Mechanisms of Development and Manifestations of Common Developmental Disorders - Research Paper Example

? Teacher’s Functional Communication: Joint Attention Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs) refer to disorders in which a patient experiences repetitive and constrained behavior, reduced or lessened social exchange, and communication deficits. Generally, in such disorders, the development of various basic skills is delayed. Children with pervasive developmental disorders particularly lack the ability to use their imagination to think effectively and spontaneously, and face problems understanding the surrounding environment. They are usually confused when thinking about something or when in an unfamiliar situation. As the name suggests pervasive ‘developmental’ disorder, begins early in life but is not normally identified until the child reaches the age of three, which is a critical period in the development of a child. Usually parents do not see signs of any problem until they see their child not developing as the other kids of the same age are, like not talking, walking, and responding(Hirsch, 2009). The most basic symptoms of this disorder include difficulty in understanding and using language. The child has a problem relating to the surroundings, including objects, people, and events. Not only does the patient have a problem with verbal communication, but also non-verbal communication like facial expressions, gestures, and body language are also problematic for them. The kid might play with toys and other objects in a very different way, and also experience trouble in adjusting to some changes and an unfamiliar surroundings. S/he may seem not to hear certain types of sounds, and may be very sensitive to others. The symptoms also include repetitive behavior in different situations. These repetitive movements could be spinning, clapping, hand flapping, or head banging etc. Children with pervasive personality disorders differ extensively in their capabilities, behaviors, and intellect. Some of them speak in limited phrases while others do not speak or respond at all, while some of them even have comparatively normal language development (Comprehensive Pervasive Developmental Disorder Assessment, 2009). Five types of conditions are considered pervasive developmental disorders namely; Autism, Rett’s Syndrome, Asperger's syndrome, Childhood disintegrative disorder, and Pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS). Autism is a complex developmental disability. People experiencing autism have problems with various kinds of social interactions and verbal/non-verbal communication. Children with autism experience the world and activities going around them very differently from most of the other kids. The kids having this disability find it problematic to communicate with other people and express themselves and their feelings using words. Their reaction to the activities around them maybe different and unusual. Some kind of sounds which are perfectly normal might be really bothering for an autistic individual. A normal kind of act might make them feel uncomfortable. A child with autism cannot connect with other people easily; they have trouble linking meaning of something with it. The brain of an autistic person has trouble with making sense of their surroundings as well as with various activities taking place. Rett’s Syndrome, almost found exclusively in girls, is a type of disorder in which the early developmental stage of an infant is precisely normal, but with time they stop to learn and develop skills, but then gradually they start to lose the abilities and skills. Individual with this syndrome, for example, at one stage could talk, but as they grow up, they stop communicating with others. They also lose their ability to walk properly and the movement becomes clumsy. Children with Rett’s syndrome slowly start to lose the purposeful movements of hands, for instance reaching for things, grasping with fingers, or moving or touching things on purpose. They incur coordination and balance problems and develop stereotype hand movements, like clapping and wringing. Like in autism, these children also have developmental and intellectual disabilities; they face social interaction problem and anxiety. Asperger syndrome is another kind of pervasive developmental disorder. It is characterized by limited interest of an individual or unusual obsession with a specific subject or activity,while paying no attention to the other activities. This disorder also begins early in childhood and continues through later life. It affects the way the individual grasps common sense perceptions and also the way a person interprets information associated with other individuals. Children with Asperger Syndrome prefer rituals and repetitive routines; while speaking they tend to use a formal tone or might speak in a monotone. They are inclined to take figure of speech literally. These individuals might behave oddly or inappropriately in social gatherings. They do not have the ability to interact and connect successfully with peers. People with this disorder have issues with non-verbal communication, including limited and unfitting facial expressions. Their use of gestures is repetitive and restricted and might have a strange stiff gaze. Motor movements of these youngsters are inept and clumsy. Children with Asperger Syndrome generally retain early language skills, but experience delay in their motor development, such that they learn to crawl and walk late and usually when they do, their movements are uncoordinated. Individuals with this disability have lesser difficulty with speaking skills and usually are average or above average. Even though these individuals have specific learning difficulties, they can still lead independent and complete lives if given the encouragement and right support. In Childhood disintegrative disorder, initially children grow normally until they stop learning and start to lose the already developed skills between the ages of two to ten years. These children start to lose social, motor, language, and other skills that they had already developed. Similar to autism, children with this disorder face problems with spoken language as well as nonverbal behaviors. They lack the ability to initiate and continue conversation. They have problems interacting with others, and hence, form relationships only with family members and friends. These children lose control over body functions, such as bladder and bowel. Pervasive development disorder, not otherwise specified (PDDNOS), is a category including those children who have problems with their communication skills, motor movements, and a little problem with social interactions; however,they are social enough to be considered autistic (Hirsch, 2009). Joint Attention Study helps in understanding Pervasive Development Disorders. It is in human nature to share information, communicate, comprehend, and understand the intentions and thoughts of others; it is an inherent capability found in almost all human beings. This ability comprises of social cognition and reasoning. Before the infant develops language skills and social cognition, they learn to communicate and receive information through body language. They use different gestures to explain or