Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence - Abnormal Psychology - Lecture Slides, Slides of Abnormal Psychology

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Disorders of Childhood and

Adolescence

Pervasive Developmental Disorders

• Autism Spectrum Disorders: Severe impairment in social interaction and communication skills and display of stereotyped interests and behaviors. - Autistic disorder - Rett’s disorder - Childhood disintegrative disorder - Asperger’s disorder - Pervasive developmental disorders not otherwise specified

Pervasive Developmental Disorders

• Autistic Disorder: Qualitative impairment in:
  • Social interaction and/or communication.
    • Appears to view other people as just another object.
  • Restricted, stereotyped interest and activities
  • Delays or abnormal functioning in a major area prior to age 3
  • Prevalence: 1:1,000 children, 4-5 times more likely in boys than in girls - ~ 75% have IQ below 70, ~20% are average or above (splinter skills and autistic savants).

Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Pervasive Developmental Disorders Impairments

• Research on social unresponsiveness and unusual communication patterns lends support to clinical observations in some areas: - Autistic children are more interested in inanimate objects than in humans. - Autistic infants don’t engage in social gazing or in pretend play. - Unable to attribute mental states to others or understand thoughts/feelings of others. - Are brutally honest and don’t understand humor.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders Impairments

• Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
  • About 50% of autistic children do not develop meaningful speech.
  • Oddities such as echolalia often present.
  • Reversal of pronouns common, I instead of me or you instead of I.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders Impairments

• Intelligence
  • As many as ¾ of children with autism have IQ scores less than 70.
  • Some display splinter skills such as drawing, puzzles, or rote memory.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders

• Asperger’s Disorder:
  • Significant impairment in social interaction skills, limited and repetitive interests/activities, lack of emotional reciprocity.
  • No significant delay in cognitive or linguistic development.
  • Subtle difficulties with communication skills.
  • Five times more common in males than females.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders

• Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified: - Pervasive and severe impairment in reciprocal social interactions, communication abnormalities and limited interests/activities. - Atypical for age of onset/specific behavior patterns

Pervasive Developmental Disorders Autistic Disorders

• Etiology:
  • Familial autism
  • Autism related to medical condition
  • Autism associate with nonspecific brain dysfunction
  • Autism without family history or associated brain dysfunction

Pervasive Developmental Disorders Autistic Disorders

• Explanations:
  • Family and genetic studies:
    • 2-9% of siblings of autistic children have the disorder (100 to 200 times greater than general population).
    • Greater for MZ than for DZ twins
    • Folstein & Rutter: Diathesis stress model
      • 36% concordance rate for identical twins
      • In 12 of the 17 discordant MZ twin pairs there was evidence of birth trauma for the affected twin.

Pervasive Developmental Disorders Autistic Disorders

• Explanations:
  • Central Nervous System Impairment:
    • Brain dysfunction could be inherited.
    • Children with autism have higher rates of other chromosomal malfunctions (i.e. pku).
    • ¼ to 1/3 of those with autism also have seizures.
    • Certain brain structure differences found but no consistent pattern of differences found.