2. Feeding disturbances: Feeding disturbances take a variety of forms. Disturbed children may vomit r refuse to eat for no reason or may drastically over eat or under eat. Overeating can be a serious problem; overfed children develop eating habits and conflicts that have life long consequences. Under eating or self-starvation is called anorexia nervosa. Mostly found in females.
Pica is another childhood eating difficult. A craving for unnatural foods such as plaster, chalk, rubber bands, buttons and mud. Persistent Pica can be a serious problem. However, it can be treated with various behavioral techniques.
3. Speech disturbances: Delayed speech – learning to talk after the normal age for language development is another serious handicap. This is caused by lack of intellectual stimulation at home and possible causes are parents who discourage their childs attempts to grow up, childhood stresses, mental retardation and emotional disturbances.
Stuttering: chronic tumbling in speech is another major language problem. It is believed that the problem is due to speech timing mechanisms in the brain. Stuttering is 4 times more common in males. Parents play a major role to make stuttering worse. Children who fear that they are about to stutter are more likely to stutter. Parents should support their children, avoid criticizing speech difficulties. Besides the above formal speech therapy can help many children over come stuttering.
4. Learning disorders: include problem with reading, math or writing. Learning disorder may exist when school achievement is much lower than we would expect for a child’s age and intelligence. Dyslexia an inability to read with understanding is another problem. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of school-age children have some dyslexia or word blindness. This is caused by a malfunction of language processing areas on the left side of the brain. It is treated with exercises in hearing, touch and vision that improve reading comprehension.
5. Attention: Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: One of the most serious childhood problem is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Such a child is constantly in motion and cannot concentrate. He talks rapidly, acts on impulses, rarely finishes work, and cannot pay attention. ADHD is found in 4 to 6 percent of all children and some adults. Boys have more problems than girls. ADHD can lead to school dropouts and anti social behavior.
Specific areas of the brain associated with language, motor control and attention suffer from chemical imbalances, besides ADHD is also hereditary.
ADHD can be treated by medicines, behavioral management approaches and family counseling. Behavior modification is considered the most effective treatment. The basic idea is to reward the ADHD child for being calm and paying attention. They are taught how to monitor their own behavior and how to ignore distractions.
6. Autism: One of the most severe childhood problems. It affects 1 in 2,500 children. Boys 4 times more than girls. Such children are locked into their own private worlds and appear to have no need for affection or contact with others. They are extremely isolated, may throw tantrums, sometimes including self-destructive behavior. They do not seem to understand what other people are thinking or even that they do think.
Autism is caused by congenital defects in the brain. Symptoms appear before the child is one year old.
Even with help only 25 percent of all autistic children approach normalcy and only 2 percent are able to live alone. However, almost all autistic children can make progress with proper care when treatment is begun early. Behavior modification has been particularly successful.
Reference:
Essentials of Psychology 9th edition Dennis Coon
Child Development
