Young Minds: Why Pediatric Neuropsychological Evaluation is Essential for Your Child's Success
by Karen P. Kelly, Ph.D.
In the bustling halls of a fourth-grade classroom, amidst the chatter of eager learners, there exists a student whose journey through education takes a unique turn. Meet Sarah*, a bright-eyed, inquisitive child whose struggle to navigate the academic landscape mirrors the challenges faced by many young minds. Sarah's story is not just about academic hurdles; it's a testament to the intricate interplay of cognition, behavior, and emotion in a child's development.
In the realm of pediatric neuropsychology, stories like Sarah's are not uncommon. They encapsulate the essence of a field dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the developing brain. But beyond the anecdotes lie a wealth of data and research that underscore the critical role of pediatric neuropsychology in shaping the trajectory of young lives.
Moreover, studies published in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology highlight the pervasive impact of neurodevelopmental disorders, revealing that up to 50% of children with ADHD experience significant impairment in academic, social, and emotional domains (Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2019).
Furthermore, research conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) underscores the interconnected nature of attentional difficulties and emotional dysregulation, emphasizing the need for comprehensive assessment and intervention strategies (NIMH, 2020).
Defining and understanding dyslexia: past, present and future
Dyslexia is a difficulty in learning to decode (read aloud) and to spell.DSM5 classifies dyslexia as one form of neurodevelopmental disorder.Neurodevelopmental disorders are heritable, life-long conditionswith early onset. For many years, research on dyslexia proceeded onthe basis that it was a specificlearningdifficulty–specificmeaningthat the difficulty could not be explained in terms of obvious causessuch as sensory problems or general learning difficulties (low IQ).However, the failure tofind qualitative differences in reading, andphonological skills, between children with dyslexia and children withmore general learning problems led this kind of‘discrepancy’defini-tion tofallfromfavour.The Rose Review statedthatdyslexia can occuracross the IQ range and that poor decoding skills require the samekinds of intervention irrespective of IQ. In this paper, we argue thatloosening the criteria for dyslexia has influenced common under-standing of the condition and led to diagnostic confusion. In thelonger term, the use of the term may need to change. Implicationsfor research and practice are discussed.
Homework Stress and Learning Disability: The Role of Parental Shame, Guilt, and Need Frustration
Using a cross-sectional design, this study examined the relationships between parental guilt, shame, need frustration, and homework stress in students with learning disabilities (LD) and typically developing students (TD) and their parents. One hundred and eight parent-child dyads (54 LD, 54 TD) completed questionnaires to assess homework stress, parental need frustration, guilt, and shame. Parents of students with LD reported more stress, need frus- tration, shame, and guilt than parents of TD students. For the LD group, shame mediated the association between parental need frustration and parental and child stress whereas guilt medi- ated the association between parental need frustration and parental stress. The theoretical and practical implications for lessening homework stress for students with LD and their parents are discussed.