an absurd position, practically immobilized, and at times suddenly begins to run back and forth, jump, yell.
elements of "pathological game" are observed, which is distinguished by monotony, monotony and stereotyped behavior.

Students with schizophrenia behave as follows:

suffer from speech disorders, using neologisms and stereotypical phrases, sometimes agrammatism and;
even the child's voice changes, becomes "singing", "chanting", "whispering";
thinking is inconsistent, illogical, the child is inclined to philosophize, philosophize on lofty topics about the universe, the meaning of life, the end of the world;
suffers from visual, tactile, occasionally auditory hallucinations of an episodic nature;
somatic stomach disorders appear: lack of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, fecal and urinary incontinence.

in adolescents, it manifests itself with the following symptoms:

on the physical level is manifested headache, fatigue, absent-mindedness;
depersonalization and derealization - the child feels that he is changing, he is afraid of himself, walks like a shadow, and school performance decreases;
there are delusional ideas, a frequent fantasy “alien parents”, when the patient believes that his parents are not his own, the child thinks that those around him are hostile, aggressive, and dismissive;
there are signs of olfactory and auditory hallucinations, obsessive fears and doubts that make the child do illogical actions;
manifest affective disorders - fear of death, insanity, insomnia, hallucinations and painful sensations in various organs of the body;
visual hallucinations are especially tormented, the child sees terrible unreal pictures that instill fear in the patient, pathologically perceives reality, suffers from manic states.

Treatment with drugs

For the treatment of schizophrenia antipsychotics are used: haloperidol, chlorazine, stelazine and others. Weak antipsychotics are recommended for younger children. With sluggish schizophrenia, treatment with sedatives is added to the main therapy: indopan, niamide, etc.

During the period of remission, it is necessary to normalize the home environment, apply educational and educational therapy, psychotherapy, and labor treatment. Supportive treatment with prescribed antipsychotics is also carried out.

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Disability

People with schizophrenia can completely lose their ability to work, while others retain the ability to work and even grow creatively.

Disability is given with continuously flowing schizophreniaif the patient has a malignant and paranoid form of the disease. Usually, patients are referred to the II group of disability, and if the patient has lost the ability to independently serve himself, then to the I group.
With recurrent schizophreniaespecially in the period acute attacks patients are not fully able to work, therefore they are assigned II disability group. During the period of remission, transfer to group III is possible.

Epilepsy

The causes of epilepsy are mainly associated with a genetic predisposition and exogenous factors: damage to the central nervous system, bacterial and viral infections, complications after vaccination.

Symptoms of an attack

Before the attack, the child experiences a special state - an aura, which lasts 1-3 minutes, but is conscious. The condition is characterized by a change in motor restlessness and fading, excessive sweating, hyperemia of the facial muscles. Toddlers rub their eyes with their hands, older children talk about gustatory, auditory, visual or olfactory hallucinations.

After the aura phase, loss of consciousness and an attack of convulsive muscle contractions occur. During a seizure, the tonic phase predominates, the complexion becomes pale, then purple-cyanotic. The child wheezes, foam appears on the lips, possibly with blood. The reaction of the pupils to light is negative. There are cases of involuntary urination and defecation. An epileptic seizure ends with a sleep phase. Waking up, the child feels overwhelmed, depressed, headache.

Urgent Care

They are very dangerous for children, there is a threat to life and mental health, so emergency care is urgently needed in case of seizures.

As emergency care measures of early therapy, anesthesia, the introduction of muscle relaxants are used. First, you need to remove all squeezing things from the child: the belt, open the collar so that there are no obstacles to the flow of fresh air. Insert a soft barrier between the teeth so that the child does not bite his tongue in a seizure.

Drugs

Would need with a solution of chloral hydrate 2%, as well as an intramuscular injection of magnesium sulfate 25%, or diazepam 0.5%. If the attack has not stopped after 5-6 minutes, you need to give half the dose of the anticonvulsant drug.

