TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT (TMA)
Course Code: BPCE-011
Assignment Code: BPCE-011/ASST/TMA/ 2022- 2023
Marks: 100
NOTE: All questions are compulsory.
SECTION – A
Answer the following questions in 1000 words each. 3 x 15 = 45
Marks
1. Explain the classification and causes of intellectual disability.
2. Discuss the therapeutic techniques in solution focused therapy.
3. Explain the psychological factors of abnormality.
SECTION – B
Answer the following questions in 400 words each. 5 x 5 = 25
Marks
4. Explain the process of narrative therapy.
5. Discuss counselling approaches for children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.
6. Explain sibling training and parent training approaches for the treatment of behaviour
problems in children.
7.Elucidate the forces that influence human development.
8. Discuss the effectiveness of play therapy.
SECTION – C
Answer the following questions in 50 words each. 10 x 3 = 30 Marks
9. Humanistic approach to art therapy
10. Meaning of problem behaviour
11. Conduct disorder
12. Causes of learning disability
13. Check list for assessment of children
14. Longitudinal vs cross-sectional method
15. Concept of life span development
16. Characteristics of slow learner
17. Special education
18. Observation method as an assessment technique for behaviour problems

 

TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT (TMA)

Course Code: BPCE-011 Assignment Code: BPCE-011/ASST/TMA/ 2022- 2023

Marks: 100

 

NOTE: All questions are compulsory.

SECTION – A

Answer the following questions in 1000 words each. 3 x 15 = 45 Marks

1.  Explain the classification and causes of intellectual disability.

Ans. Intellectual disability causes children with the condition to take longer than typical children to sit, crawl, walk, speak, and take care of their personal needs. They have trouble learning at the same rate as other kids in school. Impaired children experience considerable challenges in two primary areas: intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior.

Adaptive behavior involves the use of everyday life skills. Researchers have discovered hundreds of causes of intellectual disabilities, but for about one-third of affected people, the cause remains a mystery.

What Are the Causes of Intellectual Disabilities?

Experts have pinpointed three major causes of intellectual disabilities. These causes include:

Down syndrome

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) Fragile X syndrome

Mental health professionals and doctors categorize these intellectual impairments and the causes of intellectual disabilities in these ways:

Genetic conditions – intellectual disabilities caused by genetics come from abnormal genes. Parents may pass these abnormal genes on to children or errors could arise when genes combine in the womb that causes intellectual disabilities. Abnormal genes can occur from infections during pregnancy or from things like overexposure to radiation from X-rays. The intellectual disabilities associated with several genetic diseases, such as:

Phenylketonuria (PKU) – a genetic disorder caused by a missing or defective enzyme. Children with PKU cannot process a protein known as phenylalanine. Without proper care and treatment, phenylalanine builds up in the blood causing intellectual disability.

Down syndrome – a chromosomal disorder. These types of disorders occur randomly; too many or too few chromosomes cause these conditions. Sometimes a change in the structure of a chromosome can cause these disorders.

Fragile X syndrome – a gene disorder located on the X chromosome. Fragile X syndrome represents one of the leading causes of intellectual disability.

Pregnancy issues – pregnant mothers who use alcohol or drugs during pregnancy put their developing babies at risk for intellectual disability. In fact, one of the best ways to decrease the risk of intellectual disabilities involves completely avoiding alcohol during pregnancy. Smoking during pregnancy can also increase the risk that a baby will have an intellectual disability. Other risk factors during pregnancy include:

Malnutrition

Environmental toxins (i.e., mercury, lead) Infections of the mother

Toxoplasmosis Cytomegalovirus Rubella

Syphilis

Issues during birth – premature birth and low birth weight represent risk factors and often indicate more serious problems to come. Sometimes oxygen deprivation or other injuries occur during the birthing process and subsequently causes intellectual disabilities.

Problems after birth – sometimes childhood diseases can damage the brain causing characteristics of intellectual disabilities. Further, injuries like a head injury or near drowning can cause a child to develop intellectual disability symptoms.

