Lecture - Behavioural problems though the ages

Question 1

What developmental skills do pre-schoolers develop?

Answer 1

Question 2

What is a behavioural disorder?

Answer 2

Difficulty in mastering the basic habits of sleep, feeding and continence

If significant distress/impairment in this occurs, it is called a disorder.

Question 3

What is the aetiology of behavioural disorder?

Answer 3

Child - developmental delay, physical disorders e.g. constipation and encopresis

Family - poor routine setting, discord, poor child-parent relationship, parental physical or psychiatric disorder e.g. maternal eating disorder andn child feeding disorder

Environment - stress e.g. encopresis

Question 4

What physical disorder (give examples) should be ruled out before behavioural disorder diagnosis?

Answer 4

• Obstructive sleep apnoea (in sleep disorder)
• Reflux (in feeding disorder)
• UTI (in enuresis)
• Hirschprung’s disease (in encopresis)

Question 5

What is the difference between classical and operant conditioning?

Answer 5

Classical conditioning involves associating an involuntary response and a stimulus; classical conditioning involves no enticements.

Operant conditioning is about associating a voluntary behavior and a consequence. In operant conditioning, the learner is also rewarded with incentives.

Question 6

How is classical conditioning used in ennuresis?

Answer 6

Also, child eventually associates habit with the conducive environment

Routine toilet-sitting after meals to take advantage of physiological reflex (encopresis)

OR Pad and bell go off when enuresis occurs

Eventually the child will learn to sense when bed wetting occurs without needing the bell

Question 7

Give an example of how behaviour therapy can be used for sleep disorder.

Answer 7

Also, child eventually associates habit with the conducive environment. Eg.: dark, quiet, non-stimulating room environment + bedtime routines at set times

Question 8

What are the management options for behavioural disorder?

Answer 8

• Behavioural modification
  
  • Positive reinforcement to encourage desirable habit
  • Praise, reward, star-charts, giving attention…
  • Not give attention to undesired behaviour.
• Medication
  
  • Usually last resort
  • Eg. melatonin for sleep disorder
  • Eg. vasopressin for enuresis

Question 9

What is the prognosis with behavioural disorder?

Answer 9

• Most children respond well to treatment
• Behavioural disorders rarely continues into adolescence

Question 10

True or false: The following behavioural problems are more common in adolescence than in younger children:

• A) Enuresis
• B) Drug use
• C) Conduct Disorder
• D) Truancy
• E) School refusal

Answer 10

1. False
2. True
3. True
4. True
5. False

Question 11

True or false: the following methods are considered good parenting skills:

• A) Quality time with child
• B) Using clear communication
• C) Hitting the child
• D) Rewarding good behaviour
• E) Explicit boundaries, with consequences if crossed

Answer 11

1. True
2. True
3. False
4. True
5. True