Typical And Atypical Psychological Development Flashcards
Typical behaviours
We expect that a child will develop skills within certain time frames (eg.babies to start crawling between 6-12 months)
Typical development behaviours
Behaviour, skills or abilities fall within the expected range of development, compared to peers of the same age.
This is what we understand as “normal” when it comes to reaching development milestones
How do typical behaviours show in a child- influence
Typical behaviours are the patterns of behaviour that are expected for a given situation
Cultural: sad at a funeral
Social norms: saying bless you(seen as normal social behaviour)

Atypical development
When behaviour, skills or abilities fall outside the expected range of development or progress at a different pace compared to similar aged peers.
Eg. Delay in speech
Atypical behaviour
Patterns of behaviour that are not expected for an individual or that deviate from the norm and can be harmful or distressing for individuals or those around them
Examples of atypical behaviour
Not making eye contact
Delay in speach
Biting nails
Not being able to talk by 12 months
Psychological criteria is used to categorise, typical and atypical behaviours
use abroad set of criteria
Criteria can be used in context of development to determine whether a child is developing typically and as expected for their age, as well as in context of mental well-being
What is in the psychological criteria
-personal distress
-social norms
-cultural perspectives
-statistical
-maladaptive behaviours
The cultural perspective
- whether a behaviour is typical, or atypical, is often determined by the culture within an individual
Social norms
Social norms are shared standards or social beliefs about what is normal acceptable or typical behaviours.
Informal
-Basic and unspoken rules
Formal: must follow rules and laws
Statistical rarity
The statistical approach is based on a normal distribution curve. Normal or typical behaviour is generally considered to fall in the middle area closest to the advrage, we’re as any behaviour that is atypical or abnormal falls outside this area at each end
Personal distress
A way of categorising, typical or atypical behaviour is to ask whether the behaviour causes personal distress to the individual concerned. If it does, then the behaviour would be considered typical
Personal distress usually involves unpleasant or upsetting emotions, such as sadness, anxiety, or feeling overwhelmed 
Maladaptive behaviour
Is behaviour that is unhelpful, dysfunctional and non-productive and that interferes with a persons ability to adjust to their environment.
Normality/‘normal behaviours’
Definitions
Normality is defined as patterns or behaviours that are typically expected or conform to standards
Normality the same for everyone?
Normal behaviours for an individual are consistent with that individual’s usual way of behaving
Neurotypicality
Referred to individuals who have standard or typical brain, functioning processing and behaviours
For example;
Two-year-old infant is progressing normally can walk run. Make eye contact there neurological development or functioning is within the typical range
Abnormality / Abnormal behaviour
Definition
Defined as behaviour that are unusual, bizarre atypical, or out of the ordinary
Including behaviours that deviate from societal norms and have potential to cause distress
Neurodiversity
Persons brain functions differently in one or more ways, compared to what is considered standard or typical. The idea that every human has a unique nervous system, which is different combination of abilities and needs.
Adaptive
Describe emotions, behaviours, and cognition that enable us to our environment and cope more effective
-Beneficial
Maladaptive - and environment
Describe emotions, behaviours, and cognitions that infer with our ability to adjust to our environment appropriately and effectively
Harmful 
Maladaptive emotions
very intense or overwhelming emotions that occur frequently for extended periods of time without interruption or are inappropriate for the situation
Example of maladaptive emotions
And God, that is intense expressed frequently or results in aggressive, verbal and physical actions 
Maladaptive cognitions
cognitive processes or mental actions that involve, processing and understanding information or knowledge.
- Adaptive- ways of thinking that benefit our survival
- Maladaptive-irrational throughouts that distort a persons perception of reality
Neurodivergent
Refuses to people who’s brains function differently to others
Eg. ADHD and Autisim
How many people have Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
1 in 7 people in Australia
ASG signs and symptoms
Poor communication and social skills
Lacks the ability to understand emotional and social cues
Poor non verbal communication skills
Struggles to form and maintain relationships
ASS and link to theory of mind
“Sally Anne test” is created to evaluate theory of mind in neurotypical children and neurodiverse children with an autism spectrum disorder.
Theory of mind
A cognitive ability that allows us to make judgments about other people’s mental states
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Intention or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with the functioning or development
Intention
Means a person may have difficulty staying on task, sustaining focous and staying organised
Hyperactivity
Means a person may seem to move about constantly, including in situations when it is no appropriate or excessively fidgets taps or talks
Impulsively
Means a person may act without thinking or have difficulty with self control
ADHD symptoms rules
1.needs to be excessive for decelerated age of the individual
- Needs to be present before age of 12
- Must have persisted for longer than 6 months
- Must contribute to impairment across multiple settings eg(school, work, home)
ADHD cognitive variations
Executive function:
Working memory:
Arousal alertness
Times estimation
ADHD cognitive variations
Executive function
includes organising, prioritising and activating task- focusing and sustaining attention
ADHD and cognitive variations
Working memory
Allows us to process incoming sensory information. People with ADHD have difficulty dealing with visual and spatial information and or processing auditory information
Arousal and alertness
ADHD cognitive variations
Alertness is the ability to sustain focus. Children with adhd tend to be under alert or have problems with alertness.
Time estimation
ADHD cognitive variation
How they estimate time. Specifically individuals with ADHD tend to overestimate every very short time intervals
