Many families recall how absolutely shattering it was to be unfairly blamed by friends, neighbors, and professionals for causing their child's sickness. The book, It's Nobody's Fault by psychiatrist Harold Koplewicz, Director of the Child Study Center at New York University, helps lessen the stigma of childhood mental disorders by explaining the etiology of these brain disorders and providing evidence that they are not caused by poor parenting.
The book includes separate chapters on the subjects of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social phobia/shyness, generalized anxiety disorder, enuresis/bedwetting, Tourette syndrome, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder/manic depressive illness, schizophrenia, eating disorders, conduct disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder/autism/Asperger's syndrome.
The reader can read the book from cover to cover, or use it selectively as a reference guide. Each of the well-organized, clearly written chapters covers the symptoms of the disorder, treatments, and parenting issues. The book also describes the important role that medications can play in helping troubled children.
If you know someone who is in the process of seeking help for their child or adolescent, this guide would be an invaluable source of information for them.
It's Nobody's Fault is by Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, New York: Random House, 1997.