#developmental-disorders

#developmental-disorders

A diagnostic assessment is a pre-instruction evaluation used to identify learners' prior knowledge, skill gaps, and misconceptions before teaching begins. Its purpose is not to grade performance, but to inform decisions about teaching, pacing, and support.

If the application of behavioral techniques does not produce large enough effects for practical value, then the application has failed. Practical value is whatever you define as meaningful for your child's life.

We in the autism science and advocacy community were just appalled at the way he went about selecting members. The current committee has been hijacked by a narrow ideological agenda that does not reflect either the broad autism community or the state of autism science.

Special needs summer camps are specialized programs designed for children and young adults with a range of disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, Down syndrome, and other developmental or physical challenges.

The findings of a study conducted on a sample of 2.7 million people in Sweden over a 35 year period, and published this Thursday in the medical journal BMJ, suggest that the male to female ratio of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has decreased over time. In early childhood, before the age of 10, the male to female ratio is 3:1 (the most widely accepted ratio a few years ago was 4:1).

Developmental disabilities are actually quite common. In the United States, about 1 in 6 children has a developmental disability (CDC, 2024). Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are a group of neurodevelopmental conditions usually present at birth that affect the trajectory of a person's physical, intellectual, and/or emotional development (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2021). Conditions such as Down Syndrome, Autism, Fragile X, Cerebral Palsy, and others are examples of intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Polyvagal theory, introduced in 1994 by psychologist Stephen Porges, highlights the role of the autonomic nervous system in regulating our health and behavior. Our lived experience of engaging with the world is impacted by external environmental cues, internal physical sensations, and relational experiences (e.g., an impression of connection, safety, and trust between individuals). Neuroception is our body's unconscious surveillance system that shifts us into one of three autonomic states needed to respond to a situation: rest-and-digest (social and safe), fight-or-flight (mobilization), or shutdown/collapse (immobilization).

When a child is labeled "oppositional," adults often assume the problem is the child. In my experience as a child psychiatrist, the truth is often much more complicated. Both families sought out these schools, believing they were giving their children the best education possible. Instead, the schools failed their children, labeling them "oppositional" and "defiant" rather than addressing the root causes of their behavior.