1:1&2 Child development Flashcards
What is the prevalence of mental health conditions in children and adolescents?
5% - anxiety 6% - conduct disorder 2% - ADHD 10% - self harm 4% - depression
What is the foremost risk factor that impacts CAMH conditions?
Genetics.
Other risk factors include:
- Effects on fetus in utero
- Physical health
- Maternal mental health
- Birth complications
- Bullying / abuse / neglect
- Drugs / alcohol
As children get older, their ecology grows (school, friends, society).
What is the glue that sticks their ecological rock together?
Experiences and the brain.
Most of development is caused by an interaction of experiences and behaviors.
At the very core of this ecology is the child’s own behaviors and thoughts, which are themselves part of their ecology and part of their environment.
Which factors can bypass experience and have a direct biological effect?
Neuroendocrine.
Eg: Chronically raised cortisol, as occurs unfortunately in abuse, neglect, and various other psychological stresses in infancy can have an effect on the limbic system.
What does this ecological model combined with the genotype produce?
A refining of the synaptic networks from what looks like static and an emergence of order, complexity, and networks.
The functions of the brain are carried by networks of different neurons, usually scattered geographically across the brain.
The other thing that happens, there are some primitive and inborn loops and networks within this computer, but these are affected by experiences.
At what age do children learn how to translate instructions into action?
4-5 years old.
A genotype is filtered through the ecology, which develops the brain and developmental skills.
What is added as part of the ecology’s feedback loop?
Behavior and the response to that behavior.
Research in this area is complex, because you’re not quite sure what part of the feedback loop you’re affecting and so therefore deriving causation is very, very difficult.
That’s a trap that lots of people fall into.
Give three examples of medical conditions that occur in the womb and can affect development.
- Difficulty with blood supply.
- Problems with BP.
- Pre-eclamptic toxemia.
Give three examples of maternal factors that can affect development.
- Infections.
- Stress - important in later neuronal development.
- Nutrition.
Give five examples of factors after birth that can affect development.
- Birth trauma
- Infection, disease
- Meningitis
- Paternal mental health
- Socioeconomic conditions
In the UK, by the age of five, the difference between the top 20% and bottom 20% in income results in how long of a language gap in children?
One year - children from rich parents are up to a year ahead of those from poor.
What are some red flags for gross and fine motor development?
No rolling by 9 months.
No unsupported sitting by 10 months.
No independent steps by 18 months.
No running by 2 years.
No pincer grip by 2 years.
No jumping by 3 years.
Language and hearing is split into:
- Receptive
- Understanding
- Expressive
- Social development / self help
What are some red flags to development in this area?
Failure to respond normally.
No babbling by 12 months.
No first words by 15 months.
No consistent words by 18 months.
No word combination by 30 months.
Strangers having problems understanding your child’s speech by 36 months.
Not showing an interest in communicating.
Cognitive development is crucial for understanding complex sentences.
What may be a marker for the endocrine environment in which the child has evolved?
Growth.
Also, it may be a marker for how well the child has been nourished, including pregnancy, and therefore what kind of neuro-endocrine environment the brain has evolved in.
What are some red flags for cognitive development?
<1 year - no eye contact.
2 years - no pointing, no showing.
3 years - object play only.
4 years - no sharing, no toileting.
5 years - no friends, no concepts of rules.
