[Midori Ochiai, Shinya Miyamoto, Hiroko Fujiwara] (BookZZ.org) - Copy

Different Croaks

for

Different Folks

of related interest

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Different Croaksfor

Different FolksAll about Children withSpecial Learning Needs

Midori Ochiai

With notes on developmental differences by Shinya Miyamoto

Illustrations by Hiroko Fujiwara

Translated by Esther Sanders

Jessica Kingsley Publishers

London and Philadelphia

Originally published in Japan by Tokyo Shoseki Co., Ltd., TokyoTranslated from the Japanese by Esther Sanders

First published in English in 2006by Jessica Kingsley Publishers

116 Pentonville RoadLondon N1 9JB, UK

and400 Market Street, Suite 400Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

www.jkp.com

Copyright © Midori Ochiai, Shinya Miyamoto and Hiroko Fujiwara 2003English translation copyright © Esther Sanders 2006

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying orstoring it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of

this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions ofthe Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing

Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1T 4LP. Applications for the copyright owner ’s writtenpermission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher.

Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim fordamages and criminal prosecution.

The right of the authors to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by themin accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication DataOchiai, Midori.

[Jåunin toiro na kaeru no ko. English]Different croaks for different folks : all about children with special learning needs / Midori Ochiai with notes

on developmental differences by Shinya Miyamoto ; illustrated by Hiroko Fujiwara ; translated by Esther Sanders.p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-1-84310-392-9 (hardcover)ISBN-10: 1-84310-392-3 (hardcover)

1. Learning disabled children—Life skills guides. 2. Learning disabled children—Popular works. 3. Learningdisabled children—Education. 4. Developmentally disabled children—Life skills guides. 5. Developmentally disabledchildren—Popular works. 6. Developmentally disabled children—Education. I. Title.

RJ506.L4O3413 2006618.92’85889—dc22

2005018188

British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN-13: 978 1 84310 392 9ISBN-10: 1 84310 392 3

ISBN pdf eBook: 1 84642 467 4

Printed and bound in the People’s Republic of China

Contents

Teacher Toad’s Special Lessons

No. 1: For Children with Uneven Development 8No. 2: For Children with Hard-to-break Habits 16No. 3: For Children Who Have Problems Socializing 26No. 4: For Children Who Are Easily Distracted 36No. 5: For Children Who Get Obsessed with Their Hobbies 40No. 6: For Children Who Jump to Conclusions 46Let’s Put This All Together 52A Message to Children 64

Explanatory Notes on Special Needs for Parentsand Caregivers 67

Special needs in general 67

Special learning needs in particular 69

Special ways of interacting 71

Trouble with attention and self-control 76

A few final words 80

Notes on Developmental Differences 81Shinya Miyamoto

Developmental disorders 81What are developmental disorders? 81“Mild” developmental disorders 82

Individual disorders 83Pervasive developmental disorders 83Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder 89Learning disabilities 91Developmental coordination disorder 91Developmental language disorder 92

Frequently asked questions 93

A few final words 94

6

Look at all those tadpoles! They seem very similar,but look very closely. Each one is a little bitdifferent from all the others. And each one willgrow at its own pace. What one finds easy might bevery hard for another.

You’ve probably heard that whentadpoles get hands and feet theybecome frogs. When they’re young,frog boys and girls still have theirtadpole tails. Let’s talk about someof these frog children.

7

8

Oh, no! There’s a frog falling off a leaf! What’swrong?

What?! He says he doesn’t know how to makehis body move the way he wants it to. They’re hisown hands and feet, but he can’t get them to dowhat they’re supposed to.

I’mfa

lling! Up

Down

Teacher Toad’sSpecial Lesson

No. 1

For Children withUneven Development

Not only that, he also has trouble imitating theother frog children.

Poor frog! He’s having trouble telling left fromright, up from down, where one thing ends andanother begins. Different sounds all get jumbledtogether, and he finds it hard to figure out whereeach sound is coming from. He’s really having ahard time!

9

Over…

No, this…

way!

here

10

Today’s lesson

F r o g s

Forgs?

Frops?

Pregs?

• How many frogs arethere?

• How many leavesare there?

• Are there morefrogs or moreleaves?

Worksheet

Even though his ears can hear, it’s hard for him tolearn words because the sounds get all mixed up.

Even though his eyes can see, it’s hard for himto learn what things are because everything lookslike a mishmash.

When it comes to learning how to read, youcan bet he’s in for a tough time!

And when it comes to learning how to countand do arithmetic, you know he’s bound to have arough ride, too!

11

12

Our frog friend is certainly trying hard enough. He’snot lazy when it comes to studying. What’s more,he really can learn. But he needs to learn things in adifferent way from the other frog boys and girls.

So if someone will just show him a way to learnthings that suits his style, he’ll do a much betterjob!

Here are some bright ideas!

We can give the frog

a chance to practice

on something easy,

like a ladder, before

he has to climb a

leaf. This will help

him get used to

using his feet.

13

We can give him hints

about how to listen…

Over there

Over here

…and about

where to look,

so he can

figure things

out.

This is far away.Sounds from overthere are quiet.

This is close by.Sounds fromover here areloud.

Up

Down

Up to the

fluffy, puffy

clouds

Down to

the brown

ground

14

What’s behind all this trouble he’s having withlearning words? And with doing arithmetic?

If we think hard about it, we can find lots oflittle tricks to make things easier.

The word

has four letters.

“frog”

f

g

o

r

looks like an upside

down hook with a

line across it

looks like a short f,

with no line

is a little circle

looks like a little circle

with a hook or noose

coming down from it

Words can be

written in plain or

cursive letters:

frog

And some words

are long, with more

than one part:

treehouse

zookeeper

or frog

Learning is like going up a staircase. Some kids runstraight to the top, but others take it slowly, onestep at a time. It’s really nice when these childrenhave someone to walk with them, side by side, andteach them what they need to know.

15

This shape

represents a frog:

This shape

represents a leaf:

we can try putting one set of

shapes above the other.

When we want to compare

how many of each there are,

16

Teacher Toad’s SpecialLesson No. 2

For Children withHard-to-break Habits

What

’s

on?!

going

Uh oh! This little brown frog girl is sitting on agreen leaf. She needs to change her color to matchthe leaf, or else a snake might find her and eat her!But when grown-ups tell her this, it seems as if shecan’t even hear them.

17

But it’s not that she can’t hear. And she’s not justbeing stubborn or standoffish either. She doesn’tknow how to make her body change color tomatch her surroundings. She also doesn’tunderstand that being a different color from theleaf makes her stick out.

Wait. I’ll give her a new leaf that matches thecolor of her body. There. That’s much safer, right?

