While the
officials who found Paislee Shultis at her home say she was healthy and in good shape, that
doesn't mean she isn't dealing with issues when it comes to her mental health.
Experts who spoke to News 12 say
it's important for those signs of mental health struggles to be recognized.
They say children, like Paislee, who go
through any sort of upheaval of this magnitude, are likely experiencing
something that can be called a traumatic event.
Child psychologists say even
though she's only 6 years old, the mental health impact of what happened to her can
last with her a lifetime. "We know
that traumatic events can have a really substantial impact on child development
through adulthood, in ways that can perpetuate adverse experiences and
difficulty in terms of mental health over the course of a lifespan,"
says psychologist Dr. Alexandra Stratyner
Dr. Stratyner adds that Paislee is old enough to
remember this traumatic event and that she needs to have a strong support
system from the adults now caring for
her plus professional help to help her
handle what she went through.