Article Review on
"Help your child or teen get back on track: What parents and professionals can do for childhood emotional and behavioral problems." by Kenneth H. Talan
I have chosen to analyse the article from social-emotional development theory, which involves the social and emotional development of children and teenagers which continues to adulthood. The issues on social and emotional development are based on the eight stages of development developed by a psychiatrist, Erik Erikson in 1956.
Emotional intelligence describes a person’s ability to express or show his emotions accordingly, interpret other people’s emotions, and understand emotions; what triggers it and also its outcomes. Children with high levels of emotional intelligence “are also skilled in their ability to cope with their own or other people’s emotions in a way that creates positive social connections.” (Oswalt, 2008) However, certain causes can trigger emotional and behavioral disorders among children. Children who have not satisfied a specific level of their psychosocial and biological development may develop behavioral or emotional problems eventually. Psychological problems may comprise of inability to express emotions, low self-esteem, and seclusiveness among others. These conditions can lead to serious psychological or mental disorders like paranoia, depression, or borderline personality disorder. Biological cases may include physical illness, malnutrition, brain damage, and hereditary factors. Other factors that contribute may be the state or situation of the environment that can cause emotional and behavioral unstableness to children. Previous research findings of children having emotional or psychological problems have been found to have had a disturbed childhood, which could be described by a disturbance in one of the early stages of their development, affecting satisfaction of a specific stage of their development.
According to the official page of the Kids Mental Health (2009), “children are constantly growing and changing during their developmental years. It is imperative to note that one must keep this in mind when diagnosing and treating emotional and behavioral disorders in children.” By this, it is critical for all concerned or related individuals to be sensitive to the changes that take place with child growth. Different personal aspects should therefore be critically understood and analyzed in order to properly carry out an effective plan to monitor and guide children as they traverse towards higher stages of personal development.
In the analysed article, the author sought to tackle the ways on how parents and professionals can successfully deal with children experiencing emotional and behavioural problems. Although the researcher did not focus mainly on the aftermath of lack of intervention or the possible problems that may occur should the parents decide to neglect the aid of professionals, the author of the article provided certain self-help interventions and various practical discussions of professional help that is needed for a child or teen that is undergoing emotional and behavioural disorders. It is rather reassuring to know that the author divided the research into two parts; the first part covers the topics which would be discussed during a consultation with a child psychiatrist. It encompasses practical guidance and ideas for parents in order for them to understand their child’s condition. The second part, on the other hand deals with topics that are relevant to parents that are already involved with professional help for the betterment of their child.
The study of Benner, Gregory (2005) which talks about the language skills of elementary-aged children with emotional and behavioural disorders shows that most of the intricacies of what a child must learn about with respect to complex social behaviors (e.g., cooperation and self-control), emotional regulation, and language are acquired through reciprocal interactions with their caregiver by age five (Patterson 1982; Kaiser et al. 2000; Nelson 2000). In other words, younger children learn most from their caregiver when there is a constant stimulation of the environment. Children develop a better sense of their environment and their own selves if they are exposed to an environment where every aspect of it is leveled to their abilities to comprehend. Benner used a cross-sectional design to address the purpose of the study.
Cross-sectional study is based on observations. It means that the researchers record information about their subjects without manipulating the study environment. This could be an easier and faster way of obtaining results from subjects. Although, longitudinal study is more reliable when it comes to observing children with emotional and behavioural problems since this type of study conduct several observations on the same subjects over a period of time, some even lasts for a number of years (IWH, 2009). In evaluating the effectiveness of monitoring children, observations should be corroborated with quantitative studies. Cross-sectional studies do not guarantee accuracy of results because evaluation of the child's behaviors is subject to varying individual perspective.
The research, therefore, conducted by Talan, K.H. (2008) aimed to uncover the possible options to treating or professionally handling emotional and behavioural disorders by parents who are yet to seek professional help and to those who already have. The research focused on giving answers not only to parents, but also to the professionals who would be handling such cases. The results of the research have shown that there are mental health facilities and treatment centers that can determine and evaluate people having behavioural disorder. Nevertheless, the support system that should be developed must not be largely focused on the sophisticated tools employed, but, all the more, should be concentrated on the value of support system coming from parents and professional support groups. Different tests can be conducted in order to address these problems. According to Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice, these assessments are based on many techniques and strategies for identifying problem behaviours. Aside from that, behavioural drugs medication can be a possible option for treatment. Although the medication will not cure the disorder, it would be very effective in assisting with the treatment to control and modify behaviours. Therefore, more research is needed in order to fully understand the factors that affect emotional and behavioural disorders that would lead to the discovery of better and more effective treatment options.
In the study of Anderson, S.R. (2012), it is stated that the challenge is to get families, educational psychologists, special educators, and literacy specialists on board so that the right methods can be employed and the confidentiality of the child is maintained. It is the family that will play the pivotal role in helping to plan intervention programs, including the goals and objectives for the child. Their input will be enlisted in terms of follow up and continuity both at home and school. But the roles of concerned individuals should not be limited to supervision alone. As aforementioned, children with behavioural and emotional problems should be able to gain better sense or understanding of their environment. This can be attained if parents and other supporting groups are able to manipulate the environment in such a way that would enable children to comprehend their surroundings based on how their level of perceiving things around them.
References
Anderson, Susan R. (2012). Psycho-Educational Processes as Strategies for Students
Presenting with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.American International Journal
of Contemporary Research, 2(7), 34-35.
Benner, Gregory. (2005). Language Skills Of Elementary-Aged Children With Emotional
And Behavioral Disorders.Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social
Sciences, 15(2), 251-265.
Longitudinal Studies [Data file]. Retrieved from
http://www.iwh.on.ca/wrmb/cross-sectional-vs-longitudinal-studies
Kids Mental Health. (2009). Childrens Behavioral and Emotional Disorders [Data file].
Available from
http://www.kidsmentalhealth.org/childrens-behavioral-and-emotional-disorders/
Nelson JR. 2000. Ongoing reciprocal teacher-student interactions involving disruptive
behaviors in general education classrooms. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral
Disorders 8:27-37.
Oswalt, Angela. (2008). Early Childhood Emotional And Social Development: Emotional
Expressiveness And Understanding. Retrieved from
https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/early-childhood-emotional-and-social-development-emotional-expressiveness-and-understanding/
Patterson, G.R. 1982. Coercive Family Processes. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
Talan, K. H. (2008).Help your child or teen get back on track: What parents and
professionals can do for childhood emotional and behavioral problems. London:
Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