With prolonged epileptic seizure appointed dehydration with aminophylline solution 2.4%, furomeside, concentrated plasma... As a last resort apply inhalation anesthesia (nitrogen with oxygen 2 to 1) and emergency measures to restore breathing: intubation, tracheostomy. This is followed by emergency hospitalization in the intensive care unit or neurological hospital.

Neuroses

They manifest themselves in the form of mental discoordination, emotional imbalance, sleep disorders, symptoms of neurological diseases.

How are formed

The reasons for the formation of neuroses in children are psychogenic. The child may have had mental trauma or long time were pursued by failures that provoked a state of strong mental stress.

The development of neuroses is influenced by both mental and physiological factors:

Prolonged mental stress can result in dysfunction internal organs and provoke peptic ulcer, which in turn only aggravate the child's mental state.
Disorders of the autonomic system also occur: arterial pressure is disturbed, heart pains, palpitations, sleep disorders, headaches, fingers tremble, fatigue and discomfort in the body. This condition is quickly fixed and it is difficult for the child to get rid of the feeling of anxiety.
The formation of neuroses is significantly influenced by the level of stress resistance of the child. Emotionally unbalanced children experience petty quarrels with friends and family for a long time, therefore neuroses are formed in such children more often.
It is known that neuroses in children occur more often during periods that can be called "extreme" for the child's psyche. So most of neuroses occur at the age of 3-5 years, when the child forms "I", as well as at puberty - 12-15 years.

Among the most common neurotic disorders in children there are: neurasthenia, hysterical arthrosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Eating disorders

Disorders eating behavior mostly teenagers suffer, whose self-esteem is greatly underestimated due to negative thoughts about their own weight and appearance... As a result, a pathological attitude to nutrition is developed, habits are formed that contradict the normal functioning of the body.

It was believed that anorexia and bulimia are more common in girls, but in practice it turns out that boys are equally likely to suffer from eating disorders.

This type of neuropsychiatric disorders is spreading very dynamically, gradually becoming threatening. Moreover, many adolescents successfully hide their problem from their parents for many months, even years.

Anorexia

Children with anorexia are tormented by constant feelings of shame and fear, illusions about being overweight and distorted opinions about their own body, size and shape. The desire to lose weight sometimes reaches the point of absurdity, the child brings himself to a state.

Some adolescents use the most severe diets, multi-day fasting, limiting the amount of calories consumed to a deadly low limit. Others, trying to lose "extra" pounds, endure excessive physical exertion, bringing their bodies to a dangerous level of overwork.

Bulimia

Teens with characterized by periodic sharp changes in weight, because they combine periods of gluttony with periods of fasting and purification. Feeling a constant need to eat everything that fell into their hands, and at the same time discomfort and a feeling of shame due to a noticeably rounded figure, children with bulimia often use laxatives and emetics to cleanse themselves and compensate for the amount of calories eaten.
In fact, anorexia and bulimia manifest themselves in almost the same way, with anorexia, the child can also use methods of artificial cleansing of the food that he has just eaten through artificial vomiting and the use of laxatives. but extremely thin, and bulimics are often completely normal or slightly overweight.

Eating disorders are very dangerous for a child's life and health. Such neuropsychiatric diseases are difficult to control and very difficult to overcome on your own. Therefore, in any case, you will need professional help from a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Prevention

For prevention purposes, children at risk need regular monitoring by a child psychiatrist. Parents shouldn't be afraid of the word "psychiatry." Do not close your eyes to deviations in the development of the personality of children, behavioral features, to convince yourself that these features "only seem to you." If you are worried about the child's behavior, you have noticed symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders, do not hesitate to ask a specialist about it.

A consultation with a child psychiatrist does not oblige parents to immediately refer the child for treatment to appropriate institutions. However, there are often cases when a routine examination by a psychologist or psychiatrist helps prevent serious neuropsychiatric pathologies in an older age, providing children with the opportunity to remain full and live a healthy and happy life.

