“As many as 1 in every 5 teens experience depression at some point during adolescence, but they often go undiagnosed and untreated.”

My own son was diagnosed with depression at the age of 11, but he had been suffering for probably a year before that diagnosis. As a parent, I had an inkling but wasn’t sure and really didn’t know at what point to seek help and certainly didn’t know what to expect when finally making that appointment.

Today I am speaking with pediatrician Dr. Hector De Leon about depression in children and adolescents. We are chatting about what depression is, its symptoms, how it’s diagnosed and what treatment looks like. From stigma to how to talk to your kids about it, Dr. De Leon covers everything you need to know to identify depression and get your child the help he needs.

Topics

• Understanding depression (4:50)
• How depression is different in children (8:66)
• Symptoms of depression (10:46)
• Depression in older children vs. younger children (12:35)
• How depression progresses (13:45)
• Boys and depression (17:50)
• How and When to seek a diagnosis (21:50)
• How depression is diagnosed (24:06)
• Related Conditions (25:38)
• How to talk to your kids (27:00)
• Treatment options (29:20)
• Reoccurrence (34:44)
• Resources (38:09)

Show Notes and Links

• Head over to https://findyourwords.org to check out Kaiser Permanente’s site on depression including a self-assessment tool
• The CDC has several pages dedicated to depression check out the childhood depression page at https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/depression.html
• The American Academy of pediatrics also has several pages on depression that can be accessed at https://www.aap.org/ including this article by Nerrisa S. Bauer that I pulled the above quote from available at https://www.aap.org/en-us/aap-voices/Pages/Adolescent-Depression.aspx
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