Childhood
depression
“nobody likes me” is a common
complaint in middle childhood, when children tend to be popularrity conscious.
But when these words were addressed to a school principal by an 8-year old boy
in florida whose classmate had accused him of stealing from the teacher’s purse,
it was a danger signal. The boy vowed that he would never return to school and
he never did. Two days later, he hanged
him self by a belt from the top rail of his bunk bed.
Fortunetly, depressed children
rarely go to such lengths, though suicide among young people is in the increase.
How can we tell the difference between a harmless period of the “blues” (which
we all experience at times) and a major affective disorder that is, a disorder
of mood? The basic symptoms of an affective disorder are similar from childhood,
by some features are age spesific 9dsm III-r, 1987).
Friendleness is only one sign of
childhood depresion. This disorder is also characterized by inability to have
fun or to concentrate, and by and absence of normal emotional reactions.
Depressed children are frequently tired, extremely active, or inactive. They
walk very little, cry a great deal, have a trouble concentrating, sleep to much
or too late, lose their appetite, start doing poorly in school, look unhappy,
complain of physical ailment, feel over whelmingly guilt, suffer severe
separation anxiety (which may take the form of the school phobia), or think
often about death or suicide. Any four
or five of these symptoms may support a diagnosis of depression, esspecially
when they represenr a marked change from the child’s usual pattern. Parents do
not always recognize “minor” problems like sleep disturbance, loss of apperite,
and irriability as signs of depressions, but children themselves are often able
to describe how they feel.
No one is sure of the exact cause
of depression in children or adults. There us some evidence for biochemical
predispotion, which may br triggered by specific experience. Depression school
age-children are children likely to lacj social and acadmy competence, but it is
not clear weather incompetence cause depression or vice versa. The parents or
depressed children are more likelu to be depressed themselves, suggesting a
possible genetic factor, a reflection aof general stress in all families, or the
result of poor parenting practice by disturbed parents.
GLOSSARY
Complaint : keluhan
Address : menunjukan
Accuse : menuduh
Stealing : mencuri
Vow : berjanji
Features : ciri-ciri
Suicide : bunuh diri
Appetite : nafsu makan
Ailments : penyakit
Trigger : menyebabkan
Vice versa : sebaiknya
Predisposition : kecendrungan
Excercise 1
1. What happens
when 5 years old children say “nobody like me”?
2. What happens
when 10 years old children say “nobody like me”?
3. Waht will the
children do when they get depression?
4. Why do the
children get depression?
5. When the
children are accused by their friends, will they get depression?
6. What is (are)the
symptom(s) of childhood depression?
7. What happens to
the parents when their children get depression?
Excercise 2
Fill in the blank with the listed
appropriate words
Accuse, address, appetite, purse, vowed, triggered, feature, sever
1. I am not a
manager. I am just a staff in this office. Don’t give your complaints to move
because i cant detemine its follow-up. Please … your complaints to the
manager.
2. I really hate
someone who … me without a real evidence. Don’t think that i am a thief if you
dont hava a proof. Don’t say that u am a coward if you don’t know much about
me.
3. She is a careful
woman. She never puts her money in her pocket. She always put it in her …
besides, she also puts it un the bag.
4. He has
sacrificed his life for the woman. He loves very much. But the woman,
unfortunately, runs away with the other man. He really hates that women, even
all of the women. He … never to fall in love with the women.
5. Because of my
sadness, i don’t have … i am not interested in food in front of me, although
it is very delicious. I don’t want to eat it
Exercise 3
Make
sentences from the words below
1.
Predisposition : …
2. Feature : …
3. Triggered : …
4. Symptoms : …
5. Depression : …
6. Harmless : …
7. Severe : …
8. Disturb : …
9. Complaint : …
10. Disorder : …
LANGUAGE WORK
Look
at the example:
Depressed
children rarelu go to lengths, though suicide among young people is on the
increase.
Rarely in this
sentece is called and adverb of frequency. The others are usually, always,
sometimes, never, often, seldom, occasionally, frequently, almost.
Exercise 4
Put the
adverb of frequency correctly into these sentences
1. He smokes a
cigarette after every meal (usually)
2. Do they write to
you? (ever)
3. You can tell if
a dog is dreaming by watching its legs (sometimes)
4. I pass the post
office in may way back (usually)
5. The roof leaks
when it rains ( occasionally)
6. This type of
plants grows tall (never)
7. It rains in this
part of the world (hardly never)
8. Do you answer
back life this? (often)
9. We correspond
through the post (frequently)
10. They invite us over
a cup of tea (generally)
11. She is very busy at
this time of the day (usually)
12. Had the lesson
started when you arrived? (already)
13. We have finished our
syllabus for a year (nearly)
14. Your friend needs
your help (always)
15. We are lazy to cook,
so we eat out (sometimes)
16. I tripped over the
dog in the dark (almost)
Exercise 5
Substitute a
word like always for the multi – word adverbial of frequency.
Example :
Mary drinks milk all of the time
MARY ALWAYS DRINKS MILK.
1. John drinks coffe
some of the time
2. He almost never
drinks tea
3. Mr. Allen drinks
coffee much of the time
4. Mrs. Allen almost
never drinks coffee
5. She drinks coffee
most of the times
6. Mr. And Mrs. Clinton eat in restaurant some of
the time
7. Chessie almost
never eats in restaurant
8. Phillip eats in
bamboo restaurant all of the time
9. She eats at home
most of the time
10. Mr. And Mrs. Tanty
eats in a restaurant much of the times
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