Female Speaker: Adam is only 12-years-old, but he's already an accomplished comedy scriptwriter. But life is hardly one big joke for Adam. Two years ago he was suicidal and had to be hospitalized. Adam: It got very hard for me and I thought to myself, the kids and my parents they don't know, am I ever going to grow out of it, what's going to happen? So, and I got very, very depressed. Female Speaker: Adam now has regular counseling and family therapy sessions and is doing very well. Michelle is 18 now, but her depression began many years ago. Michelle did not become suicidal, rather she says she became belligerent and got into fights at school. Dr. Joel Klass: What kind of behavior would get their attention? Michelle: Fighting, skipping school, bad grades, yelling and screaming, cussing. Dr. Joel Klass: So those things got attention, skipping school, screaming, yelling, fighting, bad grades. Michelle: Exactly. Female Speaker: Michelle and Adam are just two of the millions of young people who will be diagnosed with depression during their childhood and adolescence. Depression is a normal psychological reaction to loss or to a dramatic increase in stress. Dr. Danny Armstrong: If there is a change at home where the stress level goes up very high and we see a change in the child's behavior, that's one of the places to look. So, if there's a divorce or an eminent separation, if there's a loss of job of a parent, if one or the other of the parents is diagnosed with a serious medical disorder, or mental health problem or depression. Female Speaker: Depression becomes a problem when the reaction to loss lasts longer than normal, and the child's behavior begins to change significantly. Dr. Danny Armstrong: That's probably the signal that is most important. You see the child whose sleeping habits change dramatically, who has a dramatic change in their appetite, whose friendship patterns change, whose grades start to decline. Female Speaker: Sometimes, as with Michelle, fighting, anger, and belligerent behavior are symptoms of depression. Dr. Joel Klass: Remember that, that can affect so much of attention that is the - a misbehavior that we don't look underneath it, and that's the feelings of the child that may be promoting that behavior, and that can be the depressed child. Female Speaker: The usual treatments for children and adolescents are psychotherapy, family therapy, verbal behavior therapy and occasionally medication. While each case is different, usually a couple of months of treatment is what's needed to get most cases of depression under control. Dr. Danny Armstrong: It is much better to have a session with a pediatrician or to have a session with a psychologist or psychiatrist and have that professional say, you know, this is not something we really want to worry about, everything's fine, this is a little thing, take this home. It's probably better to have that checked out if you have a concern, and there's even any kind of statement about harm then to go the other way and have a serious either loss of life or injury that occurs because that statement was ignored. Female Speaker: Untreated depression can greatly increase the risk for suicide, which is now the third leading cause of death for adolescents. Boys are six times more likely to commit suicide than girls, and the mere presence of a firearm in the home significantly increases the risk that the child will attempt suicide and be successful. Experts encourage parents and caregivers to be proactive with their children and ask questions. Dr. Eugene Cash: I've worked with many children over the course of 25-year career in psychology. I've asked many of those children on a regular basis, do you feel suicidal? Have you had thoughts about killing yourself? Do you sometimes feel as if life isn't worthwhile? Never have I had a single one that said, what a good idea, I think I'll do that, it's not going to put ideas into kid's head if they're not already there and it can be a pr