Most students are ready for Thanksgiving break, and while they're home, child psychiatrists say it's an excellent time to get a check on their anxiety and mental health.
Now that the children have settled into new classes and schedules, Dr. Sarah Mallard Wakefield, chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, said parents should find opportunities to see how their children are handling the new routine.
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WATCH HEREWakefield says early intervention is critically important to address a situation before it can spiral downward.
In most cases, early intervention also reduces the amount of treatment that is necessary, which means less time spent away from school, less time spent in intervention and lower treatment costs.
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SIGN UP In October, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended that primary care doctors screen all children ages 8 to 18 for anxiety regardless of whether or not they are showing symptoms.
From 2016 to 2019, some 5.7 and 2.8 million children were diagnosed with anxiety and depression, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
