Bernice Gordon-Young
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, USA
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Pediat Therapeut
There is a significant increase in the calls primary care physicians received from parents who have actively aggressive children. The parents are desperate for over-the-phone assistance and the availability of immediate assistance is impractical. Training call nurses, administrative staff and physicians to become better equipped to refer the caller and/or offer resources to existing inpatient and outpatient children can significantly reduce exacerbated behavioral problems. Both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of aggressive behavior in pediatric patients. Identifying key risk factors will advance the development of appropriate clinical interventions and prevention strategies and will provide information to guide the targeting of resources to those children at highest risk. ADHD is one of the most prevalent childhood disorders and it is a community health problem that may result in significant psychiatric, social and academic problems if not treated. Aggression is an important associated feature of ADHD and it is essential in understanding the impact of the disorder and its treatment. Family size, the attitude of the family toward aggression, parenting styles, low socio-economic status and family conflict influence the occurrence of aggression in ADHD. This oral presentation will provide insight into psychiatric services for hospitalized children and also children whom outpatient services are provided. Given the strong relation between ODD symptoms and all aggressive subtypes in psychiatrically hospitalized children, it appears that the co-occurrence of ADHD symptoms adds increased risk for aggression in this population. As such, attending to the co-occurrence of such symptoms may be especially critical in this population for reducing aggressive behaviors.
Bernice Gordon-Young is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, where she counsels children in the areas of academic difficulties, adjustment disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), mood disorders, behavior problems, anxiety, depression and overall mental and social well-being. She has had a dual career as a 911 dispatcher and counselor for nearly 20 years. She is a Doctoral student at Walden University studying Counselor Education and Supervision with a specialization in forensic mental health.
Email: bgordonyoung@att.net
