Mental disorders diagnosed in childhood are a classification of mental illnesses or disorders that negatively impact the emotional, social, and developmental wellbeing of a child. These disorders can be characterized as emotional (mood disorders), behavioral, or neurodevelopmental and frequently persist into adulthood. Children with mental disorders require support from their families and schools, often in the form of an individualized education program (IEP) or other classroom accommodations. Symptoms that arise as a result of childhood mental health disorders are usually first recognized in infancy, childhood, or early adolescence, as laid out in the DSM-5-TR and in the ICD-11.
Intellectual disability
DSM-5-TR The diagnostic criteria necessary in order to diagnose intellectual disability consists of: A. Deficits in intellectual functions, such as reasoning, problem solving, planning, abstract thinking, and learning from experience. These deficits are confirmed through clinical assessments and individualized standardized tests. B. Deficits in adaptive functioning that cause failure to perform sociocultural and developmental standards for independence and social responsibility. Without support, these deficits can lead to limited functioning in areas of daily life, such as in communication and independent living. C. These symptoms must have onset during the developmental period. Intellectual disability is specified by severity, with the varying severities being mild, moderate, severe, and profound. These severity levels are determined by how well one is able to function intellectually, socially, and independently.
Cause Intellectual disability in children can be caused by genetic or environmental factors. The individual could have a natural brain malformation or pre or postnatal damage done to the brain caused by drowning or a traumatic brain injury, for example. Nearly 30 to 50% of individuals with intellectual disability will never know the cause of their diagnosis even after thorough investigation.
Prenatal causes of intellectual disability include: Congenital infections such as cytomegalovirus, toxoplasmosis, herpes, syphilis, rubella and human immunodeficiency virus Prolonged maternal fever in the first trimester Exposure to anticonvulsants or alcohol Untreated maternal phenylketonuria (PKU) Complications of prematurity, especially in extremely low-birth-weight infants Postnatal exposure to leadAm Fam Physician. 2000 Feb 15;61(4):1059–67, 1070. Single-gene disorders that result in intellectual disability include: Fragile X syndrome Neurofibromatosis Tuberous sclerosis Noonan's syndrome Cornelia de Lange's syndrome These single-gene disorders are usually associated with atypical physical characteristics. About 1/4 of individuals with intellectual disability have a detectable chromosomal abnormality. Others may have small amounts of deletion or duplication of chromosomes, which may go unnoticed and therefore, undetermined.
Symptoms As an infant, the individual with intellectual disability might sit up, crawl, or walk later than what is developmentally appropriate. They may have trouble talking or learn to talk late. The infants with intellectual disability will probably have trouble learning to potty train, feeding themselves, remembering things, with problem-solving, and may have recurrent explosive tantrums.
Some symptoms that a child with intellectual disability might show are continued infant-like behavior, a lack of curiosity, the inability to meet educational demands, learning ability that is below average, and the failure to meet developmentally appropriate intellectual goals. Some children with severe intellectual disability may have seizures, mobility problems, vision problem, or hearing problems.
Treatment There is no treatment for intellectual disability but there are plenty of services offered for those diagnosed to help them function in their everyday lives. Professionals will sometimes work out an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), which documents the child's needs, as well as the services that would best help them specifically. Speech, physical, and occupational therapy may be offered. Intellectually disabled children can be placed in special education classes through the public school system, where the school and parents will map out an Individualized Education Program (IEP). This program lays out all of the services and classes the child will become involved in during their time in school.
Learning disorders
DSM-5 The DSM-5 has the diagnosis of Specific Learning Disorder, which is a disorder where one has difficulties in being able to learn and use academic skills. Specific learning disorder has specifiers for the areas that one faces difficulties in, with those specifiers being impairment in reading, impairment in writing, and impairment in mathematics.
Cause Learning disorders are believed to be caused by a nervous system abnormality. The abnormality could either be in the structure of the brain or in the functioning of chemicals in the brain. Because of this, individual has problems receiving, processing or communicating information normally. Some causes of the nervous system abnormality include problems during pregnancy, birth or early infancy, brain trauma at a young age, exposure to toxins, and prematurity."Learning Disorders". Boston Children's Hospital. 26 March 2013.
Symptoms Children with a learning disorder may display the following traits: Difficulties reading words, such as reading slowly, having difficulty sounding out words, and reading words incorrectly. Difficulty understanding what they have read. Difficulties with accurately spelling words. Difficulties with writing, such as grammatical errors and issues with origination and clarity of writing. Difficulties with number sense, number facts, calculations, or mathematical reasoning.
