Ask the Expert

ACMH believes that parents, armed with the right knowledge and support are experts regarding the needs of their children and family. Other parent’s who have ‘been there and done that’ are often the greatest resource to families seeking support to navigate services and supports to meet their child’s mental health needs.

The ‘experts’ on the ACMH site are just that ~ Families who have had some specialized training but whose main expertise came from ‘on the job training’ raising a young person with serious mental health challenges.

Please keep in mind that the responses listed here are just suggestions and should never be used as a substitute for treatment or support by a mental health professional.

Ask your own question

How do I talk to my kids about topics such as racism, social justice and even the Coronavirus without raising anxiety?

  Supporting our kids and their mental health can be challenging even in the best and most predictable of times. Recent months have brought a lot of unexpected challenges, new realities, as well as, opportunities. ACMH understands that access to quality information, as well as, tips to share … Read more

My daughter is 5 years old and has had trouble in preschool leading up to kindergarten. Now she is constantly hitting and kicking other students and teachers when she gets upset she gets angry over things like clean up time or not being able to sit next to her teacher instead of sitting with other students, as well as, running out of class into the halls yelling and screaming. This has become very tiresome for me what should I do ?

Sorry to hear your daughter is having trouble in school. Behavioral struggles can be very tiresome and stressful especially when we as parents are unsure of what we can do to help. Most children act out or get frustrated from time to time, which makes it especially challenging to decide when or if … Read more

My 11 year old daughter is eating junk food behind my back and hiding it. When I confront her she first lies about it than she cries and usually runs away. She claims it is because she hates her self for doing it in the first place. But she still doesn’t know why she does it. She fat shames herself and I don’t know how to help her accept herself and get her to stop. She also avoids places that she knows make her happy despite her joy when doing them. She doesn’t have friends that she thinks she can “truly trust” and I think she is embarrassed to tell me. I have taken her to a therapist but she hated it and she said she didn’t want false sympathy. I don’t know what to do or how to help her. Any advice? Please.

So sorry to hear your daughter is struggling. I am not a mental health professional but it sounds like it was a good idea to try to connect your daughter to a therapist regarding the issues you shared and sorry it was not helpful. I know that for many families it sometimes takes trying a few … Read more

My daughter has been very depressed for the last several months. She was very withdrawn and rarely wanted to come out of her room. At one time we were even fearful we would have to hospitalize her because she was threatening to hurt herself. All of the sudden this week she seems to be feeling much better. She is more social and interactive and is spending more time with the family. I know I should be happy and I am but something doesn’t feel right and I feel like I am just waiting for the next shoe to drop…she seems just a little ‘too happy’.

Answer: As a parent, I think we should always listen to that little voice in our head or those feelings that tell us that everything may not be as it seems. A good first step may be to talk with your daughter and let her know that you noticed that she seems to be feeling a lot better and ask if she … Read more

My 13 year old son has severe ADHD and severe anxiety. He has not been treated properly until he entered into a partial inpatient program. He is now on three medications and I feel he is handling himself much better. I am not saying he will walk in to school and be the class A student, but he is in a better place than he was. He has been labeled a bad kid for so long he truly feels he is, he has a lot of hopeless feelings. He goes to therapy twice a week and has a long road ahead of him to get things turned around. He has had a very rough past with school, suspended multiple times for being disruptive and any other thing they can say he was bad for. He was definitely targeted as a bad kid and they didn’t want to deal with him. I am trying to get him into a different school to give him a positive start. He was denied from a private christian school, and it looks like he is on his way for denial into a public school. I have no idea as to what I can do for my son’s education at this point.

Dear Concerned Parent, I am so glad to hear you feel your son is doing better since participating in the partial inpatient program. I know it can be quite a challenge to find the right educational environment to meet your child’s needs and I wish you luck in your search. In regard to your … Read more