You’ve probably heard about the controversy surrounding the show 12 Reasons Why and teenage suicidal thoughts. Many experts believe the show glorifies suicide and mental health issues, while others believe it brings up very important topics that need to be discussed. Overall, this show has brought to the surface many topics parents and schools have had difficulty discussing before.
About the show
12 Reasons Why is based off of the book by the same name written by Jay Asher. It’s about a teen girl who commits suicide. Shortly after, her classmate receives a box with old cassette tapes inside–the tapes detail why the girl decided to take her own life, pointing out everything from sexual assault to bullying to an ill-equipped guidance counselor.
Pushing Posted in Suicidal Thoughts
Getting an assessment for autism is a thorough and important process. It requires many different moving parts because autism spectrum disorder is complicated—and there’s no medical test that can give you a positive or negative reading.
Why your child may need an assessment for autism as a teen
Autism isn’t always diagnosed early on. For high functioning autism especially, some individuals may not get diagnosed until they’re well into adolescence. To diagnose autism, a doctor must watch and assess an individual’s development and behavior before they can give out a diagnosis.
The process of identifying and diagnosing autism
There are two parts to an assessment for autism: developmental screening and comprehensive diagnostic evaluation. The first one, developmental screening, is all about whether an
Teenagers are being exposed to violent and graphic images at a much higher rate than ever before. With access to the internet through various forms of technology, teens easily set their eyes on disturbing information daily. How is this affecting our children, though? New research recently set out to find the answer to that exact question and found a strong link between aggressive behaviors in teens and violent media.
Let’s talk about violence in the media
You may be thinking that your teen doesn’t get exposed to that much violence, but that’s because it’s easy to look past what has become normal in today’s society. A very com
Positive thinking could change your overall wellness for the better. Yes, I know that sounds like a hoax or something you’d see in a motivational novel, but more and more studies are showing the power of positive thinking. Turns out, training your mind to look at the positive side of things before the negative may have mental and physical benefits.
How positive thinking can improve wellness
Depending on what your family is looking for, help for troubled teens can be hard to find. It can take days, weeks, even months to find a treatment program that’s the perfect fit for your specific child. No individual is the same, which means no program is able to fit the needs of every teen. Which is why there’s the need for individualized help for troubled teens–this is why ViewPoint Center exists.
Early intervention and accurate diagnosis critical to success
Studies found that in 2015 around 3 million teenagers, ages 12 to 18, experienced at least one major depressive episode within the last year. It’s also been discovered that 6.3 million teenagers have struggled with an anxiety disorder at some point. Logically with those statistics, parents should naturally consider that their child may need a depression and anxiety test at some point in their teenage years–but that’s usually not the case. Instead, they think: “It couldn’t ever be my child.” Until it is.
Causes of depression and anxiety
Social anxiety in teens is one of the most common anxiety disorders among young people. We all know what it feels like to get nervous around crowds, during a presentation, or when meeting new people–but for people with social anxiety, it’s much more than nerves. 
This type of disorder can lead to crippling fear and panic attacks. When left untreated and ignored, it can drive a person to seclude themselves and push away loved ones. For parents, it can sometimes be difficult to identify whether a teenager is going through hormonal changes or experiencing a mental health issue.
Identifying social anxiety in teens
Social media has some of the most incredible potential; it can connect people oceans away from each other, it can create support groups for those in need, it can provide a platform for those without a voice to gain one–the possibilities are endless. Yet there are some negative social media effects becoming more apparent as its use increases in day to day life. 
Teenagers are known for their social media presence. If you’re between the ages 11 and 18 and don’t at least have a Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat account, it’s kind of strange. But as a society, we’ve only recently begun to stop and ask if social media effects are all positive for our children. And the tr
According to the National Sleep Foundation, teenagers don’t get near enough shuteye at night. To function well, the teen brain needs around 8 to 10 hours of sleep–which is nowhere near what the majority gets. Only 15 percent of teens have reported sleeping 8 and a half hours on school nights. Many studies have found that this nationwide sleep deprivation in teens may be much more serious than previous years.
Most parents know how far the power of an out of control teen can go. It can escalate from slamming doors in your face mid-sentence to sneaking out at night to breaking into buildings to abusing drugs. Teen angst is a normal part of growing up, but it can get carried away to the point of endangering themselves and others. 
Recently, five teens exemplified what can go wrong when teenage rebellion gets completely out of hand–but one judge decided to deal with it in a very unconventional and creative way.