Children

Children, the promise and hope of the future, innocence, curiosity, and without bounds. The first years of a child’s life outline one of the most important periods of growth and development – when they learn to plunge into the world and develop essential relationships with it. And children always seem to see the world in amazement and wonder and respond by exploring interest. Every child is unique; with talents, interests, and challenges, nurtured and supported, they will have the opportunities to grow. Such a practice would also have a positive effect on society when raised to be decent, responsible adults.

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Neurodevelopmental Disorder

Neurodevelopmental Disorder

Neurodevelopmental disorders have been defined as a group of conditions that affect development in the nerves and brain and lead to a variety of impairments in cognitive, social, motor, and communication skills. The onset begins in early childhood and persists throughout one's life. Some of the common neurodevelopmental disorders that may be found in children are as follows:

1. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) -This consists of a complex disorder and therefore characterized by challenges in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviors. Further, the intensity of the symptoms may be different for various people, and some of the common signs include,

  • Communication Challenges– People who have autism may experience difficulties in communication; both spoken and unspoken. They find that it is not easy to comprehend and express language, read facial expressions, body language, and gestures.
  • Social Difficulties–  Social interactions become a funny game for people suffering from autism because they fail to take social cues, empathize and develop friendships.
  • Repetitive Behaviours– The signs of autistic patients include having repetitive behaviors or extremely limited actions. They repeat some activities or have rigid routines along with paying keen attention to particular topics or objects.
  • Sensory Sensitivities- Some individuals with autism develop sensory sensitivities like becoming more sensitive to sounds, lights, textures, or any taste.
  • Strong Interests– Some autistic people have intense and bizarre interests in some specific topics with a level of their expertise.
  • Difficulties with transitions–  Autistic people consider transitions in their routine and the happening of some unexpected events to be very challenging.

2. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)- Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)- ADHD is a disorder showing struggles in sustaining attention, controlling impulses, and hyperactivity. It becomes visible at an early age and it becomes more noticed when they start schooling. In some cases, the symptoms have been identified in late adulthood. The exact cause of ADHD is unknown, however, certain researchers state that it can occur as a result of certain genetic and environmental factors. It is noted with issues of sustaining attention, mastering emotional response, organizational tasks, and sitting in still. It severely affects the functioning academic and social life. ADHD impacts almost every aspect of an individual’s life from self-esteem, academic performance, work, productivity, and relationships, There are three subtypes of ADHD are given below;

  • Predominantly Inattentive Presentation– People belonging to this category are reportedly affected in terms of attention and concentration, as well as organization. They do not finish their tasks within the deadline and tend to forget things easily in their daily lives.

  • Predominantly Hyperactive Impulsive Presentation- The category is portrayed in terms of hyper-activity and impulsiveness. The individuals in this category of being infected with the disorder appear restless and fidgety; they cannot even sit at places. Such people act impulsively and do not care about the results or the outcome of the action they have undertaken.
  • Combined presentation- It is a combination of symptoms of both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive presentation and it is considered the most common form of ADHD.

ADHD is indicated by the following features;

  • Distractibility and inability to maintain attention
  • Often losing things and forgetting important items
  • Impulsivity and impulsive behavior with a tendency to act on impulse
    Inability to remain still or sit and fidgeting
  • Is unable to stay seated or remain sitting as they are always fidgety
  •  Talk too much and interrupting people around them
  •  Ineffective in relation to managing time and planning activities
  •  Does not follow instructions and complete work properly on time
  • Avoid or dislikes activities that would require continuing mental effort to carry out.

ADT typically involves a combination of a behavioral intervention, psycho-education, and medications that may sometimes be prescribed. The central aspect of behavioral modification is the enhancement of the skills of individuals in organizing activities, managing time, and coping.

