It is estimated that approximately 1 in 5 children in the United States suffer from some form of mental disorder. The spectrum ranges from minor learning disabilities that allow the child to lead a relatively normal life to severe retardation that results in complete dependence upon a caregiver.
A child who is affected by a mental disorder may not exhibit noticeable symptoms right away. Autism, for example, is a disorder that may disrupt a child's ability to receive and interpret information properly, forge relationships with parents and other children, interact with others and acquire language skills at an appropriate age. Approximately 1 in 88 children in the United States receive a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, though the problem may not be officially detected until the child reaches school age. Medical and psychiatric professionals continue to search for a definitive cause and cure of autism spectrum disorders, or ASD.
Unlike autism and a number of other mental disorders, certain factors in a child's environment may lead to the development of severe learning disabilities. Some causes that occur during fetal development include drug or alcohol use by the mother, certain medications ingested during pivotal points during pregnancy and traumatic injury to the mother's abdomen. In addition, pregnant women who are exposed to certain chemicals may give birth to babies who are at an increased risk for the development of a mental problems later in childhood.
The results of many studies point toward chemical exposure during early childhood as the potential cause of certain mental disorders. One of the most common is lead poisoning, which is most harmful to children before the age of six years, may even be fatal if levels of lead in the blood are high enough. More commonly, kids may experience unexplained weight loss, vomiting, irritability, constipation, excessive fatigue and, in many cases, learning disabilities. These may include delayed speech, inability to concentrate, hearing and memory loss, antisocial tendencies and difficulty reading and/or writing.
While the causes of many mental disorders remain unexplained and cures remain to be discovered, detecting key symptoms as early as possible allows parents, doctors and researchers to treat kids with these problems more effectively.
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