People with learning disabilities are sometimes prescribed psychotropic medication to help manage their challenging behaviour. This case study describes how a multicomponent behavioural intervention in conjunction with the systematic withdrawal of sodium valproate was strongly correlated with reduced aggression. No symptoms of bipolar disorder or…

Early detection of mental health problems in school-age children offers the opportunity for prompt referral to treatment which is critical to their success in school. School nurses are in a key position to screen for mental health issues in the school setting. This article discusses how school nurses began a new initiative to use two validated…

Balanced assessment of mental health involves assessing well-being and strengths as well as psychopathology. The character strengths of curiosity, gratitude, hope, optimism and forgiveness are assessed in 214 new undergraduates and their relationships to mental health, subjective well-being and self-esteem explored. Scoring the mental health scale…

Social Empowerment Art Therapy (SEAT) aims to address the stigma of mental illness through the artistic empowerment of participants. The model was developed within an inpatient psychiatric setting from observations of a shared governance structure that empowered residents. Incorporating an open art studio approach and social action art therapy,…

This study explores substance use, psychosocial problems, and the relationships to educational status in 193 adolescents (school dropouts, 63; alternative education, 46; mainstream students, 84) who attended a substance abuse treatment facility in Dublin, Ireland, within a 42-month period. For each adolescent, data on demographics, family…

As the language presentation of children with attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADHD) is highly complex, this study aims to delineate the profile of a cohort of 40 children with ADHD, aged between 9 and 12 years, attending a child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS). Speech and language therapists (SLTs) assessed the children on…

Young people on the autistic spectrum (AS) may be at an increased risk of developing mental health difficulties, but to date research evidence has been equivocal and/or inadequate. The aim of the current study was to document the mental health profiles of adolescents on the AS, and to identify factors that contribute to difficulties in this area.…

We report here findings from a community-based multifaceted prevention program which was implemented concomitantly as a universal and indicated intervention. Screening of social competence development was used to select preschool children targeted by the indicated intervention (high risk), and by the universal intervention (moderate and low risk).…

This study presents a unique assessment of executive functioning (EF) among postsecondary students with disabilities, with the aim of understanding the extent to which students with different disabilities and in different age groups assess their own difficulties with relevant and educationally-adaptive skills such as planning, initiating, managing…

Increasing numbers of students with disabilities attend colleges and universities after graduation from high school, but studies show that students with disabilities lag behind academically and fail to make progress and complete academic programs at a level and a timeframe comparable to their peers without disabilities. Studies are needed that…

Every day nearly 900 children will be excluded from UK schools for disruptive behaviour and almost one-third of this population has a diagnosed mental health disorder. Exclusion from school is the endpoint of most schools' sanction-based behaviour management policies. This exploratory study investigated staff opinions for using a…

A systematic review was conducted to examine the efficacy of a range of treatments for autistic catatonia. The review identified 22 relevant papers, reporting a total of 28 cases including both adult and paediatric patients. Treatment methods included electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), medication, behavioural and sensory interventions. Quality…

Background: As many as 20 % of children have diagnosable mental health conditions and nearly all of them receive pediatric primary health care. However, most children with serious mental health concerns do not receive mental health services. This study tested hypotheses that pediatric primary care providers (PPCPs) in relationships with mental…

Background: Few studies have examined deliberate self-harm (DSH) among children in residential treatment in Canada. Most of the existing studies examined adolescent students or children from pediatric emergency departments. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to examine the prevalence of DSH among children in tertiary care residential…

Heterosexism and heteronormativity are pervasive in the South African society, but to what degree are they present in Life Orientation (LO) textbooks? This question, explored through a content analysis of widely used Grade 10 LO textbooks, was framed by queer theory. The paper quantitatively examines the coverage of sexualities, and qualitatively…