Angelina Beatriz B.

Claveria March 30, 2020

Child and Adolescent Learner and Learning Principles Ma’am Jophie Samudio

“Developmental Disorders”
Development is the process where someone or something grows or changes into a more
advance state than it was in its original form. As humans, we start as a new born infant lacking
both skills and knowledge and then we progress and turn into an adult with the necessary skills
and knowledge to get by the society. As we develop, it is important that we are guided properly
in order to be ready as an adult. But there are things that can affect the development of a child.
Developmental disabilities begin anytime during the developmental period and usually last
throughout a person’s lifetime. These disabilities can be causes by complex mixed of different
factors such as: genetics, parental health and behaviors, infection or complication during birth,
exposure to high level of toxins and other harmful instances. The most common issues are
caused by genetics and parental behavior. Because of these factors, both intellectual and
physical development of child is affected. The following paragraphs will explain further the
different developmental disorders a child can have.
One most common disorder in children of today is the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
The discovery of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was in 1973. It was discovered by a group of American
dysmorphologists who published the first case reports and coined the term FAS. Its cause is
from its own name: a mother drinking too much alcohol during her pregnancy. With the long
exposure from alcohol, the fetus’ brain and growth is damaged and cannot be reversed. In a
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report in 2015-2017, 11.5% of pregnant
women reported are drinking and 3.9% reported to be binge drinking during past 30 days.
Women who were not married were more likely to drink alcohol and binge drink during
pregnancy than were married women. When alcohol enters the bloodstream of the mother and
reaches the developing fetus by crossing the placenta, it interferes with the delivery of oxygen
and the nutrition given to the fetus. With this, a child can have birth defects such
underdeveloped physical features, low birth weight and small head size, delayed behavior
development, seizures and heart, bone and kidney problems. Physical defects may include
deformities of joints, slow physical growth, vision and hearing and distinctive facial features
(small eyes, irregularly thin upper lip, and smooth skin surface between nose and upper lip). As
I said earlier, there is no way to reverse the physical damage done by the disorder. There’s no
cure or specific treatment given the child suffering from FAS. However, there are therapies that
can be done to help a child reach his/her full potential. Children that suffer from this disorder
can benefit from speech-language therapy, physical therapy, early intervention educational
services, social skill therapies, and counselling.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was originally called as Hyperkinetic Impulse
Disorder. ADHD was first mentioned during 1902 by Sir George Still, a British pediatrician, who
described it as “an abnormal defect or moral control in children.” In the late 1960’s, ADHD was
formally recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as a mental disorder. In 1980, APA
changed Hyperkinetic Impulse Disorder to Attention Deficit Disorder because they believe that
hyperactivity was not really a common symptom of the disorder. In 1987, the APA was once
again revised the name and called it as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and combined
the three symptoms into a single type. And by the year 2000, APA established three subtypes of
ADHD: Combined type ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive type ADHD, and Predominantly
hyperactive-impulsive type ADHD. ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental
disorders of childhood. The exact cause of ADHD has yet to be determined. However, the
National Institute of Mental Health suggests that ADHD may be linked to the interactions of
genes and environmental or non-genetic factors. Outside factors that may increase the chances
of ADHD are exposure to toxins (lead, pesticides etc.), mothers’ exposure to smoking, alcohol or
drugs, Brain injuries or low birth weight. Children who experience ADHD may have symptoms
that vary. The basic symptoms of ADHD are when children may have a hard time to concentrate
or focus on something, having trouble in controlling impulsive behaviors, can be overly active,
can become overly talkative, been heavily fidgeting, forgetfulness, carelessness and having
trouble in social interactions. Predominantly Inattentive ADHD is when a child struggles to have
focus and follow instructions. The child is easily distracted when there’s a task at hand. The
child forgets activities needed to be done and fails to give close attention to details.
Predominantly Impulsive ADHD is when a child struggles to be at one place. A child is fidgety,
excessively active in motor skills, impatient, excessive talking, and has difficulty being quiet.
Combined ADHD is the combination of both Impulsive and Inattentive ADHD. Both symptoms
can be seen in the child. ADHD does not only occur in childhood but can be brought up to
adulthood. ADHD also has its severity. A mild ADHD is where a person can function with only
minor complications in social interactions, school or work settings. In moderate ADHD,
functionality may be hard and needed of simple medications. Severe ADHD is where several
symptoms occur and results into non-functionality in social, school or work settings. As the
person grows, the severity and symptoms may vary. There are many stigma’s that surrounds
ADHD. People tend to see ADHD as weakness of character or just a personality trait. They
