KARACHI, April 1: A workshop-cum-seminar held under the aegis of the Child Protection Committee of the Lyari General Hospital in collaboration with the Gul-i-Noor Educational Society, called upon parents/ guardians of children to pay special attention to the conduct disorders of their siblings as the problem could have an adverse impact on their personality in future life.

The event was organized as a part of the LGH community awareness programme against child abuses. The key speakers, who presented their views on the Issues of Schoolgoing Children were Dr M. Ishaque Sarhandi of the Dow University of Health Sciences, Dr Aisha Mehnaz of the Konpal Child Abuse Prevention Society and Farah Iqbal of the Karachi University.

The participants were of the view a child would undergo a lot of psychological problems; in the pre-school period, the disorder would usually manifest in his defiant and aggressive behaviour, often with over-activity at home. The behaviour includes disobedience, temper tantrums and physical aggression. In the latent childhood, the conduct disorder would manifest in his practice of theft, telling lies and disobedience together with verbal or physical aggression.

Dr Sarhandi said that the epidemiological studies in Pakistan showed that 10 to 16 per cent of the population suffered from mild to moderately severe mental disorder. Five to 20 per cent of schoolchildren have been described by their teachers as victims of hyperkinetic disorder, he added.

He identified negligence, malnutrition, poverty, violence at home and overprotection as main factors contributing to the psyche of such children.

Dr Sarhandi said the growth of mental disease was increasingly alarming, and stressed the need for counselling and psychiatric services. He said that the Lyari General Hospital had established a psychiatry department to provide free of cost treatment to such patients.

Earlier, Dr Mehnaz highlighted the importance of child rights and urged people to play their due role.