National Alliance on Mental Illness       

Illinois' Voice on Mental Illness - NAMI Illinois


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What Is The NAMI Illinois Children and Adolescent Program?

NAMI Illinois' Children and Adolescent Program is a network of families working to improve the lives of children and adolescents affected by Neurobiological brain disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette's Syndrome, Asperger's Syndrome, depression, anxiety disorder, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Our Goal                                                              

Our goal is to give parents the support they need to secure an  array of services best suited for their child or adolescent's needs.  With appropriate medical care and educational services, many children recover enough to go to college and live productive lives.

Finding Help                                A Few Facts

If your child or other young family member has symptoms of depression, mood swings, self-injury, hyperactivity, hallucinations, delusions, or other thought disorders, we can help.


We at NAMI Illinois want you to know that you are not alone.  We want to share with you the community of hope that we have found.

 Neurobiological brain disorders interfere with normal brain chemistry.  Genetic factors may play a part, and life stresses may trigger the onset of symptoms.

Brain disorders are not caused by poor parenting or weak character.

More than 7.5 million children and adolescents under age 18 suffer from mental illness.
 

 

Improving the Mental Health & Well-being of America's Children

 

 The Facts 

(click this link to view the Fact Sheet)

We hope that you find this fact sheet helpful in your advocacy activities.  We also see great value in sharing this fact sheet with state lawmakers, policymakers, and community leaders to help educate and inform them about children’s MH in America .  We are pleased these collective groups could come together to agree on the facts and the critical need to improve early identification and intervention.  As always, thanks for your incredible dedication to improving the lives of children and families.

NAMI 2007 Convention PowerPoint Presentation

I am pleased to notify you that we have developed a web page on the NAMI web site (www.nami.org) that includes the Powerpoint presentations (PPT) for the wonderful presentations from NAMI’s 2007 Convention that focused on children and adolescents.  Since we know that not everyone could attend, we thought that we would bring the presentations to those who could not be there.  We were extremely pleased with the strong turnout at the child-focused sessions at this year’s convention.  I would like to thank Dana Crudo, Program Coordinator for the NAMI Child & Adolescent Action Center , for developing this web page and for including resources that were referenced during the child & adolescent networking session.  

Here is a link to the web page that includes the PPT presentations from this year’s NAMI convention on children’s issues:

http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=child_and_teen_support&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=48025

Also, at this year’s convention, NAMI released a family guide on evidence-based practices in children’s mental health, titled A Family Guide ~  Choosing the Right Treatment:  What Families Need to Know About Evidence-Based Practices.. The guide is available on the NAMI web site as a PDF document, or you can order a hard copy of the guide by emailing Bianca Ruffin at biancar@nami.org.  The guide is designed to inform families about evidence-based practices in children’s mental health and to share information on an array of treatment and support options.  Educated and informed families are in the best position to advocate for the most effective treatment and supports for their child.  

Here is a link to the web page that includes the on-line version of the Family Guide:

http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=child_and_teen_support&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=47656

I hope that all of you are enjoying the summer!  Thanks for all that you do to improve the lives of children and families in your states and comm unities.

 

Darcy Gruttadaro, J.D.

Director,  Child & Adolescent Action Center

NAMI

 

 

 

 

 

NAMI Illinois                                                             

218 West Lawrence                                                   

Springfield, Illinois 62704                                           

Phone: 217-522-1403  Voice/TTY