misinterpret ADHD as attention-seeking or sometimes laziness and lack of determination.
Students with ADHD may be seen as sloppy or always daydreaming and not focusing in class.
Curing ADHD may not be as permanent as people think it is. There are times that even
therapies aren’t that effective to someone suffering it. But, having treatment plans may help
the patient and family to cope with it better. Usually people with ADHD are given stimulants
giving off dopamine which increases thinking and attention. They can also be given non-
stimulants if the side effects of stimulants are harder to cope with. Non stimulants can also
improve focus and attention and can control the impulsivity of the person.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are conditions where a child has a difficulty
developing normal social relationships, difficulty in language or not speaking at all, behaving in
compulsive and ritualistic ways. The first known appearance of autism was in 1911 by Eugene
Bleuler, a psychiatrist from Switzerland, who used the term to describe certain unique
symptoms that were seen in schizophrenia. It came from the Greek word αὐτός (autos), which
is an intensive personal pronoun, autism is used for extreme social withdrawal. However, there
was another hypothesis claims that the two disorders (autism and schizophrenia), are distinct
according to genetic data. In 1927, Eugene Minkowski, a student of Bleuler, further inspected
autisim and defined it as the “trouble generator” of schizophrenia. Diagnosing autism didn’t
start until 1944 by Hans Asperger. Children who have ASD can either be gifted or severely
challenged towards learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities. The cause of Autism
Spectrum Disorder has no known single cause. Although, even without the exact known cause,
factors such as environmental, biological and genetics can be a reason for ASD. For some
children, ASD can be connected with genetic disorders like Rett Syndrome or fragile X
syndrome. If a family member has genetical disorder, there is a chance that a child may also
obtain it. The genetic mutations can be inherited or sometimes genetical conditions just pop
up. Researchers are currently investigating if factors such as viral infections, medication or
complications during pregnancy have a role in ASD. Some researchers link prescription of
valproic acid and thalidomide drugs may have heighten the risk of ASD but there is still no
proven evidence of this. Autistic Spectrum Disorder’s symptoms can begin during the early
childhood and typically last a lifetime. They have repetitive behaviors and daily activities. These
repetitions often include repeating certain words, phrases and topics. They often fixate in one
interest where they may put all out effort. Some children with ASD may have difficulty learning
and some have signs of lower intelligence. Others children may show the opposite; they show
higher than average intelligence. They learn quickly yet have trouble in communicating (An
example of this is a portrayal of ASD in the Korean show “Good Doctor” directed by Ki Min-soo).
Symptoms pertaining to difficulty in social communication may include: poor eye contact,
delayed speech, lack of facial expression, seems to have robotic speech, repeat words, doesn’t
express emotions, difficulty in recognizing others feelings, difficulty in keeping conversations
and may have unusual tones in speaking. The stigma in autism mostly concerns the judgment to
both the patient and their parents. In the early days, people suffering from ASD are called
“retarded” which is an offensive term nowadays. Negative reactions from people are given to
the parents as they look at people suffering from ASD as lower than the society. Because of the
difference of a holistic person and someone who has ASD, usually the people suffering it are
bullied. And because they don’t recognize the emotions and reactions of other people, they
don’t realize it. In our current times, ignorant people who don’t believe in vaccines (anti-vaxers)
have been linking the usage of vaccines and ASD. This controversy has NO RELIABLE STUDY and
the original study has been retracted for its poor design and questionable methods. Please, get
your children vaccinated so they can avoid catching serious diseases and viruses. There’s no
way to prevent ASD and no way of stopping it to happen. Although, there are therapies
available for the improvement of the child suffering ASD. It is better if early intervention
treatment services are done to improve a child’s development. This service helps children from
birth to 3 years to learn the most important skills suck as talking, walking, interactions and
others. Speech therapy can also be included so that the child may able to speak properly. There
are also some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that can help avoid the ritualistic
behaviors of people suffering from ASD such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, and fluvoxamine.
Rett Syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that is mostly exclusive for girls.
In 1966, an Austrian physician named Dr. Andreas Rett wrote a journal article about the
discovery of the disorder. But it wasn’t until 1983 when Dr. Bengt Hagberg published a second
article where the disorder was recognized. Rett Syndrome is rare where its estimation is a 1 in
10,000 females. Rett syndrome is from a mutation in the methyl CpG binding protein 2 or
MECP2 gene. MECP2 gene is critical for normal brain function. There’s no clear function of
MECP2 but it does have a connection towards the nerve cells. Although not everyone who has a
MECP2 mutation has Rett syndrome. There are other gene mutations such as CDKL5 and FOXG1
that may also trigger Rett syndrome. There’s still no know results of why the mutations of these
genes causes Rett syndrome but scientists and researchers are making more effort to make a
