Student with Pervasive Developmental Disorders - Essay Example

with Pervasive Developmental Disorders Introduction Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD)is a medical condition characterized by different impairment degrees in social interactions and communication skills, and stereotyped, restricted and repetitive behavior patterns (Taylor, 2009). The most common PDD are Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Rhett’s Disorder, autism and Asperger’s syndrome. While majority of children make predictable milestones on the learning language path by the age of three, those suffering from PDD tend not to be able to use language in a normal way (Cohen and Volkmar, 1997). Most of them are not able to combine words into meaning by this age, while others are able either to repeat same words or phrases over and over or speak single words only. Various studies have indicated that PDD can considerably affect the progress of children in their academic, social, and personal development particularly within a standard environment where other normal students are growing and developing in (Syriopoulou- Deli, 2011). In order to have a better understanding of PDD and its impact on children, this paper will discuss the condition in respect to students suffering from the disorder. It is important to begin by noting that PDD is not a single disorder but rather it’s a category that comprises a range of delays in children of varying magnitude in various domains. The most severe of PDD is autism which indicates a primary or chief disturbance in the ability of a child to relate to others. Cognitive and language delays are the other primary characteristics of autism (Delfos, 2005). Students suffering from PDD may not be able to achieve academic and co-curricular success that students with normal abilities can achieve. For any student to be successful he or she needs normal abilities and cognitive skills. Nonetheless, if corrective measures are taken in time, students suffering from PDD may be able to achieve success in classroom and outside classroom. In particular, cognitive skills training can help a student with PDD to develop the necessary skills and abilities to succeed in classroom. Numerous studies have indicated that cognitive skills training in a great way deliver essential skills and abilities to students with PDD (Holzhauser-Peters and True, 2008). There are symptoms associated with pervasive developmental disorder and parents and teachers should take immediate action once they notice them in a child. The first one is a child having difficulty in understanding and using language. Secondly, a child suffering from this disorder may display difficulties in relating or interacting to events, objects, and people (Gutstein and Sheely, 2002). A good example of this symptom is pointing behavior, lack of facial responses, as well as lack of eye contact. The other symptom associated with this disorder is the unusual play with objects such as toys by the affected child. In addition, a child suffering from this disorder often tends to be unable to be comforted or to be cuddled (Rondeau et al, 2011). Parents and teachers should not ignore a child’s difficulty with changing familiar surroundings or routines as this may be a strong indicator that a child is suffering from pervasive developmental disorder. Moreover, a child suffering from this disorder may tend to have repetitive body movements and patterns of behavior such as hair twirling, hand flapping, and foot tapping among other complex movements (Kawatani, M et al, 2012). According to Huerta et al (2012), children who are suffering from this disorder have varying behaviors, intelligence, and abilities. He further notes that it is critical that teachers and parents pay attention to variation in these aspects in order to be able to address the disorder and ensure that students suffering from it develop in a “normal” way. Some of the students suffering from this disorder may not be able to speak at all, while others may speak in limited conversations and phrases (Rondeau et al, 2011). In other cases, students suffering from this disorder may have language development that is relatively normal. As such, parents and teachers should be aware that children suffering from this disorder may not necessarily display similar symptoms and it is important that they pay attention to various symptoms that may point to a possibility of this disorder (Syriopoulou- Deli, 2011). While scientists have not fully understood the causes of pervasive developmental disorder among children, most of them believe that environmental and genetic factors are involved. Latest research regarding the disorder has found out that genetic factors play a major role in causing the disorder; according to the research, there is a 30 percent possibility of a child to develop this disorder if his or her sibling has it (Delfos, 2005). However, the research states that this does not mean that the disorder is passed down from parents to the child. Other researchers have suggested that children with a genetic predisposition or risk of pervasive developmental disorder may develop it when exposed to certain environmental factors. Previous studies regarding the disorder have also suggested that vaccines, allergies, or viruses can cause it (Rondeau et al, 2011). However, it is important to point out that none of this argument has been proven scientifically. As a matter of fact, many of the scientific studies have found out that there is no link between vaccines and this disorder. What is more critical to remember is that bad experiences or parenting has not been found to cause this disorder, as earlier theories suggesting so have been disapproved (Holzhauser-Peters and True, 2008). Although PDD can adversely affect the academic performance and social interaction of students suffering from it, the condition can be taken care of through corrective action. One of the reasons why a student may struggle to learn or read even at a basic level is the weak underlying skills (Gutstein and Sheely, 2002). The delays in developing these skills can be magnified even more when a student has pervasive developmental disorder. In an event that the cause of a student’s interacting and learning difficulties is identified as PDD, it needs to be corrected through cognitive skills training. This can be done by administration of questionnaires and tests that can help doctors and parents to measure PDD symptoms and determine the actual remedy to apply. