The following are typical diagnoses associated with children and adolescents from DSM-IV with brief descriptions. This list is by no means all-inclusive and is only meant as a condensed introduction to what is involved in diagnosing these conditions.

Affective Disorders - include the disorders of mood or feeling, bipolar and childhood depressive disorder.

• Depression is diagnosed when there are feelings of sadness, hopelessness, irritability, changes in eating and/or sleeping, loss of energy, inability to concentrate, recurring thoughts of suicide.

• Bipolar Disorder (manic depression) involves mood swings from extreme highs or mania to extreme lows or depression. Mania is marked by irritability, hyperactivity, and impaired judgment. Children or teenagers exhibit risk-taking behaviors and may even become psychotic.

Anxiety Disorders - The dominant symptom is exaggerated anxiety. Panic attacks include symptoms such as sweating, shortness of breath, choking, and rapid heart beat and seems to occur when there is nothing to fear. Recent studies indicate that a biochemical imbalance is a major cause for these disorders.

• Social Phobia - child fears social situations with unfamiliar people.

• OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder refers to persistent and recurring thoughts or behaviors that are intrusive and cause severe anxiety and distress. Compulsions refer to repetitive behaviors like hand washing, checking, hoarding or mental acts like counting and repeating words quietly.

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - occurs when a child experiences an unexpected, shocking event, either first-hand, hearing about, or watching it happen. Intense feelings of fear result and the ability to cope are greatly affected. Symptoms include recurring, distressing memories or dreams of the event, detachment from others, and persistent irritability, lack of concentration, and hyper-vigilance.

• Separation Anxiety - when a child has intense anxiety, dysphoria (unpleasant feeling) or physical symptoms as a result of excessive fear of being separated from home or from the person to whom the child is attached. The child may worry to the point of having nightmares, refuse to go to school or to sleep alone.

Eating Disorders

• Anorexia Nervosa - another eating disorder that we hear of more and more today. It occurs when a child or teen refuses to maintain normal or minimal (85%) body weight. This occurs more in females. They greatly fear gaining weight even though they are well below the norm. Without treatment this condition can become life threatening. Withdrawal, depression, and irritability are common behavior changes.

• Bulimia Nervosa - occurs when a child or adolescent has multiple episodes of binge eating and purging. They attempt to avoid weight gain by vomiting, laxative abuse, enemas, use of diuretics, and fasting. Self-concept is closely connected to body weight and shape for these children. Severe medical conditions such as kidney failure or heart arrhythmia can result.

Avoidant Personality Disorder - involves an extreme fear of criticism leading to avoidance of contacts with strangers or others who may be critical. May avoid going to school or social activities.

Attention-Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders - the most often diagnosed category.

• Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by a significant short attention span and overactivity. These children act before thinking, are restless, and have trouble concentrating. Cooperation with teachers and coaches is difficult. Symptoms generally occur before age seven. Includes Combined Type, Predominantly Inattentive, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Types.

• Conduct Disorder - when behavior breaches society’s moral practices. Children can be aggressive and cruel to people and animals and generally show no concern for the feelings and rights of others.

• Oppositional Defiant Disorder - the disruptive behavior is not as severe as those with Conduct Disorder and typically does not involve cruelty to animals or destruction of property.

Pervasive Development Disorder - a disorder that occurs when a child's brain cannot process information properly and the child exhibits thought distortions and developmental delays

• Autism - when a child fails to develop normal speech patterns (language) and does not relate to those around him (socialization.) Involves rigid play, an over/under responsiveness to stimuli and restricted interests.

• Asperger’s Syndrome - No significant delay in language or cognitive development, but social difficulties and restricted interests.

• PDD-NOS - (Not Otherwise Specified)

• Tourette's Syndrome - a neurological disorder marked by sudden, rapid, involuntary movements such as facial tics. A tic is a sudden, rapid movement of some muscles that occurs repeatedly. Children with Tourette's may have additional diagnosis of OCD and/or ADHD.

Schizophrenia and other Psychotic Disorders - Disturbances in thinking, not mood. Includes childhood schizophrenia which is characterized by impairment of thinking, feeling, and/or relating to others. Symptoms may include hallucinations (hearing and seeing things that are not real) or delusions (false beliefs). Often involves low motivation and withdrawing from others. Schizoaffective Disorder has elements of psychotic symptoms and significant mood symptoms (depression or mania).

(DSM-IV, 1995)