http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/national/13916737/govt-stands-by-child-ment...

Mental Health Minister Mark Butler is concerned about possible over-reaction to clinical experts' advice after three-year-olds are screened under the new Healthy Kids Check program.

The program, which starts on July 1, will be predominantly managed by GPs who will refer children with troubling behaviour to psychologists or paediatricians.

Mr Butler admits there is always the danger of misdiagnosis or oversubscribing and says that's why child care experts have been spending months getting the program "precisely right".

"Parents can be confident that when they go to a GP or a practice nurse in a GP surgery to check that just before their child starts pre-school or steps into primary school, that they're developing in a way that we all hope and expect that they will be," Mr Butler told journalists in Adelaide.

He said the program was aimed at picking up problems early so they can be dealt with and allow the child to enter preschool and primary school in the best position possible.

He said this $11 million program is the latest addition to the government's $2.2 billion mental health reform package where children are checked for heart, eyesight and other physical health issues.

The mental health check itself will be mostly done by GPs under the Medicare system.

"The experts who have been designing this tool have made it very clear that their overriding objective has been to do no harm ... to provide a positive opportunity to families to take their children at that critical time of three years of age," Mr Butler said.

"Obviously, we need to make sure through the advice of the clinical experts that it's conducted in the best way possible and that there's not an overreaction.

"I'm very confident that the people we have around the table designing this piece of work have that absolutely at the front of their mind."
The government experts more than 27,000 children will benefit from additional support after being tested.

havent we already got a problem with children being overdosed with PILLS...

dont they realize most of these diagnoses are done by opinion and not by actual medical tests.

bobbythefap1 wrote on Jun 11^th, 2012 at 9:41am:



And parental responsibility

bobbythefap1 wrote on Jun 11^th, 2012 at 9:52am:


Discipline is also key to their mental development

This does not include a whack across the head without any explanation

The program may have its faults but it is compensating for the growing weaknesses in parenting that seems to think that every behaviour short of stabbing  is acceptable. Early identification of serious mental illness can put in place programs that can greatly minimise the effects or even effect cures. The longer you wait, the harder it gets.

It's a brand new industry. Lets hit the toddlers.

Does your toddler need legal advice? It's never too early to have them sit down and take the law test. They could be well on the way to breaking the rules.

Does your three year old love his tricycle, that could mean he wants to join a bikie gang later in life, or stolen a lolly from another child. The signs of criminal intentions are there. Early intervention is crucial.

This kid needs psychological and legal help for the next fifteen years.

Sir Spot of Borg wrote on Jun 11^th, 2012 at 8:26am:


Maybe he hasn't been screened yet.....

longweekend58 wrote on Jun 11^th, 2012 at 11:25am:

We are a long way away from being able to do this thing successfully. The idea is good, but maybe 50 years down the track.

There are hundreds of different mental illness all almost exactly the same when it comes to symptoms and we cannot even diagnose adults successfully.

Its really just compensating for doubt, its not going to fix any problems.
Mental illness usually develops over many years if not decades and you cannot aim a treatment at specific children you need to make sure every child has the means to fend of these illnesses. The only way you can dramatically bring down the numbers is to have children eating healthy and exercising their mind and body regularly.

Their is no real weakness in individual parenting, its a social thing. Rates of mental illness raise uniformly throughout.

Early identification at this stage is dangerous and misguided.