China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Working with people with aggressive behaviour
Published in Tim Riding, Caron Swann, Bob Swann, Colin Dale, The Handbook of Forensic Learning Disabilities, 2021
Although people with autistic spectrum disorders are a heterogeneous group, the limited social and communication skills of men and women with these disorders (which are out of keeping with those of other people who have their level of intellectual functioning), and their need for consistency and predictability, mean that for most of them it is very difficult to cope with the demands of everyday life. Severe anxiety and confusion often result, and people with the diagnosis are at increased risk of affective disorders.43 On occasion, the inability to manage feelings of distress can lead to serious aggression. Although there is no treatment for the condition, the diagnosis has implications for the person’s treatment and support.44 The possibility of autistic spectrum disorder should be explored through a detailed developmental history focusing on the specific impairments, together with careful physical, psychological and language assessments to obtain a detailed picture of the person’s functioning in different areas, thus avoiding diagnostic confusion.39
Introduction
Published in Peter Manu, The Psychopathology of Functional Somatic Syndromes, 2020
Recent conceptualizations of functional somatic syndromes as mental disorders have proposed four empirical constructs. The first suggested that these syndromes are part of the affective spectrum disorder, together with major depression, bulimia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (Hudson and Pope, 1990). The second proposed that patients with functional illnesses are chronic somatizers who present with a large array of complaints, are familiar with the definitions of functional syndromes, have a past history of psychiatric disorders, and tend to embrace poorly documented disease mechanisms such as environmental allergies, overgrowth of Candida albicans, and reactivation of dormant herpetic viruses (Stewart, 1990). The third frame of reference encouraged an individualized approach to these syndromes and suggested a variety of explanations such as serotonin deficiency for the pain symptoms in fibromyalgia and physical inactivity for the postexercise malaise of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (Kellner, 1994). The fourth theory emphasized abnormal illness behavior and focused on these patients’ belief that they have a serious problem, their sense that the illness is disabling and catastrophic, and their suspicion of physicians’ expertise and motivation (Barsky and Borus, 1999). These constructs have remained largely unproven.
Tics and Tourette’s syndrome
Published in Quentin Spender, Judith Barnsley, Alison Davies, Jenny Murphy, Primary Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2019
Quentin Spender, Judith Barnsley, Alison Davies, Jenny Murphy
Tourette’s syndrome is commonly associated (co-occurs) with other conditions such as: obsessive-compulsive disorder; ADHD; autistic spectrum disorder, learning disability and oppositional defiant disorder.2 Overlapping symptoms may at times cause confusion. For instance, on the borderline between Tourette’s and obsessive-compulsive disorder are complex repeated behaviours such as: touching (sometimes repeated for a certain number of times), licking, shouting out in class, pirouetting or smelling.
Sibling involvement in interventions for children with a disability: a systematic review
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2022
Aideen Lynam, Martine M. Smith
The majority of individuals with a disability had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including autism, Asperger’s syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). Of the 140 participants with a disability, 120 had a diagnosis of ASD (85.71%). In addition to this, there were nine individuals who were reported to present with multiple diagnoses, one of which included ASD. Other co-occurring diagnoses included attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, depression and oppositional defiance disorder. Only eleven participants with a disability did not have a diagnosis of ASD. Other reported diagnoses were Down syndrome (n = 3), Noonan syndrome (n = 1), speech motor delay (n = 1), Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (n = 3) and developmental delay (n = 3). There were no participants who were reported to have a diagnosis of an acquired or progressive disability. Given the dominance of ASD as a diagnostic group within the results, additional search terms (i.e., “cerebral palsy” OR “multiple sclerosis” OR blind OR deaf OR “amyotrophic lateral sclerosis”) were used in a second search to capture any studies that might not have been identified using the broad terms (disorder* OR disab* OR difficult* OR impair* OR injur*) but no additional relevant studies were identified. See Supplemental Table 4 for a full list of participant characteristics for each of the 31 studies included.
The need for and barriers to using assistive technologies among individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders in China
Published in Assistive Technology, 2022
Lingling Deng, Prapa Rattadilok
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurodevelopmental disabilities that impact development in social communication and social interaction, accompanied by restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior or interest (Ousley & Cermak, 2014). Autism is described as a Spectrum Disorder because the symptom expression varies and the support that an individual requires also varies depending on the severity of symptoms. The main symptoms of ASD can be characterized into three domains: social communication, stereotypical behavior, and sensory processing (Benssassai et al., 2018). Individuals impacted by ASD may present poor verbal and non-verbal communication, repetitive motor movements, restricted interests, or hypo/hyper-reactivity to sensory input. These symptoms can appear by the age of three and last throughout a person’s life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2019b). It is noteworthy that 70% of individuals with ASD also have at least one coexisting disorder condition, such as intellectual disability, social anxiety disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder (Simonoff et al., 2008). This brings greater stress and heavier raising burden for caregivers of ASD children compared to caregivers of typically developing (TD) children and children with other disabilities (Xiong et al., 2011).
Is pharmacotherapy useful for treating personality disorders?
Published in Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, 2021
Jutta Stoffers-Winterling, Birgit Völlm, Klaus Lieb
In contrast to paranoid and schizoid PD, schizotypal PD has been subject to some drug treatment research. It is regarded as a schizophrenia spectrum disorder due to an elevated risk of developing schizophrenia and shared phenomenologic, genetic, and neurobiological features. Furthermore, as in schizophrenia, preliminary research suggests a dysregulation of the dopaminergic system and responsiveness to antipsychotic treatment. To date, there are three placebo-controlled RCTs indicating therapeutic effects of the second-generation antipsychotic risperidone on self-monitoring, executive functions, and positive as well as negative schizophrenia symptoms [10]. Additional small, placebo-controlled experimental studies report positive effects on working memory after administration of dopamine receptor agonists (pergolide, dihydrexidine), an α2-agonist (guanfacine) and a cholinesterase inhibitor (physostigmine) [11].