Nervous system disorders can be varied.
Most often these are:
affective-respiratory seizures;
speech disorders;
sleep disorders;
awkwardness;
bouts of anger;
upbringing problems;
increased excitability.

Affective respiratory attacks:

Affective respiratory seizures are acute holding of breath. May occur when a child screams or cries. From anger, resentment or pain (for example, when falling), the child begins to cry so bitterly that his breath is held, there is no air in his lungs, the child first turns red, then turns blue and immediately begins to breathe. At the moment of lack of air, a short-term oxygen starvation of the brain is possible and the child loses consciousness. At this time, there may be convulsions.

All this lasts several tens of seconds, after which the children become lethargic, sometimes drowsy. Similar attacks can occur in 2% of children under 2 years of age, rarely up to 4 years.
This is usually the case with very stubborn, wayward children who try to achieve their goal at any cost. Such states, as a rule, pass without a trace and serve as one of the manifestations of early childhood nervousness. During an attack, the child should be taken out to fresh air, turned face down so that the sunken tongue does not block airways... You can spray your face cold water, but do not give to drink, since the child does not swallow at this moment.

In order to avoid an attack, it is necessary to "switch" the child's attention to some other object, distract him and try to avoid conflict situations. It is necessary to have a unity of views of the whole family on the attitude towards this problem, since the child very quickly learns to benefit from the situation for himself. In many cases, you need to consult a psychologist. Such attacks do not pose a particular danger, however, in all cases, a doctor's consultation is necessary to rule out epilepsy and cardiac arrhythmias. It should also be remembered that frequent seizures due to oxygen starvation of the brain can lead to neurological disease.

Speech disorders:

If it seems to you that the child speaks little, find out from a speech therapist how he should speak at this age. The development of a child's speech depends on how much they talk to from the first days of life. At first, the newborn does not seem to react in any way to appeals to him. But several weeks pass, and the child listens to the sounds of speech, as if freezes. After a while, in response to your speech, he begins to utter sounds: "gu", "u". By 1.5-2 months, he walks well, and by 3 months he walks for a long time, drawn out, melodious, calms down when you start talking, then he walks again, smiles. By 6-8 months, chains of sounds appear: "ba-ba-ba", "ma-ma-ma", by 9-12 months - words. By the age of one, a child usually knows 6-10 words.

By the age of 15 months, she begins to consciously address her parents and other family members: "mom", "dad", "baba". By the age of 18 months, he copes well intonation, follows instructions (“take and bring, put”, etc.). By the age of 2, she can speak short two-word sentences ("mom, am"). After 2 years, sentences are formed, and a 3-year-old child already speaks in phrases, sings songs, reads short rhymes. True, speech is still indistinct, not always clear to others. However, this is not always the case. If the child speaks little, it is necessary to find out if he has a hearing impairment or damage from the nervous system. If a child hears well, it is necessary to constantly talk to him, to teach him to use not gestures, but words.

A baby surrounded by a “wall of silence” lacks stimuli to develop speech. If the child's speech is unclear, you should contact a speech therapist to check if he has a short frenum of the tongue. Pathology hard palate (cleft) also leads to a violation of sound pronunciation, even after surgical correction. If there are no abnormalities on the part of the hearing organ, the oral cavity, it is necessary to consult a neuropathologist in order to exclude a delay in psycho-speech development as a consequence of damage to the nervous system.

It should also be remembered about the hereditary features of the development of speech. There is a natural difference in the development of the speech of children: someone starts speaking earlier, someone later. The more you talk to your child, the sooner he learns to speak himself. Most speech disorders is a consequence of the pathology of hearing.

Sleep disorders in a child:

Like adults, children have different sleep needs. Newborns sleep 12 to 20 hours a day, older children all night. However, some can only sleep 4-5 hours and do not sleep during the day. In most cases, these are hereditary features, but the child's mode of life also makes its own changes. Children who are not very active during the day do not sleep well at night, as well as overly active children who do not have time to calm down in the evening.

