An Interesting Introduction to Psychology - Developmental Disorders

Often associated with Mental Retardation,disturbances); sometimes illusions or hallucinations
Stereotypic Movement Disorder is characterized by(perceptual disturbance) occur instead of cognitive
repetitive motor behaviors that are not functional,disturbances.
such as head banging or body-rocking, and causeThe typical onset and duration of delirium is usually
physical harm or significantly interfere with normalrapid and duration is brief, typically less than 1 month.
activities. A child who has a short nose, narrow upperResearch has found older people (60+ y/o), people
lip, small chin, and flat mid-face, and who experienceswith decreased cerebral reserve (e.g., prior CNS injury
developmental delays, failure to thrive, and is usuallyor impaired cognition), post-cardiotomy patients, and
mild to moderately mentally retarded characterizespeople going through drug withdrawal to be most
the non-DSM condition Fetal Alcohol Syndromeat-risk for developing delirium. Twenty percent of
(caused by chronic consumption of alcohol by motherpeople over age 85 have dementia. Pseudo-dementia
during pregnancy). The 3rd most frequent cause ofis the term used when an elderly person's experience
death for infants between 1 month and 1 year old isof depression impairs their cognitive ability, but is
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A childunrelated to a general medical condition or substance
diagnosed with Childhood Depression may presentuse.
similarly as depressed adults, though often mask theirThe initial stages of Alzheimer's Disease involves
feelings with delinquency, phobias, underachievement,forgetting tasks and repeating questions, which
psychosomatic complaints, hyperactivity, orprogresses to impaired ability to perform day-to-day
aggression; it is often associated with family abuse ortasks independently (e.g., cooking, driving, getting
neglect.dressed). In the final stages, incontinence, severe
The subtypes of Personality Change Due to alanguage impairment, and the inability to walk or sit-up
General Medical Condition are Labile, Disinhibited,are typical. The only way to confirm with certainty
Aggressive, Apathetic, Paranoid, Other, Unspecified,that a person has Alzheimer's disease is Postmortem
and Combined. The most likely diagnosis for a personbrain autopsy or biopsy. A person who presents with
who becomes catatonic as a direct result ofsignificant problems in memory and/or other cognitive
cerebrovascular disease is Catatonic Disorder Due todisturbances following a cerebrovascular disease (e.g.,
a General Medical Condition. Substance Intoxication isstroke or infarction) would receive a diagnosis of
diagnosed when maladaptive behavioral orVascular Dementia. Another term for what the DSM
psychological changes occur during or shortly aftercalls Dementia Due to HIV Disease is AIDS Dementia
using or being exposed to a substance (e.g., alcohol,Complex. When a person's dementia is caused by the
caffeine, opioids), and the changes are due to thepersisting effects of substance use, rather than the
physiological effects of the substance on the centraldirect effects of intoxication or withdrawal, the most
nervous system.appropriate diagnosis is Substance-Induced Persisting
Substance Withdrawal is given when a reversibleDementia (with the responsible substance indicated).
syndrome develops in a person due to recentlySignificant impairment in one's ability to learn new
terminating or reducing the use of a substance afterinformation is referred to as anterograde amnesia,
using it in large quantities over a long period of time.while marked diminishment in one's ability to recall
A client who discloses a history of extensive LSDlearned information or events is called retrograde
use, though no longer uses, reports that heamnesia. When a person's amnesia is due to a medical
occasionally re-experiences hallucinations similar tocondition, such as hypoxia, seizures, or head trauma,
those he experienced when using the LSD. In thisthe correct diagnosis is Amnestic Disorder. Due to a
case, the most appropriate diagnosis is HallucinogenGeneral Medical Condition (with specific condition
Persisting Perception Disorder. A person with Deliriumindicated) Alcohol-Induced Persisting Amnestic
experiences a reduced level of awareness andDisorder due to thiamine and other vitamin B
understanding of the environment, impaired ability todeficiencies is known as Korsakoff's Syndrome.
focus, maintain, or switch attention (disturbances ofAntabuse Produces severe nausea when taken in
consciousness), as well as memory impairment,conjunction with alcohol and is used to assist in the
disorientation, or language difficulties (cognitivetreatment of alcoholism.