Lecture week Flashcards
What is a learning disability? (3)
A person with:
- An IQ <70
- Loss of adaptive social functioning
- Onset before the age of 18
What term is interchangeable with learning disability, and often used in USA, Canada and Australia?
Intellectual disability
When are people with cognitive impairments, not classed as having a disability? (3)
- People who develop an impairment after the age of 18
- People who suffer brain injury in accidents after the age of 18
- People with complex medical conditions which affect their intellectual abilities and which develop after the age of 18 e.g. Huntington’s chorea, Alzheimer’s disease
Which IQ range is associated with a mild impairment, often the language is fair and sensory/motor deficits slight
IQ 50-69
What is the IQ for someone with a moderate impairment and what does that equate to in terms of language abilities?
IQ 25-49 - generally better receptive than expressive language
What is a severe IQ, and how many of those with this range will have epilepsy?
IQ 20-34 - 50% will have epilepsy, with increased sensory and motor deficits
What are the causes of learning disabilities? (3)
Often the cause is not known, however:
- Pre-natal; genetic or congenital e.g. Down’s or Fragile X, maternal drug or alcohol use e.g. foetal alcohol syndrome
- During birth (peri-natal); oxygen deprivation during birth injury secondary to birth complications and difficulties resulting from premature birth
- Post-natal; illnesses, injury or environmental conditions
What are the 3 common causes of learning disabilities that are important to know about?
- Down’s syndrome
- Fragile X
- Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
What is the most common inherited cause of a learning disability?
Fragile X
What % of people with epilepsy have a learning disability?
30%
What % of people with tuberous sclerosis have a learning disability?
50%
Which conditions are people with Down syndrome more at risk of developing? (7)
- Congenital cardiac problems: ASD/VSD
- Cataracts
- Hypothyroidism
- Chest infection
- Transient leukaemia
- Epilepsy
- Dementia
What % of people with foetal alcohol syndrome have a learning disability?
25-30%
What are the 3 key features of foetal alcohol syndrome?
- Growth retardation
- Characteristic facial features
- CNS abnormalities/dysfunction
What are the facial features associated with foetal alcohol syndrome? (5)
- Low nasal bridge
- Epicanthic folds
- Flat mid face and short nose
- Indistinct philtrum
- Micrognathia
What are the three areas of characteristics that people with autism have difficulty with?
- Social interaction
- Verbal and non-verbal communication
- Restricted and repetitive behaviours
What are the other associated symptoms of autism? (3)
- Unusual sensory perceptions
- Physical clumsiness
- Dietary restrictions
What are the social factors that can make people with learning disabilities more vulnerable? (9)
- Small circle of friends
- Limited opportunity for social outings
- Reduced employment opportunities
- Lack of finance
- Lack of support
- Reduced access to transport
- Exploitation
- Poor housing
- Lack of choice
What are the psychological factors that can make people with learning disabilities more vulnerable? (7)
- Learning experiences
- Personality
- Separation/loss
- Coping style
- Self esteem
- Lack of assertiveness
- Feeling helpless
From what age can dementia occur in people with Down syndrome, and when does it peak?
From 30 onwards, and peaks between 50-70.
Name 4 SSRIs?
- Sertraline
- Citalopram
- Fluoxetine
- Paroxetine
What are the serious side effects that SSRIs can cause? (3)
- Hyponatraemia
- GI bleeds
- Suicidality
What is dysthymia?
A chronic state of low mood, usually with an insidious onset and lasting at least two years
What is euthymia?
A happy, contented mood
What is the word used to describe sustained and pervasive emotions?
Mood
What is affect?
A short lived observable pattern of behaviour that expresses the subjective emotional state of an individual. It is subject to variation over brief periods of time
What is the word used to describe an inability to verbally express one’s emotions?
Alexithymia
How do you describe anhedonia?
A total inability to enjoy anything in life, or even get accustomed satisfaction from everyday events or objects. ‘a loss of ability to experience pleasure’
What is the word used to describe; the subject sits abnormally still or walks abnormally slowly or takes a long time to initiate movement
Psychomotor retardation
What is the word given to when a subject experiences thoughts which are not his own intruding into his mind. In the most typical case, the alien thoughts are said to have been inserted into the mind from outside, by means of radar telepathy or some other means
Thought insertion
What is flight of ideas?
Rapid flow of thought, manifested by accelerated speech with abrupt changes from topic to topic although there is often some form of link between topics. There is loss of the normal structure of thought, appearing illogical or muddled. Often seen in manic patients.
What is the term given to a person who talks too much and too fast, with a sense of urgency. The speech is often difficult to interrupt and is often seen in mania.
Pressure of speech
What is the term given to someone who experiences a peculiar change in the perception of self, as if the person feels as if they are not real or detached?
Depersonalisation
What is derealisation?
An alteration in the perception or experience of the external world so that is seems unreal. The subject may experience everything as colourless and artificial. An office or bus or a street seems like a stage set with actors, rather than real people going about their business. The subject retains a measure of understanding and knows the condition is abnormal.
What is a hallucination?
A perception which occurs in the absence of a stimulus. The perceptual experience is false but the person experiencing it has the full force and impact of a real perception and is consequently indistinguishable from a real perception. It occurs in external space and is not in the minds eye.
What is a pseudo-hallucination?
A sensory experience vivid enough to be regarded as a hallucination but recognised by the subject not to be the result of external stimuli and therefore not real
What is an illusion, and what are the three types?
A false perception of a real stimulus, the three types being: affect, completion and pareidolia
What is a pareidolia illusion?
Pareidolia (/pærɪˈdoʊliə/ parr-i-DOH-lee-ə) is the tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as seeing shapes in clouds, seeing faces in inanimate objects or abstract patterns, or hearing hidden messages in music.
What is clouding of consciousness?
This represents a step down from normal alter ness. There is deterioration in thinking, attention, perception and memory and usually drowsiness and reduced awareness of environment
What are negative symptoms that are often described as a cluster of symptoms occurring together in someone with chronic schizophrenia?
The cluster of symptoms are; poverty of speech, flat affect, poor motivation and poor attention. It can result in low activity levels and poor self care
What does the following describe;
Loss of normal structured thinking. The subjects discourse seems muddled and illogical and does not become clearer with further questioning. As the interviewer it mat feel that the more questions you ask to gain clarity the more difficult it is to understand them. It is a disorder of thought form.
Loosening of associations
What is a delusion?
A fixed firmly held belief that is held with unshakeable conviction despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary and cannot be explained by the subjects cultural or religious background
When are delirium tremors seen?
In alcohol withdrawal, associated with liliput visual hallucinations, seizures, sweating and confusion –> can lead to wernicke’s/korsikoff’s