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Learning Disability (LD)

Learning disability refers to the disorders that affect one’s ability to understand or use spoken or written language, perform arithmetic calculations and coordinate movements. It occurs in the very young age that can become a lifelong threat for individuals. In some cases, overlapping of multiple learning disabilities can happen that has a wider impact in their lives. Early identification and interventions can help a child with LD to minimize the risks and perform better by refining his/her strengths. Special education and therapies are suggested to improve the learning capacity of affected children and consistent support improves the learning capacity of the affected. Different types of LD are listed below;

  • Dyslexia- This type of disability affects reading, spelling, and writing, and individuals with dyslexia find it difficult to identify words, decode letters, and grasp the connection between sounds and letters.
  • Dyscalculia- It is a kind of disability to understand and work with numbers and mathematical concepts. These types of people may struggle with fundamental arithmetic, telling time, and understanding mathematical concepts.
  • Dysgraphia- The disability that impacts skills in writing and it is visible with handwriting, spelling, and establishing thoughts on paper.
  • Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)- APD affects the processing of the brain with auditory information and individuals who have APD find it difficult to differentiate between similar sounds or understand spoken language in a loud environment.
  • Visual Processing Disorder (VPD)- It affects the interpretation by the brain of visual information and this can impact reading maps, identifying shapes, and understanding visual clues.
  • Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD)- NVLD impacts on non-verbal cues like body language, gestures, and spatial awareness which can affect social skills and communication.
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Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is known as the influence that humans can have when they are in same age group or social circle particularly on each other’s thoughts, behaviours and actions. It its very common in children, teenagers and young adults as they are always in search of acceptance and approval from their peers. Peer pressure can either be positive or negative based on the behaviour or situation being influenced.

  • Positive Peer Pressure– It is a healthy practice where friends or peers motivate each other to engage in constructive and beneficial activities like studying together, participating in extra-curricular activities, making healthy lifestyle choices.
  • Negative Peer Pressure– Negative peer pressure happens when tandems are engaged in harmful, risky and unhealthy behaviours. For instance, try to use alcohol or drug, involving in dangerous stunts, or taking part in actions that are against to the ethics and morality.

Precipitating factors of peer pressure

  • Desire for acceptance
  • Fear of being judged
  • Lack of confidence
  • Seeking identity
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Substance abuse

Substance abuse among children are increasing now-a-days due to the increase in its availability and exposure. Substance abuse in children is also known as paediatric substance abuse. Substance abuse is defined as the misuse or excessive use of substances like alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco or prescribed medications. It is a concern as it becomes a threat to the entire life of a child by bringing significant physical, emotional and social consequences. Major causative factors of substance abuse are peer influence, family environment, mental health issues, easy access to substance and trauma or stressful life events. Substance abuse can be prevented and managed with a combined interventions of education, open communication and nurturing a supportive environment.

Signs of substance abuse in children;

  • Changes in behaviour, mood or personality
  • Decreased academic performance
  • Irregular to school or other activities
  • Variations in sleep pattern
  • Sudden weight loss or gain
  • Social withdrawal
  • Frequent lying or increase in keeping things confidential
  • Ignoring personal hygiene
  • Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities
  • Involvement in risky behaviors or actions
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Intellectual Disability

Intellectual disability was known as mental retardation formerly and it indicates prominent limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour. It reflects the delay in language development, problem solving and learning. Levels of intellectual capacities differ in children and prominently intellectually disabled children are slow in meeting their daily needs. It starts before a child turns 18 years and even before birth. The causative factors may be an injury, disease or a problem in the brain and few other known causes are Down syndrome, foetal alcohol syndrome, fragile X syndrome, genetic conditions, birth defects and infections happen before birth.

Signs of Intellectual Disability

  • Perform development milestones like sit up, crawl or walk later than the other children
  • Have trouble in speaking or learn to talk later
  • Difficulty in remembering things
  • Understanding social rules, seeing results of their actions and solving problems become troublesome

Specific Learning Disorder (SLD)

Difficulty in learning and utilizing academic skills in an average or above-average intelligence is known as SLD and the common types of SLD include dyslexia (difficulty in reading), dyscalculia (difficulty in maths/arithmetic skills) and dysgraphia (difficulty in writing).

Communication Disorders

Disorders associated with language, speech and social communications are categorised under communication disorders. Children with this disorder may find it complicated to express themselves or to comprehend others.

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)

It is also known as dyspraxia, which affects motor skills and coordination of a child. The very common issues associated with this are difficulty in tying shoelaces, using scissors, riding a bike, etc.

Tourette Syndrome

It involves motor tics that are voluntary and repetitive movements of vocalizations. This begins in childhood, but differs in its intensity over a period of time.

Rett Syndrome

This is mostly associated with girls by leading them into severe impairments in communication, motor skills and cognitive abilities.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)

The incident of CDD is very rare and it notifies with considerable loss of acquired skills in language, socialization and motor development after a period of normal development.

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