Byron Blanco was a deeply troubled little boy, and his mother knew it.

As an infant, he was highly agitated and did not like to be held. At 18 months, he couldn't say any words. In fact, he didn't speak until he was 5.

Byron's difficulties progressed to anger, hallucinations and depression. Karen Blanco witnessed it all, but for years she remained the only one who believed her son was actually sick and not just slow, shy or spoiled.

She looked to doctors, school administrators and family members to validate her fears that Byron was seriously ill, but none did.

Instead, they called her overprotective, a weak disciplinarian, a bored housewife. They tried to convince her Byron would develop into a "normal" child in his own time.

Now the mother has been proved more right than she likes to admit. Byron, now 15, is living in a residential treatment program where he is being treated for psychosis, depressive disorder and autistic disorder.

"The hardest part really is trusting yourself and getting past the condescending way the professionals treat you," said Blanco of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., who is now an advocate for the mentally ill. "It is hard to navigate the system. People don't like to believe that a cute little child can be so ill."

Byron's story points to some of the many reasons that fewer than 20 percent - 1.2 million of the roughly 7 million children with mental disorders in the United States, according to the National Institute of Mental Health - ever get professional treatment. It's sometimes difficult for parents and experts to know the difference between normal childhood development and a mental disorder.

Several mental disorders can appear in children, according to the National Institute of Mental Health:

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental-health problem in children and adolescents. They include obsessive-compulsive disorder, various phobias and panic disorder. One large-scale study of 9- to 17-year-olds found that as many as 13 percent of young people have an anxiety disorder.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affects 3 percent to 5 percent of school-age children. It is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.

Depression strikes up to 3 percent of children and up to 8 percent of adolescents in the United States. It's a serious mental disorder that adversely affects mood, energy, sleep, appetite and overall functioning.

More severe forms of mental disorder, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia - whose symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking and social withdrawal - occur rarely in childhood.

One of the difficulties of detecting childhood mental disorders, as Byron's case demonstrated, is that symptoms such as emotional outbursts, anxiety and depression are also a natural part of childhood development.

There are several signs that can help a parent distinguish a mental disorder. Dr. Bill Womack, associate professor of psychiatry and behavior science at the University of Washington School of Medicine, focuses on three as warranting serious attention:

There was a definite point at which the unusual behavior started.

The behavior persists more than two months.

The child isn't functioning normally in daily life (Womack looks for things such as sudden difficulties in school, a refusal to play with peers or a loss of appetite.)

If you notice these warning signs in your child, where should you turn?

Experts say the first stop should be your child's primary-care provider, someone the child knows and trusts. Most have the training and experience to spot symptoms of mental disorders.

Some might even feel competent enough to initiate treatment, says Tom Numrych, chief of pediatrics for Group Health, while others refer patients quickly to a mental-health specialist.

The most important goal at this point is to get an accurate diagnosis. Sometimes the problem is straightforward. But in more serious cases such as Byron's, the symptoms can be difficult to read and require a more thorough evaluation, usually by a child psychiatrist, sometimes by several experts.

Once the diagnosis is made, a treatment strategy often depends on the severity of the problem and one's financial resources. For a problem that requires medication, a child psychiatrist with the ability to prescribe might be best. Otherwise, primary-care providers can help you choose from several categories of specialists, including social workers, counselors, therapists or psychologists. Womack says it's important to find someone you and your child like and can work with.

Most insurance plans cover only half the cost of mental-health care and limit the length of hospital stays and outpatient visits, so out-of-pocket costs can be significant. Visits to a specialist may range from about $75 an hour for a social worker to $140 an hour for a child psychiatrist.

A serious barrier to getting treatment is the lack of mental- health resources. According to Womack, child psychiatrists are scarce and busy, usually booked six to eight weeks in advance.

If a child's problem is severe, requiring an extended stay at a mental-health facility, a chronic shortage of beds can delay treatment.

While mental disorders can be rough on kids, they can also take a toll on parents. "When you have a child with a mental illness, (people) start questioning you about your parenting skills," Blanco said. "They don't do that when you have a child with leukemia ... It's complete misery."

When Byron was around 11, Blanco began attending a support group sponsored by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

"Finally, people were talking about what my son was experiencing," said Blanco, now a board member. "NAMI saved my life."

Among the services the organization offers are support groups, referrals, legal services, education programs and a helpline.

Blanco, her husband and their three other children visit Byron monthly at the Santa Barbara, Calif., center where he resides. He still has hallucinations, but they are more controlled and he understands where they come from.

The family goes on outings. Sometimes Byron - a self-professed liberal - makes wisecracks about his mother's Republican leanings. She enjoys the good-humored debates.

They hope Byron will move closer to his family's home when he completes high school, Blanco said. While the distance is not ideal, she is eternally grateful for the facility and the help her son receives there.

It still is hard for Blanco to hear what other kids Byron's age are up to these days: playing sports, attending dances, going on dates. But she says she counts her blessings and appreciates every milestone Byron reaches.

Because for every Byron Blanco, there are four other kids whose disorders will take their tolls without anyone stepping in to soften the impact - on themselves or their families.

This Article has been submitted by the Jeremy's Prophecy Dot Com team for informational and educational purposes. Jeremy's Prophecy Dot Com is a website dedicated to telling the story of Jeremy Jacobs, a character in the novel, Jeremy's Prophecy Dot Com.