ADHD/FASD/Autism

Question 1

What are mental health disorders in children and adolescents associated with?

Answer 1

• psychological
• physiological
• academic
• social functioning

Question 2

What can sometimes prevent families from seeking help?

Answer 2

Stigma, a silent public health epidemic

Question 3

What types of mental disoders can children and adolescents suffer from?

Answer 3

• mood disorders
• anxiety disorders
• schizophrenia
• substance abuse

Question 4

Why are interventions sometimes delayed?

Answer 4

• difficult to diagnose due to limited language skills and fast development
• Sometimes was to see if they”grow out of it”

Question 5

Out of five, how many Canadian children and adolescents will suffer from major mental illess?

Answer 5

1 in 5

Question 6

What proportion of children and adolescents aren’t receiving the care they need to a mental illess?

Answer 6

2/3

Question 7

What is the second leading cause of death in youth aged 10 to 19?

Answer 7

Suicide

Question 8

What are barriers to assessment, treatment, prevention and early interventon for mental illness?

Answer 8

• Lack of clarity about conditions for for screening children
• Lack of coordination among multiple systems
• Lack of resources and long wait times for services
• Shortage of mental health care professionals
• Lack of a child and youth mental health framework

Question 9

Do children and adolescents usually have comorbidities when they are diagnosed with a mental health disorder?

Answer 9

Yes. These children and adolescents often meet the criteria for more than one diagnostic category.

ADHD is a prominent co-morbid condition, and occurs in 90% if children with juvenile-onset bipolar, 90% with oppositional defiant disorder, and 50% with conduct disorder.

Depression also has high comorbidity rates.

Question 10

What are risk factors for developing a mental illness in childhood or adolescents?

Answer 10

• Parent with depression or other illness
• Children who have been abused or neglected
• Exposure to intimate partner violence
• Witnessing violence
• Gang involvement - vulnerable to this if past trauma, learning disability, poverty or family disorganization

Question 11

True or false: all instances of suspected abuse of a minor must be reported to the local child protective services.

Answer 11

True

Question 12

What is consent?

Answer 12

A person’s capacity to understand information and voluntarily to act on this information.

Question 13

What is assent?

Answer 13

Expressed agreement to participate in health care or research

Question 14

What is dissent?

Answer 14

Expressed refusal to participate in health care or research

Question 15

What is the etiology of mental illness in children and adolescents?

Answer 15

• genetic
• psychosocial
• enviornmental

Question 16

Which disorders are linked to genetic factors?

Answer 16

• autism
• bipolar disorder
• schizophrenia
• ADHD
• intellectual development disorder

Question 17

What is involved in a holistic assessment of a child or adolescent?

Answer 17

• history of presenting illness
• developmental history
• development assessment
• neurological assessment
• medical history
• family history
• mental status assessment
• awareness and assessment of cultural factors

Question 18

What are neurodevelopmental disorders?

Answer 18

Disorders characterized by developmental deficits in the young (i.e., preschool-aged) child that produce impairments in social skills, intelligence, academic and occupational functioning, and communication skills.

Question 19

What is autism spectrum disorder?

Answer 19

Complex neurobiological and developmental disability evident during the child’s first 3 years of life.

Question 20

What is the prevalence of autism?

Answer 20

1 in 88 children diagnosed, often not until school age

Question 21

What do communication delays in autism involve?

Answer 21

• babbling
• echolalia
• nonmeaningful sentences

Question 22

What kinds of difficulties do people with autism have?

Answer 22

• verbal and non verbal communication
• social interactions
• leirsure or play activities

Question 23

What is an important element that impacts the tragectory of autism?

Answer 23

Early diagnosis, identification and intervention

Question 24

What are the core presenting symptoms of autism?

Answer 24

• impairment in communication and imaginative play
• Impairment in social interactions
• Markedly restricted, stereotypical patterns of behaviour, interest, and activities (rigid adherence to routines, mannerisms such as flapping, spinning, head banging, hand biting)

Question 25

What is ADHD?

Answer 25

A disorder that causes an inappropriate degree of inattention, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity, all of which interfere with functioning or development.

Question 26

When is ADHD most often detected?

Answer 26

When the child has difficulty adjusting to elementary school.

Question 27

What does ADHD lead to?

Answer 27

• low frustration tolerance
• temper outbursts
• labile moods
• poor school performance
• peer rejection
• low self-esteem

Question 28

How many setting must symptoms be present in for a Dx of ADHD?

Answer 28

2

Question 29

What are the presenting symptoms of ADHD?

Answer 29

• inattention
• hyperactivity
• impulsivity

Question 30

What is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?

Answer 30

A collective term rather than a diagnostic category

Alcohol use during pregnancy can have this consequence, which leads to lifelong issues affecting cognitive ability

Question 31

What is the leading cause of developmental disability?

Answer 31

FASD

Question 32

What is the safe drinking level while pregnant?

Answer 32

No safe drinking level has been established. Alcohol moves freely across the placenta.

Question 33

What are the primary disabilities from FASD?

Answer 33

• impairment in attention, verbal learning, and executive functioning
• Also linked to increased risk for childhood leukemia

May also result in:
* cognitive impairement
* facial abnormality
* low birth weight
* hyperactivity
* poor self-concept
* depression
* aggression

Question 34

What are secondary disabilities associated with FASD?

Answer 34

• mental health and addiction issues
• being in conflict with the law
• education, employment, and family relationship difficulties