Chapter 11: Abnormal Behaviour across the Lifespan

Question 1

Autistic Thinking

Answer 1

The tendency to view oneself as the centre of the universe, to believe that external events somehow refer to oneself.

Question 2

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Answer 2

A disorder characterized by pervasive deficits in the ability to relate to and communicate with others and by a restricted range of activities and interests. Children with autism spectrum disorder lack the ability to relate to others and seem to live in their own private worlds.

Question 3

Theory of Mind

Answer 3

The ability to appreciate that other people have a mental state that is different from one’s own.

Question 4

Lateralization

Answer 4

The developmental process by which the left hemisphere specializes in verbal and analytic functions, and the right hemisphere specializes in nonverbal, spatial functions.

Question 5

What are the clinical features of autism spectrum disorder?

Answer 5

Children with autism spectrum disorder shun affectionate behaviour, engage in stereotyped behaviour, attempt to preserve sameness, and tend to have peculiar speech habits such as
- echolalia
- pronoun reversals
- idiosyncratic speech.
The causes of the disorder remain unknown, but gains in academic and social functioning have been obtained through early intensive behaviour therapy.

Question 6

Echolalia (eh kuh la lee uh)

Answer 6

Meaningless repetition of another person’s spoken words is a symptom of psychiatric disorder. Echolalia is the term used to describe when a child repeats or imitates what someone else has said. For example, if you ask the child, “Do you want a cookie?” the child says “cookie” instead of “yes.”

Question 7

Idiosyncratic Speech

Answer 7

Idiosyncratic language occurs when the child uses standard words or phrases in an unusual but meaningful way. For example, let’s say an autistic child’s Aunt Mary always takes him to a certain park. In his brain, he links Aunt Mary with that park, so he may say: “Aunt Mary” instead of “I want to go to the park.” Most other people wouldn’t understand the connection, but it’s the child’s attempt at communication.

Question 8

Stereotyped Behaviour

Answer 8

Stereotypic behaviour has been defined as a repetitive, invariant behaviour pattern with no obvious goal or function.

Question 9

Down Syndrome

Answer 9

A condition caused by a chromosomal abnormality involving an extra chromosome on the 21st pair (trisomy 21); it is characterized by intellectual disability and various physical abnormalities.

Question 10

Phenylketonuria

Answer 10

A genetic disorder that prevents the metabolization of phenylpyruvate acid, leading to intellectual disability.

Question 11

Tay-Sachs Disease

Answer 11

Disease of lipid metabolism that is genetically transmitted and usually results in death in early childhood. It’s caused by the absence of an enzyme that helps break down fatty substances. These fatty substances, called gangliosides, build up to toxic levels in the brain and spinal cord and affect the function of the nerve cells

Question 12

Cytomegalovirus (sy-toe-MEG-a-low-vy-rus)

Answer 12

A maternal disease of the herpes virus group that carries a risk of intellectual disability to the unborn child.

Question 13

Cultural/Familial Intellectual Disability

Answer 13

A milder form of intellectual disability that is belied to result, or at least be influenced by, impoverishment in the child’s home environment.

Question 14

Mainstreaming

Answer 14

The practice of having all students with disabilities included in the regular classroom, Alco called integration or inclusion.

Question 15

Dyslexia

Answer 15

Type of specific learning disorder characterized by impaired reading ability that may involved difficulty with the alphabet or spelling.
- Impaired visual processing, specifically from the retina to the visual cortex
- Possible problems processing auditory information
- Genetic factor also seem to play a role

Question 16

Specific Learning Disorder

Answer 16

Deficiency in a specific learning ability is noteworthy because of the individual’s general intelligence and exposure to learning opportunities. A specific learning disability is a disorder that interferes with a student’s ability to listen, think, speak, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. Students with a specific learning disability may struggle with reading, writing, or math.
- Dyslexia is the most common type, accounting for 80%

Question 17

Individual Education Plan

Answer 17

A contractual document that contains learning and behavioural outcomes for a student, a description of how the outcomes will be achieved, and a description of how the outcomes will be evaluated.

Question 18

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Answer 18

The neurodevelopmental disorder is characterized by excessive motor activity, impulsivity, and/or an inability to focus one’s attention.

Question 19

Hyperactivity

Answer 19

Abnormal behaviour pattern are found most often in young boys that is characterized by extreme restlessness and difficulty maintaining attention.

Question 20

What are the three subtypes of ADHD?

Answer 20

• Predominantly inattentive type
• Predominantly hyperactive or impulsive type
• Combination type characterized by high levels of both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity

Question 21

ADHD: Predominantly inattentive type

Answer 21

Failing to give close attention
to details, difficulty
remaining focused on a task,
difficulty with organization,
loses items, forgetful, and is
easily distracted

Question 22

ADHD: Predominantly hyperactive or impulsive type

Answer 22

Fidgety, restless/can’t sit still,
unable to engage in activities
quietly, talks excessively,
blurts out responses,
interrupts others, difficulty
waiting in line

Question 23

ADHD Treatment

Answer 23

Stimulant medication is generally effective in reducing hyperactivity, but it has not led to general academic gains. Cognitive-behavioural treatments help children with ADHD adapt better to school.