18

First, we need to help her so

she feels safe coming down

from the green leaf.

19

Thenwe ca

ngiv

e her a

brown

leaf inst

ead.

20

Hey, guys. I just

found some

yummy bugs!

And I found

a spiderweb

over there!

And there

were snakes

back that way!

This little frog girl just sits on her leaf all day,listening to the other children talking. They’ve triedinviting her to join them, but she won’t budge.

Lately, they’ve given up and don’t want to beher friend anymore.

It’s not that she dislikes the other children, orthat she’s too shy to speak up. The fact is, she justdoesn’t know what she’s supposed to do. Thereare lots and lots of things about how to be a kidthat she hasn’t figured out yet.

21

So Teacher Toad has drawn her a picture.It might seem like all frogs are supposed to just

know this stuff without needing a picture. But thisfrog feels scared when she doesn’t know ahead oftime what a place looks like, or exactly wherethings (like snakes and spiders) are, or what mighthappen where.

It really helps her when a grown-up takes thetime to show her.

22

23

Danger Map

Spiderwebs

Snakes

Here

Here

Hey, look! She’s come down from her leaf. She’ll doeven better out here if there are signs to remindher of what she learned from Teacher Toad’spicture.

24

Pond

Travel-s

ized

leaf

Now you’re

all set!

Beware ofspiderweb

Don’t get stuck!

Oh, yes, and don’t forget the travel-sized leaf. Shedoesn’t actually need it for protection, but justhaving it with her makes her feel very safe, andthat’s important!

25

Mountains

Danger!

Frog-eating snakes!

Uh oh! This little frog boy is talking non-stop topoor Mr. Bullfrog.

I know he just wants to be friendly, butMr. Bullfrog can’t listen to so much chatter all atonce.

26

Teacher Toad’sSpecial Lesson

No. 3

For Children Who HaveProblems Socializing

27

You look really cool

when you’re swimming!

Why do you

have spots?

Do you eat

crayfish?

What’s

your name?

You’re fat!

You have big ears! I bet

you hear really well!

Are you related to

leopard frogs?

Have you ever heard

of poison dart frogs?

We’re friends,

right?

When is your

birthday?

Now the little frog boy has gone back again to visitMr. Bullfrog, who looks exhausted! But the littlefrog boy keeps trying to get Mr. Bullfrog to talk andplay with him.

This makes Mr. Bullfrog angry. But the little frogboy doesn’t understand why, so he gets angry too.

28

Exhausted

Come on!

Play with me!

How’s it going?

Are you tired?

29

Qu

i et!

What’s wrong

with you?!

Answer

me!

I won’t be your

friend anymore!

You’re sure stingy

with your time!

Why are you

upset?

Grown-ups often say that we can see people’sfeelings on their faces, but for this little frog boy it’svery, very hard!

30

What the little boy frog needsis a lesson like this:

I’m angry

I’m disappointed

It hurts

He just can’t seem to figure outwhat people are feeling bylooking at them.

31

I don’t knowwhat to do!

I’m happy

I’m sad

I’m having fun

I’m tired

This is really

hard!

Here’s an important lesson for you to learn: youand the person you’re with might not always feelthe same way at the same time even if you’refriends.

32

Two people can have differentfeelings at the same time

I’m having fun I’m having fun

I don’tunderstand

I’m angry

33

So just because you’re having fun, it doesn’t meanthat your friend is also having fun. And he or shemight not get angry at the same things that makeyou angry.

I don’tunderstand

I’m angry

I don’t wantto play

I want to play

When people talk to each other, it’s important touse good manner phrases, like “Can we talk now?”,“Thank you!” and “I’m sorry!” These words will helpboth you and the person you’re talking to feel good.

34

The First Great Rule

of Conversation

Before saying

what’s on your

mind, ask:

If you make someone

angry, say:

After someone answers

your question, say:

Can we

talk now?

I’m sorry!

Thank you!

35

And there are also other rules of conversation thatwill help you and your friends enjoy each other’scompany.

The Second Great Rule

of Conversation

Don’t say lots of things

one after the other

Make sure you take turns

listening

Finish one topic before

starting the

next1. How to catch crayfish

2. How to cook crayfish

3. How crayfish taste

This little frog girl is always getting interested in toomany things all at the same time. Sometimes sheeven forgets what she was just getting ready to do.She starts projects and then leaves them halfwaythrough without finishing them. She also loses thethings she’s supposed to have with her. She evenloses the special treasures she was trying so hardto take good care of! Grown-ups are always gettingangry with her for being careless.

36

Teacher Toad’sSpecial Lesson

No. 4

For Children Who AreEasily Distracted

Even when she is sad over losing something sheloves, grown-ups still scold her, and this makes herfeel even sadder. It would be better if parents andteachers used more gentle words to teach her.Instead of saying “You need to be more careful!”,they could say, “I think there’s something differentyou’re supposed to be doing right now,” or “Aren’tyou forgetting something?”

37

38

Now the little frog girl is really trying her best andthinking, “This time I’m going to do it right!” But ifthere are too many things to look at all at once,she’ll get confused. A helpful grown-up has putaway all the extra things that were distracting her.And every time she finishes something, thegrown-up tells her, “Good job!” This makes hervery, very happy.

Breakfast is overhere

Breakfast

LunchLunch is over there

This frog girl has trouble remembering to do whatshe’s supposed to and loses interest after just a fewminutes. So the best way for her to get things doneis to start promptly, before she forgets, and finishquickly, before she gets bored.

39

Hey, what about

your food?!Dinner(freshly

caught!)

It’s great to be so interested in something thatnothing else distracts you. But you can also get intoserious trouble. Like this frog boy, who might geteaten by a bird or a snake if he doesn’t payattention!

40

No!

Lookout!

TeacherToad’s SpecialLesson No. 5

For Children WhoGet Obsessed with

Their Hobbies

When you enjoy something, you want to keepdoing it forever, right? Some children love theirhobbies so much that it seems like they knoweverything about them. When they grow up, theymay even become professors!

41

Insects

This frog boy loves bugs!

When you’re doing something you really likenon-stop, do grown-ups ever say, “Don’t you knowthere are lots more important things you should bedoing?!”

42

A yummy,nutritious feast!

Hmm…But he’ll

never catch

itjust

by sittin

g and starin

g

(He se

ems tohave fo

rgotte

n

it’s mealti

me)

It’s good to know a lot, but it’s not OK to talkabout it anytime you feel like it. You need to becareful not to interrupt people when they’re busy.

43

Huh?!

Not only that,

but his chatter

doesn’t give other

people a chance

to catch it, either

Hey, I knowsome fascinatingthings about thatparticular insect…

You may even get to be a world-famous expertsomeday doing for a living what you love the most.

