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4203 Montrose Boulevard, Suite 240
Houston, TX, 77006
United States

713-376-9822

Child, teen and family therapy in Houston, TX. Joan's specializations include: ADD/ADHD, Anxiety, LGBTQIA+ Support, Trauma, Adjustment Issues, Depression, Eating Disorders, School Trouble, Learning Disabilities, Trauma, Behavioral Problems, and Self-Mutilation. 

My Blog

This is a collection of psychiatry and psychology news and studies related to child, teen and family therapy.  These resources may be useful to parents interested in learning more about current topics influencing child, teen and family therapy.

The Trevor Project

Joan Lipuscek

The Trevor Project provides crisis intervention and a suicide prevention hotline available 24 hours a day for LGBTQ youth. This amazing non-profit organization offers many resources to youth, parents and educators, including suicide prevention training and information. They also provide assistance for exploring gender identity and sexual orientation with a support center where LGBTQ youth and their friends can obtain answers to questions.

The Trevor Project also provides a list of warning signs and risk factors if you or someone you know might have suicidal tendencies. It is very important to pay attention to these signs as they may indicate an increased danger of self-harm. 

The site also features the inspiring and award winning film called Trevor. It portrays a teenager in crisis and some of the struggles he overcomes. Sometimes, all it takes is one person to listen to your story and express compassion. 

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categories Family Therapy, Teen Therapy
tags LGBTQ

How Has Autism Prevalence Changed Over Time?

Joan Lipuscek

While combing through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Data & Statistics site for Autism Spectrum Disorder, we came across an interesting data table with a list of historical prevalence studies for autism among children and teens from around the globe.

The following visualization provides a summary of average prevalence rates of autism for children and teens through the decades starting in the 1960's. There has been a sharp increase in the rise of autism in children and teens as reported through these various international studies since the 1980's.  For the most recent studies conducted since 2011, the average rate of prevalence of autism among children and teens is about 1%.  

After clicking on a specific decade or switching to the second tab labeled "Autism by Study", we have graphed the prevalence rates of all autism studies listed in the table since 1966. (Please set your browser to allow third party cookies if you receive an error while trying to explore the data.)

OBSERVATIONS

We observe that the 1999 study of Swedish children, "Brief report: Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Seven-Year-Old Children: A Total Population Study" by Kadesjo et al. published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol. 29, No. 4, 1999 was particularly prescient.  Despite discovering the highest rate of prevalence of any study on our list at the time of publication, prevalence rates from other countries began to drift higher throughout the 2000's.  

To date, the South Korean study, "Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in a Total Population Sample" by Kim et al. published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, 2013 has found the highest prevalence rate of autism among children and teens of any study on our list at 2.6% or 1 in 38.  

The most recent U.S. study on our list, "Changes in Prevalence of Parent-reported Autism Spectrum Disorder in School-aged U.S. Children: 2007 to 2011–2012" by Blumberg et al. reported the highest U.S. prevalence rate of autism among children and teens to date at 2.0%.

Although not included in the CDC's list of autism studies that we worked from, the more recent "Estimated Prevalence of Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities Following Questionnaire Changes in the 2014 National Health Interview Survey" by Zablotsky et al. confirmed this higher rate in the U.S. with a finding of a 2.2% prevalence rate among children and teens. 

It is generally agreed that at least part of the increase in autism is due to a broader definition of the disorder and greater efforts in diagnosis. However, the CDC has not ruled out the possibility that the overall number of children and teens with autism has been increasing in the past two decades. To answer this question, the CDC is currently working on the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) to help better identify the factors that put children at risk for autism and other developmental disabilities.

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categories Child Therapy, Family Therapy, Teen Therapy
tags Autism

ADHD In Girls

Joan Lipuscek

In my previously posted survey of Mental Disorders of U.S. Teens, ADHD was shown to have a much higher prevalence rate for boys compared to girls.  

However, this article argues that ADHD is harder to identify and diagnose in girls compared to boys because the symptoms manifest differently.  Sadly, girls are underdiagnosed while boys are overdiagnosed.

Girls have more internalizing symptoms. For example, they tend to suffer from greater bouts of major depression, anxiety and eating disorders which can turn into low self-esteem. Boys on the other hand, have more externalizing symptoms that manifest as physical aggression, hitting and impulsivity. This brief article does a great job of delineating these differences.

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categories Child Therapy, Teen Therapy
tags ADHD