No one teaches you how to be a parent, least not a parent of a child with behavioral or mental health issues. The journey can feel isolating for many parents, like you’ve been left with a 1,000-piece puzzle and no picture of the final design. You’re on your own to put it together, but there are so many routes to go down — the pieces never seem to fit quite right.
Since Elemy was founded in 2020, we have heard from so many families just how difficult it can be to navigate the world of childhood behavioral and mental health issues, particularly when dealing with overlapping conditions, such as autism and anxiety, or autism and ADHD.
We have also seen firsthand the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children’s mental health. In October 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Children’s Hospital Association declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health.
Pre-pandemic, 1 in 5 children had a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder, while only 20% were receiving care, according to the CDC. Families face obstacles like a lack of providers, long waitlists, prohibitive costs, and more.
To help address this need in our country and in our current families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we are thrilled to announce the launch of new comprehensive childhood mental health and behavioral therapy services.
To start, these services will be available in Florida and Texas. We look forward to expanding across the country soon.
Learn more about the exciting new additions to our care and how they can help your family.
Conditions We Support
In addition to autism, our services will now cover:
ADHD
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood, according to the CDC, with over 6.1 million children having already been diagnosed. Common symptoms include a short attention span, the inability to sit still, being easily distracted, impulsiveness, forgetfulness, difficulty reading social cues, and excessive talking and interruptions.
ADHD commonly occurs with other conditions, including autism. In fact, 6 in 10 children with ADHD had at least one other mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder, according to the CDC.
Anxiety
Anxiety in children can be marked by social anxiety, nervousness or restlessness, fear or panic, and attachment issues. Even before the pandemic, childhood anxiety had been on the rise, increasing 27% from 2016 to 2019, according to a recent report in JAMA Pediatrics. 2020 estimates were that 9.2% of children have been diagnosed with anxiety. Those numbers are likely higher now and don’t include children that are undiagnosed and struggling.
In children with autism, anxiety is extremely common, with the Anxiety and Depression Association of America reporting, “40% of young people with ASD have clinically elevated levels of anxiety or at least one anxiety disorder.”
Depression
Similarly to anxiety, rates of depression in children rose 24% from 2016 to 2019. 4% of children have been diagnosed with depression as of 2020. Symptoms of depression include irritability, sadness, hopelessness, feeling blue, a lack of interest in daily activities, and thoughts of self-harm.
Behavioral Disorders
Symptoms of behavioral disorders include anger or aggression, tantrums or defiance, irritability, vindictiveness, repetitive behaviors, compulsive thoughts, urges, or impulses, over-reliance on routines, and anxiety, worry, or feelings of dread. Common behavioral disorders in children include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and post-traumatic stress disorder.
From 2019 to 2020, there was a 21% increase in children who experienced behavior and conduct problems, highlighting the challenges children are facing.
What to Expect From Elemy’s Care
Whether your child is exhibiting symptoms of ADHD, anxiety, depression, behavioral disorder, or a combination, Elemy’s world-class providers will be with you and your family every step of the way.
Elemy’s care team will get to know your child, their history, and any concerns you have as a caretaker through an initial consultation. From there, our services will depend on your child’s needs, including:
Pediatric Psychiatry Diagnostics
Don’t have a diagnosis yet? We’ll start from the beginning. One of our psychiatric experts will do a comprehensive virtual evaluation to decode your child’s symptoms, find out how they are feeling, and make an accurate diagnosis.
After the evaluation and diagnosis, our team will provide a recommendation for next steps. If this includes individual therapy, our clinical team can build a personalized, at-home care plan tailored to your child’s unique needs.
Individual Therapy
If our clinical team has determined your child can benefit from virtual therapy or if you have a referral for therapy from another clinician, our 1:1 therapy is a new way to get your child individualized care to meet their needs in the comfort of your home. In online therapy sessions, your child will meet with their Elemy therapist and build a relationship. Sessions are tailored to the child’s needs and leverage a variety of modern therapy approaches. As a caregiver, you will also be regularly involved in sessions so you have the tools that you need to be successful.
A New Era for Childhood Behavioral and Mental Health
By making it easier to get a diagnosis and care, we hope to close the gap between the number of children suffering from behavioral and mental health disorders and the number of children actively being treated. We recognize that there is a long way to go — despite the drastic increases in children experiencing ADHD, anxiety, depression, and behavioral disorders, the use of mental health care among children did not increase over the five-year period, JAMA Pediatrics reports.
Elemy’s comprehensive care will help more children get back to doing what they do best — being kids.
Our clinicians know that every child is unique, so whether your child has one or multiple diagnoses, we get to know them as an individual so we can support them holistically, not just on a symptom basis. And we know that every family is unique, so we partner with you to collaboratively determine what the best path forward looks like for yours.
Know that you and your family are not alone. Millions of other families are struggling to find the proper care for their children. Elemy will be here for you every step of the way.
