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The stigma of raising a mentally ill child

What’s the difference between raising a child with a physical illness and raising one with a mental illness? “Casseroles,” say a group of mothers to Scott Pelley
The stigma of raising a mentally ill child 06:16

This week, Scott Pelley reported on parents who are struggling to raise mentally ill kids. It wasn't an easy story tell.

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"The really difficult part is to get anyone to come onto television to talk about it," says Pelley. "Imagine being a parent appearing on 60 Minutes to talk about the serious mental illness of your child? Very hard to do."

The producers of the segment, Michael Rey and Oriana Zill de Granados, spent nine months working on the story and spoke to dozens of families across the country.

"Oriana and Michael searched the country, talked to any number of people who declined to be interviewed," says Pelley. "They were able to find several people, including Creigh Deeds, who found themselves in a position of wanting to tell the country about this problem so passionately that they were able to overcome, frankly, the embarrassment or the stigma of appearing on national television to talk about mental illness."

One group of mothers from Connecticut gathered for a group interview with Pelley and told him that the stigma is one of the most difficult parts of raising a child with a mental illness. When Pelley asked how raising a child with a physical illness is different from raising a child with a mental illness, the mothers responded in unison: "Casseroles."

Watch the 60 Minutes Overtime feature above to understand what casseroles mean to these moms.

Families in need of help with a mentally ill child can find resources at the National Alliance on Mental Illness: www.nami.org or 1 (800) 950-NAMI (6264).

Editor's Note: This segment was originally published Jan. 26, 2014.

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