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Social Deficits and Autism Spectrum Disorders in Tourette’s Syndrome
Abstract Chronic tic disorders, including Tourette’s syndrome (TS), are neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by the childhood onset of motor and/or vocal tics. Youth with TS often experience disturbances in social functioning, which can negatively impact functioning and overall quality of life. We summarize the existing knowledge about social deficits in youth with TS, while highlighting the various ways that these deficits present in comorbid developmental disorders (i.e., autism spectrum disorders) as well as in other TS-related phenomenology impacting social functioning (i.e., comorbid psychiatri...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - August 15, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Fits, Tantrums, and Rages in TS and Related Disorders
Abstract Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder of childhood onset characterized by motor and phonic tics. In the majority of cases, psychiatric comorbidity complicates TS, manifesting with a wide range of affective and behavioral disturbances. Aggressive symptoms are relatively common in TS and have adverse impacts on family functioning and quality of life. The etiology of such symptoms may reflect a complex interplay among neurobiological, genetic, and environment factors. This paper provides an update on aggressive symptoms in TS with focus on explosive outbursts or “rages” and self-...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - August 8, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Advancing Recognition of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: the Proposed DSM-5 Diagnosis of “Neurobehavioral Disorder Associated with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure (ND-PAE)”
Abstract Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are a surprisingly common, yet under-identified set of lifelong neurodevelopmental disabilities with substantial economic and social costs—and high rates of debilitating secondary conditions. An advance in the field of FASD is a proposed diagnostic category included in the 2013 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Health Disorders (DSM-5): “Neurobehavioral Disorder Associated with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure” (ND-PAE). With clinical guidelines to inform its use, appropriate recognition of ND-PAE can allow wider identification of individuals impa...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - June 30, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Outcome Measures in Developmental Speech Sound Disorders with a Motor Basis
Abstract One challenging area of speech-language pathology is evaluating treatment change in children with speech sound disorder (SSD) with a motor basis. A clinician’s knowledge and use of outcome measures following treatment are central to evidence-based practice. This narrative review evaluates the use of outcome measures to assess treatment change in motor-based SSDs. Seven databases were searched to identify studies reporting outcomes of treatment in SSDs between 1985 and 2014. Sixty-six studies were identified for analysis, and reported outcome measures were categorized within the International Cl...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - June 28, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Improving Recognition of Children Affected by Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: Detection of Exposure in Pediatric Care
Abstract Early identification of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) is important for providing services and preventing secondary disabilities. Recent studies indicate that many FASDs are undiagnosed, partly because there is a need to improve detection of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). The aims of this review are to characterize existing practices for assessing PAE in pediatric care, identify the most efficient, promising methods of detecting PAE, and recognize the knowledge and practice gaps. This review indicates that maternal self-reports remain the most common method utilized in routine clinica...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - June 26, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Neurobehavioral Disorder Associated with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure (ND-PAE): Review of Evidence and Guidelines for Assessment
We present a review of the evidence for impairment in three domains highlighted in ND-PAE: neurocognitive functioning, self-regulation, and adaptive functioning. In addition, we provide guidelines for clinical assessment of each domain. When considering ND-PAE, it is essential to obtain as comprehensive an assessment as possible, including multidisciplinary/multimethod assessment of the individual by a qualified team. It is our aim to provide clinicians with a useful reference for assessing ND-PAE and highlight important guidelines to be followed when conducting neuropsychological assessment. (Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports)
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - June 26, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Executive Function in SLI: Recent Advances and Future Directions
Abstract This paper provides a review of recent research on executive function abilities in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Across several studies, children with SLI are reported to perform worse than typically developing peers on measures of sustained attention, working memory, inhibition, and attention shifting. However, few studies have considered multiple executive function components simultaneously and even fewer have examined the underlying relationship between executive function deficits and impaired language acquisition. We argue that in order to fully understand the nature of ex...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - June 25, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Motor Issues in Specific Language Impairment: a Window into the Underlying Impairment
Abstract This paper reviews the findings of recent studies examining the motor abilities of children with specific language impairment (SLI). Standardized measures of motor ability confirm that children with SLI exhibit deficits in fine and gross motor skill, both simple and complex. These difficulties also extend to speech-motor ability, particularly with the control of their articulatory movements. Communicative gesturing, on the other hand, does not appear to be significantly impacted in SLI. Some of the latest studies reviewed in this paper have examined motor processes supported by procedural memory,...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - June 23, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

What Happens When Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Become Adults?
