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Sociable babies; bilingual children in front; we can cut drugs in school…Thursday’s stories from the international child mental health conference at the Melbourne Convention Centre include: Babies try to form social bonds from birthPeople once thought that in the first weeks of life, babies were sluggish and largely asleep. “But this is wrong,” says the director of the NSW Institute of Psychiatry Louise Newman. “Right from birth they are trying to form social relationships, and it is important that parents get these early relationships off to a good start.” A short film of babies in early life – learning to make eye contact and copying facial expressions – is being shown to new parents, including some as young as 14, to show them what their baby can do and give them the skills to form a strong parental bond. Early results of this trial are showing positive results. Babies in violent homes get post-traumatic stressA program at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital that deals with babies exposed to domestic violence is set to expand, after a successful two-year trial. Psychoanalyst Dr Frances Salo said babies exposed to violence between their parents developed a form of post-traumatic stress. “If they witness the violence it has the potential to cause long-term psychological difficulties. They can develop anxiety in later life, which can cause problems at school.” Two tongues better than one for growing mindsAdolescents from migrant families who grow up bilingually perform better in school, are generally happier, and are less likely to hurt themselves or others, a new study has found. The French study, led by Marie Rose Moro, a Professor of psychopathology at Paris University, disputes the common practice, whereby migrant children are discouraged from learning their mother tongue in fear they will not learn French properly. Intellectually disabled young people missing out on treatment for mental illnessFor 16 years, researchers have followed 1000 people from Victoria and NSW with an intellectual disability. Aged from 4 to 18 years old when the study began, all are now young adults, most living at home or with carers. New findings show about 40 per cent of the group also have a mental illness – anxiety, depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder – but only 10 per cent of them receive any treatment. “It’s a tragedy because these problems are relatively easily treated,” says professor of psychological medicine at Monash University Bruce Tonge. “Most people in the general community who have such a condition are identified as having a mental illness, and receive some form of treatment. This group is simply falling between the cracks.” Genetics will dictate how we treat mental illnessGenetic discoveries are set to dictate how we treat mental illness – not only among children, but among their parents, according to one of Australia’s experts on twins. Professor David Hay of Curtin University in Western Australia says in four years our increased genetics knowledge will also mean people who fail to react to some drugs will be given genetic tests that will point to a more effective treatment. How to cut drug use, violence in school – change the social climatesA study in 26 Australian schools led to tobacco and cannabis use falling 25 per cent; violence and anti-social behaviour falling 20 per cent; and having sexual intercourse among 13-year-olds fell by 50 per cent.
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