(Editor’s note: I am very pleased to present a new posting written by one of our third year psychiatry residents, Dr. David DeVellis. – DR) by David DeVellis, MD How often do you find yourself saying “I’d do fill in the blank if I only had more time”? Exercise, sleep, and eating well–all vital for […]
Autism Assessment Clinic Has Openings for Vermont Medicaid Families
by Jeremiah Dickerson, MD Director, VCCYF Autism Assessment Clinic As you may know, the Vermont Center for Children, Youth, & Families, in partnership with the State of Vermont, has established an Autism Assessment Clinic to serve the needs of Medicaid supported children and families throughout Vermont. Over the past two years, we have worked hard […]
Study Documents Previously Autistic Individuals Who No Longer Show Impairment
Autism is generally considered to be a lifelong condition. While treatment can certainly be effective, the goal is often described more in terms of symptom reduction rather than a true recovery (in which no criteria of the disorder are met). A small but intriguing study by Fein and colleagues, however attempts to document a group […]
Living in a World of Cyber-Everything
(Editor note: I am pleased to post a new entry by one of our first year child psychiatry fellows – Feyza Basoglu, MD. After all the new electronics many families received for the holidays, it gives us something to ponder – DR). “Addiction” has long been used as a term for only chemical dependence but […]
Talking with Children About the Connecticut School Shootings
All over the country people are horrified at the shootings that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Our hearts go out to all the families affected by this tragedy. While many facts of the shooting remain to be learned, tonight millions of parents will do their best to try and talk to their children about what happened. […]
Tags: connecticut school shooting, school violence, talking to children
Dysregulated Infant – Dysregulated Child?
It is well known that babies get upset, but are infants who get REALLY upset and are very difficult to manage more likely to have behavioral problems later in life? The data so far has been somewhat inconclusive and long-term follow-up is lacking. A new study from the journal Pediatrics may add some insight into the question. […]
New Vermont Program to Increase Access to Child Psychiatrists
The Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP), in collaboration with the Division of Child Psychiatry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, Fletcher Allen Health Care, and Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families (VCCYF), is pioneering a new program to increase access for primary care clinicians to child psychiatrists and improve mental health care […]
Antipsychotic Medication Survey Coming to Vermont Clinicians
Clinicians of all types who write antipsychotic medications prescriptions for children with Medicaid insurance will soon be receiving surveys to complete on each child. The Agency of Human Services (AHS), including the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA), the Drug Utilization Review (DUR) Board of the DVHA, the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the […]
Zombification Is Not an Acceptable Medication Outcome
As the Halloween season approaches, I have again been reminded of the frequent concern of parents who are considering using medication as part of the treatment plan for their child’s emotional-behavioral problems. The dilemma that I and many other clinicians repeatedly hear from parents is that they want their child’s symptoms improved without changing the […]
Parental Levels of Anxiety Predict Child Adjustment after Illness and Injury
by John Koutras, MD The risk factors for children developing post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following a medical trauma are complex and include medical and family factors, among others. A concept of “relational PTSD” has been proposed which suggests that parent and child symptoms mutually influence each other. A new study […]