Conditions Flashcards
Prematurity / NAS / FAS / Prenatal Exposure (PDE)
Can cause a delay in developmental milestones. Strengths include, associative processing, procedural learning, and focused attention.
Strengths
* Social skills
* Positive effort
* Highly verbal
Difficulties
* Developmental delays
* Sleep
* Motor
* Behavioral
* Vision
* Sensory
* Receptive and expressive language
* Fine and gross motor skills
- Outcomes usually depend on the amount of opioid exposure a child had and what kind of opioid was used.
- The infant’s prenatal opioid exposure is associated with deficits in behavior, vision, neurocognitive, and physical development which persists. As they age, they may present with deficits in school performance and an increase in mortality.
Down Syndrome
ETIOLOGY
*Trisomy 21 (95%): 3rd copy of the 21 chromosome.
*Translocation (4%)
*Mosaicsm (1%)
*Sequencing of chromosome 21
*Delayed myelination; Fewer neurons; Decreased synaptic density; Decreased acetylcholine neurotransmitter receptors
SYMPTOMS
*Increased risk of abnormalities of almost every organ
*Congenital heart defect
*Sensory impairments (vision and hearing)
*Vision (refractive errors; strabismus (cross eye); tear duct obstruction; blepharitis (inflammation of eye lids); cataracts; ptosis (droopy eye lids)
*Hearing (conductive, sensorineural)-predisposed to ear infections
*Endocrine abnormalities (hypothyroidism-poor development of thyroid)
*Obesity; Short stature
*Orthopedic Conditions
*Subclinical atlantoaxial subluxation: misalignment of the first and second cervical vertebrae occur only with neck flexion.
*Symptomatic atlantoaxial subluxation (fatigability, difficulties in walking, abnormal gait, neck pain, limited neck mobility, torticollis)
*Conditions across life span: Dental; Gastrointestinal malformations; Celiac disease; Epilepsy; Leukemia; Skin conditions; Alzheimer’s
Autism / ASD
a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave.
Fragile X
ETIOLOGY
* Most common inherited cause of ID (intellectual Disability) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
* Prevalence is 1 in 5,000 males and 1 in 8,000 females.
* Caused by a full mutation of FMR1 resulting in a deficiency of FMR1 protein (FMRP)
* The FMRP is an RNA binding protein that mainly regulates the translation hundreds of genes
SYMPTOMS
* Hyperactivity
* Attentional problems
* Poor eye contact
* Hand-flapping
* Anxiety
* Hyperarousal
* Lack of habituation to sensory stimuli
The physical features
* long face
* prominent ears
* hyperextensible finger joints and flat feet
* Males with FXS have Macroorchidism during and after puberty with a normal phallus
* Although the clinical phenotype is very different between PWS and FXS there is a subgroup of individuals with FXS that develop hyperphagia, obesity, and hypogonadism or delayed puberty.
ADHD
Strengths
* Likely to engage in different forms of play
* Can learn to self-regulate through routines
* There are many aspects that can be adjusted to support engagement
Difficulties
* Certain environments may be a distractor
* Low sensory registration will make it difficult for them to listen
* Sensory seeking will make it difficult for them to attend to a task for long periods
Trauma / ACE
Traumatic events can occur during childhood and can lead to trauma, causing lasting emotional responses to a distressing event that can cause a person to feel unsafe, helpless, or afraid. It can also impact a person’s sense of self and ability to regulate emotions.
Cerebral Palsy
ETIOLOGY
Damage, at birth, to the:
-Basal ganglia (Athetoid/Mixed)
-Cerebellum (Athetoid/Ataxic/Mixed)
-Motor cortex (Spastic/Mixed)
SYMPTOMS
-Development of tone abnormalities
-Reflex abnormalities
-Atypical posture
-Delayed motor development
-Atypical motor performance
Movement deficits:
-Monoplegia
-Diplegia
-Hemiplegia
-Triplegia
-Quadriplegia
-Children with this diagnosis usually face difficulties with movement which can affect their participation in their daily activities, but there are other complication that can play a factor in complicating daily tasks even more, such as:
-Intellectual disabilities (50% of people with CP)
-Epilepsy (25-45% of people with CP)
Speech impairment (40-50% of people with CP)
-Hearing impairment (10-20% of people with CP)
-Blindness (10% of people with CP)
-Growth and nutrition disorders
- Do not always have a cognitive issue
- Articulation may be affected
Cerebral Vascular Accident
Strengths
* Optimism
* Preseverance
* Social skills
Difficulties
* Speech production/articulation
* Balance
* Postural control
* Communication
* Feeding/eating
Weakness, balance, postural control, and expressive language may be more impacted due to CVA. Left hemisphere of his brain was likely affected, this is the hemisphere where Broca’s is located which controls expressive language production and articulation.
- Depending on the severity, motor function can range from hemiplegia to quadriplegia, but most children are able to learn to walk independently.
