ST. LOUIS – Timing can be everything. When it comes to a young child’s lasting emotional health, timing may even be imperative.
      That’s why the recent opening of SSM Behavioral Health Services 20-bed preadolescent unit at SSM DePaul Health Center is important for many families in metro St. Louis and beyond. 
      The program is one of only three hospital-based, preadolescent-focused behavioral health programs (ages 3 -12) available in metro St. Louis. The program also accepts referrals from throughout east central and southern Missouri.
      According to SSM Behavioral Health Services psychiatrist Saaid Khojasteh, M.D., taking preventive behavioral health measures at any early age may be the most sweepingly beneficial decision a parent can make for their child’s future, and maybe even for the future of their grandchildren as well. 
      “If we catch a serious behavioral disorder and implement a reasonable course of treatment early enough, it can make a dramatic difference in that child’s adolescence and adulthood,” says Khojasteh. 
      “If untreated, early age psychiatric conditions almost always result in teen behavioral problems. At-risk students more likely face school suspensions, are transferred to alternative schools or drop out of school entirely.
      “Study after study reveals drop-outs, even those who later earn a GED, are more likely to be fired, hop from job-to-job and divorce more frequently,” explains Khojasteh. “When that occurs, those early, unaddressed, preadolescent emotional disorders become lifestyle issues affecting subsequent generations.” 
      Dr. Khojasteh works with three other psychiatrists in the new unit: Mohgan Makki, MD; Jim Edwards, MD; and Zafar Rehmani, MD; who are specifically trained to treat behavioral problems with children and adolescents.
      The preadolescent unit provides intense behavioral treatment, with an average length of stay of 10 days. That time is used by behavioral health physicians, nurses, social workers and other psychological counselors to start or adjust medications, conduct age-appropriate interviews and counseling and develop a post-hospitalization plan of action.
      “We develop a road map that parents, school counselors and teachers can follow in addressing the child’s needs. In other words, everyone is on the same page,” says Nancy Rubin, RNC, a behavioral health nurse with nearly 20 years of pediatric/adolescent experience, who serves as the unit’s clinical director.
      The plan will specify “wrap-around” counseling, therapy and additional services available in the community for both parents and children to cope with and continue to improve from the diagnosed disorder.
      “Children age five or younger with destructive, agitated or aggressive tendencies are hoisting red flags that should not be ignored,” says Rubin, who adds that poor academics and poor behavior patterns often go hand-in-hand.
      Early age disorders are often caused by chemical imbalances in the brain that can be treated medically. Khojasteh and Rubin emphasize that caught early, the course and nature conditions of the central nervous system, such as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) can be changed. Without early intervention, chronic conditions such as ODD (obsessive defiant disorder) could develop. 
      For more information about the new preadolescent unit or other SSM Behavioral Health Services, call (314) 344-6700.