EPPP Study Guide - Neurdevelopment Disorders
These posts are merely for my own studying purposes as I prepare for the E.P.P.P. exam for registering as a psychologist. I retain information better when I teach it but few people want to hear me blab on about this stuff. So these posts are for anyone who is also preparing for the exam or is just curious about what type of things we need to know for it. While I strive for the correct responses I cannot guarantee that the information in this post is 100% correct. That is to say, I'm trying to internalize the material to the point where I can write a blog without referring to my notes. If you find an error please let me know so I don't memorize bad intel!
Neurodevelopment Disorders are a group of conditions of intellectual and social impairments that have an onset in the developmental years (childhood) that include conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, Specific Learning Disorder, and Tourette's Disorder.
Often these conditions manifest in early childhood, before school age. They impair functioning in the personal, social, academic, and occupational domains and they often co-occur (ie. a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder is likely to have symptoms of ADHD as well).
Intellectual Disability is a disorder that includes functioning deficits in conceptual, social, and practical domains. These deficits are measured by clinical assessments and standardized I.Q. testing. Intellectual Disability is now the common term used in education. It replaces the term 'mental retardation'.
Intellectual Disability is specified by the individual's severity of impairment, ranging from mild, moderate, severe, and profound. These specifiers are not defined by I.Q. scores but on the basis of adaptive functioning. I.Q. testing becomes less reliable with lower functioning/severe and profound intellectual disability, so a diagnosis is derived more from an assessment of the individual's functioning rather than a score on a test.
Autism Spectrum Disorder involves impaired social interaction and repetitive behaviours. The social impairments may include lack of eye contact, resistance to being held, difficulty understanding tone, and a delay in language. Repetitive behaviours include obsessions with objects, echolalia, insistence on sameness and routines, and hyper or hyporeactivity to sensory aspects of the environment.
Autism occurs in approximately 1% of the population and is four times more likely to be diagnosed in boys. It is highly heritable but there is evidence of some environmental risks including advanced parental age, low birth weight, and fetal exposure to valproate.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is the DSM V term that replaces the DSM IV diagnoses of Autistic disorder, Asperger's Disorder, and Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. It is now considered spectrum disorder, encompassing the previous conditions.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) occurs in 5% of children and 2.5% of adults and is marked by a persistent patter of inattention and hyperactivity/ impulsivity (adults "grow out of" hyperactivity resulting in a decrease of prevalence in adults. Although inattention might get worse in adulthood). Children under 17 must exhibit at least 6 symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity while adults only need 5. Some symptoms must present before the age of 12 and they also need to be present in two separate environments (ie. home and school).
People with ADHD tend to have low levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and noreprinephrine. There is also likely structural abnormalities in the cerebellum, prefrontal cortex, and basal ganglia areas of the brain.
Most effective treatments for ADHD include behavioural interventions and stimulants like methylpenidate (side effects include insomnia and decreased appetite).
Tourette's Disorder involves at least one vocal and multiple motor tics that last for at least a year. It often cooccurs with OCD and ADHD. Treatments usually include antipsychotic medications and Cognitive Behaviour Interventions for Tics (CBIT) which involves replacing behaviours rather than stopping the tics.
Specific Learning Disorder is when the skill level in one area is lower than you would expect given a person's IQ. So this is a person of average intelligence but impaired ability in reading, writing, or numeracy (there are others but those are the most common ones). Children with SLD are at a higher risk of academic failure than those with antisocial behaviour. These children are also at a higher risk to have ADHD.
Neurodevelopment Disorders are a group of conditions of intellectual and social impairments that have an onset in the developmental years (childhood) that include conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, Specific Learning Disorder, and Tourette's Disorder.
Often these conditions manifest in early childhood, before school age. They impair functioning in the personal, social, academic, and occupational domains and they often co-occur (ie. a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder is likely to have symptoms of ADHD as well).
Intellectual Disability is a disorder that includes functioning deficits in conceptual, social, and practical domains. These deficits are measured by clinical assessments and standardized I.Q. testing. Intellectual Disability is now the common term used in education. It replaces the term 'mental retardation'.
Intellectual Disability is specified by the individual's severity of impairment, ranging from mild, moderate, severe, and profound. These specifiers are not defined by I.Q. scores but on the basis of adaptive functioning. I.Q. testing becomes less reliable with lower functioning/severe and profound intellectual disability, so a diagnosis is derived more from an assessment of the individual's functioning rather than a score on a test.
Autism Spectrum Disorder involves impaired social interaction and repetitive behaviours. The social impairments may include lack of eye contact, resistance to being held, difficulty understanding tone, and a delay in language. Repetitive behaviours include obsessions with objects, echolalia, insistence on sameness and routines, and hyper or hyporeactivity to sensory aspects of the environment.
Autism occurs in approximately 1% of the population and is four times more likely to be diagnosed in boys. It is highly heritable but there is evidence of some environmental risks including advanced parental age, low birth weight, and fetal exposure to valproate.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is the DSM V term that replaces the DSM IV diagnoses of Autistic disorder, Asperger's Disorder, and Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. It is now considered spectrum disorder, encompassing the previous conditions.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) occurs in 5% of children and 2.5% of adults and is marked by a persistent patter of inattention and hyperactivity/ impulsivity (adults "grow out of" hyperactivity resulting in a decrease of prevalence in adults. Although inattention might get worse in adulthood). Children under 17 must exhibit at least 6 symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity while adults only need 5. Some symptoms must present before the age of 12 and they also need to be present in two separate environments (ie. home and school).
People with ADHD tend to have low levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine and noreprinephrine. There is also likely structural abnormalities in the cerebellum, prefrontal cortex, and basal ganglia areas of the brain.
Most effective treatments for ADHD include behavioural interventions and stimulants like methylpenidate (side effects include insomnia and decreased appetite).
Tourette's Disorder involves at least one vocal and multiple motor tics that last for at least a year. It often cooccurs with OCD and ADHD. Treatments usually include antipsychotic medications and Cognitive Behaviour Interventions for Tics (CBIT) which involves replacing behaviours rather than stopping the tics.
Specific Learning Disorder is when the skill level in one area is lower than you would expect given a person's IQ. So this is a person of average intelligence but impaired ability in reading, writing, or numeracy (there are others but those are the most common ones). Children with SLD are at a higher risk of academic failure than those with antisocial behaviour. These children are also at a higher risk to have ADHD.
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