- Babies can suffer from seizures but will likely not develop into epilepsy.
- Children may experience deficits in cognition learning and communication.
- Vision and eye movement may be affected.
- Language disorders
- Affects one side
Traumatic Brain Injury
A Traumatically induced physiological disruption of brain functioning.
-Diffuse axonal injury(DAI): Shearing (tearing) of the brain’s long connecting nerve fibers (axons) that happens when the brain is injured as it shifts and rotates inside the bony skull. DAI usually causes coma and injury to many different parts of the brain.
-Brain Contusion
- Impulsive
- Aggressive
- Emotional
- Inappropriate (adults)
- Labial
Visual Impairment
The partial or total loss of vision, which can make it difficult to perform daily tasks. It can range from low vision, where some vision remains but it’s hard to do everyday activities, to blindness, where all or most of your sight is lost.
Developmental Coordination Disorder / Dyspraxia
A neurodevelopmental disorder that affects physical coordination:
*Symptoms
-poor balance and coordination,
-appear clumsy
-have difficulty with:
-Playing sports
-Learning to drive
-Writing or using small objects
-Walking up and down stairs
-Activities like riding a bike, jumping, and catching,
throwing, or kicking a ball
*Causes
DCD is thought to be caused by a problem with the way connections develop between the nerves in the brain. There seems to be a strong genetic link, and it’s also linked to complications during pregnancy and birth.
Sensory Processing Disorder
a condition that affects how the brain processes sensory information, such as touch, sight, smell, taste, hearing, and movement:
*Symptoms
-over- or under-sensitive to certain sensory inputs
-difficult to respond appropriately to their environment.
-difficulty with motor skills, eating certain foods, and following routines.
Spina Bifida
*ETIOLOGY
Types
-Occulta: No visual protrusion/sack; We don’t just see
issues with the neural tube but also with the missing
vertebrae which allows the neural tube to develop
outside of the vertebral column.
-Cystica: (2 types)
-Meningocele: protrusion of the meninges and
cerebrospinal fluid into the cystic sac; SC remains
within the spinal canal.
-Myelomeningocele: Most severe; both SC and meninges are in the cystic sac; SC and neural tissue show extensive abnormalities; Portions of the spinal cord and the meninges emerge through an opening in the spine. These tissues are contained within a fluid filled sac that forms on a baby’s back.
SYMPTOMS
-Occulta: Least likely to cause symptoms that
require treatment, most don’t experience
symptoms. Only sign of this is a dimple, dark
spot, or tuft of hair on the lumbosacral area, but
never causes physical discomfort.
-Cystica:
-Meningocele:
*Opening is usually close
within the first days
after birth.
*Does not usually.
damage the spinal cord
*Does not normally
cause sensory or motor
problems in the legs
and feet
*Does not cause
significant cognitive
problems.
*A lesion located in the
upper part of the spine
may have nerve
damage and muscle or
organ dysfunction.
- Myelomeningocele
*Spinal cord damage
*Sensory impairment below level of lesion
(dermatome)
*Motor weakness, paralysis where there is an
absence of reflexes and tone is
flaccid(myotome)
*Orthopedic- lumbar kyphosis; scoliosis
clubfoot; hip and knee contractures; tight heel
cords; development of osteoporosis
*Bladder and Bowel- Incontinent or frequency;
Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)
*Less commonly, delayed or impaired cognitive
and perceptual function due to hydrocephalus.
Possible learning disorders and intellectual
disabilities.
*Increased risk for hydrocephaly (increased
cerebrospinal fluid in ventricles) *Tethered cord syndrome is an injury followed by surgery causing scarring and thickened tissue in the spinal cord. When the child grows and the spine lengthens, the cord stretches, and the damaged scarred areas pulls and restricts blood supply to the nerves. Can occur over months to years and requires surgery. This can also increase the deficits of an individual with spina bifida.
Difficulties with independence, motor function, sensation, and incontinence.
- There can be abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord such as myelomeningocele, chiari II malformation, hydrocephalus, tethered cord syndrome, and nerve damage below affected area of the spina cord. This can cause learning and intellectual disabilities, lack of sensation, paralysis, and incontinence. This condition cannot be cured, but with assistance individuals are able to live long fulfilling lives. Parent’s involvement I a major contribution to improvement in outcomes.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) / Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Strengths
* Neural plasticity can assist with adaptation
* Having an expectation for what is going to happen next, can keep behaviors at bay.
* Ability to communicate concerns
Difficulties
* Outbursts if something is done in a unpreferred manner
* Unable to emotionally regulate
* Will only be able to get tasks done in a particular way
* Will grow accustomed to following a particular schedule
Learning Disbility (LD)
Affects how the brain processes and uses information.
Can include:
-ADHD
-Dyslexia
-APD
-Dyscalculia
-Dyspraxia
