HealthSmart: Children and Mental Illness
Of the 74.5 million children in the United States, an estimated 17.1 million have or have had a mental health disorder. That’s more than the number of children with cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, half of all mental illness occurs before the age of 14 and 75 percent by the age of 24. In spite of the magnitude of the problem, lack of awareness and entrenched stigma keep many of these young people from getting help.
On HealthSmart: Children and Mental Illness we’ll talk about what causes a mental health disorder in a child, how they’re treated and why they often go untreated.
Keira McGuire is a health reporter and multimedia producer for WITF. She hosts and produces Transforming Health television programs as well as other shows and documentaries for WITF’s Original Productions. McGuire produced the Emmy Award winning series HealthSmart for the last ten years. Keira previously worked at WBFF in Baltimore and WMDT in Salisbury as a reporter and anchor. She’s a graduate of Towson University.
