Considering Development in Developmental Disorders

Abstract

Various theorists have argued for the importance of a developmental approach to studying typical development (Karmiloff-Smith, 1998; Lerner, 1996; Lerner & Hood, 1986; Masten & Cicchetti, 2010; Overton, 2014; Overton & Lerner, 2012, 2014), and there are reasons to believe that this issue is even more critical to the study of atypical development (Thomas, 2016; Thomas et al., 2009). In this article, we bring together perspectives from a variety of theorists to outline the importance of conceptualizing both typical and atypical development as a not-necessarily-linear, interconnected, and multifaceted set of individual trajectories embedded in real-world contexts (Karmiloff-Smith, 1998; Masten & Cicchetti, 2010; Overton & Lerner, 2012). Using examples from studies of atypical brain and behavior, we describe 6 lenses that can be applied to developmental research.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Jason Wolff for providing us with some unpublished data for Figure 1.

FUNDING

The writing of this article was supported by grants to the third and fourth authors from the Institute of Education Science (R305A150435, R305A100215).

Additional information

Funding

The writing of this article was supported by grants to the third and fourth authors from the Institute of Education Science (R305A150435, R305A100215).