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Therapeutic schools can be an option for children with a mental illness

By Staff Writer

A recent survey by the National Alliance on Mental Illness indicates that although a majority of parents said that their children expressed signs of a mental disorder at a young age, many of their primary care doctors were unsure of how to treat the illness. According to the alliance, mental illnesses include autism spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Approximately 63 percent of parents reported that their child began showing symptoms of emotional or behavioral problems before they turned 7 years old. Quick recognition of the disorder would be able to give adults the opportunity to give youths early intervention, but many families did not feel that their physician knew how to handle the problem. Only 34 percent of adults said that their primary care doctor was knowledgeable about mental illnesses, according to the survey.

Similarly, about 59 percent of adults said that their doctor was not informed of mental illness treatment, while 64 percent said that their physician did not know about local resources or support for these disorders.

Parents who do not believe that their physicians are giving their children the appropriate treatments for mental disorders may want to consider therapeutic schools.

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