Neurodevelopmental Disorders Quiz

DSM 5 TR Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• Neurodevelopmental disorders are a group of conditions that begin in the developmental period
• These disorders often manifest early in development, frequently before the child enters school
• Characterized by developmental deficits or differences in brain processes
• Results in impairments of personal, social, academic, or occupational functioning
• The range of developmental deficits or differences varies greatly, from specific limitations in learning or executive function control to global impairments in social skills or intellectual ability
• More recent dimensional approaches to symptom measurement demonstrate a range of severity, often without a sharp boundary with typical development
• Diagnosis requires the existence of both symptoms and impaired functioning

Types of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• Intellectual Developmental Disorder (Intellectual Disability): Characterized by deficits in general mental abilities like reasoning, problem-solving, planning, abstract thinking, judgment, academic learning, and learning from experience
  • Confirmed through clinical assessment and standardized intelligence tests
  • Deficits in adaptive functioning, failing to meet developmental and sociocultural standards for personal independence and social responsibility, requiring ongoing support
  • Severity levels: Mild, Moderate, Severe, Profound (see Table 1 for specifics)
• Communication Disorder: Includes language disorder, speech sound disorder, social (pragmatic) communication disorder, and childhood-onset fluency disorder (stuttering)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder: Characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, including deficits in social reciprocity, nonverbal communicative behaviors used in social interaction, and skills in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A neurodevelopmental disorder defined by impairing levels of inattention, disorganization, and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity
• Specific Learning Disorder: Diagnosed when there are specific deficits in an individual's ability to perceive or process information for learning academic skills efficiently and accurately, resulting in limitations in effective communication, social participation, academic achievement, or occupational performance
• Neurodevelopmental Motor Disorders: Include developmental coordination disorder, stereotypic movement disorder, and tic disorders

Diagnostic Criteria

• The DSM-5 TR outlines specific criteria for diagnosis of each neurodevelopmental disorder
• Criteria focus on impairments in intellectual functions, adaptive functioning, and developmental milestones

Prevalence and Course

• Prevalence rates vary by country, age, and socioeconomic factors
• Onset of disorders typically occurs in the developmental period
• Course and progression differ between disorders and vary across individuals

Risk and Prognostic Factors

• Genetic and physiological factors, such as prenatal etiologies (e.g., genetic syndromes, chromosomal disorders, inborn errors of metabolism) and perinatal causes (e.g., hypoxic ischemic injury, traumatic brain injury), contribute to the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders
• Environmental factors such as teratogens, toxins, and extreme prematurity can also play a role
• Co-occurring conditions are prevalent

Culture-Related Diagnostic Issues

• Prevalence rates may differ across cultures due to variations in environmental risk factors that are associated with socioeconomic status and access to health-care services
• Cultural contexts should be considered in diagnosis

Sex- and Gender-Related Diagnostic Issues

• While disorders can manifest across all genders, there may be a difference in rates of diagnoses between genders

Comorbidity

• Neurodevelopmental disorders often co-occur with other mental and/or medical conditions and/or each other

Differential Diagnosis

• Important to differentiate between a disorder and normal developmental variation.
• Ruling out other conditions (e.g., other mental disorders, medical conditions)

Specific Learning Disorder (Details)

• Diagnostic Criteria: Involves difficulties in the acquisition and use of academic skills despite intervention. This includes difficulties in word reading, reading comprehension, spelling, written expression, number sense, calculation, and mathematical reasoning
• Severity Levels: Mild, moderate, severe

Specific types of communication disorders

• Language Disorder: Characterized by persistent difficulties in the use of language in different situations, leading to limitations in communication
• Speech Sound Disorder: Characterized by difficulty with speech sound production, hindering intelligible communication.
• Childhood-onset fluency disorder (stuttering): Significant impairments in fluency and time patterning of speech
• Social (pragmatic) communication disorder: Difficulties with the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication, especially in adjusting communication to different contexts

Motor disorders and specifics

• Developmental coordination disorder: Characterized by significant and persistent deficits in the acquisition and execution of coordinated motor skills that interfere with daily activities and academic/school productivity, and prevocational and vocational activities

• Stereotypic movement disorder: Characterized by repetitive, seemingly driven, and apparently purposeless motor behaviors; potentially causing self-injury.

• Tic disorders (Tourette’s disorder, persistent/chronic motor or vocal tic disorder, provisional tic disorder): Characterized by sudden, rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic movements.

• Coding Note: Include additional codes to specify associated conditions, genetic factors, or environmental factors contributing to presentations

Global Developmental Delay

• Diagnosis reserved for children under 5 who do not meet expected developmental milestones owing to multiple developmental delays in several areas of functioning
• Reassessment after a period of time is required

Other Specified and Unspecified Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• These categories are used when clear criteria for established disorders or other developmental categories are not met but significant developmental impairments are present

Test your knowledge on neurodevelopmental disorders and their characteristics. This quiz covers topics such as ADHD, Intellectual Development Disorder, and social communication deficits. See how well you understand these important psychological concepts.