American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) (formerly the American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR)) is an American non-profit professional organization that advocates on behalf of those with mental retardation. AAMR has members in the United States and 55 other countries.

Founded in 1876, the AAIDD is the oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization of professionals (and others) concerned about mental retardation and related disabilities.

The first meeting of the "Association of Medical Officers of American Institutions for Idiotic and Feebleminded Persons" was held at the Elwyn Training School in Elwyn, Pennsylvania. The organization later changed its name to "American Association on Mental Deficiency" (AAMD) and then to the "American Association on Mental Retardation." In June 2006, members of the association voted to change its name to the "American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities."

Mental health laws and involuntary patients

If you are an involuntary patient under the Mental Health Act, you have rights. You should be aware of these rights and know who to contact if you need help.

Your basic rights
You have the right to:

• Appeal to the Mental Health Review Board
• A second opinion
• Legal advice
• Contact people by letter or telephone
• Complain about your treatment.

Involuntary patients
If you have been admitted as an involuntary patient to a mental health service, it is because a doctor believes that:

• You appear to be mentally ill
• Your mental illness requires immediate treatment
• It is necessary for your health or safety or for the protection of other people
• You have refused or are unable to consent to necessary treatment
• There is no less restrictive way for you to receive adequate treatment.

Within 24 hours of admission, a psychiatrist from the mental health service will examine you to decide if all these reasons apply to you. If they do, you must remain an involuntary patient.

Community treatment orders
Your psychiatrist may decide that you can receive the treatment you need in the community and place you on a community treatment order. However, you are still an involuntary patient.

Mental Health Review Board
The Mental Health Review Board is an independent tribunal that:

• Hears appeals from patients who want to be discharged.
• Reviews all patients periodically to decide if they can be discharged.

Dance - health benefits

There are many forms of dance, from ballroom to barn and disco to morris. Dance has been a part of human culture, rituals and celebrations forever. Today, most dancing is about recreation and self-expression, although it can also be pursued as a competitive activity. Dancing is an enjoyable way to be more physically active and stay fit.

Health benefits
Dancing can be a way to stay fit for people of all ages, shapes and sizes. It has a wide range of physical and mental benefits including:

• Improved condition of the heart and lungs
• Increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness
• Increased aerobic fitness
• Improved muscle tone and strength
• Weight management
• Stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis
• Better coordination, agility and flexibility
• Improved balance and spatial awareness
• Increased physical confidence
• Improved mental functioning
• Improved general and psychological wellbeing
• Greater self-confidence and self-esteem
• Better social skills.

Getting started
You can dance in a group, with a partner, or on your own. There a lots of different places where you can enjoy dancing, for example at dance schools, social venues, community halls and in your own home. Dancing has become such a popular way to be active and keep fit, that most fitness clubs now offer dance classes in their group exercise programs.

Dancing can be performed both competitively and socially. It can be a great recreational and sporting option, because anyone of any age can take part. It doesn’t matter whether it is cold or raining as dancing is usually done indoors.

The gear you require to dance will depend on the style of dancing you choose. For example, tap dancing will involve purchasing tap shoes, whereas ballet will require ballet slippers and ballet attire. To get started, simply choose a style you enjoy, or would like to try, and join a class.

Types of dance
There are numerous styles of dance to choose from, each with its own attractions. Some popular types of dancing styles include:

• Ballet – mostly performed to classical music, this dance style focuses on strength, technique and flexibility.
• Ballroom dancing –: this involves a number of partner dancing styles such as the waltz, swing, fox-trot, rumba and the tango.
• Belly dancing – originating in the Middle East, this dance style is a fun way to exercise.
• Hip hop – performed mostly to hip hop music, this urban dance style can involve breaking, popping, locking and free styling.
• Jazz – a high energy dance style involving kicks, leaps and turns to the beat of the music.
• Pole dancing – this style of dancing has become increasingly popular as a form of exercise. It involves sensual dancing with a vertical pole, and requires muscle endurance, co-ordination, and upper and lower body strength.
• Salsa – involving a mixture of Caribbean, Latin American and African influences, salsa is usually a partner dance and emphasises rhythms and sensuality.
• Square dancing – a type of folk dancing where four couples dance in a square pattern, moving around each other and changing partners
• Tap dancing – focuses on timing and beats. The name originates from the tapping sounds made by the small metal plates on the dancer’s shoes touch the ground.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides diagnostic criteria for mental disorders. It is used in the United States and in varying degrees around the world, by clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and policy makers.

