Child problems must be tackled early, say experts

CHILDREN with serious behavioural problems account for almost two thirds of referrals to child psychiatric services — prompting a call from medical experts for early intervention.

If there were more specialist services to tackle the difficulties at an early age, behaviour problems could be tackled far more effectively, the co-ordinator of an award winning project said last night.

The Parents Plus Programme, run by the Mater Hospital’s department of child and family psychiatry, last night won a category prize at the Derek Dockery Awards for innovation in health services in the eastern region.

Mary Fanning, principal speech and language therapist at the department, co-wrote the latest phase of the programme aimed at pre-school children. She said focused work to help parents develop a better relationship with ill-behaved children could save serious trouble later on, including crime or alcohol and drug abuse.

“We work with families in groups and in their homes, where children have shown early signs of difficult behaviour. The previous programmes have worked with older children and adolescents but the problem is best tackled as soon as the signs are there,” she said.

Many of the children may go on to be diagnosed with severe behaviour problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), which account for almost two thirds of referrals to child mental health services.

Studies show that children with such severe behaviour problems are at serious risk of a wide range of long-term problems including school dropout, criminality and relationship difficulties.

The prognosis is worst for children whose behavioural problems become apparent in early childhood, unless these problems are tackled early.

The Parents Plus Programme can be taught to psychiatrists, pre-school teacher, and other health and education professionals by the Mater Hospital team, headed by principal social worker Dr John Sharry.

A number of other hospitals also gained recognition for their innovations at the Derek Dockery awards. The overall winner was a Beaumont Hospital team that provides care at home for patients with bronchitis and emphysema who would otherwise require hospitalisation.

The other category winners were the Peter Bradley Foundation for its assisted living services for people with acquired brain injury, and St James’s Hospital for its online recruitment strategy, which helped find more suitable job candidates for the hospital and reduced recruitment costs by more than half.

Eastern Regional Health Board chief executive Michael Lyons said the awards highlighted ongoing positive work at a time when the health services were under pressure.

Anybody interested in training on the Parent Plus Programmes should visit the website: www.parentsplus.ie.