Children with asthma, eczema, allergies, food intolerance also sleep poorly at night. Much depends on how the child is laid. In some families, it is customary to rock the baby in their arms, in others - to put it in a crib. Advantage last method the fact that parents can be alone for a while.

About half of children under 5 wake up at night, which is the norm. Another thing is that parents do not get enough sleep. Therefore, they can get up to the child one by one or sleep longer in the morning.

Sleep disorders include:
nightmares;
night fears;
sleepwalking (sleepwalking).

Nightmares very unpleasant for the child. They occur due to breathing disorders: with asthma, allergies, enlarged tonsils, nasal congestion, due to mental reasons (scary movies, etc.), painful sensations or injuries suffered, as well as in hot and stuffy rooms. Usually between 8 and 9 years old. A child dreams that someone presses him, persecutes him, etc. In the morning he remembers what he dreamed. These disturbances occur during REM sleep.

Night terrors.The child wakes up at night and screams for several minutes, not recognizing those around him. It is not easy to calm him down, he is frightened, he has a rapid heartbeat, wide pupils, rapid breathing, and distorted features. Most often, night fears are noted between 4 and 7 years. After a few minutes, the child calms down and falls asleep, in the morning he does not remember anything. Night terrors arise in the phase of less deep sleep.

Sleepwalking (sleepwalking, somnambulism) appears during shallow sleep or waking up from shallow sleep: Children get out of bed, walk around the room, may talk, use the toilet or pee in the room, then return to their pastel or other and go to bed. In the morning they don't remember about it. Sometimes sleepwalking is combined with night fears. It should be remembered that tired children sleep soundly. Therefore, the child's physical and mental activity during the day: outdoor games, singing, reading poetry, counting rhymes - contributes to sound sleep.

By the age of 3, children sleep much less during the day or even refuse daytime sleep... Laying the child in the evening after the bath, bedtime story helps to consolidate the regime, and the child calmly goes to bed. You can leave a dim night light or light in the hallway if your baby is afraid of the dark. A child can take a favorite toy or book into the crib. Sometimes quiet music helps or “ white noise»(Operation of any household appliances, quiet conversations between adults). You should not rock the child in your arms, as he wakes up as soon as he is put in the crib. Better to sit next to me and sing a lullaby. The bedroom should be cozy and warm.

If the child cries, afraid to be alone, teach him to do so gradually. After putting the child to bed, go out for a few minutes and come back again. Gradually increase your absence. The child will know that you are somewhere nearby and will return to him.

With nightmares and night fears, you need to calm the child down, put him to bed. Mild sedatives may be given as needed on the advice of a doctor. It is important that the child does not watch movies or fairy tales in the evening that can scare him. When sleeping, you need to calmly lay the child down, not wake him up. It is necessary to examine him with a doctor and, if necessary, carry out treatment. Remember to keep your child safe: close windows and doors to prevent them from falling on the stairs or falling through the window.

Sleep disturbances are common in infants and young children. However, regular bedding at the same time allows you to develop a certain regimen. Sleep disorders require medical advice and appropriate medication.

Awkwardness:

All young children are a little awkward, as their nervous systems cannot keep up with the development of muscles and bones. Starting to eat on his own, the child stains clothes, scatters food, learning to dress - fights with buttons, fasteners, locks. Often falls, bruises, bruises and bumps appear on the head, arms and legs. At 3 years old, it is still difficult for a child to build a tower of cubes, preschoolers draw poorly, write, often break dishes, do not know how to estimate distances, so they throw and catch the ball awkwardly.

Many children cannot tell the right side from the left side. More often they are overly excitable, impulsive, cannot concentrate for a long time. Some begin to walk late (after a year and a half). It will take some time for them to make up this gap. In some children, motor coordination suffers "inherited". Other children are emotionally disturbed.

Children with any disabilities: coordinating, emotional, manipulative - feel different from everyone else. Awkwardness sometimes results from injuries, especially to the head. Premature babies are also somewhat different from their peers. In many cases, as the child grows, disturbances such as minimal cerebral insufficiency appear, at first imperceptible. A child's awkwardness complicates parenting problems. Failure to complete a task can cause anger, resentment, a tendency to solitude, shyness, and self-doubt in the child, especially if peers begin to laugh at him.

