Pediatr. praxi 2018; 19(5): 274-282 | DOI: 10.36290/ped.2018.055

A child with mental disorder at school: what has to be changed?

MUDr. Jaroslav Matýs

Soukromá ambulance dětské a dorostové psychiatrie, Ostrava

Child and adolescent psychiatry intertwines significantly, extending to other paediatric medical disciplines. It alters the views and practicesin somatic diseases in association with the general mental condition of the paediatric patient as well as in mental disorders with their somaticmanifestations. It also deals with the frequent comorbidity of mental and somatic diseases in children and adolescents. Traditionally, this hasbeen known by the collective name psychosomatics. At present, this trend of a comprehensive view of the patient has developed into themedical field of “holistic medicine”. However, educational attestation programmes for paediatric disciplines currently do not correspond tothis reality of common practice. In a similar way, child and adolescent psychiatry extends beyond its scope of health care into the educationalprocess that has become part of comprehensive care of children with mental disorders. Nowadays, two crucial processes concerning paedopsychiatricpatients have been initiated in parallel. Both programmes are governmental. One is “The Reform of Psychiatric Care in the CzechRepublic” and the other is the much-discussed “Inclusive Education” programme. Here, the issue of mutual collaboration is much more complicatedbecause it involves nonmedical professions. Unfortunately, both these governmental programmes exist in parallel “one next to theother” and are not linked. Objectively speaking, the educational system for doctors “nonpaedopsychiatrists” and teacher education in relationto mental disorders of children and adolescents both fail to reflect this new phenomenon affecting the whole society today as well as in thefuture. Therefore, the article describes the current state including the facts contradicting the worst-case scenarios of inclusive education. Theauthor also outlines the need for and directions of modifications in educational programmes for medical paediatric disciplines, but also inhigher education as well as in continuous teacher education at schools.

Keywords: child and adolescent psychiatry, mental disorders, attestation, paediatrics, adolescent medicine, inclusion, supportive
measures, teaching assistant, special education

Published: October 25, 2018  Show citation