44

You’re really

good at this

science stuff,

aren’t you?

But remember: There are rules you need to follow!

45

Now here’s the

rule: no talking

during hunting

hours! OK?

What’s the problem here? This frog boy seems tobe misunderstanding his friend.

46

Hey! Why are you

shoving me?!

Teacher Toad’sSpecial Lesson

No. 6

For Children Who Jumpto Conclusions

47

I’m sorry!

I just lost my temper.All I did was

bump into you

by accident!

But you jumped

out at me all of

a sudden.

I looked upand his handswere right inmy face.

But it wasn’t reallymy fault, was it?

What are youtalking about?!I was just standinghere!

48

OK, here’s what the problem is: This frog boydoesn’t leave enough space between himselfand other people for everyone to movearound safely. Then when he bumps into hisfriends by accident, he doesn’t realize it washis fault, so he hits them. This just gets him inworse trouble.

Your personal space

But there’s a simple trick that can help himunderstand how to keep his distance: He canimagine that he and his friends are all surroundedby large “safety bubbles” filled with air.

49

Stretch out your arms and

pretend there’s a bubble

around you that’s this wide.

Your friend’s personal space

And he can also practice the famous “count to ten”trick to use whenever he starts to feel too angry.

50

Counting slowly from

one to ten in your

mind will help you

turn…

…from hot red… …to cool blue!

This trick is a way of helping yourself relax and getcontrol of your feelings.

51

I’m a bad boy!

No, you just have a bad habit,

that’s all.

So it’s important for you to

learn what to do instead.

52

OK, everyone.

Let’s put this

all together.

Work with me here: You’ve just been reading abunch of stories about young frogs who have anunusual way of doing things and sometimes causetrouble to their friends, parents, and teachers. Youcould say that these frog children have a differentsort of “croak” from typical folk.

Now pay close attention. Who do you thinkfeels worse about the trouble that gets caused, theunusual frogs, or everyone else?

Good for you if you guessed that it’s theunusual frogs; you’re with me!

53

54

Try to remember how it felt to be a tiny infant stillin diapers, or a toddler. There’s no such thing as anewborn child—whether human or amphibian—who knows how to do the things that most older

Tadpoles can’t climb trees…

…or walk across the ground.

kids and grown-ups take for granted. Every one ofus learned what we know now gradually, one stepat a time.

55

And they can’t

catch bugs…

…or jump in the

cool way their

parents do…

…or say what’s

on their minds.

Ribbit!Ribbit!

56

There are all

Some are big, some are small.

No two look exactly alike.

Some like to follow behind.

Some like to spin

in circles.

Some prefer to sit

still and observe.Some are always clinging

to their favorite things.

Some do the opposite

of everyone else, and

others just go their

own way.

Some like to

zig-zag.

57

oh!

Some get scared easily

and make a big fuss.

Some don’t talk or

make any sound at all.

Some just can’t seem

to follow the rules.

Some lose their

tempers a lot.

Some prefer to play

by themselves.

And some love squeezing

themselves into tight

spaces.

Some are a little bit

clumsy.

kinds of babies:

When it comes to babies, nobody minds any oftheir little quirks and unusual habits. So why is itthat when they get older and start school, all of asudden being “different” becomes a major issue?

58

59

Insects

Think about all the grown-ups you know. They allhave different kinds of jobs, and different things thatthey’re good at and not good at.

60

Prof. T.S. Pinkum

Today’s lecture:Poisonous beetles

May causesymptoms ofperipheralneuropathywhen eaten.Found near wet,grassy areas…

There’s nothing wrong with variety! In fact, theworld is an interesting place precisely becausethere are so many different kinds of people.

61

62

Just as everyone’s

face is unique,

everyone also has a unique

way of doing things.

We all have our own

special, wonderful way

of being.

There are children in the world who have a specialway of learning things. And that is perfectly OK.

63

We all have the right to

take our time and grow

in our own way.

There’s no rush!

64

A Message to Children

This book, especially the illustrated main section,was written both for children and grown-ups. If youare a child reading this, then perhaps you looked atone or more of the frogs and thought to yourself,“That’s just like me!” (Did you?) If you think youare, like the frogs, a bit “different” from most otherpeople your age, then the first thing you should dois to get a clear understanding of your own specialdifferences. Once you have this understanding, itwill be much easier to figure out what you shoulddo next.

The frogs in this book are examples of just afew of the different types of children in the world.There are many other examples as well, becausethere are many ways of being unusual. And thereare also many people who can give you help andencouragement when you are feeling bad aboutyourself or when your differences are causing youproblems. I hope you will let these people workwith you so that you can find ways of doing thingsthat work for you.

Here are some good mottoes to remember:

It’s OK to be different!

There’s no gain in blame! (Some problemsare just not anyone’s fault.)

Start with what you can do, not with whatyou can’t do!

65

Explanatory Notes on

Special Needs for Parents

and Caregivers

Special needs in general

While tadpoles of course have much in common with frogs, theirappearance at birth is decidedly unfroglike. Tadpoles breathethrough gills and can live only in water. Eventually, they sproutlegs, then arms, and gradually they change color. And then oneday, they begin breathing through lungs and leave the water.

But human children come into the world already looking,well, human. Because their general shape gives children theappearance of being more or less like us, the adults, it’s easy forus to take their growth for granted, to see their maturing as asimple, linear process: One day older, one day closer to beingadults. In an important sense, though, children are no differentfrom tadpoles. Their shapes may remain essentially the same, butthe process they must go through to reach adulthood is no lesscomplex and spectacular than that of a tadpole transforming intoa frog.

A newborn baby cannot independently fulfill even the mostbasic needs of survival, such as obtaining food or maintaining itsown body temperature. Neither can it move from place to placenor take care of expelled waste. Infants depend on their parentsor other adult caregivers for almost everything required forsustaining life itself, not to mention protection from physicalharm.

67

As time passes, the tiny individual who at first spent most ofits time sleeping learns to support the considerable weight of itsown head, and then goes on to master crawling and walking. Asthe child acquires vocabulary and the ability to converse, he orshe gains knowledge of and access to the world with astonishingspeed. At this stage, even small concerns may be a source ofgreat anxiety for parents, who are often told not to worry, that itis perfectly natural for young children to develop skills atan uneven pace. And, in fact, the range of ability considered“normal” for any given skill tends to be fairly wide to begin with.

Nevertheless, studies have revealed that some 6 to 7percent of all children show paths of development that arestarkly different from those seen in most of their age-mates.These children have what are sometimes referred to as develop-mental “disorders,” a term that conjures up images of somethingquite severe. A more apt term is “hurdles.” An obstacle course,despite its ups and downs, can still be traversed. This is similar tothe development of some children whose particular challenge itis to surmount a variety of hurdles as they grow.

