Age Appropriate Technologist & Patient Interaction

Paper Title

Name

Institution

Age Appropriate Technologies and Child Interaction

Adolescence is a period of transition that can create stress both for the parent and the child. Down syndrome is basically a genetic disorder that most commonly occurs among children of different ages. It is also considered as a chromosomal condition which is most commonly associated with intellectual disability, a particular facial appearance, and also hypotonia which is a weak muscle tone and all these characteristics occur in infancy. The affected individuals experience mental and other cognitive disorders but intellectual disabilities are usually mild to severe. People who have Down Syndrome have a variety of congenital disabilities. Children who born with this disorder have incomplete heart and other digestive problems which makes the disorder quite complicated.

People with Down Syndrome are born with an extra pair of chromosome. This extra pair of chromosome leads to a range of issues that affects the kid both physically and mentally. Down syndrome is now considered as a lifelong disorder, but doctors know about it a lot more than before therefore treating your child and choosing the correct treatment for him can help in mitigating the severity of the disease. The symptoms of Down syndrome also range from mild to severe. Regardless of the characteristics of the individuals if early treatment is carried out, then the person can easily overcome the symptoms ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"guFDuWOJ","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Merrick, Kandel, & Vardi, 2004)","plainCitation":"(Merrick, Kandel, & Vardi, 2004)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":558,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/TNJV6ZDP"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/TNJV6ZDP"],"itemData":{"id":558,"type":"article-journal","title":"Adolescents with Down syndrome","container-title":"International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health","page":"13-19","volume":"16","issue":"1","source":"PubMed","abstract":"Adolescence is a period of transition that can create stress for both adolescents and parents. Adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) go through the same stages as other adolescents, but due to lack of cognitive and behavioral factors they and their parents may find this period particularly challenging. This paper reviews several studies, especially from the United Kingdom, of groups of adolescents with Down syndrome and their controls followed from childhood, through adolescence into adulthood. There are special medical problems for this population that require annual medical examinations and surveillance, but the focus has shifted from health problems to social maturation, developing independence, and transition from school to employment or work activity. Medical transition from a pediatric to family physician provider is mentioned with recommendations as to how that transition can be made as smooth as possible.","ISSN":"0334-0139","note":"PMID: 15148854","journalAbbreviation":"Int J Adolesc Med Health","language":"eng","author":[{"family":"Merrick","given":"Joav"},{"family":"Kandel","given":"Isack"},{"family":"Vardi","given":"Gideon"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004",3]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Merrick, Kandel, & Vardi, 2004). Although the characteristics of Down syndrome varies from person to person, they share some physical characteristics that are common among most individuals. All the individuals with Down syndrome have Almond shaped eyes that means that their eye shape will be quite different than their ethnicity. Their faces especially nose is quite flatter; also tiny spots are present in the white part of their body, another common feature is their tongue sticks out of their mouth.

The psycho-social behaviors and cognitive abilities of such person also varies. Cognitive impairments, problems with thinking and learning is one of the common symptoms in people who deal with Down syndrome and these symptoms range from mild to severe. Having said that, severe cognitive impairments are very rare in case of Down syndrome. Various other cognitive and behavioral problems include short attention span, poor judging capabilities, impulsive behavior, delayed and defective language, speech development and also they are slow learners. Although children with Down syndrome do develop communication skills but it takes them too long as compared to other kids. Such kids also find it difficult to communicate with their peer groups; they normally like to keep themselves isolated.

Autism is a neurological disorder which affects a person's ability to relate to their peer groups. Such adolescents can normally communicate with people, they also face difficulty in controlling their emotions and also in following instructions. The causes of autism can vary from genetic to environmental factors. Adolescents with autism normally have different characteristics. They face difficulty in social interaction; they also have an extraordinary interest in the object. Along with that, such patients find it too hard to change their routines, they become too dependent on their routines. Other behavioral characteristics of autistic children, are they normally do not smile; they don't respond to their names, such kids do not play with toys, and also they do not engage. Along with that, they always feel that they do not fit in their environment. Such patients also find it quite difficult in establishing and maintaining relationships. They have limiting understanding of non-verbal communication like eye contact and smile. They are also not good in sustaining and maintaining friendships, they don’t enjoy activities or playing with their fellow groups, along with that they face difficulty in social and emotional responsiveness. Such kids also enjoy weird actions like turning on and off a button or weirdly circulating their hands or fingers ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"A7On5s3t","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Orsmond & Kuo, 2011)","plainCitation":"(Orsmond & Kuo, 2011)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":560,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/WDU4J259"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/4C6u8dIT/items/WDU4J259"],"itemData":{"id":560,"type":"article-journal","title":"The daily lives of adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder","container-title":"Autism : the international journal of research and practice","page":"579-599","volume":"15","issue":"5","source":"PubMed Central","abstract":"This study explores the daily lives, particularly discretionary time, of adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We describe the activities and activity partners of adolescents, the factors associated with their discretionary time use, and the impact of time use on their autism symptoms. Mothers of 103 adolescents with an ASD completed two 24-hour time diaries to describe their adolescent’s activity participation during the third wave of a longitudinal study. Adolescents with an ASD spent considerable time in discretionary activities, with watching television and using a computer as the most frequent activities. They most frequently spent discretionary time alone or with their mothers. They spent little time engaged in conversations or doing activities with peers. Age, gender, the presence of intellectual disability, severity of autism symptoms and maladaptive behaviors, the number of siblings, maternal education, marital status, and family income were associated with adolescent time use. Notably, greater time spent in conversation and reading predicted future decreases in severity of social impairment. The way that adolescents with an ASD spend their free time may have implications for their development and the course of their autism symptoms.","DOI":"10.1177/1362361310386503","ISSN":"1362-3613","note":"PMID: 21697194\nPMCID: PMC3572828","journalAbbreviation":"Autism","author":[{"family":"Orsmond","given":"Gael I."},{"family":"Kuo","given":"Hsin-Yu"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011",9]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Orsmond & Kuo, 2011).

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects both children and teens who continue into their adulthood. It is considered the most commonly occurring mental disorder of children. Such children are unable to control their emotions, and also they are hyperactive in their actions. Such children also find it quite difficult to pay attention to their daily lives, which also affects their school and individual's life. This disorder is common in boys than girls, and it can be diagnosed while the early school days when a child is found difficulty while paying attention. Such adolescents overlook or miss details and make changes in their homework, alongside when talking directly to them it seems that they do not pay attention. They can also be distracted by unnecessary things like a moving fan while doing their homework. Mostly they like to stay alone, but when they interact with their age groups, they become quite hyper and show weird actions.

Dealing with such patients requires a large amount of expertise. While the process of treating such patients is quite painstaking, so one has to be very careful and patient while treating such them. When testing with such patients, it is also important to take the child and his/parent into confidence. Also, explain to both of them that what the child is going through and if possible arrange an interactive session with other child and parents of the same disorder. This way both of them will develop confidence, and they will trust the entire process. Keep a friendly environment with the child as such children are quite impulsive to any environmental changes, and also they are used to their routine, so it is also better to not to impose anything on them without their consent.

References

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Merrick, J., Kandel, I., & Vardi, G. (2004). Adolescents with Down syndrome. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 16(1), 13–19.

Orsmond, G. I., & Kuo, H.-Y. (2011). The daily lives of adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 15(5), 579–599. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361310386503