Poverty and cultural factors – children who live in poverty have a much higher risk of exposure to environmental toxins, diseases and experiencing malnutrition. These things all increase the risk that a child may develop characteristics of intellectual disabilities.

Also, those living in poverty may miss important cultural and educational experiences available to other kids.

Characteristics of Intellectual Disabilities

The common characteristics of intellectual disabilities: difficulty learning and processing information; problems with abstract thought; and problems with social interactions occur at varying levels unique to everyone. (Learn about the differences between mild, moderate and severe intellectual disability) Intellectual impairment involves problems with mental abilities that affect day-to-day functioning in three areas:

Conceptual – includes problems with skill in language, reading, writing, mathematics, reasoning, memory, knowledge retention

Social – refers to issues with empathy, judgment, communication, making and keeping friends, and other social functions

Practical – focuses on problems with self-care, such as personal hygiene, job duties, personal finance, organization

It is critical that parents who suspect their child may have an intellectual impairment seek counseling and help from qualified mental health and medical professionals.

2. Discuss the therapeutic techniques in solution focused

Ans

5 Solution-Focused Therapy Techniques

Solution-focused therapy is a type of treatment that highlights a client’s ability to solve problems, rather than why or how the problem was created. It was developed over some time after observations of therapists in a mental health facility in Wisconsin by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg and their colleagues.

Like positive psychology, Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) practitioners focus on goal-oriented questioning to assist a client in moving into a future-oriented direction.

Solution-focused therapy has been successfully applied to a wide variety of client concerns due to its broad application. It has been utilized in a wide variety of client groups as well. The approach presupposes that clients have some knowledge of what will improve their lives.

The following areas have utilized SFT with varying success: depression

relationship difficulties drug and alcohol abuse eating disorders

anger management communication difficulties crisis intervention

incarceration recidivism reduction

 

Goal clarification is an important technique in SFT. A therapist will need to guide a client to envision a future without the problem with which they presented. With coaching and positive questioning, this vision becomes much more clarified.

With any presenting client concern, the main technique in SFT is illuminating the exception. The therapist will guide the client to an area of their life where there is an exception to the problem. The exception is where things worked well, despite the problem. Within the exception, an approach for a solution may be forged.

The ‘miracle question’ is another technique frequently used in SFT. It is a powerful tool that helps clients to move into a solution orientation. This question allows clients to begin small steps toward finding solutions to presenting problems (Santa Rita Jr., 1998). It is asked in a specific way and is outlined later in this article.

Experiment invitation is another way that therapists guide clients into solution orientation. By inviting clients to build on what is already working, clients automatically focus on the positive. In positive psychology, we know that this allows the client’s mind to broaden and build from that orientation.

Utilizing what has been working experimentally allows the client to find what does and does not work in solving the issue at hand. During the second half of a consultation with a client, many SFT therapists take a break to reflect on what they have learned during the beginning of the session.

Consultation breaks and invitations for more information from clients allow for both the therapist and client to brainstorm on what might have been missed during the initial conversations. After this break, clients are complemented and given a therapeutic message about the presenting issue. The message is typically stated in the positive so that clients leave with a positive orientation toward their goals.

Solution-Focused Therapy Interventions

Compliments are frequently used in SFT, to help the client begin to focus on what is working, rather than what is not. Acknowledging that a client has an impact on the movement toward a goal allows hope to become present. Once hope and perspective shift occurs, a client can decide what daily actions they would like to take in attaining a goal.

Higher levels of hope and optimism can predict the following desirable outcomes (Peterson & Seligman, 2004):

achievement in all sorts of areas freedom from anxiety and depression improved social relationships

 

improved physical well being

Mind mapping is an effective intervention also used to increase hope and optimism. This intervention is often used in life coaching practices. A research study done on solution-focused life coaching (Green, Oades, & Grant, 2006) showed that this type of intervention increases goal striving and hope, in addition to overall well-being.