Treatment There is no treatment that can cure a learning disorder, but intervention and accommodations can help those with learning disorders cope with the difficulties they may face. Special education programs in schools are able to give children with learning disorders an environment that is more appropriate for them and minimizes the issues they may face in a standard classroom. Individual education programs (IEPs) are also used in order to give children specific accommodations for their personal difficulties.
Motor disorders DSM-5 The motor disorders described in the DSM-5 are Developmental Coordination Disorder and Stereotypic Movement Disorder. Developmental Coordination Disorder is a disorder where one's acquisition and ability to perform motor skills is below the level that is normal for someone their age. These difficulties with motor skills may include clumsiness, slowness, or inability to correctly perform motor tasks. Stereotypic Movement Disorder is characterized by repetitive motions that are seemingly driven and purposeless. These repetitive movements lead to disruptions in daily life, and may possibly be self-injurious.
Cause The cause behind motor disorders is not exact, but the cause is usually genetic or environmental. Motor skills disorders are often associated with physiological or developmental abnormalities including ADHD, learning disorders, developmental disabilities and prematurity.Perlstein, David. "Motor Skills Disorder." e medicine health WebMD. 25 Mar. 2013.
Symptoms In infants, some babies may be hypotonia, a loose and floppy baby, or hypertonia, a stiff and rigid baby. Toddlers may have trouble feeding themselves or may stand, sit or walk later than what is developmentally normal. Other signs of motor skills disorders may be children that are clumsy or have excessive accidents, such as knocking things over. Children who have trouble with complex physical activities such as dancing, swimming, catching or throwing a ball, or drawing may avoid these activities completely.Perlstein, David. "Motor Skills Disorder Symptoms." eMedicine Health. April 15, 2013, from http://www.emedicinehealth.com/motor_skills_disorder/page3_em.htm#motor_skills_disorder_symptoms
Treatment Different therapies are offered to children with motor skills disorders to help them improve their motor effectiveness. Many children work with an occupational and physical therapist, as well as educational professionals. This helpful combination is beneficial to the child. Cognitive therapy, sensory integration therapy, and kinesthetic training are often favorable treatment for the child.
Communication disorders
DSM-5 Communication disorders inhibit one's abilities in various areas of communication, such as language, speech, and non-verbal communication. Those with language disorder have deficits in using language, whether it be verbally, written, or signed. These deficits include a limited vocabulary, struggles with sentence structure and forming sentences, and limited ability to be able to describe topics or hold a conversation. Speech sound disorder is a disorder that impairs one's ability to produce sounds correctly and leads to limited speech intelligibility. Childhood-onset fluency disorder, more commonly known as stuttering, disturbs the normal flow and timing of speech. These disturbances may be sound and syllable repetitions, sound prolongations, pauses in the middle of words or speech, excess physical tension when pronouncing words, or the repetitions of one syllable words. Social Communication Disorder is marked by difficulties in being able to communicate appropriately, following rules for conversation (such as taking turns talking), understanding things that are not explicitly said, and understanding non-literal language. All of these disorders disturb one's ability to communicate with others significantly and can interfere with social participation, relationships, or the ability to meet academic and occupational standards.
Cause The cause of communication disorders in children are usually biological, developmental or environmental. These causes include abnormalities in brain development, exposure to certain toxins during pregnancy, or genetic factors.Communication Disorders. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. 27 Mar. 2013.
Treatment Speech and language therapists are often very reliable for helping children with communication disorders. Remedial techniques are often used to help the child communicate more and work on their existing problems. Another technique is to help push the child to work on their strengths to improve their communication skills."Communication Disorders." Psychology Today. April 18, 2013, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/communication-disorders
Pervasive developmental disorders
DSM-IV-TR 299.00 Autistic disorder 299.80 Rett's disorder 299.10 Childhood disintegrative disorder 299.80 Asperger syndrome 299.80 Pervasive developmental disorder NOS
Cause Pervasive developmental disorders have no known cause yet, but researchers are interested in finding a connection between the disorders and problems in the nervous system. Studies are being done on the brain and spinal cord in children with PDDs to try to find a link.
Symptoms Children with pervasive developmental disorders may exhibit the following symptoms: Have trouble expressing or understanding ideas Have trouble understanding nonverbal communication Difficulty in social interactions Temper tantrums Aggressive behavior May play differently with toys than other children May have difficulty adjusting to new places or people Anxious behavior"Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs) Symptoms." MedicineNet.com. April 17, 2013, from http://www.medicinenet.com/pervasive_development_disorders/article.htm
Treatment