I had depression as a child. It went undiagnosed, since I grew up in the seventies and no one knew that children could be clinically depressed. I finally was diagnosed and successfully treated at age 27, but by then my childhood, adolescence and young adulthood had been profoundly affected.

I fervently wish that it had been otherwise. My depression made me a detached, shy and lonely child. I had no interest in anything other than reading and participated in very few activities. All in all, not a great childhood.

Fortunately, things have changed for children with depression to a great extent. However, while we now know that children can be depressed and understand more about how it differs from adult depression, we are unfortunately still not quite where we need to be in terms of diagnosis and treatment.

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