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Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing

Introduction

Psychiatric-Mental Health NursingIntroduction
Black and white photo of two adult hands holding the feet of a small baby that is blurry in the background.
Figure 23.1 Understanding the psychiatric-mental health issues that can affect young people and older adults is important for a nurse to care for clients across the life span. (credit: “Ada’s feet” by Christian Haugen/flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Chapter Outline

23.1 Intellectual Disabilities
23.2 Communication Disorders
23.3 Autism Spectrum Disorder
23.4 Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
23.5 Specific Learning Disorders and Motor Disorders
23.6 Tic Disorder and Tourette Syndrome
23.7 Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Disruptive Mood Dysregulation

Nurses should be aware of the ways that neurodevelopmental and neurocognitive disorders affect the brain and neurological systems function (Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2023). These disorders most often begin during a person’s developmental stages, such as in toddlers, children, and adolescents, but they persist into adulthood (Blain, 2022). Neurodevelopmental disorders have a genetic component, but can also be associated with environmental factors, such as lead exposure (EPA, 2023). Nurses have a role in educating clients about environmental factors that have the potential to cause or exacerbate these conditions. A child with a neurodevelopmental disorder can have “difficulties with language and speech, motor skills, behavior, memory, learning, or other neurological functions” (EPA, 2023, About the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Indicators section, para. 2). Nurses also have a role in performing and staying attuned to continued research on new treatments, medications, and preventive strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders.

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