DIAGNOSTIC CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD (DC:0 5) IMPLEMENTATION CONSIDERATIONS AND CLINICAL REMARKS.
The Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC: 0 3) gave infant mental health specialists a tool to describe behavioral symptoms during infancy, earlier often ignored as minor or transient baby problems. In a new form, called the DC: 0 5, the tool now aims to describe mental health problems during the first 6 years of life. In my commentary, I discuss some implications of the proposed changes. First, I address the never ending question regarding why a specific diagnostic classification system for young children is at all needed. The answer remains unchanged. Clinicians need to tell the world that mental health problems in young children do exist and that it is our responsibility to reduce their negative influence on early development. When DC: 0 3 was launched, it was described as a complement to other diagnostic systems; clinicians were encouraged to refer to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) when possible. The DC: 0 3 focused on specific characteristics of infant problems that other systems had not described, and also acknowledged that some of these were early manifestations of problems also described among older children. The DC: 0 5 is meant to be the general single source for describing infant mental health problems in children under 6 years of age, including disorders also described in other systems. While attractive as an aim, the implementation of DC: 0 5 depends on how it is received by healthcare organizations around the world. In a society where healthcare is financed by governmental sources, as in Scandinavia, a classification system has to provide guidance on where resources are most effectively used. Today, the ICD 10 is used to register mental health disorders in all age groups, including infancy and early childhood, despite poor criteria for younger ages. In those
Infant mental health journal