Rough neurological disorders often overlooked, and the child is assessed as “normal but obnoxious,” which leads to punishment, reprimands, even greater disturbances in behavior and pathological character formation. The child begins to avoid school, finds any reason not to go to lessons, where he is scolded, ridiculed. Parents must first of all understand that not everything is normal in the child. If you notice that your child is especially awkward, contact a neuropathologist, psychologist to identify and clarify the nature of the disorders as early as possible.

Every tenth child has minor violations, so it is important to show maximum patience and attention in order to carry out the appropriate correction. Success requires mutual understanding, patience, not punishment, ridicule and reprimand. If there is minimal brain damage, do not be discouraged, there are many ways to treat and correct such disorders.

Attacks of anger:

Attacks of anger often occur in children between the ages of one and a half to 4 years. The most difficult time is 2 to 3 years. This is a critical age for self-affirmation. By age 4, seizures become much more rare. At the age of 2-3 years, about 20% of children are angry every day for one reason or another.

The main reason for anger is dissatisfaction with the fact that the child cannot express his desires the way he wants. Children at this age understand very well everything that is happening around them, and passionately want everything to be the way they want. If this does not happen, the anger turns into bouts of anger, which cause a lot of anxiety to parents, especially in in public places... Sometimes you even have to spank the baby.

To avoid this unpleasant situation, always analyze your actions before you go somewhere with your child. Children usually get naughty if they are hungry. Always carry some fruit or cookies with you. If the child wants to sleep, try to get home by bedtime, or go after the child wakes up and has good mood... Sometimes it is possible to "switch" the child's attention to something unusual and interesting in the environment.

Attacks of envy of a sister or brother can be prevented by giving the child maximum attention and tenderness, and not scolding him. Try to stay calm and not react to your child's antics. Do not think about what others will say. Many of them also have children and know how difficult it can be with them. Sometimes the child cries in anger and can cause an affective-respiratory attack, but, fortunately, this is rare. Always remain calm and consistent.

Take the crying baby in your arms and hug it tightly so that it cannot escape. Move all nearby objects that he can grab and throw. If the child does not want to move, leave him and walk, but do not let him out of sight. Usually, children are always running after leaving parents. Despite the difficulties, do not let your child win, otherwise it will be even more difficult each time. In case of anger attacks in a child after 5 years, it is necessary to consult him with a psychologist.

Parenting problems in children:

Education problems are very diverse. The causes of the problems that arise can be attacks of anger, refusal to eat, sleep disturbances, excessive excitability, and sometimes attacks of aggression, when a child can harm himself and others by biting and fighting. The behavior of parents in such situations depends on their culture, upbringing, social status. Parents are particularly influenced by their own childhood experiences.

Some parents are very strict with the child and do not allow any indulgences, others are more gentle and loyal. From a medical point of view, there are no uniform approaches to education. The main thing is that the parents do not humiliate or insult the child. Children who are accustomed to the daily routine and constantly know what to do next, as a rule, do not cause trouble in education, even if they are overly excitable.

Parents seek help when they cannot cope with the child and their parenting methods do not work. There are no ideal children, but the behavior of parents in matters of education largely determines the fate of the child. Sometimes education (or, better to say, lack of it) is contrary to all norms of behavior in society. In education, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the child. Some children are calm, timid from birth, while others, on the contrary, are mobile and assertive.

Restless children do not sleep well, are prone to nightmares, and get tired quickly. If they are constantly under pain of punishment, they see strained relations between parents, then they try to draw attention to themselves in any way, including bad behavior. In many ways, parenting is the result of parental behavior. A child who was not given sweets begins to be capricious, but if he does not achieve his goal, he will draw conclusions for himself.

