Lectures 9 and 10 Flashcards
1
Q
Why are critical periods important? Give and example of one
A
- CNS developing at most rapid rate
- biggest impact
- more complex functions (eg. exec functioning) have multiple critical periods
- always ask WHEN an injury occurred
- eg. language 0-4yrs
2
Q
What happens when a brain is impacted in utero? What may occur?
A
- broader, general effects
- effects brain STRUCTURE
- biological agents (genetics)
- environmental (maternal nutrition, alcohol, drugs, stress etc.)
3
Q
What is the key to how the brain insult will affect the individual?
A
- developmental stage
- timing
- nature
4
Q
What are some examples of ways that a child’s brain may be impacted?
A
- FAS (structural impact, facial distortions, more higher level function deficits)
- shaken baby syndrome (deficits worsen over time > acute bleeding immediately after which then leads to more bruising/damage over time)
5
Q
What is vital to consider in terms of issues in neuro tests?
A
- age norms + range of normal
- can’t assume that an adult test measures the same skills/brain areas in children as in adults (eg. RCFT)
- many tests have limited sample sizes, poor specificity
- note the artificial nature of the testing environment + children are easily fatigued
6
Q
Give an example of a children ‘growing into’ deficits
A
- GAP WIDENS OVER TIME
- frontal lobe tumour
- 5yrs: no evidence of executive dysfunction (but immature executive function normal at 5yrs)
- 12yrs: evidence of impairment > failure to show expected developmental progress toward capacity to plan/problem solve/think flexibly
7
Q
What psychosocial factors are important to consider?
A
- mother-child rship
- stimulation available to the child
- social support structures
- access to resources
- abuse + neglect (type + timing)
- malnutrition
- parenting: high control + low responsiveness
- non-enriched home environment
- toxic stress (neglect, abuse, maltreatment)
- stress + poverty > constantly in fight/flight
8
Q
What impact can psychosocial factors have?
A
- affect brain structure
- cognition (IQ, self-regulation, social skills, language, academics)
- malnutrition + toxic stress = less dense neural connections
- stress: shapes brain to respond automatically + reactively to stimulation
- enriched environment: promote exec function with intention, thoughtful regulation of behaviour
- SES: language + prefrontal exec control
- language relies on specific environmental input at a specific time
- stress + poverty > executive dysfunction
9
Q
What is the context of the child?
A
- child
- family
- school
- community
10
Q
What can affect recovery of an injury?
A
- missed school > deficit or just missed out?
- family > effect on siblings (parent availability), stressors ($$, time, marital, social isolation)
- SES > better recovery with higher SES
- direct effects: impulsive, hyperactive, aggressive etc.
- secondary effects: anxiety, depression > effects of these on cognition
- WORSE OUTCOMES: severity of insult, ES, developmental stage/age
- BETTER OUTCOMES: greater family cohesion, supportive social networks
11
Q
What social skills should you consider?
A
- executive function
- pragmatic language
- ToM
- emotional regulation
- social problem-solving
- social intent/irony
- moral reasoning
12
Q
What factors may impact upon a child’s test performance?
A
NEUROBIOLOGY
- sleep
- nutrition
- medication
- genes
PSYCH
- mood
- family environment (conflict, abuse)
- personality
- behaviour
SOCIAL
- culture
- family (depressed mum?)
- school changes
- SES (resources + stimulation)
13
Q
What can influence the validity of your test results?
A
- fatigue
- stress
- rapport
- cooperation
- mood
- physical factors
- effort
- structured environment of testing
- task persistence
- distractibility
- learned helplessness
14
Q
What do you need to do when administering a test to a child?
A
- fatigue easily
- flexible change hypotheses as you go along
- incorporate data with quantitative observations + background info
- stay on top of theory + research
- use standardised, valid, reliable tests (admin and scoring guidelines)
- MUST translate into practical recommendations
- also get info/ratings from parents + teachers
- support hypotheses with multiple tests and other data (eg. if you think one test indicates a child has poor attention, do another attention test to double-check)
15
Q
Explain the information processing model
A
- for some children, the key to profile interpretation may reside within a simple information processing model (i.e. input, integration, storage and output)
- how was is info ‘taken in’ and how well is it ‘output’?
- problem may be related to input/output and not necessarily the more complex integrative aspects of some tasks (i.e. fluid reasoning) or to the storage components of other (i.e. WM)
16
Q
How do you choose which test to administer?
A
- neurodevelopmental level
- goal of evaluation
- thorough evaluation of test and what it measures
17
Q
Explain Luria’s Processing Model
A
- importance of unique environmental and historical factors affecting an individual’s mental functioning
- 3 interrelated units
- Regulate arousal + attention
- Encode incoming info + associates this with previously acquired information
- Higher-level functions (strategy development and application, self-monitoring, awareness, conscious control of mental activities)
18
Q
What is the key to thriving?
A
- integration
- helping separate systems of the brain work together
19
Q
What is the difference b/w infant and adult brains?
A
- smaller, less educated brains with diff physical properties (weak myelination)
- diff temporal constraints within same architecture (hypotheses gradually revised, more rapid representations favoured over slower)
20
Q
Explain cognitive development
A
- parallels CNS development
- children develop at diff rates > must use age-appropriate expectations and range of normal
21
Q
Social development in children. Why is this important?
A
- infancy: smile, imitate
- 1.5-2yrs: complete action they have seen partially attempted
- 3-4yrs: ToM, pretend play
- primary school: predict others’ behaviour, understand non-literal language
- adolescence: social decisions, judgments, peers more important/more time
- they are at school!!
22
Q
Treatment and management of psychosocial factors
A
- medication
- psychological therapies: family, individual
- parenting skills
- educational interventions
- combo of approaches
23
Q
What are the aims of cog assessment? What is important about the tester themselves?
A
- apply the test results to everyday life
- give specific, helpful, practical recommendations for school/home life
- communicate findings
- child-centered focus
- identify strengths/weaknesses
- consider environmental factors
- must be an intelligence tester!!
- burden on test user to be better than the tests they use
- tester must explore WHY a child performed the way they did
24
Q
Explain the shift in emphasis from structure to function
A
- WISC revisions based on CHC but also on more functional theories (incl. processing theories)
- shift away from trying to build a completely comprehensive measure of cog abilities
- focus on how components are functionally interrelated when processing info > how this can be used to develop effective interventions
25
Q
Tips for an intelligent evaluation
A
- what is referral Q?
- choose appropriate, current tests
- rapport
- observation is key
- be flexible > change plans/hypotheses as you go
- target your observations
- look for inconsistencies/consistencies across tests
- follow APS guidelines
