The Institute of Learning is one of the leading providers of Child & Adolescent Services in the behavioral and mental health arena.
Did you know that four million children and adolescents in this country suffer from a serious mental disorder that causes significant functional impairments at home, at school and with peers?
The reports by the U.S. Surgeon General and the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health offer great hope to the millions of children and adolescents living with mental illness and their families. Through appropriate identification, evaluation, and treatment, children and adolescents living with mental illness can lead productive lives. They can achieve success in school, in work and in family life. Nonetheless, the overwhelming majority of children with mental disorders fail to be identified, lack access to treatment or supports and thus have a lower quality of life. Stigma persists and millions of young people in this country are left behind.
Prevalence of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders
Four million children and adolescents in this country suffer from a serious mental disorder that causes significant functional impairments at home, at school and with peers. Of children ages 9 to 17, 21 percent have a diagnosable mental or addictive disorder that causes at least minimal impairment.
Half of all lifetime cases of mental disorders begin by age 14. Despite effective treatments, there are long delays, sometimes decades, between the first onset of symptoms and when people seek and receive treatment. An untreated mental disorder can lead to a more severe, more difficult to treat illness and to the development of co-occurring mental illnesses.
In any given year, only 20% of children with mental disorders are identified and receive mental health services.