Neurodevelopmental disorder
Neurodevelopmental disorders are a group of conditions that begin to emerge during childhood (or the development of the nervous system). According to the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, (DSM-5) published in 2013, these conditions generally appear in early childhood, usually before children start school, and can persist into adulthood.[1] The key characteristic of all these disorders is that they negatively impact a person's functioning in one or more domains of life (personal, social, academic, occupational) depending on the disorder and deficits it has caused. All of these disorders and their levels of impairment exist on a spectrum, and affected individuals can experience varying degrees of symptoms and deficits, despite having the same diagnosis.[1][2]
Neurodevelopmental disorder
Classification[edit]
Intellectual disability (intellectual development disorder)[edit]
Intellectual disabilities (IDs), or intellectual development disorder, are defined by the DSM-5 as "deficits in general mental abilities".[1] They affect a person's ability to process information, learn or retain information, think critically or abstractly, and solve problems.[1] They ultimately inhibit a person's ability to adapt to their surroundings, to the extent that individuals may fail to meet milestones of independent functioning or social responsibility in one or more activities of daily living.[1] Global developmental delay (GDD) is categorized under intellectual disability and "is diagnosed when an individual fails to meet expected developmental milestones in several areas of intellectual functioning."[1]
Communication disorders[edit]
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)[edit]
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)[edit]
Neurodevelopmental motor disorders[edit]
Motor disorders including developmental coordination disorder, stereotypic movement disorder, and tic disorders (such as Tourette's syndrome), and CAS - Apraxia of speech
Specific learning disorders[edit]
Currently being researched[edit]
There are neurodevelopmental research projects examining potential new classifications of disorders including:
Diagnosis[edit]
Neurodevelopmental disorders are diagnosed by evaluating the presence of characteristic symptoms or behaviors in a child, typically after a parent, guardian, teacher, or other responsible adult has raised concerns to a doctor.[41]
Neurodevelopmental disorders may also be confirmed by genetic testing. Traditionally, disease related genetic and genomic factors are detected by karyotype analysis, which detects clinically significant genetic abnormalities for 5% of children with a diagnosed disorder. As of 2017, chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) was proposed to replace karyotyping because of its ability to detect smaller chromosome abnormalities and copy-number variants, leading to greater diagnostic yield in about 20% of cases.[19] The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend CMA as standard of care in the US.[19]