Problem:
Write an essay that applies the core Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy concepts to Children and Adolescents with Learning Disabilities. Identify your reasons behind your selection of this population. Then, identify at a minimum two key takeaways from the textbook below provide about this special population. Next, you will need to locate one current (last five years) peer-reviewed article that relates to, confirms, or expands upon the knowledge from the text below. After reading the article, identify two key research findings from the article and two ways these finding could be applied to your practice. Lastly, consider how diverse family systems might impact the application of DDP in your practice. Describe how you would integrate these principles for a population that is different from a heterosexusal sexual Africa American. For example, consider racial/ethnic difference, sexual orientation difference, or a neurodivergent child with a learning difference, etc. Need Assignment Help?
Children And Adolescents With Learning Disabilities
Dyadic developmental psychotherapy is an appropriate intervention for children and adolescents with learning disabilities because it is premised on the need for the therapist and carer to understand, relate with, guide, and support the unique child regardless of that child's differences in all areas of social, emotional, psychological, cognitive, neurologic, and physical functioning. The child with learning disabilities may need a particular way of engaging, communicating with, and guiding his behaviors, but so does each child and adolescent. That being said, the following are assumptions that the DDP therapist and carer have with regard to a child or adolescent with learning disabilities:
The extent of the learning disabilities may become less. They may result from developmental trauma, and as the impact of that is less, the learning disabilities may decrease.
The learning disabilities may be permanent. Successful treatment of the trauma may have little direct effect on the learning disability. However, the DDP principles may enable the adults in the child's life to reduce the impact of the learning disability.
The fact that the child or adolescent has learning disabilities does not mean that his behavioral challenges may only be addressed with external reinforcers. When there are assumptions that the child will not benefit from reasoning and cognitive skill development and that he cannot generalize from one situation to the next, these assumptions may only be valid because of the limited way that we are "teaching" these skills.
The child or adolescent with learning disabilities may need an extra focus on issues relating to safety, emotional regulation, attributing negative motives to others, feeling shame, and communicating his inner life. These issues, also important with all children who have experienced developmental trauma, are likely to be even more prevalent with young people with learning disabilities.
In providing interventions for children and adolescents with learning disabilities, the following might well be kept in mind:
There needs to be a thorough assessment of the individual's skills and challenges so that we do not expect too much. These assessments might include speech and language, sensory processing, cognitive functioning, and adaptive behavior. A learning disability is defined as having significant impairments (within the lowest 2% of the population) in adaptive behavior and cognitive functioning. If there have been successful interventions for the young person's developmental trauma-with signs of improvement in reflective thinking, theory of mind, empathy, and impulse control-then a reassessment of the classification of learning disability may be indicated.
Interventions might best start with the young person's strengths, then adding other interventions to support skill development in other areas also. Thus, it might be wise to begin interventions around sensory integration and relational attachment issues and integrate Theraplay and DDP interventions in small bits.
Therapeutic focus might best be on recent, concrete events, as timelines might be very difficult. At the same time, careers need to keep the child's history of key events, moves, and relationships using detailed records and pictures.
There needs to be fewer themes to hold in mind, with more breaks and available things to do or eat. Stories involving trauma or shame-related themes need to be especially short, with much support given, if they are to be integrative. Developmentally sensitive resources that include images, photos, and videos, as well as storybooks with younger children in mind, may be of great value.
PACE is especially important to generate safety, attention, and an open and engaged attitude to prevent or reduce challenging behaviors.
Dyadic developmental practice involving caregivers and the network is especially important in order for the child with learning disabilities to experience the safety that comes from consistency of relationships, appropriate expectations, and activities.
The network needs to keep in mind the stress or even traumas associated with having learning disabilities in addition to the challenges due to developmental trauma. While we need to assist the individual in addressing the impact of developmental trauma, we cannot forget the impact of the day-to-day challenges (frustrations, shame, fears, sadness, loneliness) of his learning disability.
A member of the network needs to have particular expertise in understanding and addressing the needs of children and adolescents with learning disabilities.
With the child or adolescent with learning disabilities, it may be more important than usual to convey much of the meaning of the story being developed with nonverbal expressions. These include facial expressions, voice prosody, and gestures all synchronized with similar expressions in the child. The interest and understanding of the story often emerges as the therapist builds suspense, uncertainty, active wondering, and follows suddenly with the surprise of a new way of looking at something. This surprise involves both what the event might mean (your parents didn't know how to teach you, and you thought that you deserved to be hit) and also what the child and parent might do differently to solve a problem:
THERAPIST: I wonder . . . I wonder . . . maybe . . . maybe . . . when your mom sees that you're ready to scream . . . she might . . . spin around and say in a big voice with big eyes, "Should I scream for you?" And you will spin around and in a big voice with big eyes, say "No!" And she'll spin around and say in a small voice with sleepy eyes, "Then what can I do?" And then you will surprise her and say one of three things: "Hug me." or "Count to 10 backwards while I count to 10 forwards. Go." or "Touch my nose while I touch your nose and we'll count to 3."
Any suggestions, problem-solving ideas, or information must be presented in this active, engaging manner, not in a rational manner with a monotone voice.
Safety needs to always be in our minds as we cannot take it for granted that the child with a learning disability is feeling safe during the routine conflicts, disappointments, changes, surprises, and transitions of living.