Comprehensive Overview of Specific Learning Disabilities What are Learning Disabilities? Learning disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems. A learning disability can cause a person to have trouble learning...

Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders) Not until the middle of the twentieth century was there a name for a disorder that now appears to affect an estimated one of every five hundred children, a disorder that causes...

Medications SPECIAL MESSAGE This summary is designed to help mental health patients and their families understand how and why medications can be used as part of the treatment of mental health problems. It is important for you to be well...

Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Effective treatments for each of the anxiety disorders have been developed through research.19 In general, two types of treatment are available for an anxiety disorder—medication and specific types of...

Borderline personality disorder Raising questions, finding answers Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This...

Eating Disorders: Facts About Eating Disorders and the Search for Solutions Eating is controlled by many factors, including appetite, food availability, family, peer, and cultural practices, and attempts at voluntary control. Dieting to a body...

Informations for Patients About Fibrous Dysplasia What is Fibrous Dysplasia? Fibrous dysplasia is a chronic disorder of the skeleton that causes expansion of one or more bones due to abnormal development of the fibrous, or connective, tissue...

Childhood onset schizophrenia A child's stage of development must be taken into account when considering a diagnosis of mental illness. 1 Behaviors that are normal at one age may not be at another. Rarely, a healthy young child may report...

Schizophrenia WHAT IS IT? Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. Approximately 1 percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lifetime—more than 2 million Americans suffer from the illness in a given...

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Mental Health Is Important Mental health is how people think, feel, and act as they face life's situations. It affects how people handle stress, relate to one another, and make decisions. Mental health...