HOW TO TALK TO MY CHILD
Below are additional resources that you may find helpful in having conversations with your child regarding their mental health. These are not diagnostic tools to replace a doctor or licensed mental health professionals diagnosis, but rather, is a starting point to help you understand what types of things may be going on with your child and how to support them.
Screener Questionnaires
Child Mind Symptom Checker: This allows you to fill out from your perspective what types of concerns you have for your child and the severity of those concerns. This is done independently using your perspective.
Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS): This allows you to ask your child questions about how they are feeling and ask them to rank their feelings on a scale.
Depression Screener: This is a three minute screener that can help you to rate where your child is feeling in regards to common symptoms of depression.
Mental Health Checklist: This checklist helps you to identify a variety of social and emotional issues your child may be facing.
PEARLS (Pediatric ACEs and Related Live-Events Screener): This screener is designed for parents to evaluate any potential adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) your child may have, or is currently experiencing. There are questionaires for teens, children, that are done by a parent. There are also self reported screeners that the child can complete on their own.
Warning Signs of Mental Illness: This is an article produced by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and is a great resource for parents who are trying to determine if their child may be suffering from a mental illness.
Support Articles
How to talk to your child about mental health: ways to approach the topic of mental health with your child.
Creating a safe space to talk: a website dedicated to supporting children's well being.
Transforming Families: resources to help support your transgender or gender non-conforming child.
