Left untreated, they can be debilitating, but they can be controlled with help. Well, good parenting can help manage the situation, but bad parenting didn't make the kid be depressed or have attention deficit disorder. Although preschoolers are generally too young to be diagnosed with diseases like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, professionals are learning that they can be depressed or have severe emotional or behavioral challenges that can have a negative impact on their lives and ability to learn. The services offered by Michigan's eight day-care mental health programs typically involve having a professional observe a child in the center and home and then work with the child, parents and caregivers for as long as a year. Suggestions are given on how best to respond to troubling behavior, with an emphasis on improving everyone's interactions.
Positive reinforcement is stressed.
Referrals are made to medical doctors as needed. The Guidance Center in Southgate received one of the state contracts to create a day-care mental health program in 1998. Its survey of child care programs in western Wayne County found that about 3 percent of kids in day care had been kicked out that year, and nearly 4 percent more were at risk of being expelled. Michael Lott, chief executive officer of the center, said the numbers mirror other national estimates that 5 percent to 10 percent of school-age children are at risk of developing emotional disorders. Oakland Schools, the intermediate school district for that county, did a similar survey in 1998.