Resources for Parents of Teenagers
This section contains links and resources of interest to parents of junior high and high school aged children. Please check back occasionally for updates.Clicking on the book title in red will direct you to the Amazon.com page with information on the book.
It’s Nobody’s Fault: New Hope and Help for Difficult Children and Their Parents, by Harold Koplewicz, M.D. by Harold Koplewitz, M.D.
This book does an excellent job of explaining some current thinking about the biological causes of all the major childhood and adolescent psychiatric disorders. Also this book provides a very good overview of treatments for the disorders, looking for treatment providers, medications and working with the schools. As the name implies, one of the books main goals it to help parents get some distance from the guilt of “causing” their child(ren) to have psychiatric problems.
The Bipolar Child: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood’s Most Misunderstood Disorder — Third Edition by Demitri Papolos, M.D. and Janice Papolos
Bipolar Disorder in Children and Teenagers remains a frequently diagnosed, yet often misunderstood disorder. This book explores diagnosis, treatment, origins, medications and school interventions of this disorder. It does a very good job of explaining the differences between the presentation of Bipolar Disorder in young people, versus the more commonly known symptoms of Bipolar Disorder (formerly Manic Depression) in adults. Also, the differences between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Bipolar Disorder in Children are delineated. This differentiation is a common source of misdiagnosis and ineffective medication trials.
American Academy of Pediatrics Web Site for the American Academy of Pediatrics
This website has a wealth of resources addressing both mental health and physical health issues. On the mental health side, there are articles and presentations on ADHD, Adolescent Depression and Suicide, and Anxiety. There are even some brief audio presentations on these mental health topics.