Neurodevelopmental Disorders include distortions in the development of essential psychological functions involved in social skills, language, perception, or motor behavior. They are typically diagnosed during infancy, childhood, or even adolescence. While the symptoms and behaviors of neurodevelopmental disabilities often change or evolve as a child grows older, some disabilities are permanent.
Most psychiatric disorders are considered neurodevelopmental, and the associated genes often are expressed in tissues outside of the brain. This suggests a biological relatedness with medical co-occurrences that could have broad clinical implications for diagnosis and patient management over a lifetime.
Intellectual Disabilities
Intellectual disabilities affect nearly 1 percent of the population. Generally, there are significant barriers in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, covering a range of everyday social and practical skills (daily living, work and play in the community, self-control, necessary academic skills). It may be considered a limitation if there are issues in at least two of these areas.
Symptoms
● Failure to meet intellectual developmental markers
● Difficulties in learning academic skills
● Lack of curiosity
● Immaturity in social interactions compared with peers
● Difficulty regulating emotions and behavior
● Support needed in daily living tasks compared with peers
● Spoken language is limited
Currently, there is no “cure” for an intellectual disability. However, an intellectual disability is not impossible to improve or manage. Many can learn to live fulfilling, productive lives with the right support. These include psychosocial treatments, behavioral treatments, cognitive-behavioral treatments, and family-oriented strategies.
Communication Disorders
This type of disorder includes deficits in language and speech. The characteristics of each condition may vary, depending on age and severity of symptoms.
Expression Disorder
The ability for oral expression is below the appropriate level for a child’s mental age. Difficulties may occur in verbal and non verbal language.
Main characteristics:
● Limited speech and vocabulary
● Difficulty acquiring new words
● Vocabulary errors or errors recalling words
● Concise sentences
Comprehension Disorder
The ability for comprehension is below the appropriate level for a child’s mental age. Expression is also significantly affected because expressive language development derives from the acquisition of receptive skills.
Apart from the characteristics of the expression disorder mentioned above, the difficulty is seen in understanding words, phrases, or specific types of info in this disorder. There can also be deficits in different auditory processing areas (sound discrimination, sound-symbol association, retention, recall, and sequencing).
Speech Sound Disorder
The mastery of speech sound production should result in a nearly intelligible speech by age 3. If a child is having difficulty with knowledge of speech sounds, or inability to coordinate movement for speech, they may be struggling with speech sound disorder.
A language disorder may co-occur with speech sound disorder.
Stuttering
Also known as Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder, stuttering is the disruption of fluency in speech.
It is characterized by frequent repetitions and may be a result of anxiety. Stuttering provides limitations in ineffective communication and socialization. It usually develops by age 6, and the severity of the disorder at age 8 predicts recovery or persistence into adolescence and adulthood. Working with a speech language pathologist may be beneficial if stuttering becomes more frequent or causes emotional issues.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
ASD has become a catch-all diagnosis because several unrelated problems are all considered to be part or could be part of the disorder.
Individuals with ASD have difficulties smoothly and consistently processing information.
Problems are related to a range of developmental issues; language, motor skills, and socialization-such as difficulty recognizing facial expressions and nonverbal cues. The spectrum now includes from the highest to the lowest functioning individuals with characteristics of the disorder.
Typically diagnosed before the age of 3, 70% with ASD also have another neurodevelopmental disorder, such as intellectual disability.
ASD is characterized by:
● Impaired social relationships; may show a noticeable lack of awareness of existence or feelings of others, may not like to be touched/held, avoid eye contact, and prefer solitary play
● Impaired speech; about half of autistic children do not develop speech ● A narrow range of interests and activities; may focus on objects almost obsessively, usually become distraught or angry if a change occurs, most engage in self-soothing behaviors.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Intellectual disability and learning disabilities are disorders in which a child’s cognitive or intellectual development is affected, and ADHD is a disorder in which a child’s behavioral development is concerned.
This disorder is characterized by the core symptoms of inattention or hyperactivity-impulsivity. The subtypes of ADHD are based on the predominant symptom (attention deficit or hyperactivity-impulsivity) or whether the symptoms appear combined.
The main signs of each category are:
Inattention:
● Lack of attention to detail
● Difficulty focusing on one thing
● Is easily distracted, miss details, forget things, frequently switch from one activity to the other
● Trouble with completing tasks, or often lose thing needed to achieve them ● Quickly bored with tasks unless they are enjoyable
● Difficulty listening when spoken to, often daydreaming
Hyperactivity:
● Difficulty sitting still or fidgets with hands and feet
● Excessive energy, frequently in motion
● Feelings of restlessness
● Difficulty playing quietly
● Talks excessively
Impulsivity:
● Can be very impatient
● Has difficulty waiting for his/her turn
● Interrupts frequently
● Act without regard for consequences
Individuals with ADHD may have other disorders, such as a learning disability, anxiety disorders, depression. One condition does not cause another, but the symptoms of one may make another more noticeable. Treatment may include psychotropic medication and psychotherapy.
Specific Learning Disorder
Specific Learning Disorder has become the umbrella term for all math, reading, and writing disorders. It can include deficits in recognition, comprehension, and fluency and is characterized by lower than expected academic performance based on age.
Learning disorders cannot be better accounted for by intellectual disability, visual or auditory deficits. They may coincide with ADHD, but individualized instruction may improve learning difficulties in some individuals.
Motor Disorders
Also known as developmental coordination disorder, motor disorders frequently interfere with school and daily living activities. Because of its nonspecific group of symptoms, motor disorders are often overlooked in kids with ADD/ADHD.
Tics
Tics are repetitive, sharp, rapid, non-rhythmic movements, or utterances. They are difficult to control and vary from person to person. These movements may increase in stressful situations and are typically diagnosed between ages 5-7.
Stereotypic Movement Disorder
Repetitive, seemingly driven, and purposeless movements all define this disorder. Stereotypies have an earlier age onset than tics (before three years old) and can be more consistent or fixed in their patterns than tics.
Both are included in the DSM-5 among the neurodevelopmental disorders and make up the group of motor disorders. Most motor disorders improve with time and may benefit from behavioral therapies or psychotropic medication.
Getting Help
While the symptoms and behaviors of neurodevelopmental disabilities often change or evolve as a child grows older, some disabilities are chronic. Nevertheless, treatment is essential and usually involves a combination of professional therapy, pharmaceuticals, and home- and school-based programs.
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