Anxiety is the most common mental health problem experienced by children (Photo: Marcus Wallis)
It’s estimated that around one in seven Australian children experience mental problems. According to the Australian Psychological Society (APS), 75 per cent of Australian children don’t have access to a mental health care plan. Mental health disorders are among 14 per cent of children aged four and 17.
A study by Dr Melissa Mulraney and Professor Harriet Hiscock, published by The Conversation, shows that nine to 15 per cent of children aged eight to nine were less likely to access mental health services. The study also found girls made up 50 per cent of children with mental health problems. Yet they were less likely to receive care than boys. Girls accounted for 30 per cent of children aged eight to 11 who received support.
Just after a month of moving from New Zealand to Australia in 2019, Stef Taylor, mother of three, noticed her eldest felt anxious going to sleep. Remembering life back in NZ kept his mind awake at night. She took him to the doctor. The diagnosis was unexpected: child anxiety.
Malachi Taylor, 9, born in Sydney but at nine months moved back to NZ with his family. His mother, Stef Taylor, described him as a bright boy who is a massive extrovert. He wants to become a water policeman in the future who sells fish and chips from the back of the boat. He’s the eldest of his two siblings – Cooper, seven and Myla, three.
According to Kids Helpline – an online counselling service for young people – anxiety affects the mind, body and behaviour of children. Very often, as Kid Helpline suggests, shyness and social anxiety affecting children are wrongly diagnosed. Kids Helpline also suggests that although shyness is common among children, they usually grow out of it.
Anxiety, on the other hand, is experiencing intense feelings of worry and fear. According to Kids Helpline, since every child is different, situations that trigger their anxiety vary. Quiet children tend to be perceived as shy – especially girls. Their mental health is usually out of the picture.
Anxiety is the most common mental health problems experienced by young Australians aged 4 to 17. Dr Melissa Mulraney and Professor Harriet Hiscock wrote on The Conversation that children express their feelings differently – hence, it can be difficult to recognise their mental health is at risk.
Malachi Taylor began having sleeping problems. This resulted in some vocal and physical tics. Stef Taylor, his mother, told me Malachi would come back from school crying and have a big discussion with him about it. Although she knew they’d done the right thing for their family by moving countries – it broke her heart.
Adults can discuss the effects of moving houses. But children are incapable of articulating their feelings about the situation. “Young children are regarded as resilient and adaptable to moving,” Professor Hayley Hutchings wrote on The Conversation. “However, the possible effects that moving home have on the health and developmental outcomes of young children has undergone little research until now.”
Malachi was open talking about it. But he found it difficult expressing his feelings. His mother, Stef Taylor, wasn’t sure if he actually understood what he was feeling. But seeing her son struggle, she struggled emotionally too. She began second-guessing their decision of moving countries. Doubt filled her mind with questions. But as a family, they talked it through and put some things into place.
It was last April when Malachi’s teacher notified Taylor of his “involuntary head shakes.” And shaking his legs at his desk due to anxiety. Later they got the school counsellor whom Stef described as fantastic. Stef said they hit it off like two peas in a pod. After a couple of months, the head-shaking stopped. Stef doesn’t know whether it stopped or she just stopped noticing it. Things were going well until November.
When Stef Taylor received a call from his teacher saying it’s come back and it’s bad. She took him to the doctor and got referred to a paediatrician – Tourette syndrome was on the table. Tourette syndrome (TS) can affect people aged between two and 21. Although TS has no cure, it usually improves as the person grows and does not shorten the life span. For some, the tics go away as they enter adulthood.
“He has suffered a real trauma from moving countries, and that trauma has manifested in anxiety and in these tics”, the paediatrician told Taylor. Malachi’s psychologist diagnosed him with persistent tics disorder and anxiety. There are different types of tic disorder. There is the most common – provisional tic disorder, the less common – persistent tic disorder, and a much less common – Tourette syndrome.
Persistent tic disorder, Malachi’s diagnosis, involves motor tics or vocal tics. Never both. Taylor was relieved that Tourette syndrome was off the table. Finding him a child psychologist wasn’t easy. They waited for about six months to get a private child psychologist. Since private child psychology was not an option – lengthy waiting list – they turned to LifeCare.
Taylor said she was devastated when she heard how long they had to wait to see a private child psychologist. LifeCare is a Christian-based organisation which has professional psychologists. They waited only two to three weeks to get a psychologist. Malachi sees her every fortnight. In Melbourne, it is estimated that a 40 to 50-minute counselling session costs $150 to $195.
Malachi’s session at LifeCare costs $150 with Medicare rebates for 10 sessions only. Although Medicare provides benefits, many children require more than 10 treatment sessions. She said she would love to change and take him to a child psychologist down the road who would understand what he is going through.
For children, it’s recommended they receive at least eight sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to treat their anxiety disorder. But many will require more. “Mental health problems in childhood can have lifelong ramifications,” Dr Melissa Mulraney and Harriet Hiscock wrote on The Conversation. “Including the increased risk of mental health problems in adulthood, poor educational attainment, unemployment, and contact with the criminal justice system.”
According to Beyond Blue, living in unpredictable times, it’s crucial to keep mental health in check, especially children. Coronavirus impacted the world. It threatened people’s health, businesses, work and education. The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows 2.7 million people – between March and April – lost their job or had their hours reduced. According to research by the Mitchell Institute, 1.4 million Australian children have been affected by the job crisis.
Due to high levels of stress and isolation, it can affect children’s brain development. Potentially causing irreversible long-term consequences. For children, schools moving to online learning was a massive change. “He gets frustrated with his schoolwork sometimes,” said Taylor, “But I don’t think he’s showing the anxiety with his school work.”
Besides education, it’s worth considering the pandemic’s impact on children’s social life. It was hard for Malachi at the beginning because everything he loved he couldn’t do. This year, Malachi’s family found him a soccer team, but he didn’t even get to start. He couldn’t scooter at the skate park, and he couldn’t see his friends.“Emotionally, he got really down”, said Taylor.
She told me her son’s anxiety decreased during the lockdown. “Because there’s nothing to be anxious about,” she said, “He’s not doing anything.” Malachi Taylor is one of many Australian children with a mental health condition. If we want a better future, we should stop overlooking children’s mental health. They are the future.
