NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
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Many of the psychological disorders affecting children and adolescents are classified in the DSM5 category of neurodevelopmental disorders
Involve an impairment of brain functioning or development that affects development in the
following areas:
o Psychological
o Cognitive
o Social
o Emotional
In differentiating normal and abnormal behavior between children and adolescence we consider
children’s ages, gender, family, cultural background, and developmental levels.
o Difficult because behaviors seen in children may be considered normal while if seen in
adults considered as abnormal
o Childhood psychological disorders are identified when the child begins school
o Keep in mind what is socially acceptable at a particular child
o Many children are misdiagnosed with ADHD
Prevalence of Mental Health Problems in Children and Adolescents
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Mental health problems are common among children and adolescents
o About 1 out of 10 children suffer from mental disorder severe enough to impair
development
o Most common diagnosis in children age 6 to 17:
 Learning disabilities/disorders
 Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
o Most common diagnosis in adolescence:
 Anxiety
 Depression
Risk factors for childhood disorders
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Some of the risk factors of developmental disorders include:
o Genetic susceptibility
 Parents can predisposed their children from having depression
o Environmental stressors
 Low socioeconomic level (statistically more prone in developing mental
disorders)
 Living in decaying neighborhoods
o Family factors
 Inconsistent or harsh discipline
 May cause a child to become confused on what they are being punished
for and lead them to incorrect behavior especially when correct
behavior is not shown/reinforced
 Emotional and psychological abuse
 Neglect
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Physical or sexual abuse
Parents who suffer from depression
AUTISM AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
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Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) – a range of autism -related disorders that vary in severity
o Persistent deficits in communication and social interaction
o Restricted or fixated interests and repetitive behaviors
o Autism generally become evident in toddlers between 18 and 13 months of age but the
average child is not diagnosed until about the age 6. Unfortunately, it is a lifelong severe
condition.
Asperger’s disorder – a form of ASD, is pattern of abnormal behavior involving social
awkwardness and stereotyped or repetitive behaviors but without significant language or
cognitive deficits associated with more severe forms of ASD.
o Often referred to high-functioning autism
Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder
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In 2013, researchers estimated that 2% of children (more than 1 million children in total) in the
United States were affected by some form of autism spectrum disorders.
o Five times more common in boys than girls
Research on other factors as contributing to increase:
o Childhood infections
o Exposure to environmental toxins
 Some research suggests that some air pollutants, some metals, and several
pesticides with suggestions that some volatile organic compound (methylene
chloride and stylene may be linked to autism)
o Parental age – older fathers
o No evidence that childhood vaccines contribute to incidence
Features of Autism
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Apparent desire for aloneness
o One off the most poignant and sad features of autism
Deficits in social skills
Language and verbal communication problems
o Some cases, the child is mute. When they can use language, it may marked by echolalia
which is the child repeating what has been said to them.
o Reversed pronouns in communication and the tendency to raise the pitch of their voice
t the end of their sentence as if the statements were a question.
Impaired of absent nonverbal communication
o Avoid eye contact and may show an absence of any facial expressions
o They are slow to respond to those who are trying to grab their attention.
Ritualistic, repetitive, purposeless or stereotyped movements
o Flapping their arms or rocking back and forth
Self-mutation
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While they may be unresponsive to others, they do display strong emotions especially
strong negative emotions such as fear and anger
o Some may self- mutilate themselves, bang their heads, slap their own faces or bite their
hands
o Could show sudden tantrums and panic
Aversion to environmental change
o They could be very sensitive to changes in their surroundings and may show tantrums or
even cry.
Lack of differentiated self-concept
o Despite their unusual behavior they are often quite attractive and have an intelligent
look to them. Many people believe that being autistic means you have a high IQ
however, as measured by scores on standardized tests their intellectual development
tends to lag well below the norm. many autistic children do have normal IQs but many
show evidence of an intellectual disability.
o Autistic children usually have difficulty recognizing emotions, engaging in symbolic play
and solving problems conceptually. They also display difficulty in performing difficult
tasks that require interaction with other people
Note: remember the term spectrum. This means that those who have ASD may be on the different
levels of the spectrum and may not experience these features as strongly as someone else that has
ASD.
Theoretical Perspective on Autism
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Factors that may contribute:
o Perceptual deficits that limit them to processing only one stimulus at a time
 Slow to make associations by means of classical conditioning
o Difficulty integrating information from various senses
o Abnormalities in brain development
 Due to the genetic factors an environmental factor, the brain of an autistic child
develops abnormally
 When shown photos of the family members, autistic individuals display a
pattern of brain activation that is different from the exhibited, by control,
suggested a different brain organization for the fundamental social skill of
recognizing others.
o Loss of brain tissue
 Have fewer neurons in the amygdala than non-autistic have.
