This book provides a practical guide to, and critical review of, community and individual professional interventions that could ease the lives of children with developmental disorders and mental health problems. A critical review of, and practical guide to, the interventions that could ease the lives of children with developmental disorders and mental health problems. Structured around the stages and developmental tasks in a child’s life span, from conception to teenage years. Discusses inherited disorders, intrauterine problems, neonatal and perinatal problems, early childhood attachment and physical disorders, disabilities at school, and problems associated with socialisation. Also covers problems that affect children at all ages, such as learning disabilities, abuse and various psychological and psychiatric disorders. Consistently considers the role of parents, the family, and the community in interventions. Written by a leading expert in clinical child and adolescent psychology and social work. Bridges the gap between psychosocial interventions and medically-based treatments. Can be used alongside Herbert’s Typical and Atypical Development: From Conception to Adolescence (BPS Blackwell, 2003).

Mental, neurological, and substance use disorders are common, highly disabling, and associated with significant premature mortality. The impact of these disorders on the social and economic well-being of individuals, families, and societies is large, growing, and underestimated. Despite this burden, these disorders have been systematically neglected, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, with pitifully small contributions to scaling up cost-effective prevention and treatment strategies. Systematically compiling the substantial existing knowledge to address this inequity is the central goal of this volume. This evidence-base can help policy makers in resource-constrained settings as they prioritize programs and interventions to address these disorders.

Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.

For the first time, a report focuses specifically on middle childhoodâ€"a discrete, pivotal period of development. In this review of research, experts examine the physical health and cognitive development of 6- to 12-year-old children as well as their surroundings: school and home environment, ecocultural setting, and family and peer relationships.

More children born today will survive to adulthood than at any time in history. It is now time to emphasize health and development in middle childhood and adolescence--developmental phases that are critical to health in adulthood and the next generation. Child and Adolescent Health and Development explores the benefits that accrue from sustained and targeted interventions across the first two decades of life. The volume outlines the investment case for effective, costed, and scalable interventions for low-resource settings, emphasizing the cross-sectoral role of education. This evidence base can guide policy makers in prioritizing actions to promote survival, health, cognition, and physical growth throughout childhood and adolescence.

"This volume provides a thorough and well-balanced review of the topic of conduct disorders in childhood and adolescence. An opening chapter gives the reader a good sense of the nature, complexity, and magnitude of the problem for parents, caretakers, and mental health professionals; the remainder of the book explains what we currently know about children and adolescents with behavior problems. One chapter each is devoted to diagnosis and assessment, characteristics of the disorder, treatment, prevention, and directions for future research and social policy." --Matthjis Koopmans in Journal of Adolescence "This is another excellent little book, in the Sage Developmental Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry Series. Read and enjoy. --Ewen Rennie in BPS Division of Educational & Child Psychology

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Now completely revised (over 90% new), this definitive practitioner reference and course text comprehensively reviews evidence-based treatments for psychological disorders in children and adolescents. The significantly expanded fourth edition covers an increased number of disorders, as well as transdiagnostic issues and public health concerns. Psychosocial, pharmacological, and complementary therapies are identified and described in well-organized chapters that include rich clinical illustrations. Prominent experts address developmental considerations in treatment and offer guidance for tailoring interventions to each child and family's needs. Prior edition title: Treatment of Childhood Disorders, Third Edition, edited by Eric J. Mash and Russell A. Barkley. New to This Edition *All chapters are new, reflecting over a decade of clinical and empirical developments. *Chapters on additional clinical issues: bipolar disorder, suicidal and nonsuicidal self-injury, obsessive–compulsive disorder, infant and toddler problems, posttraumatic stress disorder, coping and emotion regulation, bereavement, early-onset schizophrenia, personality disorders, childhood obesity, and sleep problems. *Chapters on case conceptualization and evidence-based therapist flexibility. *Illustrative case examples and transcripts added throughout. *Updated for DSM-5; every chapter also considers transdiagnostic and dimensional issues. See also the editors' Assessment of Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence, Fifth Edition.

Adolescence is one of the most fascinating and complex transitions in the human life span. Its breathtaking pace of growth and change is second only to that of infancy. Over the last two decades, the research base in the field of adolescence has had its own growth spurt. New studies have provided fresh insights while theoretical assumptions have changed and matured. This summary of an important 1998 workshop reviews key findings and addresses the most pressing research challenges.

With rapidly rising rates of mental health disorders, changing patterns of occurrence, and increasing levels of morbidity, the need for a better understanding of the developmental origins and influence of mental health on children’s behavioral health outcomes has become critical. This need for better understanding extends to both the growing prevalence of mental health disorders as well as the role and impact of neurodevelopmental pathways in their onset and expression. Addressing these changes in disease patterns and effects on children and families will require a multifaceted approach that goes beyond simply making changes to clinical care or adding personnel to the health services system. New policies, financing, and implementation can put established best practices and numerous research findings from around the country into action. The Maternal and Child Health Life Course Intervention Research Network and the Forum for Children's Well-Being at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine jointly organized a webinar series to explore how mental health disorders develop over the life course, with a special emphasis on prenatal, early, middle, and later childhood development. This series centered on identifying gaps in our knowledge, exploring possible new strategies for using existing data to enhance understanding of the developmental origins of mental disorders, reviewing potential approaches to prevention and optimization, and proposing new ways of framing how to understand, address, and prevent these disorders from a life course development perspective. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the series.