Atypical Child and Adolescent Development

In this writing it will be discussing childhood development, as well as some vital issues that might come along during those stages of development. Child development consist of the stage where the child is developing physically, cognitively, socially and spiritually. During these stages of development a child is maturing from infancy to becoming a young adult. For many years theorist such as Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and Lev Vygotsky’s have researched how children mature from infants to adulthood. Each of the theorist have profound facts to how children develop, but which of the three men are correct on their findings?

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by excessive, uncontrollable and often irrational worry about everyday things that is disproportionate to the actual source of worry. This excessive worry often interferes with daily functioning, as individuals suffering GAD typically anticipate disaster, and are overly concerned about everyday matters such as health issues, money, death, family problems, friend problems, relationship problems or work difficulties.[1] They often exhibit a variety of physical symptoms, including fatigue, fidgeting, headaches, nausea, numbness in hands and feet, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, bouts of difficulty breathing, trembling, twitching, irritability,

Those with GAD experience lavish amounts of worry, usually anticipating the worst even when there is no reason to. Unlike phobias, the anxiety isn't connected directly to something, it just a worry that is always present. These worries that these individuals experience are what normal people experience, such as reaching to work safely, but taken to the extreme. The difference between normal worrying and GAD is that, is that the worrying involved in GAD is excessive and often unnecessary. For example, after watching a news report about a school shooting, the average person might feel a temporary sense of worry for their kids. If you have GAD, however, the individual might be up all night after it and continue worrying for days about a worst case scenario that could happen, maybe even keeping your kids from going to school. To deal with GAD, individuals are given suggestions such as to practice deep breathing, meditation. In terms of treatment, presciprdtions are often given to them. One of the drugs prescribed to patients is buspirone. This is an anti-anxiety drug and takes the edge off but does not completely eliminate the anxious feeling. Benzodiazepine is also a drug prescribed which calms the body (“Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Children with generalized anxiety disorder in the schools will exhibit symptoms consistent with the criteria mentioned above but will also appear to worry excessively about a variety of issues such as grades, peers, and performance in sports. These students may

Generalized anxiety disorder(GAD) is much more than the normal anxiety people experience everyday. It is a chronic condition that is chracterized by excessive worry and anxiety, even though there aren't any reasonable explanations for the cause. It is diagnosed when a person spends a least 6 months worrying excessively about numerous everyday problems.

These patterns last for at least 6 months (APA, 2013). ODD has also been associated with excessive arguing, cognitive and social deficits, and significant adult–child and child–peer interaction problems. Youth with ODD demonstrate high rates of aggressive and antisocial behaviors, with a subset displaying callousness and psychopathic traits, including a lack of guilt, empathy, and remorse. It is important to note the difference between ODD and CD (conduct disorder). The defining characteristic of oppositional defiant disorder is a fight against being controlled. For a child like this, being controlled feels like drowning. CD is used to describe an older child or adolescent who has moved into a pattern of violating the rights of others through intimidation or aggression. This could be against people or animals, and include more serious violations such as theft and vandalism.. The DSM-5, a diagnostic handbook used by mental health professionals, describes these individuals as having “a callous and unemotional interpersonal style.” (Colins & Andershed, 2015). These adolescents lack empathy. Children with CD and callous–unemotional (CU) traits present with patterns of persistent and violent antisocial behaviour which include low empathy and guilt and shallow affect. Currently, CU is considered a subtype for conduct disorder, according to the

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is an ailment that affects relatively 5% of the general population (Neurobiology and Genetics, 2011). GAD is a mental illness that can be difficult to understand or to describe. It is also very hard to diagnose because most people who are experiencing it believe that it is normal to worry about issues at that level. People with Generalized Anxiety Disorder have extreme fear and concern about even the littlest issues in their lives. They believe that something will always go wrong (NIH). There are times when these fears can keep these people from completing every day activities. There are also many symptoms that come along with this disorder. For instance, people with Generalized Anxiety Disorder have problems sleeping, headaches, fatigue, trembling, lightheadedness, and many other problems (NIH). GAD can make a big impact on a person’s life so it is important for them to get all the information they can about it in order to improve their quality

