Psychotropic medications are increasingly being prescribed to school-age youth to address a variety of emotional and behavioral problems. In this article, we first provide an overview of these medications, their potential effects and side effects, and variables impacting their use. Prevalence of polypharmacy and rates of current and lifetime…

Exposure to traumatic events in childhood and adolescence can have lasting negative social, emotional, and educational effects. For schools, or any environment that serves children, to be truly trauma-informed, they must address three crucial areas: safety, connection, and emotional and behavioral regulation. This article, which is excerpted from…

Conduct disorder (CD) is a pattern of repeated aggression toward others, disregard for the rights of others, and behaviors that violate major social norms at home, in school, and even in society at large (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Falling under the umbrella of "conduct problems" along with oppositional defiant…

Children and youth rely on language skills to navigate environments, many of which are multifaceted and complex. In a society in which successful interactions involve language and prosocial behavior, children who struggle with language or classroom behavior are predisposed to failure. The present perspectives article (a) summarizes the comorbidity…

Most definitions of emotionally disturbed youngsters suggest that disturbances in the child's behavior patterns cause academic and social problems which affect the child and his peers. While the process of identification may be facilitated by operational criteria within a definition, these factors are noticeably absent from definitions of…

Serious antisocial behavior in children and adolescents poses significant challenges within educational settings and is one of the most important concerns facing educators today. The disorder of particular interest to the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in youth is conduct disorder (CD). Conduct disorder is characterized by…

Occupational therapists have a long standing history of working side by side teachers to enhance the writing skills of children. More recently, therapists are now promoting literacy and sharing their expertise with fellow professionals. This review will highlight research and resources occupational therapists can utilize to facilitate the literacy…

Steven R. Forness is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His research has primarily focused on early detection and eligibility of children with psychiatric disorders for special education services in public schools. As part of an ongoing oral history…

Dr. Frank Gresham provides his reflections on a long and productive career in providing support to children with significant challenges. Dr. Gresham also provides his thoughts on the future of the field.

In this article, Mark Freado and Howard Bath present the case of an 11 year boy who had been arrested and charged with the murder of his two-year-old cousin. Because of the severity of the criminal charge against this boy, and despite his age, a transfer hearing was set to determine whether he would be tried as a juvenile or an adult. Such…

In spite of recent education reform and reorganization efforts requiring the use of research-based methods, the fundamental elements of an effective program for children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) have not been succinctly identified. This article presents the essential features of programs for students with EBD.…

Despite significant advances in the field of social neuroscience, much remains to be understood regarding the development and maintenance of social skills across the life span. Few comprehensive models exist that integrate multidisciplinary perspectives and explain the multitude of factors that influence the emergence and expression of social…

Childhood exposure to traumatic events is a major public health problem in the United States. Traumatic events can include witnessing or experiencing physical or sexual abuse, violence in families and communities, loss of a loved one, refugee and war experiences, living with a family member whose caregiving ability is impaired, and having a…

Children's play behaviors are generally fun for them, but the same cannot be said for children who need clinical help. Play therapy seeks to resolve psychosocial difficulties and reestablish a child's ability to play and function normally (O'Connor, 2000). Ecosystemic play therapy (EPT) integrates a variety of techniques and theories to create a…

The use of functional magnetic resonance imaging on a group of pediatric subjects with obsessive compulsive disorder reveals that this group has reduced activity in neural regions underlying emotional processing, cognitive processing, and motor performance as compared to control subjects.