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Is Treating Motor Problems in DCD Just a Matter of Practice and More Practice?
Abstract Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is often called a motor learning deficit. The question addressed in this paper is whether improvement of motor skills is just a matter of mere practice. Without any kind of intervention, children with DCD do not improve their motor skills generally, whereas they do improve after task-oriented intervention. Merely offering children the opportunity to practice motor skills, for instance by playing active video games, did lead to improved motor performance according to recent research findings, but to a lesser extent than task-oriented intervention. We argue...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - April 1, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Brain Imaging Increases Our Understanding of Developmental Coordination Disorder: a Review of Literature and Future Directions
Abstract Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neuromotor disorder of unknown etiology characterized by poor motor skills that significantly interferes with a child’s ability to perform everyday activities and affects their psychosocial well-being. Little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying motor impairment, making it difficult to understand why children with DCD struggle to learn motor skills and what the best intervention would be to optimize function. With the advent of advanced neuroimaging techniques, several MRI studies have been conducted to tackle this important issue. Findi...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - March 26, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Clinical and Research Criteria for Developmental Coordination Disorder—Should They Be One and the Same?
Abstract The aim of this paper is to discuss if criteria used for diagnosing children for clinical purposes should be the same as for the selection of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder for research. Next, we give an overview of the criteria mentioned in the development of the European guideline for diagnosing Developmental Coordination Disorder and the implementation of this guideline in different countries. To gain insight into current clinical practice, we also reviewed the medical files of children attending rehabilitation centers for the criteria used to diagnose Developmental Coordina...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - March 11, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Parents with Intellectual Disability in a Population Context
Abstract Parenting by people with intellectual disability continues to confront societal sensibilities. On the one hand, parents with intellectual disability engage in the valued social role of raising children; on the other, their parenting attracts (typically negative) attention based on an expectation of their limited capacities to parent. The literature primarily addresses the question of whether or not parents with intellectual disability can be adequate parents or reports on methods for improving their parenting skills. An emerging trend in the literature over the last decade takes a different persp...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - February 25, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

The Ecology of ADHD in the Schools
Abstract Overwhelming evidence suggests that a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood has profound and far-reaching effects on children’s functioning in the school environment. In this article, we draw on a wide range of research studies to summarize the state of our knowledge about the academic functioning of children with ADHD and discuss intervention approaches that align with these areas. We use ecological systems theory to outline the various factors that are related to school functioning for children with ADHD at the child, classroom, and family levels. We place ...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - February 13, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Trauma and Life Events in Adults with Intellectual Disability
Abstract Exposure to adverse life events and environmental stressors (e.g. violence, poverty, sexual abuse) has been found to be high in intellectual disability populations. Notwithstanding resilience, for some people with intellectual disability, adverse life events and environmental stressors may lead to PTSD and may affect well-being in more diffuse but potentially still clinically impactful ways (e.g. challenging behaviour, obesity, substance misuse). Advances have occurred in the field of trauma in intellectual disability. More specifically, a small number of assessment measures have been developed f...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - February 11, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Stress and Resilience Among Families Caring for Children with Intellectual Disability: Expanding the Research Agenda
Abstract Parents of children with intellectual disability (ID) tend to report higher-than-average rates of stress, anxiety and depression. Chronic psychological distress may place parents at increased risk of marital disruption, family dysfunction, and for a number of physical and mental health conditions. The prevailing approach in the literature starts from the premise that (the care needs of) the child with ID is the stressor and, in doing so, equates resilience with the successful adaptation of families to caring for a child with ID. This approach naturally leads to proposals for special services aime...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - February 3, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Long-Term Effects of Stimulant Treatment for ADHD: What Can We Tell Our Patients?
Discussion When administered properly with careful titration, follow-up, and dose adjustment, stimulants are a safe and effective treatment for ADHD with minimal long-term risk and possible long-term benefit. (Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports)
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - January 29, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Raising a Child with Autism: A Developmental Perspective on Family Adaptation
Abstract While raising a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often produces chronic stress and strain in families, positive family outcomes are also evident following an ASD diagnosis. Although the complex and heterogeneous nature of ASD is well documented, a coherent understanding of the apparent differences in family outcomes is lacking. This review focuses on the process of family adaptation, identifying important contextual factors that may influence family experiences through the use of a conceptual model. Due to inconsistencies in research findings to date, the potential risk and protective...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - January 23, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

ADHD History of the Concept: the Case of the Continuous Performance Test
Abstract The historic development of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) construct is, in many cases, paralleled by research questions addressed with the continuous performance test (CPT). This task, the use of which dates back to the 1950s for the diagnosis of brain damage, requires responding to rare targets in a sequence of stimuli during prolonged assessment. In our review, we illustrate how the CPT was and still is used for the assessment of sustained attention and impulsivity as core features of ADHD. In addition to impaired performance at the neuropsychological level, the CPT also t...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - January 22, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

The Importance of Social Contextual Factors in Peer Relationships of Children with ADHD
Abstract Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often have poor peer relationships, as evidenced by difficulties in being accepted and befriended by peers, as well as poor quality and stability in any friendships they do have. This peer impairment is important for researchers and clinicians to consider because it can exacerbate behavior problems, emotional maladjustment, and academic failure over time in children with ADHD. In this review, we highlight the important ways in which children with ADHD demonstrate impairment in their peer relationships. We argue that the traditional con...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - January 7, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Interventions for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Year in Review
Abstract Children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience core symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity, which often result in difficulties in social and psychological functioning and poor outcomes. A wide variety of interventions exist to treat these symptoms and improve associated impairments; some better established than others. Compared to treatments used in isolation, the combination of psychosocial treatment and medication may yield incremental benefits and is highly recommended. Pharmacological interventions are often selected as one component of ...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - January 7, 2015 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Autism: A Global Perspective
Abstract Epidemiological data estimates the presence of 52 million cases of autism worldwide, affecting around 1 %-2 % of children across the globe. There has been a recent increase in interest regarding similarities and differences in the manifestations and the impact of the condition in different world regions. Despite this interest, however, evidence remains limited in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and it has been difficult to draw public and policy-maker attention to autism in particular and neurological and mental health conditions more generally in these countries. We adopt a global li...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - December 28, 2014 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Studies of Glutamate and GABA in Autism: Implications for Excitation-Inhibition Imbalance Theory
Abstract One popular major theory of neurotransmitter dysfunction is an imbalance in excitation and inhibition (EI theory).The EI imbalance theory is thought to impact widely across neural circuits mediating language, social, and cognitive functions, and could potentially explain some aspects of the autism phenotype. Evidence from genetic and molecular studies provide support for abnormal suppression of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) function and an overabundance of glutamatergic transmission as potential mechanisms of this hyperexcitability. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) is a potentially e...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - December 16, 2014 Category: Child Development Source Type: research

Assessment of Autism Across the Lifespan: A Way Forward
Abstract The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is currently estimated at 1 in 68 individuals in the US (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 63:1–21, 2014)), and recommendations for screening and best practices for diagnostic evaluations have been formulated in scientific, clinical, and institutional venues, if not successfully implemented. As such, this article reviews the best practices in the field for toddler, school-age and adolescent/adult assessments, describes at-risk symptomatology in toddlers, reviews common co-morbidities to be aware of at each time po...
Source: Current Developmental Disorders Reports - December 10, 2014 Category: Child Development Source Type: research