It's Nobody's Fault (42 page)

T
HE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS
and other resources—categorized according to type of disorder—can be very helpful to children and adolescents with no-fault brain disorders and can offer information and support to their parents and other loved ones as well.

This group promotes the prevention and cure of anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and social phobia) and works to improve the lives of people who suffer from them. Members are individuals with anxiety disorders, clinicians, researchers, and other interested individuals. A network for parent support groups is being developed. The group publishes a newsletter.

This organization is dedicated to finding a cure for obsessive compulsive disorder and improving the welfare of people with OCD. It provides
education, research, and mutual support and publishes a bi-monthly newsletter for families (
The OCD Newsletter), a
semiannual newsletter for and by kids (
Kidscope)
, and a videotape called
The Touching Tree
, which describes OCD to children.

This organization offers support for parents of children with selective mutism. It is also open to adults who have the disorder or who have had it in the past. The group provides information and referrals as well as a quarterly newsletter. For information send a self-addressed envelope with two stamps.

This international organization offers information and support for families with children with ADD and ADHD and gives guidelines and assistance to parents and others interested in starting support groups. CH.A.D.D. publishes a quarterly newsletter and magazine.

This is a network of parents and professionals concerned with autism. The group conducts and fosters scientific research designed to improve the methods of diagnosing and treating the disorder. It publishes a newsletter.

This organization is dedicated to increasing public awareness about autism and the day-to-day issues faced by the patients, their families, and the professionals with whom they interact. It publishes a newsletter, holds an annual conference, and sells books related to autism.

This organization offers free and low-cost information, distributed through booklets and a monthly newsletter, about eating and exercise disorders. It also provides speakers and programs for schools, agencies, and other groups.

This organization educates the general public about eating disorders and provides referrals for patients and their families, recommending self-help groups, treatment centers, and health care professionals specializing in this field.

This group seeks to understand and alleviate the problems of eating disorders; to educate the general public and professionals in the health field about eating disorders and methods of treatment; and to encourage and promote research. It offers referrals to health care professionals and support groups and publishes a newsletter.

This organization educates patients, families, professionals, and the public about the nature of major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder/manic depressive illness; fosters self-help for patients and their families; works to eliminate discrimination against people with mood disorders; and improves the availability and quality of help and support. It publishes a newsletter and holds an annual conference.

This organization provides referrals of doctors and support groups for people with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder/manic depressive illness. It publishes a quarterly newsletter and conducts regular seminars and conferences.

This organization’s mission is to alleviate the suffering arising from depression and bipolar disorder/manic depressive illness by assisting self-help groups, providing education and information, and lending support to research programs. Support services include publications and educational videotapes.

This national organization raises and distributes funds for scientific research into the causes, cures, and treatment of severe mental illnesses, primarily schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. It publishes a newsletter.

The members of this nonprofit organization include people with TS, their families and friends, and health care professionals interested in the field. The group funds research, provides services to patients and their families, and offers a variety of publications, including brochures, fact sheets, and a newsletter.

The Academy has a membership of more than 6300 child and adolescent psychiatrists who actively research, diagnose, and treat psychiatric disorders affecting children and adolescents. An excellent referral source for board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists, the Academy publishes
Facts for Families
, a series of 53 fact sheets on topics related to child and adolescent psychiatry.

This government organization supports the development of accessible and appropriate service delivery systems for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance and their families. It offers grants to groups working in the field of children’s mental health and supports their efforts to develop community-based services. It distributes several publications.

This parent-run organization focuses on the needs of children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, or mental disorders and the needs of their families as well. The group publishes a newsletter and holds regular conferences.

This government agency, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, conducts and supports research on mental illness and mental health. Information on mental disorders is available to the public by contacting this office.

This grassroots support and advocacy organization, dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illness and the lives of their families as well, offers education and emotional support. It publishes a newsletter.

This large nonprofit organization addresses all issues related to mental health and mental illness. It provides public education, sponsors “May Is Mental Health Month,” and runs the Mental Health Information Center, which distributes information on various mental health topics and provides referrals.

This newsletter, designed for parents, educators, pediatricians, and mental health professionals (and edited by Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., and Anita Gurian, Ph.D.), focuses on current mental health topics related to children and adolescents. There are five issues per school year; a yearly subscription is $25.

I
N DISCUSSING
the recommended treatment of no-fault brain disorders I refer often to various medications, describing how they work and their possible side effects. The charts that follow put it all together, disorder by disorder: brand name, generic name, nuisance side effects, and serious side effects.

In going through this material parents should bear in mind that the information provided is for reference only. Only a physician may prescribe medicine. Furthermore, psychiatric medication should be taken by children and adolescents
only
after a specific diagnosis has been made by a qualified child and adolescent psychiatrist and
only
when a disorder is severe enough to cause distress and dysfunction.

Parents should also be aware that many of the medications routinely prescribed for no-fault brain disorders in children and adolescents have not been approved
for that specific purpose
by the Food and Drug Administration. All of the medicines described in this book have been FDA-approved but not necessarily for the treatment of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders. (The FDA approves drugs for specific uses and age groups but only after the manufacturer of the medication
applies
to the FDA for approval for that specific purpose. Many companies choose not to go to the effort and the expense of asking the FDA for approval for many different purposes.) When it comes to prescribing any medication, a physician may and should use his or her own best judgment. He or she should also be prepared to explain to parents the rationale behind the use of any drug as well as its possible side effects.