Childhood Disorders

Childhood Disorders

• Behavior disorders o Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) o Conduct Disorder o Oppositional Defiant Disorder
• Separation/anxiety disorder
• Elimination disorders o Enuresis o Encopresis
• Disorders in cognitive, motor, and communication skills o Learning disorders
 Reading disorder (dyslexia)
• Deficits in ability to read
 Mathematics disorder
• Deficits in mathematics skills
 Disorder of written expression
• Deficits in the ability to write o Motor skills disorders
 Developmental coordination disorder
• Deficits in the ability to walk, run, hold on to objects o Communication disorders
 Expressive language disorder
• Deficits in the ability to express oneself through language
 Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder
• Deficits in the ability both to express oneself through language and to understand the language of others
 Phonological disorder
• Use of speech sounds in appropriate for age or dialect
 Stuttering
• Sever problems in word fluency
• Mental retardation o Mild, moderate, severe, and profound mental retardation
• Pervasive developmental disorders o Autism o Rett’s disorder o Childhood disintegrative disorder o Asperger’s disorder
• Tic disorders o Tourette’s disorder o Chronic motor or focal tic disorder o Transient tic disorder
• Feeding and eating disorders o Pica o Rumination disorder o Feeding disorder of infancy in early childhood
• Other disorders o Selective mutism o Reactive attachment disorder o Stereotypic movement disorder

• Treatments for ADHD o Stimulants
 Most children with ADHD are treated with stimulant drugs, such as Ritalin, Dexedrine, and Adderall
 May work by increasing levels of dopamine o Other drugs (e.g. atomoxetine, clonidine, and guanfacine)
 Not stimulants but affect levels of norepinephrine o Behavioral therapies
 Focus on reinforcing attentive, goal-directed, and prosocial behaviors and extinguishing impulsive and