Though life coaching is different from therapy, this study shows the effectiveness of improving positive behavior through solution-focused questioning.

Mind mapping is a visual thinking tool that helps structure information. It helps clients to better analyze, comprehend, and generate new ideas in areas they might not have been automatically self-generated. Having it on paper gives them a reference point for future goal setting as well.

Empathy is vital in the administration of SFBT. A client needs to feel heard and held by the practitioner for any forward movement to occur. Intentionally leaning in to ensure that a client knows that the practitioner is engaged in listening is recommended.

Speaking to strengths and aligning those strengths with goal setting are important interventions in SFT. Recognizing and acknowledging what is already working for the client validates strengths. Self-recognition of these strengths increases self-esteem and in turn, improves forward movement.

Solution-Focused Therapy is an approach that empowers clients to own their abilities in solving life’s problems. Rather than traditional psychotherapy that focuses on how a problem was derived, SFT allows for a goal-oriented focus to problem-solving. This approach allows for future-oriented, rather than past-oriented discussions to move a client forward toward the resolutions of their present problem.

This approach is used in many different areas, including education, family therapy, and even in office settings. Creating cooperative and collaborative opportunities to problem solve allows mind-broadening capabilities. Illuminating a path of choice is a compelling way to enable people to explore how exactly they want to show up in this world.

3.  Explain the psychological factors of abnormality.

Ans. Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns

of behavior, emotion, and thought, which could possibly be understood as a mental disorder. Although many behaviors could be considered as abnormal, this branch of psychology typically deals with behavior in a clinical context. There is a long history of attempts to understand and control behavior deemed to be aberrant or deviant (statistically, functionally, morally, or in some other sense), and there is often cultural variation in the approach taken. The field of abnormal psychology identifies multiple causes for different conditions, employing diverse theories from the general field of psychology and elsewhere, and much still hinges on what exactly is meant by “abnormal”. There has traditionally been a divide between psychological and biological explanations, reflecting a philosophical dualism in regard to the mind-body problem. There have also been different approaches in trying to classify mental disorders.

Abnormal includes three different categories; they are subnormal, supernormal and paranormal.

The science of abnormal psychology studies two types of behaviors: adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. Behaviors that are maladaptive suggest that some problem(s) exist and can also imply that the individual is vulnerable and cannot cope with environmental stress, which is leading them to have problems functioning in daily life in their emotions, mental thinking, physical actions, and talks. Behaviors that are adaptive are ones that are well-suited to the nature of people, their lifestyles, and surroundings, and to the people that they communicate with, allowing them to understand each other.

Clinical psychology is the applied field of psychology that seeks to assess, understand, and treat psychological conditions in clinical practice. The theoretical field known as abnormal psychology may form a backdrop to such work, but clinical psychologists in the current field are unlikely to use the term abnormal in reference to their practice. Psychopathology is a similar term to abnormal psychology, but has more of an implication of an

underlying pathology (disease process), and as such, is a term more commonly used in the medical specialty known as psychiatry.

In the biological tradition, psychological disorders are attributed to biological causes. In the psychological tradition, disorders are attributed to faulty psychological development, and to social context. The medical or biological perspective holds the belief that most or all

abnormal behavior can be attributed to a medical factor; assuming all psychological disorders are diseases.

The Greek physician Hippocrates, who is considered to be the father of Western medicine, played a major role in the biological tradition. Hippocrates and his associates wrote

the Hippocratic Corpus between 450 and 350 BC, in which they suggested that abnormal behaviors can be treated like any other disease. Hippocrates viewed the brain as the seat of consciousness, emotion, intelligence, and wisdom and believed that disorders involving these functions would logically be located in the brain.

These ideas of Hippocrates and his associates were later adopted by Galen,

the Roman physician. Galen extended these ideas and developed a strong and influential school of thought within the biological tradition that extended well into the 18th century.

Medical: Kendra Cherry states: “The medical approach to abnormal psychology focuses on the biological causes of mental illness. This perspective emphasizes understanding the underlying cause of disorders, which might include genetic inheritance, related physical disorders, infections, and chemical imbalances. Medical treatments are often pharmacological in nature, although medication is often used in conjunction with some other type of psychotherapy.