Sometimes a child's bad behavior manifests itself in certain situations: if he is hungry, thirsty or tired. Then it is very easy to establish the cause and normalize the situation. If the child misbehaves, one must patiently and easily explain his mistakes and repeat this in appropriate situations. Children respond to empathetic, considerate attitudes, especially praise, even if they don't always deserve it. An agitated child can be allowed to "throw out energy" in the game, in sports activities, so that he calms down.

You can't let the child do everything. If it says "No!" - this should be a sure "no", the law for all family members. It is very bad when one of the parents forbids, and the other, on the contrary, allows. Always react intelligently to your child's antics. It is better to praise good behavior than punish disobedience. You can even promise a reward for something good, but you should definitely keep your promise. However, the reward should not be the daily stimulus for the child's behavior.

A daily routine and a consistent attitude towards the child can prevent many difficulties. If you do not cope with the problems of raising your child, contact a neurologist or psychiatrist to identify possible (hidden) abnormalities from the nervous system.

Increased excitability:

This term is not always used correctly. An energetic, active child is often called excitable. However, children suffering from increased excitability are not only mobile, but also restless, they cannot concentrate attention, make many unnecessary movements when performing any work, study poorly, cannot complete the work they have begun, their mood quickly changes.

These children often have fits of anger when they throw objects on the floor, they often suffer from poor coordination, awkwardness. Such phenomena occur in 1-2% of children, 5 times more often in boys than girls. Correction of such behavior must be carried out as early as possible: as adults, overly excitable children can commit antisocial acts. The reasons for increased excitability are not fully understood. Great importance is attached to hereditary factors and the impact of the social environment. The influence of allergies (eczema, asthma) and other diseases, as well as deviations during pregnancy and childbirth, is not excluded.

If the child is very excitable, it is necessary to carefully consider the schedule of his day. Find out what interests the child, and use these interests to teach him concentration, perseverance, and improve coordination and motor activity of his hands. This can be drawing, coloring, construction, certain games, sports activities, etc. Do not leave the child to himself, but give freedom at certain times.

The main role in correcting the behavior of an excitable child belongs to the parents. The child trusts you, and with you he feels protected. If necessary, you can seek help from a neurologist, psychologist, allergist.

Violations and their causes alphabetically:

mental disorder in children -

A much more common problem than mental retardation or other mental problems.

With a mental disorder, children do not experience a persistent and irreversible process of normal development, but they do develop delays and delays in development.

Most cases of mental disorder in children are found at the age of 7-8 years - when entering school, there is a lack of knowledge common to peers, rapid exhaustion of intellectual activity and a preference for play interests in the child.

Children with mental disabilities are distinguished by good intelligence within the framework of the knowledge they already have, they effectively use the help of adults - this is their difference from children with oligophrenia.

What diseases does mental disorder occur in children:

In the behavior and development of preschool children, behavioral disorders (aggressiveness, irascibility, passivity, hyperactivity), developmental delay and various forms children's nervousness (neuropathy, neuroses, fears).

Complications of mental and personal development the child is caused, as a rule, by two factors:

1) mistakes of education;
2) a certain immaturity, minimal damage to the nervous system.

Often, both of these factors act simultaneously, since adults often underestimate or ignore (and sometimes do not know at all) those features of the child's nervous system that underlie the difficulties of behavior, and try to "correct" the child with various inadequate educational influences.

Therefore, it is very important to be able to identify the true reasons for the behavior of the child, disturbing parents and educators, and to outline the appropriate ways correctional work with him. To do this, it is necessary to clearly understand the symptoms of the above mental developmental disorders of children, the knowledge of which will allow the teacher, together with the psychologist, not only to correctly build work with the child, but also to determine whether certain complications do not turn into painful forms that require qualified medical care.

Corrective work with the child should be started as early as possible.

Timeliness of psychological assistance is the main condition for its success and effectiveness.

Which doctor should i contact if there is a mental disorder in children:

Have you noticed a mental disorder in children? Do you want to know more detailed information or do you need an inspection? You can make an appointment with the doctor - clinic Eurolab always at your service! Top Doctors will examine you, study external signs and help identify the disease by symptoms, advise you and provide help needed... you also can call a doctor at home... Clinic Eurolab open for you around the clock.