A few of these children have visible differences, but mostdo not. More importantly, all these children are engaged ina continual process of development and in this way are nodifferent from any other children. By no means do they merelystand still.

They seem to walk a different road from other children, andat times they come upon hurdles that appear to bar their waycompletely. But viewed from a different angle, these hurdles canbe seen as highly unusual characteristics that confer upon thesechildren unique patterns of growth.

68

The section that follows discusses how these principlesapply to the types of children characterized in this book—thefrogs who “croak differently” from their peers. For ease ofunderstanding, I have used each character to represent only onedevelopmental difficulty, but in fact it is common for affectedchildren to have multiple difficulties. Moreover, I would like toencourage readers to see development as a lifelong processrather than—as is commonly thought—a process that occursonly during childhood.

Special learning needs in particular

At school, all children are ordinarily expected to study the samesubjects in the same way. This standardized instruction is gearedto the needs of the majority of children, but there are invariablysome students who find it too easy, while others find it too diffi-cult in the sense that it is unsuited to their own style of learning.In most of the latter cases, the difficulties encountered fall withina range that can be considered ordinary variances in skill level,but there are always a few children who stand out as havinglearning needs that are special.

For example, running or simply moving one’s limbs are activ-ities that come naturally to most children. Contrast this with

69

Refer to “Teacher Toad’s Special Lesson No. 1: For Childrenwith Uneven Development” on page 8 and also to the sec-tions in the notes on developmental differences concerninglearning disabilities (page 91), developmental coordinationdisorder (page 91), and developmental language disorder(page 92).

children who, left to their own devices, do not learn to use theirarms and legs with ease and cannot imitate the movements ofothers or figure out how to “go with the flow” of what ishappening around them. This is one example of a developmentalhurdle.

Some children who cannot yet read or write face differenthurdles. For example, they may be unable to distinguish up fromdown and left from right. They may have trouble learningthe names of different objects because of an inability to visuallydiscriminate between the objects themselves. They mayperceive distinct sounds as though they were all jumbledtogether. Or, at a given moment, they may be unable to separatethe main stimulus that requires their attention (a sound or ashape, for example) from all the other stimuli in the background.

Another category of hurdles concerns numbers: countingthem, adding them, comparing them, and so on. Children whoexperience such difficulties will struggle with even the simplestarithmetic, let alone mathematical procedures such as carryingor unit conversion.

These children, contrary to superficial appearances, are notlazy, slacking off, or merely avoiding subjects they dislike. Theyhave trouble learning and need to be taught in special ways thatare tailored to their individual needs. And sometimes parentsand teachers need to change their ways of thinking, allowing thatit might be better for the child to use a word processor or acalculator instead of struggling in vain with penmanship or math;in some cases this change in attitude may be more productivethan the anxious, dead-end thinking that the child simply mustsomehow learn to write, compute prices or change, and so on inorder to avoid problems in later life.

70

Visual or auditory difficulties can be lifelong, so it is best tothink in terms of encouraging children toward careers wherethese issues will be less conspicuous. There are many adults whoattest to having had learning problems involving sensorydysfunctions when they were children. Celebrities such as TomCruise, who has publicly acknowledged having grown up withdyslexia, have cast the individuality and potential of people withlearning difficulties in a positive light.

Some individuals have grown up with academic difficultiesand then gained recognition in the public eye as actors andmodels, but also in careers such as professional sports, perhapsbecause of some exceptional quality. Yet, one often hears that aschildren they were ashamed of the very quality that led to theirsuccess. Traits that they despised when younger became prizedassets to them in adulthood. The same applies to hidden qualitiessuch as differences in visual perception or in thought patterns.These unusual characteristics may put children at a disadvantageduring their school years, but they should also be seen as specialtalents that may later become the driving force behind uniqueprofessional achievement. There is no reason whatsoever whyeveryone must proceed along the same career path.

Special ways of interacting

71

Refer to “Teacher Toad’s Special Lesson No. 2: For Childrenwith Hard-to-break Habits” (page 16) and “Teacher Toad’sSpecial Lesson No. 3: For Children Who Have ProblemsSocializing” (page 26) and also to the section in the noteson developmental differences concerning pervasive develop-mental disorders (page 83).

Certain types of children don’t make a very good impression onthe people around them, because they behave in ways that areassociated with being ill-mannered. The problems they experi-ence are many and varied, but here are a few examples: havingdifficulty “playing nicely” with other children; exhibiting oddgestures or facial expressions; using peculiar figures of speech;having difficulty making wishes understood, or understanding thewishes of others; blithely doing things that are generally consid-ered embarrassing; or behaving in ways that indicate a lack ofunderstanding of other people’s feelings, such as tagging alongwith others persistently, even when they give clear signals ofwanting to be left alone.

The reasons for these behaviors are also many and varied.Children who act this way may have trouble adjusting to thesituation around them; they may be generally and extremelyfearful such that any little thing might cause them to shrink orlose control; they may simply have fallen into a pattern of unusualhabits; or they may be unable to engage in activities that involvegive-and-take.

In the past, most such children were thought to have delayedspeech, but it is now understood that many affected childrenhave deficits in communication and socialization even in theabsence of speech delays.

These children can be helped if the supervising adults arewilling to apply the following guidelines:

1. Don’t pressure the child into doing what everyoneelse is doing. As a first step, try adjusting to his or herneeds.

2. Make sure you have a place set aside where the childcan go to feel secure. Let the child know that this is a

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place where he or she can act naturally and will notbe disturbed.

3. If the child is making eccentric gestures or othermovements, just stand by and watch. Consider thepossibility that this behavior is helping the child gain asense of security, or that it may simply be a source ofenjoyment. At the same time, be aware that whenodd gesturing or movement suddenly becomes verypronounced, this may be a sign of stress.

4. When the child has a tantrum or “meltdown,” takethe position that he or she has, in fact, experiencedsomething perceived as loathsome or frightening.Adopting this perspective will help you understandthe reason behind the child’s behavior.

5. Adjust the child’s environment to remove as manyanxiety-provoking elements as possible. This shouldhelp to prevent problem behaviors in the first place.

In order to better understand these children’s feelings, imaginethat you are alone in a foreign country and do not speak orunderstand the language. Consider how ecstatic you would be ifsuddenly, somehow, you could communicate and make yourselfunderstood. If you are the parent of or look after such a child, dobecome someone who can impart a sense of security to thatchild. The more such adults there are in the child’s environment,the more he or she will be able to settle down and behave appro-priately.

It is generally assumed that playing and talking with friends issomething that comes naturally and that all children enjoy, butthe children described here have their own unusual way ofthinking and feeling. As a result, they have unique ways of

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enjoying themselves, and, conversely, will often be extremelydistressed over things that would matter little or not at all tomost people. This is not to say that they dislike everyone aroundthem. They, too, want to participate with others, but they needto participate differently.

Among children who have social difficulties, some havetrouble interacting at all, while others enthusiastically seek outopportunities to do so. These two types of children give verydifferent impressions from one another, but they have onefundamental trait in common: an inability to adjust their behaviorto suit the different situations they find themselves in. It isimportant to be aware that symptoms of social difficulty can varywidely from one child to another.

In particular, they are often at a loss for how to behave, andmay become very upset when faced with situations where asubtle understanding of etiquette is required. They may notunderstand, for example, that an individual’s feelings can changefrom one occasion to another and that in such cases—dependingon the nature of their relationship to the other person—theymay be expected to accommodate that person by adjusting theirown attitude.

Having said all this, though, it must be added that there is ofcourse a limit to the extent to which others should adjust to theneeds of children who face these types of problems. No man is anisland, and if these youngsters do not learn how to get along inthe world, then it is the children who will eventually suffer. It isalso very important that they learn skills with which to forge andstrengthen relationships so that they do not end up living inisolation, being shunned, or engaging in antisocial behavior.

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Children who have trouble picking up social cues from theirenvironment can be helped with special instructions. Pictures, orcarefully chosen words, can be used to explain to a child in veryspecific and easily understandable terms, “This is what peoplemay do here,” or “These are the things that you may do now.”The purpose of such instructions is to impart skills that willeventually help these children to function independently insociety.

Other educational interventions include teaching childrenexplicitly how to interpret people’s feelings based on their facialexpressions and teaching detailed rules for how to have aconversation. It is important to not only present fixed rules forchildren to learn by rote, but also to premise this training on theidea that each person has individual thoughts and feelings; it maybe necessary to wait until the child has gained awareness of thisprinciple before introducing this type of training.

Simultaneously, instructions should be given to the child’speers to help them understand that there are people who haveunusual ways of thinking and feeling. This dual effort will helpclose the gap between typical children and those affected bysocial difficulties. This method is preferable to pointing the fingerand accusing a child of being insensitive to other people’sfeelings, without any effort to make helpful suggestions.

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Trouble with attention and self-control

There seem to be lots and lots of children who are easilydistracted. We’re always hearing about kids who “can’t concen-trate” or “don’t get their acts together.” How do we then distin-guish ordinary distractibility from something that represents agenuine developmental hurdle? In the latter case, the affectedchild will tend to start many projects but leave them all unfin-ished; sometimes, confusion may reign to the extent that thechild suddenly forgets what he or she was right in the middle ofdoing.

The period of time during which such a child can attend to asingle task is extremely short. His or her eyes may dart from oneobject to another, and it may be a huge struggle to filter outbackground noise and discriminate the one sound requiringimmediate attention.

In order to help the child, we must reduce or eliminateextraneous information and organize the environment so that itis very clear to the child what he or she is supposed to be doing.The child should not be expected to try to do more than onething at a time, and items needed for an upcoming task should bekept out of sight while the current task is being worked on.

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Refer to “Teacher Toad’s Special Lesson No. 4: For ChildrenWho Are Easily Distracted” (page 36), “Teacher Toad’sSpecial Lesson No. 5: For Children Who Get Obsessedwith Their Hobbies” (page 40), and “Teacher Toad’s SpecialLesson No. 6: For Children Who Jump to Conclusions” (page46) and also to the section in the notes on developmentaldifferences concerning attention deficit hyperactivity dis-order (page 89).

Adults should also resign themselves to the fact that brevityof attention span will not simply go away with training; forget-fulness, therefore, should be considered par for the courseand responded to with gentle instruction rather than scolding.Conversely, when such a child does manage to remember evensomething minor, he or she should be praised to the skies!

As the child grows, his or her attention span will graduallyincrease. But even more powerful than the effect of time ispraise. Words of encouragement will build the child’s confidenceand go a long way toward cultivating both self-acceptance andself-motivation. This is because children who face this particularhurdle also tend to be especially apprehensive about beingscolded and prone to losing their motivation.

It is perfectly natural for anyone to lose track of time whenhaving fun or when absorbed in a favorite activity. We all preferto spend our time doing things we enjoy, and there is certainlynothing wrong with becoming an expert at one’s favorite subject.As the famous artist and poet John Ruskin said, “When love andskill work together, expect a masterpiece.” Having interests andtalents is generally a good thing. But when these are pursuedto an unreasonable extreme, they should be regarded as adevelopmental hurdle.

There are, for example, children who will choose an activityand become so deeply absorbed in it that they are utterly unableto attend to routine personal care or follow the ordinary rhythmof daily life. These children may be a storehouse of sophisticatedknowledge, but they cannot dress themselves. This type of childis often mistakenly thought of as selfish or lazy.

Not only that, but the child may actively annoy others bychattering endlessly about his or her subject of interest—anytime, anywhere, and with no participation whatsoever in the

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activity or discussion that others are engaged in. At least, suchchildren need to be taught to follow prearranged cues based oncommon sense and generally accepted etiquette, indicating whenthey may start talking and when they should stop.

Timers and alarm clocks, if used judiciously, can also giveeffective help to children who tend to get “lost” in their activitiesor have trouble making the transition from one activity toanother.

The ability to become deeply absorbed and the possession ofa conspicuous talent are wonderful assets. Parents and teachersshould give children with attention and self-control problemspositive guidance and encouragement and help them to keepsight of their own genuine worth. The assets that one seesin them now may eventually prove to be the basis for theacquisition of professional expertise or certification in some fieldor other, and this is certainly a desirable outcome.

There is also the matter of some children being “high-strung.” It’s good to be energetic, but some children can getrowdy or aggressive and then suddenly begin sulking. Thisbehavior pattern can sometimes occur because the child hasmisunderstood the intentions of another person. Thus, a childbumped into by accident may think he or she has been delib-erately struck, or a child standing right in the middle of thehallway may wonder why he or she keeps getting “purposely”shoved.

Adults witnessing outbursts in situations like these shouldnot make judgments based solely on the behavior that meets theeye. Claims of “misunderstanding” may ring false, but in fact theyare all too true. It is therefore useless to expect scolding orpreaching about morals to solve the problem. Even when these

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children understand appropriate rules of behavior, they facea developmental hurdle characterized by poor self-controland difficulty putting their knowledge and understanding intopractice. Your goal should not be merely to teach them toapologize, but also to help them develop the skill of acting onwhat they know.

There are also children who have difficulty thinking thingsthrough. With these children, it is important to confirm in eachinstance of inappropriate behavior whether or not they actuallyunderstand the applicable rules of right and wrong and to reviewthese rules if necessary.

In this book, the example of a child not keeping an approp-riate distance from others has been used. A problem like this willnever be solved with a general instruction such as “You need toleave more space.” The child will have a much easier timelearning with concrete visual aids, such as a large ball or a hulahoop, and by actually observing how much space is required forone’s arms and legs to move freely.

In addition, children who tend to misconstrue others’ inten-tions are often helped when picture cards, role-play, and so onare used to teach the meanings implicit in certain kinds ofmovements and to provide practice at interpreting differenttypes of social encounters. It is also important to supplement thistraining with practice at self-control so that the child can learn toavoid flying into a rage when problems do occur.

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A few final words

It’s only natural to feel embarrassed about not being as good atsomething as other people, or as good as one “should” be forone’s age. Ability is of course a good thing, and without the desireto strive, there would be no self-improvement. But does this alsomean that inability is a bad thing?

First, bear in mind that the abilities we usually take forgranted and expect to see in others are merely a reflection ofwhat happens to be true for the majority. When someone getsangry at another person’s lack of competence in a certain skill,this seems the same as saying, “I expect you to be able todo whatever I can do” and finding it intolerable when thisexpectation is not met.

And so, if ever you find yourself distressed about your son,daughter, or student being a “problem child,” remember this:

°The one who faces the biggest problem and feels thegreatest distress is the child, not you or anyone else.

°You can help the child by working together to think of ideasthat will make things easier or less stressful for him or her.

°This kind of help does not entail trying to make differencesdisappear. It’s important to accept the differences as a givenand to focus on helping the child to reduce problems and tocope effectively when problems do arise.

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Notes on Developmental

Differences

Shinya Miyamoto, Institute of Disabilities

Science, University of Tsukuba

The illustrated section of this book presents information aboutdevelopmental hurdles in a very user-friendly manner. Below,this presentation is supplemented with an introduction to therelevant medical concepts and terminology. The discussion hasdeliberately been kept as simple as possible; readers who wish tostudy the subject in greater depth are encouraged to take advan-tage of the many excellent resources available both in print andonline.

Developmental disordersWhat are developmental disorders?

A developmental disorder is defined as a serious delay in thedevelopment of adaptive, cognitive, and/or social skills thatappears anytime before the age of 18. It often affects highercortical function, which refers to processes that involve multipleparts of the brain and allow us to carry out all of the complicatedmental work associated with being human: speaking, compre-hending when spoken to, thinking, and so on. In contrast to thesecomplex processes, some functions—such as vision, hearing, and

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movement of the limbs—are carried out by only one section ofthe brain. Therefore, for example, a child who is born visuallyimpaired because of dysfunction involving the visual cortex(located at the back of the brain) would not be considered tohave a developmental disorder.

Medical professionals generally divide developmental dis-orders into four categories: (1) cognitive developmental dis-orders, characterized mainly by intellectual deficits (e.g., a lowIQ); (2) pervasive developmental disorders (also known asautistic spectrum disorders); (3) attention deficit hyperactivitydisorder; and (4) specific disorders of a more limited nature,such as speech impairments or motor skills deficits. Thus, when achild is evaluated for a developmental disorder, the clinician firstdetermines into which of these four categories the child’sproblems fall.

“Mild” developmental disorders

When a developmental disorder is classified as “mild,” it simplymeans that the disorder does not involve an impairment ofcognitive functioning, not that the symptoms themselves arenecessarily mild. “No impairment in cognitive functioning” canmean one of two things, and the distinction is purely technical:(1) the child has an IQ of 70 or higher and is therefore not intel-lectually disabled, or (2) the child has an IQ of 85 or higher andtherefore has full intellectual ability in the normal range. IQs of71–84 are, by definition, considered “borderline.” In recentyears, the second definition has come to be more widelyaccepted than the first. The term “mild,” used in this sense, ismore or less synonymous with the term “high-functioning,”which is discussed below.

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When talking about developmental disorders in childrenwith normal intelligence, the specific conditions referred toinclude high-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome, dis-orders in specific areas of development, and attention deficithyperactivity disorder. Often, however, children with border-line intelligence or mild intellectual disability (IQs of 50–70) areloosely grouped in this category; this is because they experiencemany of the same problems and often need precisely the samekinds of special considerations as children who, by the abovedefinition, have mild developmental disorders.

Individual disordersPervasive developmental disorders

What are pervasive developmental disorders?

Since the 1980s, autism and a handful of other disorders resem-bling autism have come to be classified together. As a group,these conditions are usually referred to as either pervasivedevelopmental disorders (PDDs) or autistic spectrum disorders(ASDs). The latter term is premised on the idea that classicautism, Asperger’s syndrome (described below), and relatedconditions all have fundamental elements in common and thatthey should therefore be considered part of the samecontinuum, rather than completely separate disorders.Throughout this section, I will be using the term PDD.

Among the conditions that fall under the PDD umbrella areclassic autism (generally severe), high-functioning autism,atypical autism, and Asperger’s syndrome (less severe andcharacterized by the absence of intellectual impairments anddelays in the development of speech).

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PDDs are defined by four characteristics: (1) difficulty enga-ging in social interaction with others; (2) difficulty using andunderstanding all the usual modes of communication (speech,gestures, facial expressions, and so on); (3) difficulties related toimagination; and (4) a strong tendency for activities and intereststo be restricted to a narrow range. Whenever all four of thesecharacteristics are observed, the child who displays them is saidto have a pervasive developmental disorder.

The prevalence of autism

Researchers currently believe that the prevalence of autism isabout one to two individuals per 1000 (0.1%–0.2%). Autism isthree to four times more common among boys than among girls.This is in part because the male brain is generally more fragile andprone to illness or injury than the female brain. Experts are notyet certain of what causes autism, but it is now understood thatthe condition results from some sort of problem with the brainitself and not from anything inadequate or inappropriate inparenting techniques or the child’s environment.

The four basic characteristics of autism and other PDDs

DIFFICULTY WITH SOCIAL INTERACTION

Individuals with autism tend to interact with others in a one-sided manner, without the normal give-and-take that mostpeople expect. In young children, more specific symptomsinclude difficulty with eye contact, a tendency not to turn whenone’s name is called, an absence of stranger anxiety, and anabsence of finger-pointing. After early childhood, the followingother characteristics often emerge: an inability to share enjoy-ment with others, difficulty making friends, and an inability to

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interpret clues indicative of other people’s emotions and circum-stances.

It is important to understand that autism rarely entailsthe stereotypical profile of a person closed off in his or herown world, shunning any and all contact with others. On thecontrary, some autistic individuals will warm to others with noreservations whatsoever and give the superficial appearance ofbeing extremely affable. But even in these cases the person withautism is likely to interact in a way that lacks reciprocity, forexample speaking much and listening very little, if at all.

DIFFICULTY WITH COMMUNICATION

Children with autism encounter a number of difficulties relatedto producing and comprehending speech, and they often have apeculiar way of talking. They may talk out loud to themselves,have trouble making conversation, and frequently change thesubject in an unnatural way. They may also tend to parrot backwhat they hear; this is called echolalia. Echolalia often occurswhen a child lacks comprehension and therefore will tend todecrease as he or she becomes more advanced at understandingspoken language. There is often an unnatural quality to the child’svoice, with monotone and slightly high-pitched speech beingcommon, as is the tendency to end words or sentences with arising tone. Because of these unusual mannerisms, there areoccasionally children with autism who lack the regional accentsof the locations in which they live.

DIFFICULTIES RELATED TO IMAGINATION

Young autistic children tend to have difficulty mentally picturingthings that are not physically present in front of them, or imag-ining hypothetical or fantastical situations. As a result, they tend

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not to engage in pretend play and instead repeat the same simplegames over and over. As they get older, they tend to havetrouble with abstract concepts and symbolic imagery and havedifficulty understanding the meanings of words that do not havespecific, concrete referents—for example, words that denotecategories of objects (such as “animal,” “fruit,” etc.), adverbs,adjectives, and so on.

Because of their difficulty comprehending things that are notexplicitly stated or shown, children with autism tend to beunaware of many unwritten rules of behavior and of the so-calledcommon sense or common knowledge that most childrenabsorb without any direct teaching.

RESTRICTED ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS

Children with autism often have fixed and limited areas ofinterest, for example letters, numbers, or product brand names.In addition, they usually lack flexibility and may become tense orupset when something does not go as planned or is not done inthe usual or preferred way.

Other cognitive and behavioral characteristics

Children with autism often have difficulty making inferences andmay therefore not understand speech where relevant wordshave been left out because the speaker considers them obvious.For example, picture a father and a son who has autism in arestaurant, menus in hand. Dad asks, “What looks good to you?”and receives the unexpected reply, “Soccer uniforms!” A morehelpful way for the father to phrase his question would have beento ask, “What would you like to eat?” Other issues in this cate-gory include trouble with pronouns (because the objects orpeople they refer to change from one situation to the next) and a

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tendency to interpret words literally, so that the point of humoror sarcasm is frequently missed.

Another common characteristic of autism is “face blind-ness,” or difficulty distinguishing people’s faces. Children withthis characteristic struggle even to remember the faces andnames of their classmates. And in the weeks or months that ittakes them to assimilate this information, they are unable toassociate specific acts of kindness (or unkindness) with theindividuals who committed them; this makes them prone tomisunderstandings and to being perceived as cold or perfunctoryin the way they treat people.

Physiological characteristics

Approximately 50 percent of children with autism show ab-normal electrical activity in the brain (abnormal “brain waves”)when given electroencephalograms (EEGs). About 20 percentexperience seizures. Both seizures and abnormal EEGs tend toappear for the first time after age ten, so children who have beendiagnosed with autism or a related condition should undergoEEG testing at regular intervals until roughly age 15 to 18.

Sleep disturbances are also common and are likely to becaused by a dysfunction in the part of the brain that regulates thecircadian rhythm. One common pattern is that of nighttimewakefulness, which lasts for approximately one to three monthsand then disappears spontaneously.

Finally, extreme motor clumsiness is another commoncharacteristic of children with autism. (See also the sectionbelow on developmental coordination disorder.)

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High-functioning PDDs

As mentioned earlier, “high-functioning” is defined simply as theabsence of intellectual impairment (i.e., having an IQ that isnear-normal or above). Broadly speaking, the two types ofhigh-functioning PDD are high-functioning autism (characterizedby deficits or delays in speech) and Asperger’s syndrome (char-acterized by the absence of such deficits or delays). Childrenwho have one of these conditions tend to function comparablywell when interacting one-on-one, and they are usually capableof participating in certain group activities that are highly struc-tured. Trouble often arises in group social situations involvingplay or other interaction that is unstructured. Other featuresseen in these children include tendencies to speak and act attheir own pace, seemingly without regard for the feelings andcircumstances of the people they are with; to speak in a one-sided manner on topics of personal interest; to interpret wordsliterally without comprehending implicit meanings; to lack flexi-bility in thinking or behavior; to engage in compulsive behaviorand be very insistent on having things a certain way; and to speakor behave in ways that may be annoying or harmful to others.

Until recently, many children with high-functioning PDDswere consigned to being on the receiving end of constantcriticism for being “selfish” or “willful,” while their parents wereblamed for incompetent childrearing. This situation reflected alack of general knowledge about the nature of these conditions;children who had normal intelligence and could interact withothers to a substantial degree simply were not suspected ofhaving anything that could be called a developmental problem,least of all of having a condition similar to autism.

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

What is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?

This condition, commonly known as ADHD, involves difficultywith paying attention or directing one’s attention appropriatelyand with moderating one’s activity or behavior. It includesbehavior that is impulsive as well as that which is merely exces-sive. Broadly speaking the condition is diagnosed when a childhas greater difficulty in these areas than would be expected givenhis or her level of intellectual development.

The prevalence of ADHD

ADHD is thought to occur in about 2 to 3 percent of all childrenand in roughly three times as many boys as girls. Its causes arenot fully understood. In a very small number of cases, symptomsof ADHD appear in children who have experienced abuseor neglect, but these cases are considered to be a separatephenomenon. In fact, the vast majority of children who showsymptoms of ADHD have difficulties that are developmental(not environmental) in nature.

Basic characteristics of ADHD

INATTENTION

Children with ADHD often have trouble concentrating theirattention to begin a task and tend to be easily distracted fromactivities they have begun. They often leave projects unfinished,forget to bring the items they need, misplace their belongings,make careless mistakes, and so on. At the same time, they mayeasily spend hours focused intensely on something they like, suchas playing a video game. This, however, should not be confused

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with genuine concentration, which entails the ability to payattention when one needs to, not only when one wants to.

HYPERACTIVITY

Hyperactive children are unable to sit still; too frequently, theyare either moving about restlessly or else fidgeting or shiftingaround in their chairs. Adolescents and adults with ADHDsometimes state that they frequently feel emotional tension andhave trouble relaxing.

IMPULSIVITY

Children who act impulsively will tend to do something theinstant it occurs to them. They have trouble waiting their turn,may cut in front of others instead of standing in line, and mayhave trouble moderating the intensity of their reactions. Whenin a group situation, their behavior tends to get them intotrouble.