 

SECTION – B

Answer the following questions in 400 words each. 5 x 5 = 25 Marks

4.  Explain the process of narrative therapy.

Ans. Narrative therapy helps with the healing process. It provides people an opportunity to see their life stories in a new light, which can allow for real change and growth. This type of therapy engages more than just verbal communication; it also uses dialogue between therapist and client as well as written exercises that are completed during sessions or homework assignments outside of them. The goal of narrative therapy is not necessarily focused on finding solutions but rather about understanding how clients view themselves or understand various aspects within their lives that need some work.

Working of Narrative Therapy

The way those narrative therapy works is by helping individuals to identify the themes that run through their life stories. These are some of the steps of working of Narrative Therapy:

helping individuals to identify the themes that run through their life stories, including any patterns of behavior, or feeling that keep cropping up.

looking at how these themes have played out in different areas of their lives, such as family relationships, work, and friendships;

examining what has helped them to cope so far and what has not; and developing a new story for themselves based on this understanding.

5.  Discuss counselling approaches for children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.

Ans. Behavior therapy is an effective treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that can improve a child’s behavior, self-control, and self-esteem. It is most effective in young children when parents deliver it. Experts recommend that healthcare providers refer parents of children younger than 12 years old for training in behavior therapy. For children younger than 6 years old, parent training in behavior management should be tried before prescribing ADHD medication.

When parents become trained in behavior therapy, they learn skills and strategies to help their child with ADHD succeed at school, at home, and in relationships. Learning and practicing behavior therapy requires time and effort, but it has lasting benefits for the child and the family.

Parents typically attend eight or more sessions with a therapist. Sessions may involve working with groups of parents or with one family alone. The therapist meets regularly with the parents to review their progress, provide support, and adjust strategies, as needed, to ensure improvement. Parents typically practice with their child between sessions.

Parents have the greatest influence on their young child’s behavior. Only therapy that focuses on training parents is recommended for young children with ADHD because young children are not mature enough to change their own behavior without their parents’ help. Some therapists may use play therapy or talk therapy to treat young children with ADHD. Play therapy provides a way for children to communicate their experiences and feelings through play. Talk therapy uses verbal communication between the child and a therapist to treat mental and emotional disorders. Neither of these has been proven to improve symptoms in young children with ADHD.

Learning and practicing behavior therapy requires time and effort, but it has lasting benefits for the child. Ask your healthcare provider about the benefits of parent training in behavior therapy for young children with ADHD.

6.  Explain sibling training and parent training approaches for the treatment of behaviour problems in children.

Ans. Children who display early disruptive and aggressive behavior are also at greater risk for delinquency, mood and anxiety disorders, and substance use in the long term. As is the case for many forms of childhood psychopathology, several factors are associated with the emergence of aggressive and disruptive behavior, including family factors. Indeed, conduct problems during childhood are usually associated with peculiar parenting practices, such as increasingly coercive cycles of harsh parenting and noncompliance exhibited by child; insensitive and nonresponsive parenting; inconsistent, severe discipline and vague commands and directions; lack of parental warmth and involvement; and absence of parental monitoring and supervision. That is why behavioral parent trainings (BPTs) represent one of the gold standard interventions for conduct problems. The main goal of BPT is to decrease coercive interchanges and, consequently, children’s aggressive problems by teaching parents’ strategies to apply a more effective discipline. Therefore, the putative mechanism for change in youth behavior in BPT is change in parent behavior. Some of the most employed parent training interventions for aggressive behavior problems are presented.

Children who display early disruptive and aggressive behavior are also at greater risk for delinquency, mood and anxiety disorders, and substance use in the long term. Moreover, longitudinal studies indicated that children with conduct problems initiated in childhood are at heightened risk for exhibiting persistent criminal behavior into adulthood. The presence of neurological deficits, which lead to difficulties managing peer conflicts, regulating emotions, and controlling impulses, and families with longstanding history of antisocial behavior prevents these youth from making important life transitions serving to further entrench them into a criminal lifestyle.

As for many forms of childhood psychopathology, several factors are associated with the emergence of aggressive and disruptive behavior. A contextual social-cognitive model has been employed to summarize the empirically identified risk factors for conduct problems in children.

A set of neurobiological, family, peer, and social risk factors are involved in the etiology of aggressive behavior problems.

7. Elucidate the forces that influence human development.

Ans. Human development is the process in which the changes occur in all the aspects of an organism from conception to death. It is a natural process for each child to grow. But it is observed that all children do not grow in the similar fashion. Some children’s physical growth occurs earlier than others, some Individual differences in the development process Development depends on maturation and learning Development is predictable Early development is more critical than later development Development involves social expectation Development has potential hazards Happiness varies at different periods of development are physically stronger than others, some are taller than others and so on. As far as mental development is concerned, some children have better cognitive ability, memory, reasoning, thinking ability etc. than others. All children also do not have same type of intelligence. Some have more musical talents, others have more intrapersonal intelligence, others also have more linguistic abilities etc. So, children differ from each other because several factors influence on their development. Some of the important factors have been enumerated below:

• Hereditary Factors: –

Heredity exerts an influence on human development. The child carries genetic endowments from his/her parents. It is genetically transmitted characteristics from one generation to the next. The physical characteristics like height, weight, eye color etc. and psychological characteristics such as intelligence, personality, creativity and so on are innately determined and hereditary. The genetic code provides the base on which brain and body grow and manifest in observable appearance and behavior.

• Environmental Factors: –

Another important factor of human development is the environment where an individual lives. The child lives and grows in his environment. Environment consists of a wide range of stimuli, and it provides the necessary input and experiential base for development of the child.

Enrichment or impoverishment of the environment would produce differences in his abilities. For example, a child may have inherited music talent from his parents through transmission of genes, but he may not excel in music field if he does not get the proper environment and support to develop his innate ability.

• Home Environment: –

Home environment exerts tremendous influence on child’s understanding of the external world. It builds self-concept and prepares him to face the external world. The child begins to acquire knowledge through interaction with parents and other family members. During his early years of development, the behaviours of the child are modulated by the home environment. The environment of the family can be supportive or stressful for the child. If it is supportive, warm, and harmonious environment, the child develops normally. In unsupportive and stressful home environment, broken families or uncaring parents in the family, children may develop as maladjusted persons.

8.  Discuss the effectiveness of play therapy.

Ans. As adults, when we have emotional issues or mental health problems, we are often able to recognize that something is out of sorts; sometimes, we are even able to share our emotions with others. But with children – particularly those who are noticeably young – this may not be possible. Some children may be unable to express themselves verbally, some may be shy, and some others may not be extremely comfortable with sharing their problems. It is then more effective to use play, a medium that comes very naturally to the child, to explore their issues.

Play therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses play to help children deal with emotional and mental health issues. By using play as the medium, children can explore their feelings and share them with the therapist or the parents.

Play therapy sessions are held in playrooms, where a special environment is created to make the child feel comfortable and safe enough to express themselves. The playroom is equipped with different kinds of toys and play aids. There may be several sets of toys and games that are appropriate for different ages. Some playrooms also have one-way mirrors that enable the therapist to observe the child at play without being intrusive.

How does play therapy help the child?