conclusion and solution. Rett syndrome can’t be seen within the first months of the infant. Not
until about 6 months to 18 months, a parent will definitely feel that there’s something wrong
with her child. Infants having Rett syndrome may have poor sucking ability and has a weak cry.
Low muscle tone can be seen as the infant grows. They can’t hold properly and might have a
hard time controlling their arms. Head growth may also slow down and may not develop as the
regular head size. By the age of 1 year – 1.5-year, loss of eye contact, lack of muscle
coordination on arms, irritability, restless crying and lost the ability to speak (Stage I). The lack
of muscle coordination can cause a child to do repeated wringing, washing or clapping motions.
There will also be breathing irregularities (Stage II / Rapid Destructive Stage). Seizures can also
be prominent (Stage III / Plateau or Pseudo-stationary stage). Stigma on Rett Syndrome is more
alike to autism for its neurological similarities. In some countries like Korea, these disorders are
considered as mark o shame, or even bad luck for the family. Even in the western areas, parents
who have children the are suffering from these disorders are called out as freaks and the child
may get bullied. There is no cure for Rett Syndrome. Treatment for it are symptomatic;
treatment focuses on the management of symptoms than curing the disorder itself.
Medications may be given to lessen the breathing abnormalities and seizure. Physical therapy
can be given in order to enhance control on skills and may prolong the mobility of arms.
The last disorders that I will talk about are about the way a child learns. These are
Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia. These three specific disorders are about difficulty in
learning and developing certain skill which are essential foundations of education. Namely,
Dyslexia is difficulty in reading, Dysgraphia is difficulty in writing and Dyscalculia is difficulty
with math in general. Two centuries ago, Dyslexia was only identified by medical professionals.
Dyslexia is of Greek origin. The prefix “dys” meaning absence and “lexis” meaning word and the
same goes with “graphia” meaning to write. “calculia” was different for it came from the Latin
word “calculare” meaning to count. As time progress, Dyspraxia was related to the three but
because it was more of physical co-ordination, it was regarded to be more of a neurological
disorder involving physical movements. The three were considered as specific learning
disorders because they are not connected to other conditions or delayed growth. They are not
also caused by environmental causes. These disorders are diagnosed during their school-aged
years where their skill may be below the average in skill level. These three are caused by
impairments in the brain’s ability to process words, letters and numbers. Dyslexia affects
lexicology of a student. A student may have trouble identifying words, making them slow to
read and may be inaccurate in what they are reading. They misspell certain words that may be
easy for us. They have problems in oral intonations and expressions towards reading sentences.
They have difficulty identifying the focus of what they have read or they may not understand at
all. In Dysgraphia, a child may have difficulty in spelling and grammar. They may also have poor
writing where they mix printed and cursive, upper- and lower-case letters, or even the use of
punctuations. Because of this, their writing if often slow and tiring making them undergo
writing fatigue. They also have a difficulty writing their ideas on paper or thinking and writing at
the same time. Dyscalculia is where a child struggles anything that involves numbers. They have
trouble understanding how numbers work and what is their relationship with one another.
They struggle at the logical process of mathematical equations and reasoning so they may rely
in pure memorization. People with learning disorders are usually keep on being pushed to as
ADHD. Although, this disorder is different than having no focus than not able to learn it at all.
Some people regard these learning disorders as just an excuse for being lazy or being dumb.
They get discriminated most of the time because these are essential learning skills that they
cannot do. Sometimes, the illiteracy of parents towards these learning disorders becomes a
point of anger and disappointment to their children. Treatment for Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and
Dyscalculia are intervention programs. Therapies with the support of their parents are
necessary in order a child to cope with his own disabilities.
There are a lot more disorders and disabilities in development that aren’t included in
this research paper. Even with these few examples, we us future teachers, leaders and parents
should learn not to judge a child so quickly. They might be suffering a condition they may not
know about. If behaviors persist with the children you know, it is better to get them diagnosed
than doing self-diagnosis. Every child should be treated accordingly to who they are and what
they are going through. With the proper procedures and support from family and friends, a
child may improve from his/her current state.
References:
Armstrong, E.M. (1998, December) Diagnosing Moral Disorder: The Discovery and Evolution of
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10075244
Denny, C.H. (2019, April 26) Consumption of Alcohol Beverages and Binge Drinking Among
Pregnant Women Aged 18-44 Years – United States 2015-2017. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6816a1.htm?s_cid=mm6816a1_w
Dodson, W. M.D. (2019, September 03) ADD vs. ADHD: What’s the Difference in Symptoms?
Retrieved from https://www.additudemag.com/slideshows/add-vs-adhd/
Gavin, M.L. (2016, August) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Retrieve from
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/fas.html

