chapter 10

pica

A condition in which a person eats inedible substances
such as dirt or feces.
• Significant medical consequences occur due to lead
poisoning or injury to the gastrointestinal tract.
Pica is the most serious cause of self-injury to occur in
people with intellectual developmental disabilities.

rumination disorder

Rumination disorder is an eating disorder in which the infant
or child regurgitates food after it has been swallowed and
then either spits it out or reswallows it.
Five common disturbances include:
1. Delayed or absent development of feeding and eating
skills.
2. Difficulty managing or tolerating food or drink.
3. Reluctance to eat food based on taste, texture, and
other sensory factors.
4. Lack of appetite or interest in food.
5. The use of feeding behaviors to comfort, self-soothe, or
self-stimulate.

elimination disorders

haracterized by age-
inappropriate incontinence and are generally diagnosed in
childhood.
• Enuresis: bed wetting or urination in their clothing after the
age when they should be toilet trained.
• Encopresis: child who is at least 4 years old repeatedly has
bowel movements either in their clothes or in another
inappropriate place.

sleep wake disorders

Researchers and clinicians in sleep medicine typically take a
biopsychosocial approach, examining:
• Genetic and neurophysiological contributions.
• Psychological interactions.
• Social and cultural factors that impinge on the individual’s
sleep quality and quantity.
Clinician’s need to perform a thorough evaluation when
clients present with sleep-related disturbance

Polysomnography

sleep study that records brain
waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing, eye
movements, and leg movements.

Intermittent explosive disorder

An impulse-control disorder involving an inability to hold back
urges to express strong angry feelings and associated violent
behaviors.
Angry outbursts, either verbal (temper tantrums, tirades,
arguments) or physical, in which individuals become
assaultive or destructive in ways that are out of proportion to
any stress or provocation are common.
Physical outbursts (on at least three occasions) in a 12-
month period may cause damage to the individual, other
people, or property.

conduct disorder

violate the rights of others
and society’s norms or laws.
Their delinquent behaviors include:
• Aggression to people and animals (such as bullying and
acts of animal cruelty).
• Destruction of property.
• Deceitfulness or theft.
• Serious violations of rules (such as school truancy or
running away from home)

impulse control disorder

repeatedly
engage in behaviors, often ones that are harmful, that they
feel they cannot control.
• After acting on their impulses, they experience a sense of
pleasure or gratification, although later they may regret
that they engaged in the behavior.

Pyromania

Impulse–control disorder involving the persistent and
compelling urge to start fires.
To be diagnosed with pyromania, the individual must not set
fires for monetary reasons or have other medical or
psychiatric conditions.
Treatment
• Cognitive behavioral therapy

Kleptomania

Impulse–control disorder that involves the persistent urge to
steal.
Don’t actually wish to have the object, or the money that it’s
worth.
• Instead, they seek excitement from the act of stealing.
• People feel an urge or state of craving prior to stealing and
a sense of gratification after they steal.
Researchers believe that these features of kleptomania also
bear similarities to substance dependence