Parents for Children’s Mental Health

The Facts Tell the Story

• Children's mental health was identified as a major issue by the Ontario Child Health Study, an epidemiological study of children in Ontario.
• Serious emotional disturbance affects one in five young people at any given time and it can severely disrupt a person's ability to function socially, academically, and emotionally.*
• The Canadian Institute of Child Health says in its most recent report that emotional and behavioural problems and early learning difficulties have the greatest impact in lowering life quality and reducing life chances of Canadian children and youth.
• Of children seen by the Children's Aid Society, 62% had some evidence of emotional and mental disturbance.*
• The Ontario Government Task Force on Strict Discipline identified mental health problems as a prime cause of deviant behaviour.
• The 2001 Behaviour Survey circulated to school boards/authorities by the Ontario Council for Children with Behavioural Disorders reported that the #1 concern is the increasing rate of psychiatric disorders in children and youth. Regarding services for students with behavioural difficulties, the main concern is the lack of mental health agency supports.

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* Canadian Mental Health Association