Helping Emotionally Disturbed Children

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31208, 4 November 1966, Page 2

Helping Emotionally Disturbed Children

There was no fixed definition which could be applied to tell if a child was mentally disturbed, Brother Ignatius Brennan, a member of the Hospitaller Order working in Christchurch, told the first parents’ meeting held by the newly-formed Christchurch branch of the Emotionally Disturbed Children Society on Wednesday.

Each child was an individual with different traits and character and lived in a different environment, he said. The public equated emotionally disturbed child with “the local louts.” “It is always those who make trouble who get the publicity,” said Brother Ignatius.

Parents and others dealing with children had to remember that a child’s experience of living were very restricted. What was minor to an adult could be very important to a child. Things obvious to a child were not to an adult, he said. This was why an adult

could often not tell why a child was emotionally disturbed and the child did not have the necessary vocabulary to explain why and what was disturbing it A child who faced a stress which he had not before experienced, either through his reading or having seen the same thing happen to his friends, did not know how to handle this new situation. He would react in some way —perhaps with tears or tantrums—but if this way was not socially acceptable and he did not learn so then he would continue to react in the same way to similar situations. “He is then headed for trouble,” said Brother Ignatius.

Brother Ignatius spoke about two types of emotionally disturbed child. One he described as the trouble maker or extrovert: the other introvert. He said it was not always the parents who were responsible for emotional disturbances in their children. Parents should not feel guilty, but should accept that their child or children were disturbed and seek help. The first step in helping a child was for the adult to be

truthful with himself. “We must admit to children what we are. We must ask ourselves, ‘Are we stable enough?’ and must recognise our weaknesses. “If we are the cause then we need help, and so does the child. If we are not at fault then we must look around for someone who can help,” he said.

No Longer ‘Skeleton* Until recently the problem of the emotionally disturbed child had been the skeleton in the closet and not talked about, the president of the Christchurch branch of the Emotionally Disturbed Children Society (Mrs E. J. Price) told a parents’ evening on Wednesday. The result of this was that treatment facilities for such children were inadequate. “They must be extended,” she said. Mrs Price outlined existing services. The psychological services could be consulted by both parents and teachers. But children had to be referred to child health clinics by doctors.

Many doctors were reluctant to do this. “We hope at time goes by that they will do so. The demand for facilities will grow and the Government must provide them," she said. The problem required a combined effort from parents, teachers and doctors, said Mrs Price.

Mrs Price appealed to members to help Al-Anon — the families of alcoholics—with household goods. Many families were managing with just the bare necessities, she said. The branch will hold a public meeting in the inservice lecture hall, 21 Kilmore street, at 7.45 p.m. on November 16, to discuss treatment faciiiites for emotionally disturbed children.