As new data shows kids in a mental health crisis, parents ask, where is the help?
Rachel Simner, the mom of a 13-year-old child in Illinois, said she took her child to a local emergency room last September at the urging of her child's school officials, who had done a suicide risk assessment.
Simner, a mom of two, told "Good Morning America" that when her child was discharged from the emergency room several hours later, her only guidance was a list of pediatric mental health providers that were said to specialize in autism, a condition with which her child has been diagnosed.
"It turns out a lot of them weren't pediatric or they didn't deal with autism or they had waitlists, so it took a while to find anybody and this is a kid who was suicidal, so it was urgent," Simner said. "Four or five days later I went to the mental health hospital itself instead of the ER to try to get them admitted directly, and we were turned away again."
Simner said her child, who also uses they/them pronouns, has for the past several months relied on a patchwork of providers and an at-home tutor provided by the school district while she and her husband continue to search for a more permanent treatment plan.
"We get bad information. The providers aren't adequately trained. There's such a shortage of space and beds for inpatient treatment," Simner said. "In the meantime, my child is falling through the cracks and not getting the help that they need."
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/new-data-shows-kids-mental-health-crisis-parents/story?id=98868863
This is a disgrace. "Best healthcare in the world", my sainted Aunt Matilda!
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