Mental Health Resources for Parents

Our free mental health resources will help you start the important conversation about mental health with your child.

You are a trusted resource for your child when they have questions about life and the changes they experience as they get older. Here you’ll find information on mental health conditions, risk factors and warning signs of mental illness, and practical ways you can help support your child’s mental health and well-being. It all begins with a conversation.

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How to check-in with your child

Common mental health conditions

mental health resources for kids and families

Resources in osceola county

Learning more about mental health will better prepare you to find the right help and treatment when necessary. While the information below is a great start, you should always seek the advice of a qualified health care professional, like a doctor or psychologist, to better understand what your child might be experiencing.

Common mental health conditions found in children and youth can include:*

‍Anxiety Anxiety is characterized by intense and persistent worry or fear. In children and youth, this can impair their performance in school as well as impact their life at home. There are several types of anxiety disorders that can affect children. This includes separation anxiety, phobias, social anxiety, and panic disorder.
Depression It’s normal to feel down or sad sometimes. Depression is characterized not only by sadness but by feelings of hopelessness or helplessness, and a loss of interest in things they used to enjoy.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) Children with ODD typically begin showing symptoms before they are 8-12 years old. Symptoms of ODD include anger, arguing, tantrums, purposefully annoying or upsetting others, being mean or hateful, and revenge-seeking behaviors. These symptoms and behaviors are frequent enough to be disruptive and noticeably more frequent than similar behavior in children of the same age.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) If your child has ADHD, you may notice that they have difficulty focusing at school and at home, or even with friends. You may be surprised that ADHD can present as daydreaming, forgetfulness, fidgeting, and talkativeness. There are also different types of ADHD and symptoms can change over time.
Tourette Syndrome (TS) Tourette Syndrome affects the nervous system and can cause involuntary tics, such as sounds, movements, or twitches. These tics are involuntary and may be more frequent when someone is excited or stressed. Symptoms are typically present between 5 and 10 years old.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Some children can become obsessed with certain thoughts that cause them to perform behaviors compulsively. If these behaviors take up more than an hour of their day, happen frequently, or cause them to become upset when they don’t perform the behavior, this can be a sign of OCD.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) When we experience stressful events, we can typically recover quickly. The same goes for children. However, after experiencing extreme stress, both children and adults may have long-term symptoms that are difficult to overcome. When this happens, it may be necessary to get help for PTSD.

*Source: https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/symptoms.html

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