Hasan, S. M.D> (2017, November) ADHD. Retrieved from

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/adhd.html

Holland, K. & Higuera, V. (2017, October 12) The History of ADHD: A Timeline. Retrieve from
https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/history#1987
Hugnhes, V. (2011, December 02) Beyond Stigma. Retrieve from
https://www.spectrumnews.org/opinion/beyond-stigma/

Kinman, T. (2017, April 12) Difference Between ADHD and ADD. Retrieve from
https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/difference-between-add-and-adhd

Lodder, A. (2019, February 26) Stigma of Living as an Autism Carer: A Brief Psycho-Social
Support Intervention (SOLACE). Retrieve from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6390626/
Neul, J.L. M.D. (2015) Rett Syndrome. Retrieved from https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/rett-
syndrome/

Osmosis (2017, March 8) Learning disability – definition, diagnosis, treatment, pathology. [MP4]
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKCNqHEzLwQ

Padilla, A. [Anthony Padilla] (2020, January 22) I Spent a Day with AUTISTIC PEOPLE. [MP4]
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zatA90699qs
Sherman, C. PH.D. (2019, September 23) Coping with the Stigma of ADHD. Retrieved from
https://www.additudemag.com/overcoming-adhd-stigma/

Stevenson, K. (2016, July 21) Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia: Describing, Defining and
Applying What We Know Today. Research paper from EDUC 5561 Inclusion of Children with
Special Needs
Sulkes, S.B. (2018, August) Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Retrieve from
https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/children-s-health-issues/learning-and-developmental-
disorders/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd

Sulkes, S.B. (2018, August) Learning and Developmental Disorders. Retrieve from
https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/children-s-health-issues/learning-and-developmental-
disorders/learning-disorders

Tartakovsky, M. (2018, March 8) Breaking the Silence of ADHD Stigma. Retrieved from
https://psychcentral.com/blog/breaking-the-silence-of-adhd-stigma/

(2019, September 26) Developmental Disabilities. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/facts.fhtml

(2019, August 26) What is ADHD? Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/facts.html

(2018, October) Rett Syndrome Definition. Retrieved from https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/rett-

syndrome#definition

(2018, March 27) Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs).

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/diagnosis.html

(2018, January 06) Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Retrieved from

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/autism-spectrum-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-
20352928

(2013, July) Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia and Dyspraxia: How are they Different? Retrieved from
http://brocksacademy.com/2013/07/dyslexia-dysgraphia-dyscalculia-and-dyspraxia-how-are-they-
different/

(2009, November) Rett Syndrome Fact Sheet. Retrieved from

https://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/patient-caregiver-education/fact-sheets/rett-syndrome-fact-sheet

About ADHD – Overview. Retrieved from https://chadd.org/about-adhd/overview/

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: The Basics. Retrieved from

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd-the-
basics/index.shtml

Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-

spectrum-disorders-asd/index.shtml
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fetal-
alcohol-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20352901
History of Autism Treatment. Retrieved from
https://www.appliedbehavioranalysisprograms.com/history-autism-treatment/
Tackling Stigma Associated Learning Disabilities. Retrieved from https://www.ucl.ac.uk/made-at-
ucl/stories/tackling-stigma-associated-learning-disabilities