Mental health in children with disabilities and their families: red flags, services' impact, facilitators, barriers, and proposed solutions.
Kayla Heslon, Jessica Helena Hanson, Tatiana Ogourtsova
PMID 38410177WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers and clinicians identified red flags like school isolation and sleep changes.
System barriers, especially waitlists, drove negative experiences. Both groups urged family-centered care, standardized mental health training for all disciplines, and decoupling mental health support from disability diagnoses.
Key findings
01The most common red flags for mental health issues were negative self-talk, depression, anxiety, and school-related isolation.
02Healthcare system factors, particularly lack of services and long waitlists, were the primary barriers to care, while interdisciplinary teams were the main facilitator.
03Clinicians reported feeling poorly prepared to assess pediatric mental health and often lacked information on referral options.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (26 participants) and drawn from a single geographic region, limiting generalisability. Selection bias is possible, as participating clinicians may have been more invested in mental health, and caregivers may have had stronger experiences. The survey tools were developed in-house and not validated, which may affect the reliability of the quantitative data.
Declared interests
The authors declare financial support from the Kids Brain Health Network, the Foundation of the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal, and the Fonds de Recherche du Québec Santé.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the proposed solutions as evidence-based interventions that have been tested for efficacy. This study reports stakeholder opinions and experiences; it does not prove that the suggested changes, such as family-centered care or standardized training, will successfully improve mental health outcomes.