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) can be identified as the condition that demonstrates "persistent, high levels of anxiety and excessive worry" about one's daily life. These anxious feelings tend to reveal physical symptoms that can interfere with the patient's optimal functioning since they are constantly feeling restless or tense. According to the DSM-5, in order to properly diagnosis a patient with GAD, the patient must demonstrate the symptoms "majority of days for at least six months" and experience "significant distress or impairment in life activities." GAD is developed during one's childhood and adolescent year, gradually becoming more apparent as they mature. In the United States, GAD affects approximately 1.2 percent to 2.9 percent

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is not just “someone who worries too much.” GAD presents itself with many serious physical symptoms, such as insomnia, muscle stiffness and soreness, fatigue, a choking sensation or difficulty swallowing, headaches, sweating, nausea, trembling, twitching, feeling out of breath, and light headedness. People with severe anxiety can have difficulty carrying out the simplest everyday tasks. GAD can often be difficult to diagnose, because sufferers will visit their doctor, complaining of one or more of the physical

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a mental disorder marked by extreme anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation) over a period of at least 6 months. It is accompanied by at least three of these six somatic or psychological symptoms: feeling on edge, fatigue, problems with concentration, feeling irritable, physical tension, and problems with sleep.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is one of the most common clinical disorders in children and adolescents (Nock, Kazdin, Hirpi & Kessler, 2007). Greene et al. (2002) defines ODD as “a recurrent pattern of developmentally inappropriate levels of negativistic, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior toward authority figures”. ODD primarily consists of stubborn (e.g., tantrums) and aggressive behaviors that the child attempts to rationalize based on the circumstances rather than view as consequential and problematic (Kazdin, 2010). Therefore, ODD can have serious implications for the child’s functioning at home, in school, and in the community, so parents of children with ODD are more likely to utilize child mental health services (Kazdin, 2010). The history, symptoms, diagnosis, prevalence, age of onset, duration, risk factors, comorbidity, and treatments of ODD will be discussed, as well as the rationale behind the revisions from the fourth (DSM-IV) to fifth editions (DSM-5) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Conduct disorder may be diagnosed whenever a child or adolescent seriously misbehaves by using aggressive or non-aggressive conduct against other individuals, property, or animals. This behavior may be characterized as destructive, threatening, deceitful, belligerent, dishonest, physically cruel, or disobedient. Among these behaviors one may find stealing, causing intentional injury, or forced sexual activity. The behavioral disorder does not consist of an isolated incident, but rather of a pattern of severe and repetitive behavior. However, in Jacob’s case there are signs of Oppositional Defiant Disorder. This disorder presents a long lasting pattern of hostile, defiant, negativistic behavior found in children or adolescents who do not

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disorder in which an individual may feel persistent, excessive, and worry about everyday things that may not even happen. Individuals with this disorder may feel worry, excessive anxiety, and have thoughts of the worst even when there is no need for concern. A person experiencing GAD may expect a disaster. They may worry about their finances, money, health, family, work, or any issue that may come to mind. This disorder may be present when a person worrying increases on more days than one for at least six months. GAD can interfere with work, school, family, and even social activities. GAD can be diagnosed in adults when they experience at least three of the symptoms. These symptoms include restlessness or feeling on the edge, fatigue, difficulty focusing or mind going blank, irritability, muscle tension, pain in back or headaches, and sleep disturbance (ADAA, n.d.).

According to WedbMD, in 2016 it was reported that Conduct Disorder (CD) affects 2%-16% of children and adolescents in the United States. Conduct Disorder is defined by the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (also known as the DSM-5) as “a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules are violated” (DSM-V, 2013, ¶ 3). Conduct Disorder has 3 subtypes depending on the age of onset of the illness. The first is childhood-onset, a type given to those individuals that show symptoms of the disorder prior to the age of 10 or prior to puberty. These individuals display frequent aggressive behavior towards others, usually meet the full

Kress and Paylo (2015) emphasize that the criteria for conduct disorder includes persistent unruly conduct, impetuous of self-control, emotional outburst, and a blatant disregard to, or for others, just to mention a few. These features are seen primarily in Children and adolescents whom have been diagnosed with CD. Also, Empirical research has noted that “Persistent disruptive behavior is a product of multiple interacting elements and includes biological, environmental, and psychological influences”