In recent years, there have been advances in clinical assessment for adolescents. Many types of evidence-based assessment (EBA) have many common themes: depression, anxiety, and other clinical dysfunctional disorders in children. However, he highlights another preferrable method of assessment: patient oriented research, monitoring patients from beginning to end to note progress and find the right treatments. 

The author emphasizes the importance of psychotherapy to improve psychosocial functioning. He also mentions that the scores of tests and measures to diagnose disorders is only used to operationalize the data. He raises a good point: what if a patient was only a few points away from a diagnosis. How would this impact the quality of their life? 

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Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

According to the CDC, 50% of children have experienced childhood trauma. The speaker, Lisa Godwin, tells her personal story, and reveals that her teacher was the one who helped her, along with the school guidance counselor, to find her voice and speak the truth about her trauma. 

She emphasizes the importance of recognizing student’s behaviors and learning to be aware, ask questions, and pay attention to students regardless of how they’re behaving. Godwin is now a kindergarten teacher who loves her students and is actively listening to what they say or choose to omit to make sure that they’re okay. 

Developing relationships with students is one of the best ways to get to know them. It’s not just young children, adolescents of all ages can have something going on, and it’s up to the adults around them to let them know they have someone in their corner. 

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is defined as “temperament characterized in early childhood by distress to novelty and avoidance of unfamiliar people” (2021, Fox et al.). Social anxiety is a mental health disorder where an individual fears social situations due to a host of reasons, like being judged or talked about.  

Both sound similar right? Well, behavioral inhibition is actually a well-known risk factor for social anxiety! Interestingly enough, 60% of children with BI are not diagnosed with social anxiety. The study examines how three categories of processing situations (detection, automatic control, and playful control) can affect whether or not children will develop social anxiety. 

They discover that parenting styles and socialization from their environment can impact if a child develops automatic control (increases risk for social anxiety) or playful control (decreases risk for social anxiety). 

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Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Not all families send their children to preschools. For some kids, they may have started their formal education in kindergarten whereas others may have had a head start in early childhood educational programs. There are a few states that require children to attend preschool, but most of the USA leave it as an option for families to participate or not. 

Evidence has shown that teaching education and social skills to children before the age of five years old can have many benefits to children’s learning. Positive effects include improvement in language, math, literacy, and socioemotional outcomes. 

Investing in preschool programs to further improve the quality can also positively impact children’s education and life skills. With the evidence that preschools themselves can provide benefits to young kids, the better the quality of preschools, the more we can observe improvements in children’s development! 

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Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder where one experiences reoccurring thoughts and/or repetitive compulsions. Compared to the quality of life in adults with OCD, the quality of life in children with OCD has not been researched as much. The prevalence of OCD in children is 0.5-3%, and they can experience other psychological disorders like depression, anxiety, etc. 

In this study, they measured the quality of life in children/adolescents after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in comparison to those without OCD. The results yielded that the quality of life was worse before CBT treatment and improved after the CBT treatment as self-reported by the children and their parents. 

Quality of life is not used as a measure of treatment in aiding children and adolescents with OCD, but this study provides implications for incorporating quality of life as a measure! 

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Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Sixto Cancel, founder of the Think of Us organization, talked about his own lived experience in foster care since he was 11 years old. It was not a pleasant experience as the US foster care system is flawed, and the adoption process is not as good as it could be with placing children into loving homes. The consequences of this can greatly impact the well-being of children. 

Youth in foster care are more likely to experience negative outcomes, like PTSD, homelessness, and incarceration, among other outcomes. However, the prominent consequence of the flawed system is the severe mental health impact it has on the children. Not growing up in a loving, supportive environment can worsen their mental health. This is why Sixto Cancel started his organization, to help the children in the system find a good home. 

His main goal is to transform foster care into kinship care. In other words, he focuses on finding any extended family members or kin that can raise the child. By doing so, this positively impacts the child, especially with their mental health! His work can change the lives of many children and bring the one thing they all want most: a loving family. 

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

For many parents, reading books and stories, whether fictional or nonfictional, is a great joy for them to do. Of course, that is not the only benefit both parties get from storytelling, reading to children is one of the greatest sources of linguistic and phonological knowledge! 

In the study, researchers conducted a comparison of how well young children can learn words/vocabulary with picture books or child directed speech conversations. They found that the picture books contained more detailed, unique words than child directed speech conversations with adults. 

Therefore, using picture books with children can advance their mechanism of language learning and learn various, new vocabulary words. Child directed speech is still useful in linguistic input, however, there is more to learning language than simply talking to your child. 

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

In children’s development, schools are one of the most prominent places where children receive quality education. However, it is also a place where mental health is promoted, especially for young children where it is the most crucial time in their overall psychological development.  

The assessment that teachers give children in addition to the children’s own rating of their life satisfaction is key in understanding the mental health of the children. Furthermore, it is important to intervene to stop any adverse mental health conditions from worsening as early as possible! 

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Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Psychologist Anne Marie Albano shares her story of anxiety as a young girl, and how her current interest in childhood anxiety stemmed from her own personal experiences. Anxiety disorders, she explains, can start as early as four years old and can create great suffering in the child as well as their parents. If anxiety is left untreated during early childhood, it can lead to depression, substance abuse, and even suicidal ideation.   

She notes that her parents performed their own version of exposure therapy to get young Albano to overcome her anxiety. Such professional therapy is one of the most beneficial treatments for anxiety. Through her research, she discovered that the combination of exposure therapy sessions and SSRIs in adolescents can alleviate anxiety, but not fully get rid of it. Thus, she discovered that parents with good intentions for their children unintentionally cause more anxiety in them by not letting them take risks. 

Taking risks is a key factor in reducing anxiety. If they don’t, then they continue to get increasingly anxious and lower self-esteem. Compared to children able to take risks, they display more confidence and are able to manage situations. The best practice for parents is to help them face their fears and solve problems. Only then will the child be able to develop coping mechanisms and deal with situations on their own. 

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Characteristics of the performing arts can be essential to the well-being of children. Although not mentioned or heavily encouraged by parents, the arts are a key factor in improving the life of children. They are alive but should also be living a fulfilling life regardless of age. Combining imagination, play, and performing arts can lead to many benefits in children.

A prime example of performing arts is role play. All children engage in play, whether solo or group play. Imaginative play can lead to a more artistic play, meaning that there is a possible connection between imagination and the performing arts.  

There are four functions that the arts can provide children with: activity, belonging, identity and ownership, all important in contributing to the needs of their development as well as their quality of life. Overall, there is more meaning to when parents tell their children to “go and play,” it also means to outwardly express themselves and expand their knowledge that there is a figurative world to engage in.  

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant