This volume considers the neurodevelopmental disorders such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, clumsiness and indeed all those learning difficulties to be found in a 'normal' school population with an IQ of more than 70. Specific ideas about the causes of these disorders are presented along with very practical preventative and management information which will be welcomed by a wide range of professionals with an interest in paediatrics, neurology, developmental and educational psychology.

Children living in poverty are more likely to have mental health problems, and their conditions are more likely to be severe. Of the approximately 1.3 million children who were recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits in 2013, about 50% were disabled primarily due to a mental disorder. An increase in the number of children who are recipients of SSI benefits due to mental disorders has been observed through several decades of the program beginning in 1985 and continuing through 2010. Nevertheless, less than 1% of children in the United States are recipients of SSI disability benefits for a mental disorder. At the request of the Social Security Administration, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children compares national trends in the number of children with mental disorders with the trends in the number of children receiving benefits from the SSI program, and describes the possible factors that may contribute to any differences between the two groups. This report provides an overview of the current status of the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and the levels of impairment in the U.S. population under age 18. The report focuses on 6 mental disorders, chosen due to their prevalence and the severity of disability attributed to those disorders within the SSI disability program: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, learning disabilities, and mood disorders. While this report is not a comprehensive discussion of these disorders, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children provides the best currently available information regarding demographics, diagnosis, treatment, and expectations for the disorder time course - both the natural course and under treatment.

Mental Health and Social Medicine: Children with Specific Learning Difficulties: The Effect of Neurodevelopmental Learning Disorders on Children of Normal Intelligence, Second Edition focuses on a research into the possibility of early identification of children of normal intelligence, but with learning disorders believed to evolve from neurodevelopmental dysfunction. The book first elaborates on a research into the early identification of preschool children likely to have specific learning disorders and helping children before starting formal school. Discussions focus on experiments in helping pre-school children whose deviant rates of development point to possibility of later learning disabilities; children with language disabilities and visuo-spatial and motor disability; rating scales; research design; and observations arising from research testing. The manuscript then elaborates on children in school, experiments in teaching children with specific learning difficulties, and outlook for the future. Topics include management and education of children with neuro-developmental learning disorders, dyslexia, and tests which reveal intellectual strengths and weaknesses and provide guides to appropriate teaching methods for children with varying learning difficulties. The publication is a vital source of data for educators and researchers interested in children with specific learning difficulties.

An increase in research into all facets of learning difficulties has resulted in a deeper understanding of the problems. This book includes a description and explanation of reading, spelling and learning difficulties; provides chapters on psychological and neuropsychological assessment; explains the associations between behavioural problems and learning difficulties; and critically reviews remedial approaches, incorporating a summary of what is known about their efficacy. The importance of dealing with attendant behavioural problems and the significance of phonological knowledge in literacy learning are central themes.; Intended to be a succinct and accessible synthesis of current knowledge in this area, this book should be of interest to professionals who encounter children with learning difficulties, tertiary students and parents.

This book is a concise but comprehensive review of Specific Learning Disabilities, with a special attention to the biology of these diverse conditions. The reader will get a review of most aspects of SLD, including the different clinical syndromes (mostly dyslexia and dyscalculia), the clinical manifestations and the therapeutic approaches. It is unique in the proportion of its content dedicated to the biological aspects of SLD. It attempts to assemble and present the biological knowledge which has been accumulated on these conditions. This knowledge includes the neurological anatomy of dyslexia and dyscalculia, demonstrated with the help of modern neuro-imaging studies, and the physiology and the genetics of these conditions, again demonstrated by recently available technologies. These new technologies produced major discoveries related to SLD including the importance of phonological processing in reading, the presence of "number center ̈in the brain, and the rain networks involved in reading. We recognize that many dyslexic subjects have a deficit in aspects of language processing, specifically phonological processing; that dyscalculia can be the result of a number of distinct cognitive impairments, and that the basic underlying deficit in many cases of SLD may be a genetic variation. The same new biological investigative techniques can, like never before, measure the outcome of therapeutic techniques and learning methods. Such measurements will, in the future, be the "gold standard ̈in assessing the efficacy of different methods of classroom teaching in regular and different learners. Last, unlike many other publications on SLD, this book discusses the relatively unrecognized emotional aspects of SLD, and the sometime devastating effects that these conditions have on the life of affected subjects and their families, in and out of the classroom.

This cutting-edge book brings advances in genetics, neurobiology, and psychopharmacology to the clinic to enhance treatment for neurodevelopmental disorders. Significant progress has been made in identifying the neurobiological mechanisms of several disorders and targeted treatments are modifying the outcome of these disorders. However, the ability to utilize this knowledge has not been summarized in one place for the practicing clinician. This book will fill that gap by providing the theoretical underpinnings and the latest advances in targeted treatments. Several neurodevelopmental disorders are reviewed in detail including clinical features and behavioral phenotypes, standard treatments and new targeted treatments based on the latest advances in neurobiology and the animal model studies that have lead to new treatments. The disorders covered include psychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, depression, autism and ADHD; single gene disorders including Tuberous Sclerosis, Fragile X Syndrome and fragile X- associated disorders, Angelman Syndrome, PKU, and Muscular Dystrophies; and complex genetic disorders such as Down syndrome. This book also highlights the commonalities across disorders and new genetic and molecular concepts in an easy to read format. This is a very exciting time for new targeted treatments and this volume is a landmark treatise on this new age of treatment.