Borough President James Oddo joined with clinicians of the Child Mind Institute and Senator Andrew Lanza’s office to encourage families to participate in the Healthy Brain Network’s data collection to identify biological markers of psychiatric illness at Borough Hall on Thursday, January 15. The HBN seeks to advance the science of child and adolescent brain development while empowering families with the scientifically sound information they need.
The HBN initiative is a community-based research program that combines mobile research vehicles and a stationary center located at the Teleport to reach and evaluate a large population. The program is coming to Staten Island in April. HBN will include healthy children (ages 5 to 21) in addition to those with a broad range of disorders, in order to identify subtle differences within healthy populations and between healthy and clinical populations. The Child Mind Institute hopes to collect data from 10,000 children for the study.
“When a child has a fever or a stomachache, you know what to do,” said Dr. Harold Koplewicz, president of Child Mind Institute. However, when a child is irritable, sad or inattentive, parents often think – or hope – it’s a phase and don’t seek diagnostics. “It’s time to change that.”
Participation in the study is free, and all participants and their families will receive an extensive feedback session with a licensed clinician following their evaluation. At this session, appropriate treatment recommendations and referrals for follow up care will also be given.
According to the Child Mind Institute, this work is necessary because 75 percent of all psychiatric disorders begin by age 24, and they affect 1 in 5 American children. The field of child psychiatry would benefit tremendously from biological diagnostic tests, similar to those used in other branches of medicine.
“Staten Island parents can be confident in the Child Mind Institute,” said Borough President Oddo. “The data collected will not only help your child, but also others with psychiatric illnesses.”
For more information on the program or to sign up for inclusion in the study which will begin this Spring, visit childmind.org or email hbn@childmind.org.
The HBN initiative is a community-based research program that combines mobile research vehicles and a stationary center located at the Teleport to reach and evaluate a large population. The program is coming to Staten Island in April. HBN will include healthy children (ages 5 to 21) in addition to those with a broad range of disorders, in order to identify subtle differences within healthy populations and between healthy and clinical populations. The Child Mind Institute hopes to collect data from 10,000 children for the study.
“When a child has a fever or a stomachache, you know what to do,” said Dr. Harold Koplewicz, president of Child Mind Institute. However, when a child is irritable, sad or inattentive, parents often think – or hope – it’s a phase and don’t seek diagnostics. “It’s time to change that.”
Participation in the study is free, and all participants and their families will receive an extensive feedback session with a licensed clinician following their evaluation. At this session, appropriate treatment recommendations and referrals for follow up care will also be given.
According to the Child Mind Institute, this work is necessary because 75 percent of all psychiatric disorders begin by age 24, and they affect 1 in 5 American children. The field of child psychiatry would benefit tremendously from biological diagnostic tests, similar to those used in other branches of medicine.
“Staten Island parents can be confident in the Child Mind Institute,” said Borough President Oddo. “The data collected will not only help your child, but also others with psychiatric illnesses.”
For more information on the program or to sign up for inclusion in the study which will begin this Spring, visit childmind.org or email hbn@childmind.org.
