What is the developmental theory: social-emotional development and competence? (Denham)
- complex psychological construct
- generally children who are able to positively engage with those around them and are able to regulate/manage their emotions and how they express these emotions
- a foundation for engagement and learning
- interacts with other development
What is social competence?
- child engages appropriately in social interaction
What is emotional competence?
- child aware of their emotions and those of others
- also able to manage/regulate how they express/show these emotions to others
What is self-perceived competence?
- child is aware of their own strengths/weaknesses in relation to their peers
- able to use this in their own motivations
What does the term SEMH mean?
- social emotional and mental health
- introduced in the SEND code of practice
- replaced BESD (behavioural emotional social development) and EBD (emotional and behavioural difficulties)
What is attachment?
- used to refer o the process by which a caregiver/parent establishes a relationship with their child which makes them feel safe, secure and protected
- secure = foundation of a childs development in terms of psychosocial adjustment
- can be disrupted by seriously inadequate caregiving environments such as severe neglect, emotional and physical abuse
- has significant impact on childrens social-emotional development and overall development
What are defining features of ADHD?
- neurodevelopmental disorder: continuum of severity
1. impulsiveness: persistently interrupt others, engage in impulsive behaviour where they cannot think of consequences, difficulty waiting for their turn, blurts out before q is finished
2. inattention: impaired, very easily distracted, hard to maintain attention on one task, does not seem to listen, does not follow instructions through
3. hyper or over-activity: very fidgety, runs about/climbs excessively when inappropriate, constantly on the go, talk excessively, poor sleep
How has the DSM-V update changed for ADHD?
- recognition that it continues into adult life
- symptoms must be present before 12yo (7 in DSM-IV)
- recognition of co-morbidity
What is the prevalence of ADHD?
- 5% of children under 18 have a diagnosis: thought to be an underestimate
- majority are referred from primary caregivers
- boys diagnosed more frequently than girls
- co-morbidity: often diagnosed in presence of other neurodevelopmental disorders e.g ASD
- no single risk factor: mix of environmental and genetic factors
How has ADHD been rethought?
- neurodiversity movement: moved into ADHD community as well as ASD
- move away from ADHD as a ‘disorder’ or ‘impairment’ or ‘clinical diagnosis’
- not the only remit of health but also early years, education, social services, criminal justice system etc
- move to strength based approach and needs led
- does not necessarily need intervention
- more complex in those who are co-morbid with other differences
What are positive traits of ADHD?
- hyperfocus
- resilience
- creativity
- energy
How is child ADHD managed?
aims to combine medical, psychological and behavioural approaches: emphasis on family and school
- medical: psychostimulants, however can have significant side effects
- psychological: helping the child and those involved to understand their child
- parent/carer support: facilitating effective strategies for the child and those involved to support the child
- school based: enabling schools to implement strategies for the children they work with
How is speech, language and communication in ADHD?
- often identified difficulties
- very hard to understand why these issues are co-morbid with ADHD
What are some explanations for the co-morbidity between speech and language
difficulties and ADHD?
- co-morbidity of neurodevelopmental disorders
- those with ADHD can often have mild learning disability: slows rate of language learning
- difficulties in attention: impact on listening and attending to their environment, affecting language learning
- difficulties with impulsivity: impact social communication
- working with a child with DLD or other differences: will need to manage ADHD in any interventions, can make them more challenging in terms of engagement
How are reluctant talkers/selective mutism defined in DSM-5?
- consistent failure to speak in specific situations in which there is an expectation for speaking despite speaking in other situations
- interferes with education/occupation achievement/social communication
- must last for at least 1 month
- not due to lack of knowledge or comfort with language in use
- not better explained by communication disorder
What are the 3 main symptom domains of anxiety?
- apprehension: fear something ‘bad’ is going to happen
- motor tension: increased stress/tension
- autonomic activity: ‘fight/flight’ response
What are non-pharmacological (i.e., behavioural) interventions for selective mutism/reluctant
talkers?
- treat as an anxiety disorder
- reduce anxiety about talking
