Developmental psychology/Chapter 7/"Special" Children

Intelligences

Since we are on the topic of developmental psychology, 4 massive points must be made:

Abnormality is normal
Disabilities change annually
Life may become better/worse
Diagnoises, treatments, and prognosis are dependants on their social context

Aptitude - The ability to master a skill or gain knowledge in a field
Measuring IQ - (mental age/chronological age [quotient] x 100). The Flynn effect is the increase in IQ scores in several nations, particularly females in Southern Europe.
Measuring a g, one general aptitude test is beyond difficult.

Both Robert Sternberg and Howard Gardner believed we had multiple intelligences, where intelligence is composed of multiple fractions rather than just one ability. Gardner believed some excelled in certain abilities vs others and believes schools only engage students in certain abilities and leave out others.

Sternberg

Analytic
Creative
Practical

Gardner

linguistic
logical-mathematical
musical
spatial
bodily-kinesthetic (movement)
interpersonal (social understanding)
intrapersonal (self-understanding)
naturalistic
spiritual

Brain scans do not equal IQ scores. In childhood, brain scans cannot detect cognitive disorders that well. Here are four points when judging brain scans:

Brain development is dependant on personal experiences
Dendrites and myelination continue to form
Albeit children with disorders have odd brain patterns, they can be changed with the right training
Neurodiversity

Special Needs during Middle Childhood

Psychopathology - Study of mental illnesses
Multifinality - One cause = many reasons
Equifinality - Many causes = One reason

Kids enrolled in special education are legislated by law to study in the "normal" education cirriculum. Response to Intervention (RTI) is an educational program set for kids with poor grades. If this fails, then an individual educational plan will be implemented - but due to a lack of research into the right fields, educators may not know what to do. From 1980 to 2012, the percentage for special needs kids is 10-13% - this may be because of discrimination, pollutants and misdiagnosis.

Ttwo Disorders

All of these disorders are referenced using the DSM-5 by the APA.

ADHD - attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, usually symptoms show at age 12. These kids are usually extremely hyper. Three problems arise from ADHD: misdiagnosis (treatment for ADHD may be an issue for someone with bipolar), drug abuse (overmedication), and misdiagnosis may also affect a child's self-confidence.
Specific learning disorder - Causes low scores for reading and math, for example: dsylexia, dsycalculia and dysgraphia. The autism spectrum disorder is a fumbling mystery as cases of autism have grown dramatically with it being 1/59 children. It may be because of environmental pollutants, education for autistic children is publically funded so parents are seeking a diagnosis or expanding of the definition. Kids with ASD are unable to understand emotions but may be exceptional in one field and usually have higher IQ scores (showing neurodiversity). Symptoms of ASD usually show in infancy and may/may not improve. The question arises: Is ASD a disease needing treatment or should we accept the personality diversity of everyone?

The Best Thing We Can Do?

The fact that special education classes increase as kids grow up shows that early intervention is not there. Plasticity of the brain is shown when some kids diagnosed early with ASD grow out of it.

Thinking

Divergent Thinkers - solutions and questions for a problem
Convergent Thinkers - quickly finds one solution for a problem