Developmental level and psychopathology: Comparing children with developmental delays to chronological and mental age matched controls

Children with developmental delays (DD) are at heightened risk for developing clinically significant behavioral and emotional difficulties as compared to children with typical development (TD). However, nearly all studies comparing psychopathology in youth with DD employ TD control groups of the same chronological age (CA). It is unclear, then, whether the heightened symptomology found in age-matched children with DD is beyond what would be expected given their developmental level. The present study assessed rates of behavior problems and mental disorder in 35 children with DD at age 9 years. These were compared with rates from 35 children with TD matched for CA at age 9 and also earlier rates for these same children at age 6, when matched for mental age (MA). Children with DD had significantly more behavior problems in 7 of the 17 scales of the CBCL when compared to TD children matched for CA, and 6 of 17 scales when compared to the MA-matched group. Rates of meeting DSM-IV criteria for a psychiatric disorder were significantly higher in the DD group than both the CA- and MA-matched TD groups for three and four, respectively, of the seven diagnoses examined. Descriptively, the mean ratings for all variables assessed were higher for the DD group than both TD comparison groups, with the exception of the Anxious/Depressed scale of the CBCL. These findings validate the heightened risk for clinically significant behavior problems and mental disorders in youth with DD above and beyond their developmental functioning

Intellectual Disability and Developmental Risk: Promoting Intervention to Improve Child and Family Well-Being.

Initial intervention processes for children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) largely focused on direct efforts to impact core cognitive and academic deficits associated with the diagnosis. Recent research on risk processes in families of children with ID, however, has influenced new developmental system approaches to early intervention. Recent risk and resilience processes are reviewed that connect stress, family process, and the high rates of behavioral problems in children with ID that have substantial influence on child and family outcomes. These models are linked to emerging evidence-based intervention processes that focus on strategic parent skill training and mindfulness interventions that reduce parental stress and create indirect benefits for children's behavioral competencies. A family-focused developmental systems approach (M. J. Guralnick, 2011) is emphasized

Intellectual Disability and Developmental Risk: Promoting Intervention to Improve Child and Family Well-Being.

Initial intervention processes for children with intellectual disabilities (IDs) largely focused on direct efforts to impact core cognitive and academic deficits associated with the diagnosis. Recent research on risk processes in families of children with ID, however, has influenced new developmental system approaches to early intervention. Recent risk and resilience processes are reviewed that connect stress, family process, and the high rates of behavioral problems in children with ID that have substantial influence on child and family outcomes. These models are linked to emerging evidence-based intervention processes that focus on strategic parent skill training and mindfulness interventions that reduce parental stress and create indirect benefits for children's behavioral competencies. A family-focused developmental systems approach (M. J. Guralnick, 2011) is emphasized

Exploring the Bidirectional Relationships between Child Sleep, Child Behavior, and Parenting Stress in Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Objective: Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at risk for sleep and behavior problems, and their parents are at risk for high stress. Child sleep, behavior problems, and parenting stress are interrelated; however, the directionality of these associations is unclear and research including youth with ASD is lacking. Using a day-to-day, within-person design, this study explores the directionality of these relationships in families of children with ASD. Methods: Twenty-six children (ages 3-5, 73.1% male, 65.4% Hispanic/Latino) with ASD and their mothers participated in a 14-day study. Child sleep (parent-report and actigraphy), behavior problems, and parenting stress were measured daily. Constructs were decomposed into their within- and between-person components and analyzed with random intercept cross-lagged panel models. Results: While between-person relationships were directionally consistent with hypotheses in that shorter sleep, more behavior problems, and greater parenting stress were associated, within-person relationships were complicated. Better-than-average child behavior was associated with less next-day parenting stress, yet more parenting stress was associated with better next-day behavior. Similarly, longer-than-average child sleep was associated with less next-day parenting stress, but more parenting stress was associated with longer child sleep that night. As expected, greater child behavior problems were associated with less sleep that night. Conclusions: Understanding the directionality of associations between child and parent factors allows for the optimization of interventions to improve the quality of life for families of children with ASD. Interventions that target child behavior and/or help parents manage stress while maintaining effective parenting strategies for sleep and behavior may be useful

Developmental level and psychopathology: Comparing children with developmental delays to chronological and mental age matched controls

Children with developmental delays (DD) are at heightened risk for developing clinically significant behavioral and emotional difficulties as compared to children with typical development (TD). However, nearly all studies comparing psychopathology in youth with DD employ TD control groups of the same chronological age (CA). It is unclear, then, whether the heightened symptomology found in age-matched children with DD is beyond what would be expected given their developmental level. The present study assessed rates of behavior problems and mental disorder in 35 children with DD at age 9 years. These were compared with rates from 35 children with TD matched for CA at age 9 and also earlier rates for these same children at age 6, when matched for mental age (MA). Children with DD had significantly more behavior problems in 7 of the 17 scales of the CBCL when compared to TD children matched for CA, and 6 of 17 scales when compared to the MA-matched group. Rates of meeting DSM-IV criteria for a psychiatric disorder were significantly higher in the DD group than both the CA- and MA-matched TD groups for three and four, respectively, of the seven diagnoses examined. Descriptively, the mean ratings for all variables assessed were higher for the DD group than both TD comparison groups, with the exception of the Anxious/Depressed scale of the CBCL. These findings validate the heightened risk for clinically significant behavior problems and mental disorders in youth with DD above and beyond their developmental functioning