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) are the screening tests that are commonly used to test pervasive developmental disorders such as autism (Kawatani, M et al, 2012). Various studies have found out that students with pervasive developmental disorders tend to respond well to the appropriate kind of cognitive skills training that is conducted in a professional way. During such training, specific skills should be utilized including conducting tests to identify skills that are weak in a particular student (Holzhauser-Peters and True, 2008). After that, one-on-one, intense and proven cognitive drills should be done to enhance processing speed, attention skills, visualization, reasoning, logic, memory, auditory processing and comprehension of the student with pervasive developmental disorder (Rondeau et al, 2011). Such training should take into account the fact that intelligence is not unchanged or not fixed. The trainer should know that it is possible to develop the potential of every child regardless of his or her specific need. The most important thing is for the trainer to uncover the source of whatever that is keeping the child from realizing his or her full potential and taking corrective measure towards addressing it (Taylor, 2009). The attention of teachers and parents should therefore be shifted towards treating the disorder. Even though there is no cure for the condition, early therapy and intervention can be fundamental in helping affected students to develop skills that can eventually help them to realize their full potential (Syriopoulou- Deli, 2011). Interventions and therapy on this disorder should be designed in such a way that it addresses the particular needs of the affected child including the speech, occupational, behavioral, and educational therapies. The goal of the therapy should be to help affected student to communicate with caregivers and peers, reduce unwanted behaviors such as aggressive and repetitive behaviors, play and cooperate with others, adapt to social rules, and to be safe, as well as take care of themselves (Delfos, 2005). Conclusion Apparently, pervasive developmental disorder can adversely affect social interaction and academic progress of the affected children. This is because the condition affects how the child’s brain develops, therefore affecting how it affects processing of information. As a result, the affected student may have challenges communicating, performing particular tasks, and having difficulties in learning in school. It is because of this that it is important for the caregivers, parents, and teachers to pay more attention on how to address this problem among the affected children and ensure that such students develop in a way that will improve their abilities to lead a normal life in the society. As has been noted, there is need to ensure that proper cognitive skills training is conducted among the affected students. Of more importance is the need to ensure that interventions and therapies are tailored in such a way that it addresses the individual needs of affected child. They should help the child to develop necessary skills that will help him or her to realize full potential. References Cohen, D. J., & Volkmar, F. R. (1997). Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders. New York: Wiley. Delfos, M. F. (2005). A strange world: Autism, Aspergers syndrome, and PDD-NOS. Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Gutstein, S. E., & Sheely, R. K. (2002). Relationship development intervention with young children: Social and emotional development activities for Asperger syndrome, autism, PDD and NLD. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Holzhauser-Peters, L., & True, L. (2008). Making sense of childrens thinking and behavior: A step-by-step tool for understanding children with NLD, Aspergers, HFA, PDD-NOS, and other neurological disorders. London: Jessica Kingsley. Huerta, M et al. (2012). Application of DSM-5 Criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder to Three Samples of Children With DSM-IV Diagnoses of Pervasive Developmental Disorders. American Journal Of Psychiatry, 169(10), 1056-1064. Kawatani, M et al. (2012). Focal EEG abnormalities might reflect neuropathological characteristics of pervasive developmental disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Brain & Development, 34(9), 723-730. Rondeau, E et al. (2011). Is Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified Less Stable Than Autistic Disorder? A Meta-Analysis. Journal Of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 41(9), 1267-1276. Syriopoulou- Deli, C. K. (2011). Systematic Observation of Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Review Of European Studies, 3(1), 54-59 Taylor, P. G. (2009). A beginners guide to the pervasive developmental disorders: A simple introduction to Autistic spectrum disorder, Asperger syndrome, and PDD-NOS : for parents and teachers. Nelson, N.Z: Altorfer Pub. Yamada, A et al. (2012). Quality of life of parents raising children with pervasive developmental disorders. BMC Psychiatry, 12(1), 119-126. Read More