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Paediatric assessment in a residential child and adolescent psychiatry unit
C A McDonald1, R Paterson, P Bauer
1Department of Health, University of Western Australia, Australia.
Objective:
To document the health status, comorbidity and functional impairments experienced by a group of psychiatrically disturbed children and adolescents.
Methodology:
A detailed study of consecutive admissions to a residential unit over a two-year period was undertaken. All admissions had a comprehensive paediatric, speech pathology and psychiatric assessment.
Results:
Compared to the general population, there was a significant history of developmental delay and low birthweight, but only a slightly greater prevalence of antenatal problems. Clumsiness (37%), severe speech and language disorder (32%), and hearing loss (15%) were prominent. Only 25% had no history of comorbid medical or neurological disorders.
Conclusion:
Children and adolescents presenting with moderate to severe mental health morbidity may have pre-existing comorbid medical problems, as well as unrecognised difficulties and impairments in other skills areas. Multidisciplinary assessment and intervention should be an integral part of the residential programme.