How to contact the clinic:
The phone number of our clinic in Kiev: (+38 044) 206-20-00 (multichannel). The clinic secretary will select a convenient day and hour for you to visit the doctor. Our coordinates and directions are indicated. Look in more detail about all the services of the clinic on her.

(+38 044) 206-20-00

If you have previously performed any research, be sure to take their results for a consultation with your doctor. If the research has not been performed, we will do everything necessary in our clinic or with our colleagues in other clinics.

Is your child's mental state disturbed? You need to be very careful about your health in general. People don't pay enough attention disease symptoms and do not realize that these diseases can be life-threatening. There are many diseases that at first do not manifest themselves in our body, but in the end it turns out that, unfortunately, it is too late to treat them. Each disease has its own specific signs, characteristic external manifestations - the so-called disease symptoms... Identifying symptoms is the first step in diagnosing diseases in general. To do this, you just need to several times a year be examined by a doctor, in order not only to prevent a terrible disease, but also to maintain healthy mind in the body and the body as a whole.

If you want to ask a question to the doctor, use the section of the online consultation, perhaps you will find answers to your questions there and read self care tips... If you are interested in reviews of clinics and doctors, try to find the information you need on. Also register on medical portal Eurolabto be constantly updated latest news and updates of information on the site, which will be automatically sent to your mail.

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Mental disorders of early childhood (the first 3 years of life) have been studied relatively recently and have not been sufficiently studied, which is largely due to the particular complexity of assessing the early child's psyche, its immaturity, abortive manifestations, and difficulties in distinguishing between norm and pathology. A significant contribution to the development of this direction of child psychiatry was made by the works of G.K. Ushakov, O.P. Parte (Yurieva), G.V. Kozlovskaya, A.V. Goryunova. It was shown that in young children, starting from infancy, a wide range of mental disorders (emotional, behavioral, mental development, speech, motor, psychovegetative, paroxysmal, etc.) are epidemiologically revealed at the borderline and psychotic level in the form of reactions, phases and procedural disorders. Their incidence does not differ significantly from the prevalence in adults. According to G.V. Kozlovskaya, the prevalence mental pathology (morbidity) in children under 3 years old was 9.6%, mental illness - 2.1%. The accumulated knowledge about mental pathology in young children gives reason to consider micropsychiatry (in the terminology of the famous child psychiatrist T.P. Simeon) as an independent area of \u200b\u200bchild psychiatry.

Early childhood psychopathology has a number of characteristic features: polymorphism and rudimentary symptoms; a combination of psychopathological symptoms with one or another form of impaired development of mental functions; close cohesion of mental disorders with neurological; coexistence of the initial and final manifestations of the disease.

Emotional disorders

Decrease in general emotionality in early age may be manifested by the absence of a revitalization complex, a smile at the sight of those caring for him; comfort in the arms of loved ones; reactions of dissatisfaction to untimely feeding, failure to comply with proper care. Decreased mood is often accompanied by impaired appetite, sleep, general malaise, discomfort, and often complaints of abdominal pain. For the first years of life, anaclitic depression arising from separation from the mother is characteristic: the child often cries, does not walk, does not actively breastfeed, lags behind in weight gain, is prone to frequent regurgitation and other manifestations of dyspepsia, is prone to respiratory infections, turns to the wall, reacts sluggishly to toys, does not show positive emotions when familiar faces appear.

Preschoolers often have complaints of boredom, laziness, decreased mood, accompanied by passivity, slowness, and psychopathic behavior. Increased emotions in the form of hypomania or euphoria are usually manifested by motor hyperactivity and often decreased sleep duration, early getting up and increased appetite. There are also emotional disturbances such as emotional monotony, dullness and even emasculation as a manifestation of an emotional defect. There are also changes in emotions of a mixed type.