The DSM has attracted controversy and criticism as well as praise. There have been five revisions since it was first published in 1952, gradually including more disorders, though some have been removed and are no longer considered to be mental disorders. It initially evolved out of systems for collecting census and psychiatric hospital statistics, and from a manual developed by the US Army. The last major revision was the fourth edition ("DSM-IV"), published in 1994, although a "text revision" was produced in 2000. The fifth edition ("DSM-V") is currently in consultation, planning and preparation, due for publication in May 2012. An early draft will be released for comment in 2009. The mental disorders section of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) is another commonly-used guide, used more often in some parts of the world. The coding system used in the DSM-IV is designed to correspond with the codes used in the ICD, although not all codes may match at all times because the two publications are not revised synchronously.

What is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and adulthood. Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity (over-activity).

ADHD has three subtypes:¹

• Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive
  • Most symptoms (six or more) are in the hyperactivity-impulsivity categories.
  • Fewer than six symptoms of inattention are present, although inattention may still be present to some degree.

• Predominantly inattentive
  • The majority of symptoms (six or more) are in the inattention category and fewer than six symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity are present, although hyperactivity-impulsivity may still be present to some degree.
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  • Children with this subtype are less likely to act out or have difficulties getting along with other children. They may sit quietly, but they are not paying attention to what they are doing. Therefore, the child may be overlooked, and parents and teachers may not notice that he or she has ADHD.

• Combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive
  • Six or more symptoms of inattention and six or more symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity are present.
  • Most children have the combined type of ADHD.

Treatments can relieve many of the disorder's symptoms, but there is no cure. With treatment, most people with ADHD can be successful in school and lead productive lives. Researchers are developing more effective treatments and interventions, and using new tools such as brain imaging, to better understand ADHD and to find more effective ways to treat and prevent it.

Neurology

Neurology (from Greek νεῦρον, neuron, "nerve"; and -λογία, -logia) is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue, such as muscle. corresponding surgical specialty is neurosurgery. A neurologist is a physician (not a surgeon) who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat, neurological disorders. Pediatric neurologists treat neurological disease in children. Neurologists may also be involved in clinical research, clinical trials, as well as basic research and translational research. In the United Kingdom, contributions to the field of neurology stem from various professions; saliently, several biomedical research scientists are choosing to specialize in the technical/laboratory aspects of one of neurology's subdisciplines.

A neurologist's educational background and medical training varies with the country of training. In the United States and Canada, neurologists are physicians who have completed postgraduate training in neurology after graduation from medical school.

Neurologists complete, on average, at least 12 years of college education and clinical training. This training includes obtaining a four-year undergraduate degree, a medical degree, which is an additional four years, and then completing a four-year residency in neurology. The four-year residency consists of one year of internal medicine training followed by three years of training in neurology. One and two year fellowships are available following completion of the neurology residency if desired.

Many neurologists also have additional subspecialty training (fellowships) after completing their residency in one area of neurology such as stroke or vascular neurology, interventional neurology, epilepsy, neuromuscular, neurorehabilitation, behavioral neurology, sleep medicine, pain management, neuroimmunology, clinical neurophysiology, or movement disorders.

In Germany, a compulsory year of psychiatry must be done to complete a residency of neurology.

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, neurology is a subspecialty of general (internal) medicine. After five to nine years of medical school and a year as a pre-registration house officer (or two years on the Foundation Programme) a neurologist must pass the examination for Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (or the Irish equivalent) before entering specialist training in neurology. A generation ago some neurologists would also spend a couple of years working in psychiatric units and obtain a Diploma in Psychological Medicine, but that became uncommon and now that a basic psychiatric qualification takes three years to obtain it is no longer practical. A period of research is essential, and obtaining a higher degree aids career progression: many found it was eased after an attachment to the Institute of Neurology at Queen Square in London. Some neurologists enter the field of rehabilitation medicine (known as physiatry in the US) to specialise in neurological rehabilitation, which may include stroke medicine as well as brain injuries.

Kleptomania -an impulse control

Kleptomania is an impulse control disorder often related to other mood disorders, such as depression, substance abuse, or eating disorders. But not everyone who shoplifts is a kleptomaniac.

Kleptomaniacs do not steal because they want a particular item and can't afford it. In fact, they often discard stolen items, or secretly return them to the store from which they were taken. Instead, kleptomaniacs are driven by an uncontrollable urge to steal things. They often feel increased anxiety when the craving hits, and this can only be relieved by taking the desired item. Often they are not even fully aware that they have stolen the item.

Ataxia-telangiectasia

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) (Boder-Sedgwick syndrome or Louis-Bar syndrome is a rare, neurodegenerative, inherited disease which affects many parts of the body and causes severe disability. Ataxia refers to poor coordination and telangiectasia to small dilated blood vessels, both of which are hallmarks of the disease.

AT affects the cerebellum (the body's motor coordination control center) and also weakens the immune system in about 70% of the cases, leading to respiratory disorders and increased risk of cancer. It first appears in early childhood (the toddler stage) with symptoms such as lack of balance, slurred speech, and increased infections. Because all children at this age take time to develop good walking skills, coherent speech, and an effective immune system, it may be some years before AT is properly diagnosed.