Chapter 13: Disorders Diagnosed in Childhood Flashcards
Why is there controversy behind classifying childhood/adolescent disorders under the category of “Neurodevelopmental”?
Critics note that such disorders extend well into adulthood.
Term minimizes non-biological factors (based on the stem neuro being included).
What are the most common disorders diagnosed in childhood?
About 1 out of 5 children suffer from a mental disorder severe enough to impair development.
Most common diagnosis in adolescence:
- Anxiety
- Depression
Change in terms from the DSM-IV to the DSM-5
Asperger’s disorder
- Used in DSM-IV, discontinued with DSM-5 and included within the concept of ASD
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Term developed/used in DSM-5.
Why has the prevalence rate of Autism increased in recent decades? What is believed to be the reason?
Prevalence has risen steadily over multiple decades.
Does not necessarily mean ASD has become widespread. Likely impacted by advancements in diagnostic practices.
- Increase in developed psychological tests/measures, some are decent, some not!
Which perspective related to Autism is considered invalid despite the views of a small number of people, most notably celebrities who have conveyed their argument publicly?
Original theory that autism is in response to cold and detached parents, which has been discredited.
Features/symptoms associated with Autism
- Apparent desire for aloneness
- Deficits in social skills
- Language and verbal communication problems
- Impaired of absent nonverbal communication
- Ritualistic, repetitive, purposeless or stereotyped movements
- Self-mutilation
- Aversion to environmental change
- Lack of differentiated self-concept
What supports may help treatment with intellectual disability despite likelihood that features will persist to some degree throughout one’s lifetime?
Follows a lifelong course but many improve over time if provided support and enriched opportunities.
- Special education/tutoring services.
- Individual/family therapy.
How is the idea of assessing “adaptive functioning” connected to how intellectual disabilities are evaluated according to the DSM-5? What was the primary method used before the DSM-5?
Low IQ score and impaired adaptive functioning before the age of 18.
- Before DSM-5, required to have IQ score of 70 or lower (100 is average).
- With DSM-5, diagnosis determined by level of adaptive functioning.
Adaptive functioning
- Ability to meet the expectable demands children face in school and at home
Prenatal factors of intellectual disability
Rubella (German measles)
- Passed along from mother to the unborn child can cause brain damage resulting in intellectual disability.
Drugs ingested during pregnancy can cause severe birth deformities and ID.
- Examples - Alcohol (fetal alcohol syndrome) and other drugs
Birth complications, which also increase risk of neurological disorders.
- Oxygen deprivation, head injuries
Premature births increase risk for intellectual disability and other developmental disorders.
What are the cultural-familial causes thought to influence development of an intellectual disability?
Cultural-familial intellectual disability
- Children in impoverished families may lack toys, books, or opportunities to interact with adults in intellectually stimulating ways.
- May influence lack of motivation, language development.
- Excessive TV, other factors related to poverty.
What are some of the treatment options for intellectual disabilities and dependent on the severity of the disorder? What are the differences between the noted treatment approaches?
May require institutional care or placement in residential facility, mostly severe or profound cases.
- Typically under state and/or federal guidelines, routine assessment is required to justify institutional/residential placement.
Less severe ID may be mainstreamed in regular classes
- Debate among experts on mainstreaming versus special education classes. Such as exclusion from peers, bullying, self-esteem
People with ID are at high risk of developing other psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, behavioral problems
- May need psychological help with adjustment to life in community and managing situational stressors.
Problems with reading
Specific learning disorders
Dyslexia
- Not used in the DSM-5, but commonly used among teachers, treatment providers, and researchers as a description
- Estimated to affect about 4% of school-age children.
- Much more common in boys than in girls.
- Have difficulty decoding letters and letter combinations and translating into appropriate sounds.
Problems with writing
Refers to children with grossly deficient writing skills
- Deficiency may be characterized by errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation, or by difficulty in composing sentences and paragraphs
Problems with arithmetic and mathematic reasoning skills
Problems understanding basic mathematical operations, decoding mathematical symbols or learning multiplication tables
Problems with executive functions
Struggles with higher mental abilities involved in organizing, planning, and coordinating tasks.
Examples – Putting together a puzzle, solving a multi-step math question, recognizing context of a word or phrase in a statement or sentence.
