Chapter 21: atypical development Flashcards
What is typical development? Name 4 aspects
- absence of disorder
- statistical (within 2 SD from mean)
- desired situation
- successful adaptation
What is the gold standard?
Compare clinical group to 2 control groups (one matched on chronological age, other one matched on mental age)
When do you have a delay and when do you have a difference in development considering the Gold standard test?
Delay: underperformance clinical group to only control group chronological age, not mental age
Difference: underperformance clinical group compared to both control groups chronological age & mental age
Which 4 advances were important for studying atypical development?
- Understanding impact of prenatal events
- Understanding how genotypes of specific disorders map onto phenotypes and associated atypical pathways –> genetic deficit means exclusion of other reasons!
- Research methodology
- Brain imaging + eye tracking
What is developmental delay and what is developmental difference?
Delay: a delayed but normal path of development
Difference: qualitatively different path of development
What is an inclusion criterion and how large is it often?
The boundary of atypical to typical in a statistical sense
Usually it’s 1,5 SD below the mean
What is an atypical trajectory and why do we study it (name 2 reasons)?
Atypical trajectory = sequence of development that departs from the typical sequence
- Design better interventions
- Studying atypical can give us information on typical
What is the Human Genome Project? What did it indicate?
Research that found that the number of genes was fewer than previously thought.
Indication that there was more to humanity than action of genes in isolation
What is a risk of the following concept: genetically normal and genetically abnormal?
It doesn’t value genetic diversity and can lead to the prevention of atypical development (Down syndrome)
What are chromosomal structural abnormalities?
An atypical number of chromosomes or a structural abnormality in one or more chromosomes
–> e.g. down syndrome with 3 copies of chromosome 21
What is amniocentesis?
Medical procedure used to look for chromosomal abnormalities and fetal infections
What are neuroimaging techniques?
Technique for localizing brain activity that enables us to understand more about the pathways associated with atypical development
What is a benefit of using eye-tracking technology?
Measuring saccades with no overt task demands or explicit language requirements
What is William’s syndrome and which 4 difficulties do they show?
Rare disease caused by deletion of 26 genes from chromosome 7
- Speech is overly dependent on adult’s contributions
- Difficulties leading conversation
- Inability to add new info and respond to requests for new info
- Inability to use pragmatics (socially appropriate manners)
–> But: no language impairment
What was Stojanovik’s finding in comparing children with William’s syndrome and children with specific language impairment (SLI)? How does that relate to Pinker’s point of view?
Stojanovik found support that language skills can’t develop independently from cognitive abilities.
–> Levels of cognition interfere with social aspects of communication
Goes against Pinker’s notion
Which 2 criteria need to be met to get a diagnosis of ASD according to the DSM-5?
- Problems with social interaction / communication
- Limited stereotyped repetitive patterns of behavior
Why is the prevalence of ASD increasing? Name 4 things
More diagnoses:
- More knowledge about ASD
- Different diagnostic tools (more specific measurements)
- Early identification
- Assortative mating: tend to find a partner that’s quite similar to yourself –> increase in chance of pairing recessive alleles
What is comorbidity? How is this in children with ASD?
Simultaneous presence of multiple disorders
70% of children with ASD meet criteria of other disorders
What are the 3 cognitive theories about the explanation of ASD?
- Theory of mind hypothesis: difficulty understanding others have thoughts and beliefs
- Central coherence hypothesis: integrating information by pieces and not by wholes
- Executive function hypothesis: deficits in planning, attention, inhibition of responses
What task result was evidence for the central coherence hypothesis? How does this task work? What is the difference between field dependent and field independent?
Embedded figures test: locate a hidden figure from a larger complex design.
–> Field independent: locating shape very quickly
–> Field dependent: processing whole, therefore slower
Children with ASD tend to be more field independent, which is evidence for the central coherence hypothesis