Neurodevelopmental Disorders Overview

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• Neurodevelopmental disorders appear during development, often before school.
• They involve developmental deficits impacting personal, social, academic, and occupational functioning.
• Deficits range from specific learning or executive function limitations to global social or intellectual impairments.
• Disorders frequently coexist (e.g., autism and intellectual disability).
• Some disorders exhibit both deficits and excessive behaviors (e.g., autism).

Intellectual Disability (Intellectual Developmental Disorder)

• Characterized by deficits in general mental abilities: reasoning, problem-solving, planning, etc.
• These deficits lead to impairments in adaptive functioning (e.g., communication, independence).
• Can result from acquired insults (e.g., head injury), potentially leading to co-occurring neurocognitive problems.
• Diagnosis may be applied when assessment isn't possible for young children.

Global Developmental Delay

• Diagnosed when expected developmental milestones are missed across multiple areas of intellectual functioning.
• Used when individuals cannot undergo systematic intellectual assessments.

Communication Disorders

• Include language disorder, speech sound disorder, social (pragmatic) communication disorder, and childhood-onset fluency disorder (stuttering).
• The first three are characterized by deficits in language, speech, and social communication, respectively.
• Childhood-onset fluency disorder involves disturbances in speech fluency (e.g., repetitions, prolongations, blocks).
• These disorders begin in childhood and often impact functioning throughout life.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction (e.g., social reciprocity, nonverbal cues).
• Diagnosis also requires restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.
• Symptoms can change with development, possibly masked by compensatory mechanisms.
• Diagnosis may be based on historical records if current presentation is significant.