attract attention of the people around. Infants generally follow the gaze and use their own eye contact as well. This capability to share, understand, and communicate is an important contribution to the basis for language development as well as social competence. The very ability also sets humans apart from other creatures and is referred to as joint attention by scientists and researchers (Association for Psychological Science, 2007). Taylor and Hoch (2008) documented Joint attention as one of the initial methods of communication at the stage of infancy, which involves the synchronized attention between two or more people, a person and an object, or an individual and a situation in the environment. Joint attention is an important part of social interaction, not only at the early developmental stages but throughout a lifetime. Young children and even the adults who are not able to engage or respond and react to joint attention might suffer from pervasive developmental disorder, and might suffer from reduced ability to relate to others and build relationships. The earliest signs of joint attention include synchronized gaze movements, some object or an event in the surroundings. This skill of non-verbal joint attention is generally developed in the late first year and early second year of life. As the infants turn to the age of approximately nine months, they begin to develop communication and social interaction skills, therefore, start to respond to adults’ offer for joint attention. Gradually, they also start an effort to initiate joint attention in reaction to some event, or an interesting object, or in order to attract another person’s attention (Taylor and Hoch, 2007). Two forms of joint attention had been illustrated by the researchers and scientists. They believe that the social understanding of the human is the result of these two forms. First is where a person reacts to another person’s bid for joint attention; this type of attention involves an individual responding to the actions of another people and the external world, and is controlled by a particular set of neurons in the brain. The second form is where a person initiates for joint attention; it is controlled by an entirely different set of neurons where the reaction to other people’s activities is not involved, rather paying attention to oneself is involved. It is crucial in joint attention that these two types of neurons become interconnected during development of human beings, and coordinate so that an individual can simultaneously pay attention to others and keep track of the direction of self (Association for Psychological Science, 2007). Children with pervasive developmental disorders exhibit shortfalls in joint attention skills. The main reason behind these disorders is when the two types of neurons, implicated in paying attention and initiating joint attention, cannot coordinate with each other. The researchers have observed that the children with pervasive developmental disorders may or may not respond to bid for joint attention but they surely have difficulty in initiating the joint attention process as compared to the other children. The scientists have hypothesized in the literature of development that a child, usually at the later stage of infancy, initiates bids for joint attention in order to attract the attention of adults that is their way of participating in social interaction and sharing experience or information. The development of joint attention is defined as an essential point in an individual’s communicative and social development.Joint attention is an indication that the progress of processes help in building the foundation for social cognition, interaction and communication skills.Though it is significant to apprehend processes in joint attention so as to understand pervasive developmental disorders and treat them, the researchers and scientists have limited knowledge about this subject (Taylor and Hoch, 2008). To assess the children having pervasive personality disorder, the PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI) is used, which is a rating scale. It is filled up by teachers or caretakers; the caretakers monitor both the maladaptive and also the adaptive behavior of the subject, which later on helps in the treatment of individuals with these disorders and with further research on this topic. Typically, improvement in the adaptive behavior is expected with a decrease in maladaptive conduct. The maladaptive behaviors illustrate a varied range of manners observed in both higher and lower functioning individuals, and consist of fears, stereotyped behaviors, social interaction, aggression deficits, and irregular language. Whereas, the adaptive behaviors that are monitored include fundamental features of the disability, such as referential gesture, pretend play, and joint attention skills (Cohen, Schmidt-Lackner, Romanczyk, and Sudhalter, 2003). Once these disorders are diagnosed in individuals (usually children), they are treated through different kinds of therapies. As there is a lot of variation in the people suffering from pervasive developmental disorders in context with the symptoms and abilities, a therapy plan that caters to individual’s specific needs must be developed.The treatment plan, also called intervention program, must address the child’s needs not only at the school or care center, but also at home. The intervention plan is a combined effort of teachers, caretakers, parents, and health care providers including the therapists and counselors. Such plans must include: behavior modification strategies to improve child’s conduct; special education that is designed to meet the unique needs of the child; medication to treat hyperactivity or anxiety that may result in injury; and physical and speech therapy intended to increase the kid’s functional capabilities (Hirsch, 2009). . The reasons behind the occurrence of pervasive developmental disorders are not known, but researchers are trying to find the underlying causes that result in pervasive developmental disorder. Some of the studies by the scientists suggest that these disorders are a consequence of a problem with the nervous system involving brain and spinal cord. To determine the causes of such disabilities, the researchers have been examining the function and structure of the brain of individuals with pervasive personality disorders. This may help to treat and prevent these disorders(Hirsch, 2009). References Association for Psychological Science, (2007), Joint Attention Study Has Implications For Understanding Autism.ScienceDaily. Retrieved on April18, 2012, from Cohen, I.L., Schmidt-Lackner, S., Romanczyk, R., Sudhalter, V. (2003). The PDD Behavior Inventory: A rating scale for assessing response to intervention in children with pervasive developmental disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33 (1) 31-45. Comprehensive Pervasive Developmental Disorder Assessment, (2009), Feltrup-exum& associates, Retrieved on April18, 2012, from Hirsch, D., (2009), Pervasive Development Disorders, Medicine Net.com, Retrieved on April18, 2012, from Taylor B.H., and Hoch, H.,(2008), Teaching the Children with Autism to Respond and Initiate Bids for Joint Attention, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41 (3) 377-391 Read More