Neurodevelopmental disorders Flashcards
Language and Communication disorders
Define learning disability
refers to problems in mastering one or more of these skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, and mathematics. Doesn’t include visual, hearing, or physical impairments
Define specific learning disorder
A diagnostic term that refers to specific problems in learning and using academic skills. There are only 3.
1. Reading
2. Mathematics
3. Writing
All 3 overlap and build on the same brain functions. 2-10% of population
Diagnostic Categories of communication disorder
Language disorder: problems using language to communication
Speech sound disorder: deficits in productive speech sound
Childhood onset fluency: problems with speech fluency (stuttering)
Social: pragmatic communication disorder
Unexpected discrepancy
A basis of learning disorders that denotes a discrepancy between an individuals measure intelligence vs. Their actual performance
Strauss and Werner
Pointed out that children learn in individual ways, challenging the original concept that learning is uniform
Two major factors with language development
Innate ability and environmental opportunities
Define phonology
The ability to learn and store phonemes and combine the sounds into meaningful units or words
Define phonemes
Basic sounds that make up a language
Eg. Ee’s ss’s ba’s and da’s
Major cause in communication and learning disorders
Phonological awareness: the recognition of the relationship between sounds and letters.
Eg. Rhyme, alliteration, and awareness that sound
DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for language disorder
A. Persistent difficulties in the acquisition and use of language
B. Language abilities are drastically below expected for age
C. Onset of symptoms is in early developmental period
D. Difficulties are not attributed to hearing, sensory impairment, motor dysfunction, or other conditions
Define language disorder
A communication disorder characterized by difficulties in the comprehension or production of spoken or written language
What is the role of genetics in communication and language disorders
Can be heritable, 50-70% show positive family history of learning disability. Temporal processing deficits occur more in children with related to those with similar disabilities.
Bishop 1999
Found variation in temporal processing was due to environmental factors and not genetics. However genetic causes are related to deficits in phonological short term memory
Main part of The brain and language
Primarily left temporal lobe, a circular feedback loop helps strengthen the developmental process. Issues with phonological awareness is associated with less brain activity in the left temporal region
Frontal lobe
Personality, emotions, motor behavior
Pareital lobe
Perception and sensory experiences
Temporal lobe
Involved with hearing and speaking
How signals are sent
From the nucleus -> axon, the signal travels away from the body down the axon to the axon terminal and then the synapse
Are deficits related to a specific dysfunction in the brain?
No, deficits in phonological awareness and segmentation are related to concerns in the functional connections between brain areas, not a specific dysfunction of any single area in the brain
Home environment and communication disorders
Parental speech and language stimulation may affect pace and range of development, but not specific impairments that characterize disorders\
DSM-5 Criteria for Childhood Onset Fluency disorder (stuttering)
A. Disturbances in fluency and pattern are inappropriate for the individuals age and persist over time
B.disturbances cause anxiety about speaking
C. Onset of symptoms is in early developmental period
D. Disturbance is not attributed to speech motor or sensory deficit, or associated with stroke, tumor, trauma or other medical concern
Social communication disorder (pragmatic) (SCD)
A new disorder, involves persistent difficulties with the social use of language and communication - Similar to autism
DSM-5 criteria for social communication disorder
A. Persistent difficulties in the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication
B. Deficits result in functional limitations, social participation, relationships, academic achievement etc.
C. Onset of symptoms is in early development
D. Symptoms not attributed to another medical or neurological condition
Causes of communication disorder
Genetic influences, and slow or abnormal brain maturation. Early communication disorders are developmentally connected to the later onset of learning disorders
DSM-5 diagnostic criteria of specific learning disorder
Difficulties learning and using academic skills
Affected academic skills are quantifiably below expected
Learning difficulties begin during school age years
Not accounted with other intellectual disabilities
Decoding
Breaking a word into parts rapidly enough to read the whole word - a problem with those with specific learning disorder
SLD: Written expression
Within specific learning disorders, asking to copy images, such as a triangle etc. Is very hard and those viewing are unable to tell what the shape is after drawn. Despite strong language and reasoning abilities. Difficulties are with spelling, punctuation, and clarity
Dyscalculia
A learning disorder causing impairment in mathematics, includes difficulites in number sense, memorization of arithmetic facts, accurate of fluent calculation, and accurate math reasoning
3 domains of Specific learning disorders
Writing, mathematics, reading and communication
How the brain processes speech
primary auditory cortex receives electrical signals from receptors in the ear and transforms these signals into sound sensations.
Then the sound sensations are sent to another area in the temporal lobe called the auditory association area
It transforms basic sensory information such as sounds into recognizable auditory information and matched into existing patterns previously formed and stored
Two findings for people with reading disorders
- Language difficulties are specifically associated with the neurological processing of phonology and store of such information
- Behavioural and physiological abnormalities are found in the processing of visual information
Attention-deficit disorder
A neurodevelopment condition that causes differences in the brain related to attention, where a child shows innapropriate behavior in two general categories of inattention and ADHD
Types of impulsivity
Cognitive: disorganization, hurried thinking
Behavioural: difficulty inhibiting responses; intrusion s into others activities
Emotional: impatience, low tolerance, hot temper
DSM-5 for ADHD
A. Persistent pattern of inattention or hyperactivity
B. Onset before age 12
C. Symptoms present in two or more settings and for longer than 6 months
Boys vs. Girls and ADHD
The ratio for referrals to clinics is 6:1 male to female, many girls go unrecognized as they display more inattentive rather than hyperexcitability
Hyperactivity impulsivity
Involves the under control of motor behavior, poor sustained inhibition of behavior
Genetic influences for ADHD
ADHD runs in families, within twin studies, 75% of heritability estimate for hyperactive impulsive and inattentive behaviors
Executive functions
Processes in the brain that activate and manage other brain functions, they include:
Cognitive, language processing, motor processing, emotional processes
Childhood onset fluency disorder
Also known as stuttering, issues with repeated sounds. Gradual between 2-7 and peaks at age 5. And affect males more than females (3:1). 80% stop after a year of school, the other 20% most likely have it for a while
Outcomes and causes of reading SLDs
Heritability accounts for 60% of variance in reading disorders. Many receive low levels of support and recognition of the disability
Neurobiological causes of SLDs
Associated with cellular abnormalities in left hemisphere (temporal).
Behavioural abnormalities in processing of visual information
Nonverbal learning disabilities associated with deficits in the right hemisphere
Percentage of genetic factors contributed to Childhood onset fluency disorder
70%
Possible treatments for childhood onset fluency disorder
Habit reversal (reading poetry)
Parent changes (speaking slower)
Contingency management (getting kids do to things they’re shy of)
Percentage of those with reading SLD and reasoning
5-17%
May be part of reading continuum, rather than discrete phenomenon
Percentage of those with Mathematics SLDs
20%
Percentage of social deficits in those with SLDS
75% (3/4)
Social and psychological causes of SLDs
Reading disorder: same deficits in phonological awareness
ADHD: effects on cogntive functioning in verbal learning and memory.
Some children with LDs show symptoms similar to ADHD
Percentage of school age children with ADHD
Estimates 6-7% in North America and 5% world wide. One of the most common referral problems at clinics
LDAC definition of Learning Disabilities
Refers to a number of disabilities that may affect organization, retention, verbal and nonverbal information.
