One of the major problems that I've seen first hand with mental illness is that the diagnosis is so subjective and often times relies on accounts of the patient

One of the major problems that I've seen first hand with mental illness is that the diagnosis is so subjective and often times relies on accounts of the patient and family. If you have family who don't know what to look for or the patient doesn't know how to explain it or is under the duress of the illness at the time, you run the chance of misdiagnosis. This happened to me. My senior year of high school I had a "breakdown" of sorts. I was suspended from school until I saw a mental health professional. After the first visit, I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and given meds to treat it. After awhile, the diagnosis changed to Schizo-affective disorder and more drugs were added to help. Finally, I was diagnosed with epilepsy and told that the mental health diagnosis were wrong since epilepsy can cause both depression and hallucinations if untreated. I shared my story for a few reasons. One the brain is complex and there can be many factors that causes symptoms. If mental health professionals can't get it right, there is no way to expect teachers or school administrators to get it right. I was lucky and had phenomenal insurance at the time that I went through that ordeal. Because of that, I was able to get tests and scans that I know others wouldn't not be able to afford. I fortunate enough to have a parent who could afford for me to get a SPECT scan which is (or was) considered cutting edge and would not be covered under insurance. That was what helped the neuro-psychiatrist realize that I have epilepsy and not a mental illness. Many people can't afford these things. Had I not had that scan, I would still probably be taking 20 pills a day and having to wake up early to take Adderall so that I'm able to physically wake up in time to be functional and the worst part is, that would be all for naught. It wouldn't help me since I don't have any problems. There is so much wrong with the mental health system (at least in the US) that it really makes me sad. You start at the education level (such as the article talks about) but then when you move to insurance, so much isn't covered that it becomes either pay out of pocket or just let the individual suffer.