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Upcoming Event Addresses a Childhood Epidemic

February 8, 2017

McMinnville, Ore. -- Yamhill County Public Health and Yamhill Community Care will offer a free presentation on current research into how to prevent youth behavioral disorders. The event will feature Dennis Embry Ph.D., the CEO/President of PAXIS Institute in Tucson, Arizona and co-investigator at the Center on Prevention and Early Intervention at Johns Hopkins University and Anthony Biglan, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at Oregon Research Institute. 

The program addresses the "epidemic" of mental, emotional, behavioral and physical disorders among children, teens, and young adults in the United States. Rates of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, depression, autism, allergies, asthma, obesity, bipolar disorder, anxiety, drug addiction, learning disabilities and suicide have all increased in recent years. Many families have been touched by this growing epidemic in the last decade. According to Wall Street Journal, 40.4 million young people in America received at least one prescription for psychotropic medication last year. 

The good news, however, is that all of these problems are highly preventable, and Yamhill County is on the cutting edge of nationwide efforts to prevent them. Dr. Embry will collaborate with Anthony Biglan, PhD. In presenting a discussion of innovative prevention work being implemented in Yamhill County. 

Host Dr. Embry's work on the improvement of health and public safety and the prevention of substance use, violence and mental illness among children has been featured in national media such as the Today Show, Good Morning America, Life, People, NY Times, LA Times, and others. 

Dr. Biglan is the author of The Nurture Effect: How the Science of Human Behavior Can Improve Our Lives and Our World and has been serving as a consultant for Yamhill CCO since 2015. 
The presentation entitled "Nurturing the Wellbeing of Children, Youth, and Families in Yamhill County" will begin at 5 p.m., Feb. 13 at the Linfield Ice Auditorium, at Melrose Hall, 900 SE Baker St. in McMinnville. This event is free and open to the public; however, registration is required. Please visit Yamhill_youth.eventbrite.com to reserve a seat.

Comments

Submitted by Tina Woods on Wed, 02/08/2017 - 13:49 Permalink

I would argue that few of these are "highly preventable". Autism, for example has no known definitive cause, and certainly no cure. So how on earth would it then be "highly preventable" given these facts?

Tina Woods