PSY 102 Week 7 DQ 1: Childhood Disorder Guide
Symptoms in children are not miniature versions of adult ones, and treatment for children often works through the adults around them. Both points are easy to miss.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 16, 2026
Childhood disorder means childhood-onset, not adult criteria applied young
Choose a disorder with genuine childhood onset rather than an adult condition that sometimes appears early, because the prompt frames the whole question around children. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, separation anxiety disorder and specific learning disorders are all appropriate. Then describe the symptoms as they actually present at that age, which is the part textbooks compress. Childhood depression frequently looks like irritability rather than sadness, and anxiety looks like somatic complaints, refusal to attend school or clinginess rather than a reported feeling of worry. Attention difficulties in girls present as inattentive daydreaming far more often than as hyperactivity, which is a documented reason for later diagnosis in girls. Getting this right is what shows the reading was done. Say which source you took the criteria from, because childhood diagnostic thresholds are revised more often than adult ones and a dated description will misstate them.
Two further points give the post substance. Diagnosis in childhood has to be developmental, since behaviour that would be a symptom at nine is ordinary at four, so the criteria depend on whether the behaviour is out of keeping with the child's stage and impairing across settings rather than in one. A child who manages at school and not at home is telling you something about context. And treatment often works through the adults: parent management training, teacher-implemented classroom strategies and school accommodations are first-line for several of these disorders, sometimes ahead of any direct work with the child. For medication, say honestly where the evidence is strong and where it is not — stimulants for ADHD have a substantial evidence base, whereas several other childhood prescriptions rest on much thinner ground — and note that early intervention matters because these conditions shape development while it is happening.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Describe symptoms as they present in children rather than adults.
- 02Apply a developmental standard to diagnosis.
- 03Explain why treatment often works through caregivers and schools.
- 04Assess the strength of evidence behind childhood treatments.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours. Grading Rubric Guidelines Performance Category 10 9 8 4 0 Scholarliness Demonstrates achievement of scholarly inquiry for professional and academic decisions. Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry clearly stating how the evidence informed or changed professional or academic decisions Evaluates literature resources to develop a comprehensive analysis or synthesis. Uses valid, relevant, and reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry but does not clearly state how the evidence informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Evaluates information from source(s) to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis. Uses some valid, relevant, reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion. Discusses using scholarly inquiry but does not state how scholarly inquiry informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Information is taken from source(s) with some interpretation/evaluation, but not enough to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis. Little valid, relevant, or reliable outside sources are used to contribute to the threaded discussion. Demonstrates little or no understanding of the topic. Discusses using scholarly inquiry but does not state how scholarly inquiry informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Information is taken from source(s) without any interpretation/evaluation. The posting uses information that is not valid, relevant, or reliable No evidence of the use of scholarly inquiry to inform or change professional or academic decisions. Information is not valid, relevant, or reliable Performance Category 10 9 8 4 0 Application of Course Knowledge – Demonstrate the ability to analyze, synthesize, and/or apply principles and concepts learned in the course lesson and outside readings and relate them to real-life professional situations Posts make direct reference to concepts discussed in the lesson or drawn from relevant outside sources; Applies concepts to personal experience in the professional setting and or relevant application to real life. Posts make direct reference to concepts discussed in the lesson or drawn from relevant outside sources. Applies concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Interactions with classmates are relevant to the discussion topic but do not make direct reference to lesson content Posts are generally on topic but do not build knowledge by incorporating concepts and principles from the lesson. Does not attempt to apply lesson concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Does not demonstrate a solid understanding of the principles and concepts presented in the lesson Posts do not adequately address the question posed either by the discussion prompt or the instructor’s launch post. Posts are superficial and do not reflect an understanding of the lesson content Does not attempt to apply lesson concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Posts are not related to the topics provided by the discussion prompt or by the instructor; attempts by the instructor to redirect the student are ignored No discussion of lesson concepts to personal experience in the professional setting and or relevant application to real life Performance Category 5 4 3 2 0 Interactive Dialogue Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days. (5 points possible per graded thread) Exceeds minimum post requirements Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts three or more times in each graded thread, over three separate days. Replies to a post posed by faculty and to a peer Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week. Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days Replies to a question posed by a peer Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week. Meets expectations of 2 posts on 2 different days. The main post is not made by the Wednesday deadline Does not reply to a question posed by a peer or faculty Has only one post for the week Discussion posts contain few, if any, new ideas or applications; often are a rehashing or summary of other students’ comments Does not post to the thread No connections are made to the topic Minus 1 Point Minus 2 Point Minus 3 Point Minus 4 Point Minus 5 Point Grammar, Syntax, APA Note: if there are only a few errors in these criteria, please note this for the student in as an area for improvement. If the student does not make the needed corrections in upcoming weeks, then points should be deducted. Points deducted for improper grammar, syntax and APA style of writing. The source of information is the APA Manual 6th Edition 2-3 errors in APA format. Written responses have 2-3 grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Writing style is generally clear, focused, and facilitates communication. 4-5 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 4-5 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is somewhat focused. 6-7 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 6-7 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is slightly focused making discussion difficult to understand. 8-10 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 8-10 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is not focused, making discussion difficult to understand. Post contains greater than 10 errors in APA format. Written responses have more than 10 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style does not facilitate communication. The student continues to make repeated mistakes in any of the above areas after written correction by the instructor 0 points lost -5 points lost Total Participation Requirements per discussion thread The student answers the threaded discussion question or topic on one day and posts a second response on another day. The student does not meet the minimum requirement of two postings on two different days Early Participation Requirement per discussion thread The student must provide a substantive answer to the graded discussion question(s) or topic(s), posted by the course instructor (not a response to a peer), by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT of each week. The student does not meet the requirement of a substantive response to the stated question or topic by Wednesday at 11:59 pm MT.
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01One childhood-onset disorder, named.
- 02Age-appropriate symptom description.
- 03The developmental and cross-setting diagnostic standard.
- 04Treatments including caregiver and school components.
- 05An honest statement about the evidence for medication.
Symptoms, then treatments matched to age
The disorder and its onset
Name a childhood-onset condition and its prevalence.
How it presents in children
Describe age-appropriate symptoms.
The developmental standard
Explain diagnosis relative to stage and across settings.
Treatments, including the adults
Cover caregiver, school and direct interventions.
What the evidence supports
Distinguish strong from weak evidence in childhood treatment.
NIMH and clinical references, not parenting sites
Recommended databases
- National Institute of Mental Health
- NCBI Bookshelf
- PubMed Central
- MedlinePlus
Search sequence
- 1.Start with the NIMH topic page for your chosen disorder.
- 2.Find how symptoms present at different ages specifically.
- 3.Look for first-line treatment guidance rather than treatment lists.
- 4.Check the evidence base for any medication you mention.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.
- 01
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
National Institute of Mental Health · 2024
A federal clinical summary with symptoms described developmentally.
- 02
Autism Spectrum Disorder
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Autism spectrum disorder in clinical detail, including early presentation.
- 03
Child and Adolescent Mental Health
National Institute of Mental Health · 2025
The overview the prompt's prevalence figure comes from.
- 04
DSM-5 Child Mental Disorder Classification
NCBI Bookshelf · 2016
How childhood disorders are classified, which is what the developmental standard rests on.
- 05
Comparative safety of antidepressant agents for children and adolescents regarding suicidal acts
Pediatrics · 2010
Comparative safety of a childhood medication class — the honest evidence discussion the last section needs.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Describing adult symptoms and attributing them to children.
- Ignoring the developmental standard, so normal behaviour looks pathological.
- Listing only direct therapy and omitting caregiver-mediated treatment.
- Treating all childhood prescribing as equally evidence-based.
Submission checklist
- Are the symptoms described as they appear in children?
- Have you applied a developmental comparison?
- Do the treatments include work with adults around the child?
- Is the evidence for medication characterised honestly?
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Aaron Bishop
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