Abstract The range of structural abnormalities and functional deficits caused by prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) are referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). The disabilities associated with FASDs are said to be lifelong, but we know relatively little regarding outcomes beyond childhood and adolescence. Many of physical, brain, and neurobehavioral features that are present in children with FASDs will endure to adulthood. However, some features may diminish or change over time. Furthermore, secondary disabilities, such as school dropouts, trouble with the law, and substance/alcohol abuse pr...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - June 23, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Educational Needs and Care of Children with FASD
Abstract The effects from prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) can cause a range of neurobehavioral deficits that impact learning and functioning in school. As a result, children affected by PAE have diverse learning needs and may experience problems in school. Educational planning needs to be developed in accordance with the children’s individual cognitive and learning profiles. Interventions need to focus on habilitation of the underlying deficits that influence learning within the context of an academic or school skill. Caregivers require information on how to advocate for their children’s needs. Additi...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - June 23, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Family Support for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Abstract Although the scientific community has recognized the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on development for over 40 years, the empirical study of positive behavioral interventions and family support programs for people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) has only just emerged over the last 10 to 15 years. In this time, dedicated researchers have developed innovative programs that have generally produced large effects and have been acceptable to children with FASD and their families. This body of work demonstrates that children with FASD can benefit from interventions that are appropri...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - June 23, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Bilingualism and Speech Sound Disorders
Abstract The nature of speech sound development and disorders in bilinguals is complex, in part, because of the interdependence between languages. That interdependence, however, appears to be advantageous to bilinguals in that it bootstraps the languages such that speech sound development is similar, although not identical, to that of monolinguals. The same principle also applies to bilinguals with speech sound disorders. From a longitudinal perspective, speech sound acquisition in typically developing bilinguals and those with speech sound disorders is not remarkably different than that of monolinguals. ...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - June 23, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Executive Difficulties in Developmental Coordination Disorder: Methodological Issues and Future Directions
Abstract Motor skills and cognition have often been studied separately, but there is increasing understanding of the close relationship between these abilities over development. Motor coordination difficulties are central to the diagnosis of developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and recent evidence suggests that certain cognitive processes, known as ‘executive functions’, may be affected in individuals with this neurodevelopmental disorder. In this article, we review the research concerning executive functions in DCD, considering behavioural, neuroimaging and questionnaire studies of a range of p...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - April 9, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Training Parents of Children with Intellectual Disabilities: Trends, Issues, and Future Directions
Abstract This review summarizes selected studies involving education and training programs designed to improve parents’ ability to provide research-based support and intervention for their children with intellectual disabilities. First, we highlight stressors and obstacles associated with parenting a child with intellectual disability and note the relative paucity of existing research in light of the increased risk of stress, anxiety, and depression reported for this population. Next, we provide a description of recent trends and issues and attempt to elucidate gaps in the existing literature that warra...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - April 9, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

How Can We Make Our Assessment of Motor AbilityRelevant Cross-Culturally?
Abstract The assessment of motor abilities is important to identify atypical development, to measure progress obtained with intervention, and for research. Motor assessment usually is based on the use of standardized tests, on which children are expected to perform specific tasks that are deemed common. As the majority of the motor development tests were created by researchers from European and North American countries, concepts from these cultures are embedded in the tasks, materials, and format of the instruments. This raises the question as to whether these instruments can be used internationally, with...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - April 3, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research