Specific developmental disorders

“What would happen, they conjectured, if they simply went on assuming their children would do everything. Perhaps not quickly. Perhaps not by the book. But what if they simply erased those growth and development charts, with their precise, constricting points and curves? What if they kept their expectations but erased the time line? What harm could it do? Why not try?”
― Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper's Daughter
What are Developmental Disorders?
The term “specific developmental disorder” is a common psychiatric diagnosis for children with developmental delays in one or more domains of development. This includes language impairment, social communication problems (e.g., autism spectrum disorders), and behavioral issues (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Many of these disorders have similar symptoms and overlapping features, but there are some key that differentiate them.
What causes a developmental disorder?
In many cases the cause is unknown. There are more than 200 different types of developmental disorders (also called “Developmental Delay” or “Developmental Disability”), and they can affect a child’s physical, cognitive, and/or behavioral development. Some types of disorders are more common than others. For example, most children with developmental disorders have some type of intellectual disability, while only a small proportion have autism spectrum disorder. However, there are several different factors that can increase the risk for the child to develop one. The causes of these types of disorders are the following:
- Premature birth with low weight
- Family history of these developmental disorders
- Exposure of drug and other substance during pregnancy
- Individual differences in the parts of the brain that enable reading
It’s very important to know the causes of specific developmental disorder so that they can be treated in time.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a type of developmental disorder in which a person experience problem in speaking and writing a language and it requires special teaching. The dyslexia in written language is different from the dyslexia in speaking language. It affects the children of age 5 to 12 years. A person has a problem in learning the names and sounds of letters, spelling is inconsistent, confusing the letters in words and putting wrong letters such as placed 6 in place of 9.
Dysphasia
Dysphasia is a developmental disorder which occurs in both children and adults. This disorder is a language disorder in which a person has complications in communication and speech problems. It is due to stroke, brain tumors and lesions in the brain and also by some developmental problems. It can be treated by speech therapists, surgery and medications.
Dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is a developmental disorder in which a person has a problem in solving arithmetic skills and solving mathematics. It is due to some changes in brain functions and considered as a learning disorder. A person experience problem like difficulty in backward counting, remembering basic facts, slow to perform calculations, poor sense of numbers, difficulty in understanding place value.
Dyslalia
It is a type of developmental disorder in which person has a problem in the articulation of sounds, inability to pronounce the sound, omission of some sounds, replacements of one sound to another, incorrect positioning of the vocal organ. It can be treated by speech therapists and medications.
Coordination
Developmental coordination disorder is a developmental disorder in which a person experiences difficulty in coordination and performing motor skills and movement. In this way, a child fails to perform an everyday task.
Conclusion
It is important to identify developmental disorders at an early stage so that they can be managed and children can get necessary support,
Treatment of developmental disorders
A number of interventions have been developed to treat children with specific development disorders. Some of these treatments are based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA). Recent meta-analyses indicate that ABA treatment is more effective than no treatment and that child-centered approaches are more effective than parent-directed ones.
In addition, some studies suggest that early intensive behavioral intervention is associated with better outcomes in autism spectrum disorders than later or less intensive interventions.
Some developmental disorders can be treated by following methodologies and techniques given below:
- By consulting speech therapists
- Psychological treatment
- Medications
- Surgery
- Best is to appoint a direct meeting with the respective Doctors and discuss more specifically.