Severe loss of appetite in infants and young children, it occurs with sudden changes in the usual living conditions with periodic refusal to eat and vomiting. Older children are known to have uniform food preferences that persist for a long time (they eat only ice cream or mashed potatoes for a number of years 3 times a day), stubborn avoidance of meat products or eating inedible things (for example, foam balls).

Delayed psychomotor development or its irregularity (delayed or asynchronous mental development) can be non-specific (benign), manifested by a delay in the formation of motor, mental and speech functions at any age stage without the appearance of pathological syndromes. This type of delay is not associated with brain damage and is easily corrected. Compensates with age at favorable conditions external environment without treatment.

With a specific delay in psychomotor development, disturbances in the formation of motor, mental and speech functions associated with damage to brain structures are manifested by pathological syndromes and are not compensated for independently. A specific delay in psychomotor development can occur as a result of exposure to hypoxic-ischemic, traumatic, infectious and toxic factors, metabolic disorders, hereditary diseases, early onset of the schizophrenic process. At first, a specific delay in psychomotor development may be partial, but later on, a total (generalized) delay in psychomotor development usually develops with a uniform impairment of motor, mental and speech functions.

Characterized by increased general nervousness with excessive excitability, a tendency to startle, irritability, intolerance to harsh sounds and bright light, increased fatigue, easily occurring mood swings with a predominance of hypothetical reactions, tearfulness and anxiety. With any exertion, lethargy and passivity or restlessness and fussiness easily arise.

Fear darkness often occurs in young children, especially nervous and impressionable. It usually occurs during nighttime sleep and is accompanied by nightmares. If episodes of fear repeat with a certain frequency, come suddenly, during them the child screams desperately, does not recognize loved ones, then suddenly falls asleep, and wakes up, does not remember anything, then epilepsy must be excluded.

Daytime fears very varied. This is the fear of animals, characters from fairy tales and cartoons, loneliness and the crowd, the subway and cars, lightning and water, changes in the familiar environment and any new people, visiting preschool institutions, corporal punishment, etc. The more pretentious, absurd, fantastic and autistic fears, the more suspicious they are in terms of their endogenous origin.

Pathological habits sometimes dictated by pathological drives. This is a persistent desire to bite nails (onychophagia), suck a finger, a nipple or the tip of a blanket, a pillow, swing while sitting on a chair or in bed before going to bed (yakation), irritate the genitals. The pathology of drives can also be expressed in persistent eating of inedible things, toys, sucking on a dirty finger soiled with feces. In more pronounced cases, impairment of drives manifests itself in the form of auto- or heteroaggressiveness already from infancy, for example, in a persistent desire to bang your head against the edge of the bed or in constant biting of the mother's breast. These children often have the need to torment insects or animals, aggression and sexual play with toys, the desire for everything dirty, disgusting, foul-smelling, dead, etc.

Early heightened sexuality may consist in the desire for peeping, the desire to touch intimate places of the opposite sex. For rate mental state for young children, features of play activity are indicative, for example, a tendency to stereotypical, strange or autistic games or games with household objects. Children can spend hours sorting or transferring bulbs or buttons from one container to another, tearing pieces of paper into small pieces and putting them in piles, rustling papers, playing with a stream of water or pouring water from one glass into another, building a train from shoes many times, making a turret from pots, weave and tie knots on strings, roll the same machine back and forth, plant around you only soft bunnies of different sizes and colors. Special group make up games with imaginary characters, and then they are closely linked with pathological fantasies. In this case, children leave food or milk “for dinosaurs” in the kitchen or put a candy and a soft cloth “for a gnome” on the bedside table near the bed.

Excessive fantasy is possible starting from one year and is accompanied by vivid, but fragmentary imagery. It is distinguished by special coverage, difficult return to reality, resilience, fixation on the same characters or themes, autistic workload, lack of desire to tell parents about them in free time, reincarnation not only into living, but also into inanimate objects (a gate, a house , flashlight), combined with ridiculous collecting (for example, bird excrement, dirty plastic bags).