Mental Health Flash Cards

•Lifelong conditions •May or may not be present at birth •Some become apparent during adolescence •Genetic predispositions are often (but not always) exacerbated by environmental stressors, such as abuse, peer pressure, family dynamics, availability of drugs and alcohol, and unhealthy messages from the media •Diagnosis is especially difficult for a few reasons: 1) some difficulties may represent normal development
2) diagnosticians are concerned with potential stigmatizing of the
young client
3) dual diagnosis is possible
•IDEA (1997) has made access to OT and others services possible for many affected children and adolescents

•Symptoms, which include sub-average intelligence (70+/-4 on the Wechsler Scale) and functional deficits in at least two areas, appear prior to age 18 •Classification: mild (IQ 55-70); moderate (IQ 40-55), severe (IQ 25-40) and profound (IQ below 25) •Culture may be a confounding factor when diagnosing •Prevalence: 1%-3% •Etiology: genetic disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome, meningitis, head trauma, exposure to toxic substances, malnutrition, stimulation deprivation •40%-70% of the clients with MR have an accompanying psychiatric condition (e.g., depression, anxiety). Antidepressants are commonly prescribed. •Prognosis: may be reversed in some instances, yet deficits are permanent for the most part; early interventions can limit damage

Development follows the same sequence as in healthy individuals but at a slower pace; some milestones may never be achieved
•Early sensory-motor deficits •Delayed/insufficient language development •Concrete thinking, difficulty understanding instructions •Academic difficulties •Social awkwardness/difficulty with play •ADL-s and IADL-s may be affected •Aggression and self-injurious behaviors are less common and usually correlate with severe or profound MR and/or environmental factors •Individuals with MR are more likely to be victimized •Some areas of function may be more delayed than others, yet deficits correlate with the severity of retardation •Sheltered environments (special schools, vocational and residential programs and sometimes institutionalization) may be necessary, but mainstreaming is becoming more and more popular in the western cultures •Life expectancy among individuals with MR is increasing, and their societal roles are expanding (job opportunities, parenting, etc.)

•Habilitation(enabling) as opposed to Rehabilitation (helping to regain skills): •Early intervention focuses on sensory-motor skills and play •ADL-s are addressed next (e.g., feeding and dressing) •Cognition and school performance as well as social skills and leisure interests (including exercise) need to be looked at as the child grows •Teens with MR may need vocational training, independent living and community mobility skills training, and sex education •Self-esteem is often affected in clients with MR and may need to be addressed by the OT-s •Classmates and family members of individuals with MR may need education

•Achievements substantially below age-appropriate expectations in reading, writing and/or math (IQ is normal and above) •Affect 4%-5.3% schoolchildren (may not be noticed before school age); some kids with above-average IQ compensate for deficits, which may confound the diagnosis •Etiology is unclear (possibly genetics and environmental factors) •Developmental delays (sensory-motor, language, etc.) are evident early in the process •Some children “grow out of it”- for them a learning disability is a developmental lag rather than a chronic condition •Self-esteem, mood and socialization are often affected •Co-existence with the ADHD is not uncommon

Remediation /Compensation /Skills Training/
Advocacy and Education
Services are often offered in school systems and include:
•Sensory Integration treatment modalities •Fine motor activities •Cognitive training •Social skills training •Vocational training •Compensatory strategies (multisensory stimuli, mnemonics, etc.)

•Also labeled Developmental Coordination Disorder or Developmental Dyspraxia •Motor developmental delays (lack of coordination, clumsiness) notresulting from a physical condition (such as Cerebral Palsy) •6% of children ages 5-11 are affected •Etiology is unclear (seems to be linked to faulty sensory processing) •Represents a developmental lag in about half of the affected children; becomes a chronic condition for the other half •Clumsiness often accompanies other conditions, such as ADHD, Autism and Schizophrenia, which can be confusing in terms of diagnosis •Affects self-esteem, mood and socialization •OT-s are directly involved in the evaluation and treatment

Difficulty with producing sounds, vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar (common among very young children, affects 3-5 % of children older than 3, present only in 0.5 % people older than 17)

Same as above but also difficulty with understanding language of others (affects 3% of children)

Pronunciation difficulties only(affects 2-3% of children, present only in 0.5 % people older than 17)

•impairment of speech fluency, often exacerbated by anxiety (affects 1% of children; 0.8% of adolescence and adults, more common among males) •Can be developmental or acquired (due to a physical trauma) •Can co-exist with other conditions •Affect learning, self-esteem, mood and socialization (OT can be helpful with these aspects; language deficits are commonly addressed more specifically by speech/language pathologists)

•A spectrum of conditions •Recent dramatic increase in incidence

•impairedsocial interaction and communication; absent or peculiar speech; decreased ability to imitate others; difficulty establishing eye contact; stereotypic movement and gesturing; self-stimulating behaviors; poor cognitive flexibility, verbal reasoning and complex memory; variability of IQ in different areas •May accompany other disorders such as MR •Etiology: neurochemicalabnormalities in the brain (the role of vaccinations has been disputed!) •Affected children seem to develop normally during the first 18-24 months •Prevalence is 2-5 cases in 10.000 individuals (more common in males) •Prognosis is poor (only 20% can lead moderately independent lives) and particularly poor for dual diagnosis (MR and Autism) •Mainstreaming is a controversial issue
•Functional performance in Autism: ADL-s/IADL-s, play, socialization, school and work skills are affected, however unusually well developed skills may also be present (e.g., attention to detail, rote memory, or “learning by heart”) •OT interventions for this client population use behavioral and sensory integration modalities, direct teaching of social skills and assisted communication devices combined with other methods •Non-OT treatments include applied behavioral analysis, music therapy, special diets, symptomatic psycho-pharmacology and more

•the mildest condition on the spectrum; higher (sometimes above average) IQ; language deficits are uncommon; stereotypic/obsessive features are present but are often sublimated into meaningful activities, such as science/computer sciences, arts and music, sports, etc.; lack of empathy towards others and social awkwardness are often evident •Affects 2 in 1000 individuals (more common in males) •Prognosis is much better when compared to Autism •Self-esteem and mood are often affected •OT-s intervene as needed •Clients with Asperger’s Syndrome may respond well to verbal therapy

Head growth deceleration; stereotypic hand movements, lack of motor coordination, social disengagement, language impairment and mental retardation exhibit self after at least 5 monthsof apparently normal development (a rare condition present in females only)