Play therapy gives the child catharsis and gives them insight into their own issues. By allowing the child the freedom to express what they are going through, play therapy can help the child to:

Learn basic or advanced motor skills

Learn decision-making and problem-solving skills Learn social skills

Release excess energy

Understand their emotions and their problems Gain more confidence through self-expression Enhance their imagination and creativity

SECTION – C

Answer the following questions in 50 words each. 10 x 3 = 30 Marks

9.  Humanistic approach to art therapy

 

Ans. Art-therapy is one of the new technologies in humanistic psychiatry. It deals with a kind of treatment based on the use of artistic production. Art is creation, play, beauty, communication, and intuition. Artists express their emotional world through art, and the spectators or readers let this world pass through the realm of their sensuality. The true essence of art is in its perceptible and imaginary nature. Art can be pictured as the mirror of direct experience and feelings and sentiments of people. Images and symbols are considered the carriers of emotions and feelings. Through feelings, art deepens the inner world of a human being, inspires us, and makes us humane, creates a personality’ within a person. Creating a personality, art can solve pedagogical and psychological problems of human being.

10.  Meaning of problem behaviour

Ans. Problem behaviors are those that are not considered typically acceptable. Everyone can have a moment of disruptive behavior or an error in judgment. However, problem behavior is a consistent pattern.

Problem behaviors can vary in terms of severity. They can occur in children as well as in adults. People with problem behaviors often require medical intervention to improve their symptoms

11.  Conduct disorder

Ans. Conduct disorder refers to a group of behavioral and emotional problems characterized by a disregard for others. Children with conduct disorder have a difficult time following rules and behaving in a socially acceptable way. Their behavior can be hostile and sometimes physically violent.

In their earlier years, they may show early signs of aggression, including pushing, hitting, and biting others. Adolescents and teens with conduct disorder may move into more serious behaviors, including bullying, hurting animals, picking fights, theft, vandalism, and arson.

12.  Causes of learning disability

Ans. Illness during and after birth: An illness or injury during or after birth may cause learning disabilities. Other factors could be drug or alcohol consumption during pregnancy, physical trauma, poor growth in the uterus, low birth weight, and premature or prolonged labor.

13.  Check list for assessment of children

Ans. The Assessment Checklist for Children (ACC) is a 120-item, caregiver-report, psychiatric rating scale that measures behaviours, emotional states, traits, and manners of relating to others, as manifested among 4- to 11-year-old children in care. The ACC was designed to measure a broad range of mental health difficulties observed among children in care, children adopted from care, and maltreated children, which are not measured by standard rating instruments, such as the CBCL, SDQ and Conners scales.

14.  Longitudinal vs cross-sectional method

 

Ans. In a cross-sectional study you collect data from a population at a specific point in time; in a longitudinal study you repeatedly collect data from the same sample over an extended period.

15.  Concept of life span development

Ans. As described by the American Psychological Association, human lifespan development studies how humans learn, mature, and adapt from infancy to adulthood to elderly phases of life. Some areas of focus include physical, cognitive, social, intellectual, perceptual, personality, and emotional growth.

16.  Characteristics of slow learner

Ans. Slow learners tend to learn slower and are, in most cases, unable to retain what they learn. They also have a truly short attention span. Learning does not happen incidentally for slow learners, and they must be directly taught. And they cannot link one learning to another unless specifically told. They are also unable to apply certain learning or concept in different situations without help – which is why they require rigorous concrete teaching and cannot make do with abstract teaching. Slow learners, due to these reasons, are mostly “underachievers.”

17.  Special education

Ans. special education, also called special needs education, the education of children who differ socially, mentally, or physically from the average to such an extent that they require modifications of usual school practices. Special education serves children with emotional, behavioral, or cognitive impairments or with intellectual, hearing, vision, speech, or learning disabilities; gifted children with advanced academic abilities; and children with orthopedic or neurological impairments. See also deafness; blindness; speech disorder; mental

disorder; gifted child; childhood disease and disorder; learning disabilities.

18.  Observation method as an assessment technique for behaviour problems

Ans. Behavioral observation is a widely used method of behavioral assessment. Unlike other methods of behavioral assessment, most of which rely on people’s perceptions of behavior, behavioral observation involves watching and recording the behavior of a person in typical environments (e.g., classrooms). The assumption is therefore that data collected are more objective than are perceptions. Most methods of behavioral observation provide quantitative and objective data that can be used to determine current levels of behavior, to set goals for behavioral improvement, and to measure change following intervention plans.