Children's Mental Health in the News
Below are general news items about child and youth mental health. For stories about clinical matters in child and youth mental health, please go here.
Awareness saves lives: advocate
Friday, January 20, 2012There is not a day that goes by since their son committed suicide that Eric Windeler and wife, Sandra Hanington, don't wish they would have heard about Jack's mental illness. Jack was suffering from depression. Yet when the 18-year-old Toronto native took his own life n March 2010 in his Queen's University dorm room, he did so without raising the suspicion of campus staff, his classmates, or his own family. “We thought we were completely adjusted, but ...
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Royal Ottawa's Power to Purple enlists Senators player in campaign to bring teen suicide out of the dark
Friday, February 3, 2012Ottawa Senator Colin Greening is the official “Purple Champion” of the new Power to the Purple campaign, announced Wednesday morning by the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and the Do it for Daron (DIFD) program. The colourful initiative aims to break the silence on mental health issues by getting parents and kids talking about self-harm. The idea is that if more people can notice, address, and get help when it comes to mental health, teen suicide will be a thing of the past. Gree...
Full ArticleChesley teenager making waves in battle against depression
Thursday, February 2, 2012A Chesley teenager and her sister will be appearing on CTV's morning news show, Canada AM, Wednesday. Kathryn Loucks and her older sister Bronwyn of Toronto will be interviewed about their efforts to create awareness regarding mental health issues among youth. "I'm creating awareness because I know what the stigma and the isolation is like," Kathryn Loucks said, recalling her own personal battle with depression in 2010. "I'm trying to make something positive out of it," the grade 12 student at...
Full ArticleWhen bullying moves online, the damage multiplies - fast
Wednesday, February 1, 2012The Internet has created a new and oftentimes more emotionally damaging type of bully: The cyber-bully — one who can follow you home. “Before everyone was online with multiple computers at home, bullying stopped at three o’clock,” said Monika Wierzbicki of the Canadian non-profit anti-bullying organization Stop a Bully. “There was a sort of buffer. Kids could go home, see their parents, have dinner and to some extent forget about bullying for a while. Now, a person ...
Full ArticleIntegration of Windsor Regional Children's Centre and Glengarda Child & Family Services
Wednesday, February 1, 2012On January 27th 2012, the Board of Directors of Glengarda Child and Family Services and Windsor Regional Hospital agreed to the full integration of services by April 1st 2012. All children’s mental health services for ages 6-12 years will be delivered by the Regional Children’s Centre (RCC), Windsor Regional Hospital. As part of the transition, intake at Glengarda will formally close effective today, February 1, 2012 and central intake for the age group of 6-12 years will begin at t...
Full ArticleDon't shut disabled kids out of society
Tuesday, January 31, 2012“Loneliness is the most terrible poverty.” – Mother Teresa There are few things more heartbreaking than a child with no friends. But being friendless is the norm for Canadian children with physical and developmental disabilities. Even those with friends have very limited interactions. Outside of formal settings such as the classroom, less than two hours a week spent with their peers is the norm; only 1 per cent of children with disabilities spend an hour a day with friends....
Full ArticleDo girls and boys bully differently?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012Everyone knows that girls pass mean notes and use the silent treatment when they bully, while for boys, it’s as simple as a punch in the face, right? Not quite.The facts about girl and boy bullying might surprise you.According to statistics from PREVNet, a national network against bullying, there are more similarities than differences between boys and girls when they bully. Boys tend to bully more frequently and more physically than girls, but when it comes to social bullying, boys and...
Full ArticleDo kids know why they are bullying?
Monday, January 30, 2012It’s hard to admit that you are bullying someone.In fact, most children recognize their actions, but do not understand why they are doing it, said Dr. John LeBlanc, an associate professor of pediatrics at Dalhousie University in Halifax.He said there are three components of bullying: An intent to harm, a power imbalance and repetition. So the person who is bullying is well aware of their actions, said LeBlanc.“But they just don’t know why.”He said it’s hard &ld...
Full ArticleMental-health beds for Hamilton kids
Saturday, January 28, 2012Hamilton is finally getting the 22 beds for kids' mental health the province promised nearly three years ago. Hamilton Health Sciences just got approval from the province last week to hire five psychiatrists to staff the beds, which are expected to open next month. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath called the delay “cruel” to kids while community mental-health leader Alex Thomson said it was “mind-boggling.” “It was a great win, but it's a bit slow going,” said T...
Full ArticleStudent becomes advocate for mental health
Friday, January 27, 2012Depression hit Kathryn Loucks in 2010. Since then the Chesley high school student has become a fierce advocate for student mental health at her school and beyond. “I’m creating awareness because I know what the stigma is like,” Loucks said recently. “I’m trying to take something negative and make something positive out of it.” The more she researched depression, the more her interest grew and the more she learned about mental health issues facing teenagers....
Full ArticleNew Alternative Therapy Reverses Attention Deficits Without Medication
Thursday, January 26, 2012Playing Away ADHD - One Child at a Time THORNHILL, ON, Jan. 10, 2012 /CNW/ - A new educational service, based in Thornhill, Ontario, is overturning the long-held belief that learning disorders like ADHD are lifelong conditions that can only be compensated but never cured. "Whether it's meds or tutoring or talk therapy, all the old-school methods of dealing with learning disabilities are work-arounds - we get at the underlying causes," says Dr. Arnie Gotfryd, PhD, Director of Maxi Mind Learning...
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