Word: fassler
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...Luvox and Celexa) had one other advantage over the older, tricyclic antidepressants: children responded to them. One of the few recent studies on the subject showed that among depressed children ages 8 to 18, 56% improved while on Prozac, in contrast to 33% on a placebo. Says Dr. David Fassler, chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Council on Adolescents and Their Families: "Physicians have a lot of experience using the medications with adult patients with good results, and recent research increases their general level of comfort in using them with children and adolescents...
...long ago, many psychiatrists argued that children and young teens could not get depressed because they were not mature enough to internalize their anger. Today, says Fassler, "we realize that depression does occur in childhood and adolescence and that it occurs more often in children than we previously realized...
What they do not need is to become miniature adults. "There is a desire to have children grow up quicker and quicker," says Fassler. "This manifests itself in many ways: how quickly can we teach them to read, toilet train them; how early can we get them into the most exclusive preschool?" Jack Wetter, a clinical psychologist in West Los Angeles, says he observed a goldilocked four-year-old in preschool. "I asked her what she was doing, and she replied, 'Can't talk now. Working on Workbook 2. Going to Workbook...
...should be obvious. "Seven-year-olds don't have the kind of judgment to process complex information and skills all at once," says New York psychologist Karen Zager. "Think of your typical young child. When he's watching TV, alarms could go off, and he wouldn't notice." Suggests Fassler: "If you've got a young child who is fascinated by flying, you don't have to let her learn to fly. You could say, 'Let's learn everything we can about planes' or 'Let's go fly in a plane and sit next to the pilot...
...steroids. And doctors say they are seeing more and more young people who are not special stars exhibiting a range of emotional problems, from depression to eating disorders to suicidal tendencies. "We see many children whose lives are overscheduled, who go from one set of lessons to another," says Fassler. "We're robbing them of the time to develop the coping skills that they need to deal with the realities of life. As a result, children are becoming more vulnerable to a range of emotional difficulties...