 Show greater activation in the amygdala when they are gazing at faces. The
amygdala has been associated with fear so, this finding suggests that children
with autism avoid making eye contact with people because they find it aversive.
o Prenatal factors
o Combination of genetic factors and environmental factors
Treatment of Autism
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Applied behavior analysis treatment models – use learning principles applying rewards and mild
punishments to develop social and academic skills and reduce or eliminate self-mutilation.
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The problem is that very intensive, highly structured, one-on-one instruction, is very
expensive.
o Behavioral therapy has the highest rate of efficacy for treating autism
Earlier the treatment is started, more intense the program, the better the result.
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
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Intellectual disability (ID) – a generalized delay or impairment in the development of intellectual
and adaptive abilities.
Also called intellectual developmental disorder or IDD
o Lack of basic conceptual, social, and practical skills of daily living.
 Can improve on their daily functioning overtime if they receive the support
needed and enrich educational opportunities.
o Deficits in reasoning and problem-solving, abstract thinking, judgments, and school
performance.
o Follows a lifelong course but many improve over time if provided support and enriched
opportunities.
Features and causes of Intellectual disability
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Low IQ score and impaired adaptive before the age of 18
Difficulties performing common tasks of daily life in three domains:
o Conceptual
o Social
o Practical skills
Causes include biological and psychosocial factors
o Biological – chromosomal and genetic disorders, infectious diseases, and maternal
alcohol use during pregnancy
o Psychosocial – exposure to an impoverished home environment.
Down syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome, and Turner syndrome are all due to chromosomal
abnormalities.
o DOWNSYNDROME, INTELELCTUAL DISABILITY, more frequently identified cause of ID.
Occurs in about one in 800 births
o Klinefelter syndrome only appears in males, there is a presence of an extra x
chromosome (XXY)
o Turner syndrome occurs only in female, presence of only singe X or partial second X
chromosome
Fragile X syndrome and PKU are caused by genetic abnormalities.
o Fragile x is caused by a mutated gene on the X chromosome. Second most common of
ID after down syndrome
o PKU, is the genetic disorder caused by a recessive gene that prevents a child from
metabolizing the amino acid phenylalaline. Results to damage in the nervous system
which in term caused ID.
LEARNING DISORDER
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Specific learning disorder – encompass various types of learning disorders or disabilities
involving significant deficits in skills related to reading, writing, arithmetic, math, and executive
functions.
o Children with a learning disorder tend to perform poorly in school in relation to their
level of intelligence and age
o Learning disorders are typically chronic disorders that affect development well into
adulthood.
Types of learning disorders
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Problems with reading:
o Children with specific learning disorders involving reading difficulties have persistent
problems with basic reading skills.
 Dyslexia but the DSM does not use it.
Problems with writing:
o Refers to children with grossly deficient writing skills
Problems with arithmetic and mathematic reasoning skills
Problems with executive functions
o Struggles with higher mental abilities involving organizing, planning, and coordinating
task
Communication disorders
o Involve impaired understanding or use of language
Language disorder
o Involves impairments in the ability to produce or to understand spoken language
o Specific impairments include slow vocabulary developments, errors in tenses, difficulty
to recalling words, and problems producing synthesis of appropriate length and
complexity for the individual’s age
Speech sound disorders
o There is a persistent difficulty articulating the sounds of speech.
o Persistent stuttering has been classified in the DSM-5 as a type of communication
disorder called “childhood onset fluency disorder”
o “Pragmatic Communication disorder” is a newly recognized disorder in the DSM-5. The
diagnosis applies to children with difficulties communicating verbally and non-verbally
with other people.
ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER
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Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – a behavior disorder characterized by
impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity inappropriate for developmental level.
o Affects about 10% of school – aged children
o Diagnosed nearly 3 times as often in boys as in girls
o May present with anxiety or depression
o Average or above intelligence
o Struggle in school
Other characteristics are
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o Restlessness
o Excessive motor behavior continuous
o Running around or climbing
o Temper tantrums
Three types of ADHD:
o Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive presentation type
 Only the hyperactive and impulsive behaviors
o Predominantly inattentive presentation type
 Fail to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork,
at work, or during other activities
o Combined presentation type
 A child suffers from both inattentive and hyperactive behaviors
When someone says ADD they are referring to the predominantly and attentive presentation
type however, many still use ADD and ADHD interchangeably
Typical onset is at the age of 7 however, the features may appear anytime by the age of 12.