Essay Sample for You: Abnormal Behaviors versus Personality Differences

In child development, it is important to understand the difference between abnormal behaviors and personality. Children may show abnormality in his or her behavior due to either particular disorders or just personality differences among different children. It is the responsibilities of parents as well as teachers to understand child behavior, know when the behaviors seem abnormal, and consider taking the necessary intervention procedure. It is very dangerous for teachers and parents to identify that a child has certain behaviors that do not seem normal and just ignore them (Dweck 5). The abnormal behaviors need behavioral therapy to control and treat, for instance, autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Otherwise, if the behavior of a child is not diagnosed as abnormal, then it is just a norm personality difference unique to that particular child. This paper is about abnormal behaviors versus the individual developments, which do not necessarily depict abnormality in children.

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The major concerns of parents arise when their child shows abnormal developments. There are certain milestones that guide parents, teachers, and pediatrics in understanding the developmental stages of children. Abnormal behaviors affect children negatively if parents ignore the necessary treatment procedures. Usually, the abnormal behaviors occur as a result of neurodevelopmental disorders, usually acquired through biological or genetic problems. Some of the issues include; dyslexia, autism, ADHD, and cerebral palsy among others (Peterson, Henry and David 8). The disorders can be categorized as cognitive dysfunction, motor dysfunction, behavioral problems, and seizures. These disorders can be caused by both physical and functional abnormalities. The neurons functionalities can be affected by exposure to radiations as well as certain chemicals such as alcohol and methylmercury.

An attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may not be a disease but a brain-based syndrome that interferes with certain functions of the brain and the associated behaviors. ADHD impacts the way a child behaves and interacts with others in his or her everyday life (Zahn-Waxler, Elizabeth and Kristine Marceau 279). Some of the symptoms include interference with memory, effort and motivation, hyperactivity, social skills, impulsivity, and learning. Suspecting or hearing that a child is suffering from ADHD should initiate the diagnosis process immediately so as to help in its management. Sometimes, Dyslexia may co-occur with ADHD, and these may severely impact the ability to read, write, and understanding classroom instructions. ADHD can only be diagnosed by evaluating the parents, teachers, and pediatrics regarding the history of the child's health present and past, social situation, and how he or she functions both at home and at school (Zahn-Waxler, Elizabeth and Kristine Marceau 279).

On the other hand, autism is another developmental disability that affects children's world of perception. It also leads to the problems of communication skills with repetitive as well as rigid behaviors, impairments in developmental languages and social behaviors. Autism limits a life that would otherwise be a normal one and may sometimes need an institutional care as a treatment measure.

The expert who can diagnose children with developmental disorders are pediatricians, pediatric neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, clinical psychologists, mental health counselor, and child psychiatrists among others. Children with abnormal development behaviors can be helped through cognitive behavioral therapy to improve behavior and attitudes of children, development improvement drugs, behavior and social skills management, educational therapy, and organizational coaches (Shiner, Rebecca and Avshalom Caspi 15).

On the other hand, some behaviors are just the normal behaviors of individuals emanating from their different personalities. Individual differences are due to a child's uniqueness as well as physical characteristics, health, temperament, and heredity. These elements can impact a child's emotional, cognitive, physical, social, and language developments. A lot of factors can influence a child's development between the age of two and five. These factors are either innate or external. Innate factors are what a child is born with while the external factors are the environments that the child is raised as well as the life experiences. The innate aspects of individual differences are health, heredity, physical characteristics, and temperament. How children are nurtured and the experiences they encounter can enable them to behave differently from others (Zahn-Waxler, Elizabeth and Kristine Marceau 280). Also, the nature or genetic characteristic of a child may not necessarily show abnormality in development but can be an indication of the individual diversity of every child.

The following are some of the individual differences/personalities that can impact a child's cognitive, social, physical, language, and emotional development;

First, every child has a unique nature of cognitive development. For instance, a child whose parents are supposedly highly intelligent is likely to show the high levels of brain capacities and quicker developments than others. On the other hand, the development of a prematurely born child may delay compared to the full-term children. Moreover, the brain capacities of these children may somehow delay to develop and do so at a slow rate. Also, cognitive developments may be hindered by differences in the individuals as some talents may not be in the genetic line of a family (Shiner, Rebecca and Avshalom Caspi 14).

Second, every child has a unique emotional personality regarding from birth. One individual may be born with the character of expressing his or her feelings easily, while another may only act out and show an outburst. At school, children possess various temperaments and the preschool teachers should identify these and develop strategies to help the pupils to build control and management of their temperaments. Most children at the ages two through five can express emotions through fear and frustration, which are sometimes expressed as hunger and violence. The recognition of these states in children can help them in developing compassion as well as emotional intelligence (Shiner, Rebecca and Avshalom Caspi 15).

Sometimes, a child's personality has an influence on his or her social attribute. One child can be so outgoing whereas another is more reserved and shy. An outgoing person seems to talk a lot and make many friends, whereas an introvert struggles to be social and interact with his or her peers. Sometimes, such children only rely on the friend of their close friends for a companion when they tag along. A school teacher should take a responsibility to help reserved individuals in class through organizing for group work, introducing compulsory play time, and create a culture of collaboration and teamwork to help the students connect with each other (Dweck 3). Parents and teachers can sometimes realize that when children are left to play alone, some will often prefer to play alone or exclude themselves from others.

In conclusion, it is important to note that there is a difference between abnormal behavior and individual personalities in a child's development. Abnormal behaviors are disorders that should be detected and acted upon promptly to help the victims. Parents and teacher have a role in diagnosis and treatment of such issues. On the other hand, there are normal individual differences that are unique in every child and does not require intense attention like the abnormal developments.

Works Cited

Dweck, Carol S. Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Psychology press, 2013.

Peterson, Candida C., Henry M. Wellman, and David Liu. "Steps in TheoryofMind development for children with deafness or autism." Child development 76.2 (2005): 502-517.

Shiner, Rebecca, and Avshalom Caspi. "Personality differences in childhood and adolescence: Measurement, development, and consequences." Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 44.1 (2003): 2-32.

Zahn-Waxler, Carolyn, Elizabeth A. Shirtcliff, and Kristine Marceau. "Disorders of childhood and adolescence: Gender and psychopathology." Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol. 4 (2008): 275-303.