Question 24

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

Answer 24

Disorder in childhood or adolescence characterized by excessive oppositionality or tendencies to refuse requests from parents and others.
- Onset before the age of 8 years
- Symptoms tend to start at
home and then generalize to
other settings
- Association between
angry/irritable type and anxiety
and depressive symptoms

Question 25

Time Out

Answer 25

Behavioural technique in which an individual who emits an undesired behaviour is removed from an environment where reinforcers are available and placed in a reinforcing environment for a period of time as a form of punishment. Time out is frequently used in behavioural programs for modifying problems in children, in combination with positive reinforcement for desirable behaviour.

Question 26

What are disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders?

Answer 26

• Children with conduct disorder intentionally engage in antisocial behaviour.
• Children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) show negativistic or oppositional behaviour but not the outright delinquent or antisocial behaviour that is characterized by conduct disorder. However, ODD may represent an early stage of the development of conduct disorder.

Question 27

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Answer 27

Childhood disorder characterized by extreme fears of separation from parents or others on whom the child is dependent.

Question 28

What types of anxiety disorders affect children?

Answer 28

• Anxiety disorders that occur commonly among children and adolescents include specific phobias, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.
• Children may also show separation anxiety disorder, which involves excessive anxiety at times when they are separated from their parents.
• Cognitive biases such as expecting negative outcomes, negative self-talk, and interpreting ambiguous situations as threatening figures prominently in anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, as thy often do among adults.

Question 29

What is delirium?

Answer 29

Delirium is a state of extreme mental confusion in which people have difficulty focusing their attention, speaking clearly and coherently, and orienting themselves to the environment. People in a state of delirium may experience terrifying hallucinations, especially visual hallucinations. The severity of symptoms tends to fluctuate during the course of the day.

Question 30

Dementia

Answer 30

Profound deterioration of cognitive functioning, characterized by deficits in memory, thinking, judgment, and language use.

Question 31

Amyloid Plaques

Answer 31

The accumulation of protein fragments, normally broken down in healthy brains that accumulate to form hard, insoluble plaques between nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. A hallmark of Alzheimers disease.

Question 32

Neurofibrillary Tangles

Answer 32

Pathological protein aggregates (or brain lesions) are found within brain cells (in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and are thought to contribute to the degradation of neurons in the brain.

Question 33

Is memory impairment the only indication that a person is developing dementia?

Answer 33

No. Memory impairment is not the only sign. A decline in executive functioning is another sign that is often released through difficulty performing familiar tasks. There might also be problems with language and difficulties with the orientation of time and space, as well as decreased judgement and changes in mood or behaviour.

Question 34

Klinefelter Syndrome

Answer 34

Klinefelter syndrome (sometimes called Klinefelter’s, KS or XXY) is where boys and men are born with an extra X chromosome.
* Fail to develop secondary sex characteristics (small testes, infertility, enlarged breasts, poor muscular development)

Question 35

Turner Syndrome

Answer 35

Turner syndrome, a condition that affects only females, results when one of the X chromosomes (sex chromosomes) is missing or partially missing. Turner syndrome can cause a variety of medical and developmental problems, including short height, failure of the ovaries to develop and heart defects.
- shorter
- infertile

Question 36

Chromosomal Abnormalite include:

Answer 36

Down Syndrome, Klinefelter Syndrome, Turner Syndrome

Question 37

Fragile X Syndrome

Answer 37

• Mutated gene on the X chromosome
• Intellectual deficits can vary, but more profound effects on males

Question 38

Fragile X Syndrome

Answer 38

A mutated gene on the X chromosome
* Intellectual deficits can vary, but more profound effects on males

Question 39

Genetic Abnormalities

Answer 39

Fragile X Syndrome, PKU, Tay-Sachs disease

Question 40

PKU

Answer 40

A recessive gene that prevents the metabolization of amino acid, phenylalanine
* Damages central nervous system, intellectual disability, and emotional disturbance

Question 41

ADHD Prevalence

Answer 41

• 7-8%
  elementary age
• 5% youth
• 2.5% adults
• More prevalent
  in males

Question 42

ADHD Onset

Answer 42

• Can present as
  early as 3 years
  old
• Typically not
  diagnosed until
  in school

Question 43

ADHD Course

Answer 43

Variable
* 60% of children
can continue to
be symptomatic
in adulthood

Question 44

Autism Prevalence

Answer 44

• 1% (DSM-IVTR)
• 4:1 males:females

Question 45

Autism Onset

Answer 45

18-30 months

Question 46

Autism Disorder

Answer 46

• Lifetime
• Heterogenous disorder

Question 47

Conduct Disorder

Answer 47

Conduct Disorder (CD) is diagnosed when children show an ongoing pattern of aggression toward others, and serious violations of rules and social norms at home, in school, and with peers. These rule violations may involve breaking the law and result in arrest. Type types:
- childhood-onset (<10 years)
- Adolescent-onset