HOW THESE BASIC SYMPTOMS CHANGE OVER TIME

Children with ADHD usually gain self-control naturally as theygrow. In situations where at least a minimum of self-control isrequired, most will be able to keep their hyperactivity withinreasonable bounds by about age eight or ten, and their inatten-tion and impulsivity, by about age ten or twelve. But this does notmean that these symptoms have disappeared; rather, it simplymeans that the child is now able to manage them when neces-sary. When no such necessity is felt, the child will often continueto exhibit the same extreme behaviors as when he or she wasyounger.

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Learning disabilities

Children who have learning disabilities (LDs) experience greatdifficulty—despite normal sight, hearing, and overall intelli-gence—in one or more of the following areas: listening, speaking,reading, writing, calculating, and reasoning. Some children whohave one or more LDs also exhibit certain other difficulties,including motor clumsiness, trouble behaving well in groupsbecause of hyperactivity, and inconsistent scores on the variousIQ subtests.

One further caveat is necessary: While educators use theacronym LD to stand for “learning disability” as described above,physicians actually use it to stand for “learning disorder.” More-over, physicians limit the definition of learning disorder toinclude only problems with reading, writing, and calculating.In other words, they exclude difficulties with listening,speaking, and reasoning from their definition of LD. Whilemedical professionals do not have a diagnostic term to refer toproblems with reasoning, they include listening and speakingdifficulties under the diagnosis developmental language disorder,which is discussed below.

Developmental coordination disorder

This disorder is characterized by a conspicuous lack in the abilityto perform everyday tasks requiring motor coordination ascompared with the level of skill that would be expected given thechild’s age or IQ. Motor coordination entails the use of two ormore muscle groups working either simultaneously or in succes-sion to perform a set of distinct movements. Skipping, forexample, requires that the arms turn the rope while the legsmove up and down.

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Specific symptoms of developmental coordination disorderinclude delays in achieving early motor milestones, such as sittingup, crawling, and walking; a tendency to drop things; poorperformance at sports and with penmanship; slow and/orawkward movements; and poor balance.

In a substantial number of cases, parents seek consultationsbecause of concern about behavioral problems, and it is thenrevealed that their children are also experiencing motordifficulties such as those listed above. When clumsiness isimpeding a child’s ability to function successfully in daily life (andespecially in sports or physical education class at school), it isonly natural that the child might fall into a state of chronicirritability and become quick-tempered, aggressive, or restless. Itis therefore wise for parents worried about their children’sbehavior to look at motor skills and consider whether difficultyhere might not be an underlying cause of stress.

Developmental language disorder

The defining characteristic of this disorder is a delay or deficit inspeech that occurs in a child who has normal hearing, intelli-gence, and social behavior and is being raised in an environmentfree of any unusual stresses or inadequacies. A diagnosis of devel-opmental language disorder is usually made when a child has notyet begun to say any meaningful words by the age of 18 months,or cannot yet put two or more words together to express acomplete thought by the age of three.

Medical professionals make a distinction between expres-sive language disorder (where speech is affected but compre-hension is normal) and mixed receptive-expressive languagedisorder (where both speech and comprehension are affected).

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Characteristics of expressive language disorder includeextremely poor vocabulary, confusion regarding vocabulary andverb inflections that express the concepts of past and future, thephenomenon of knowing what one wants to say but being unableto recall the required words, and difficulty speaking at length.Mixed receptive-expressive language disorder is characterizedby all of the above, plus other symptoms such as an inability totake dictation and difficulty comprehending specific classes ofvocabulary, such as prepositions indicating location (e.g., in,above, etc.).

Frequently asked questionsIs the incidence of high-functioning developmentaldisorders increasing?

“There must have been children with high-functioning develop-mental disorders in generations past, but I had never even heardof such a thing until recently. What is going on?” One possibleanswer to this question is that such cases have always existed insimilar numbers, but that in the past fewer teachers, parents, andphysicians were focusing on these children’s problems in aproactive way. A second possibility is that advances in assess-ment standards have contributed to an increase in the number ofcases diagnosed.

Are these “milder” conditions really such aproblem?

The short answer to this question is yes—the reason being that,by definition, even a mild developmental disorder would neverbe officially diagnosed as such unless the child were actually

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having conspicuous difficulty with everyday activities or socialrelationships.

For example, take the case of a child who has difficultyconcentrating and occasionally gets up and wanders around a bitduring class. Such a child would not be diagnosed as havingADHD if he or she were able to concentrate and completeassignments when allowed several rest breaks and were able toreturn to his or her seat and attend to the lesson when asked todo so. A diagnosis, then, is part of a coordinated effort to give achild help that is genuinely needed; if the child is managingreasonably well, then a diagnostic label and medical interventionare simply not necessary.

It is also good to remember that a child with a developmentaldisorder should be seen as having a problem, not as being aproblem. We diagnose and treat because the effects of thedisorder put the individual at a number of disadvantages, notbecause these effects result in inconvenience to others. Theproper attitude consists of wanting to benefit the child, not “fix”the child.

A few final words

Unfortunately, children with developmental disorders are likelyto suffer from high levels of stress due to having to cope with theusual demands of everyday life. It is therefore very importantthat parents and other adults who play a supportive role in thechild’s life accurately understand the child’s developmental char-acteristics and provide appropriate help. Unbalanced develop-ment, in and of itself, is not a problem; cast in a more positivelight, it can simply be considered an expression of distinctive indi-viduality. Adults, therefore, should choose forms of assistance

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that will serve the specific purpose of making life more pleasantand satisfying for the child. For example, in environments whereexuberance and energetic activity are welcomed, children withADHD fit right in and have no need whatsoever of special inter-vention. Concepts like “disorder” and “handicap,” sadly, are inone sense merely social constructs. What is considered adisorder in a given culture might come to be seen as entirelynormal if that culture were to change. This type of change is thesine qua non of a truly barrier-free society; it requires that theburden of accommodation be borne by the majority of individ-uals who are not adversely affected by “disorders” or “unusualcharacteristics” with the goal being to enable affected individualsto live on an equal footing.

It is not appropriate to expect children with developmentaldisorders to simply overcome their difficulties by sheer strengthof will, without any efforts by others to accommodate them.Would this be asked of a blind person? Of course not. In bothcases, it is up to us to do our part.

Our agenda should not be specifically to produce childrenwho can sit still in class, write legibly, or anything of the sort.Instead, it should be to enable these children to experience moredays filled with joy rather than pain.

All children have the right to experience happiness now,without having to wait for some unspecified time in the future. Ifmore, not fewer, of their yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows arespent pleasantly, then children with developmental disorders willeventually arrive at adulthood in a state of psychological well-being. And this should be the ultimate goal of any interventionoffered in support of a child’s development.

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