Common Conditions
These conditions are common to Turner Syndrome
Learning and Behavior
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Common Conditions • Common Challenges • Identifying Challenges • Care Recommendations • Resources
Important Definitions
Someone with TS is likely to be diagnosed with developmental and mental health conditions. The terms disability and disorder are sometimes used instead of condition. However, they really are just differences in how the brain works. Understanding those differences lets you understand your strengths, which can be used to overcome challenges associated with them and succeed in pursuing your passion.
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Condition: When physical or mental health interferes with everyday activities or impacts overall wellbeing.
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Disability: A physical or mental condition that negatively impacts how someone moves, perceives the world around them, or everyday activities.
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Disorder: When the body or brain doesn’t function normally because of a disease, genetic factor, or traumatic event (i.e. accident). A disorder can be mental, physical, genetic, emotional, or behavioral.
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Diagnosis: A label used to describe differences in how someone learns, thinks, feels, and acts which cause problems in multiple areas of their life.
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Developmental condition: Also known as neurodevelopmental conditions, developmental conditions are brain-based, life-long, and are often noticeable early in childhood. How they affect someone and their treatment needs may change over time. They can impact learning, remembering, or applying skills and information to everyday life, including physical tasks, language and communication, and behavior. This can cause challenges with school, relationships, work, and important life skills like cooking. Many people with developmental conditions have specific learning and mental health conditions.
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Mental health conditions: Are brain-based and how they affect an individual and their treatment needs may change over time. Mental health conditions make it harder to use skills to appropriately respond to stress, sometimes in ways you can’t see.
Common Developmental Conditions Related to Turner Syndrome
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Causes challenges with regulating attention and emotions, as well as with executive functioning. (ADHD)
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Nonverbal Learning Disability (NVLD/NLD): As defined by the NVLD Project, individuals with NVLD often have verbal strengths but struggle with executive functioning, nonverbal communication, cognitive flexibility, math, reading comprehension, sensory and visual-spatial processing, and motor skills. This can result in academic, professional, social, and emotional challenges. Receiving a NVLD diagnosis and appropriate interventions is often difficult.
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There’s a lot of overlap with ASD and ADHD, but individuals with NVLD may express more desire for relationships than individuals with ASD.
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Since NVLD is not listed in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM-5 TR), mental health and other medical professionals may not be familiar with the diagnosis or treatments.
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Receiving a NVLD diagnosis and appropriate interventions is often difficult.
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Since NVLD is not listed in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM-5 TR), mental health and other medical professionals may not be familiar with the diagnosis or treatments.
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Specific Learning Disability (SLD): A group of developmental conditions that impact skills in reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia), or math (dyscalculia).
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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (includes Asperger’s Syndrome): Causes challenges with understanding and using language, as well as understanding and using nonverbal cues, which impacts social skills. Also causes challenges with cognitive flexibility and sensory processing.
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Social Communication Disorder (SCD): Impacts verbal and nonverbal communication skills, resulting in social challenges.
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Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD): Impacts learning motor skills that require coordination, resulting in challenges using those skills in everyday activities.
Common Mental Health Conditions Related to Turner Syndrome
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Major Depressive Disorder: Feeling unhappy or feeling emotions less intensely for much longer than normal.
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Causes someone to worry more than typical about situations, events, or activities in the past or future. It is often unlikely that what they worry about will come to pass.
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Social Anxiety Disorder: Excessive fear of embarrassing yourself or others in social situations and others negatively judging you.
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Causes an intense desire to avoid something negative with their thoughts or actions (obsession) and an inability to resist acting on that urge (compulsion).
This list of common conditions was compiled by Mira K. Cohen and TSSUS in consultation with Dr. Knickmeyer and Dr. Mooney.
References: Developmental and Specific Learning Conditions
1. ADDitude: additudemag.com
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Online screening tools for ADHD and conditions common among individuals with ADHD geared towards children, adolescents, and adults.
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Information on evidence-based interventions for ADHD.
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Information on developmental, specific learning, and mental health conditions common among individuals with ADHD (including NVLD) and common interventions.
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Strategies to address everyday challenges related to ADHD at home, at school, at work, in relationships, and receiving appropriate interventions.
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Experiences of individuals with ADHD and associated conditions.
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ADD provider directory.
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Additional resources for parents, educators, and providers, including educational opportunities and community support.
2. Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD): www.chadd.org
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Information on ADHD, related challenges, and evidence-based interventions (including medication, coaching, therapy, and workplace and educational accommodations) for children, adolescents, and adults.
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Detailed information on how ADHD presents differently in girls and women and its impact on treatment needs.
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Information on developmental, specific learning, and mental health conditions that often occur with ADHD, related challenges, and common interventions.
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Experiences of individuals with ADHD and associated conditions.
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Strategies to address everyday challenges related to ADHD at home, at school, at work, in relationships, and receiving appropriate interventions.
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ADHD provider and resource directory.
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Additional resources for parents, educators, and providers, including educational opportunities and community support
3. The NVLD Project: nvld.org
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A list of challenges common among individuals with NVLD and common interventions.
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Recommended strategies to address everyday challenges at home, school, work, and in relationships.
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Information on NVLD from experts.
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Experiences of individuals with NVLD.
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Additional resources for adolescents, adults, educators, and providers, including community support.
4. Learning Disability Association of America (LDA): ldaamerica.org
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Information on specific learning disabilities and developmental conditions often present in individuals with specific learning disabilities (including NVLD.)
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Information on common interventions for specific learning disabilities and related developmental conditions, including school and work accommodations.
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Strategies to address everyday challenges.
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Additional resources for parents, educators, and providers.
5. Aspire: the Female Autism Network: aspirefemaleautismnetwork.com
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How ASD looks different in girls and women, including developmental, specific learning, and mental health conditions common among girls and women with ASD.
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The unique challenges experienced by girls and women with ASD at home, at school, at work, and in relationships.
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Strategies to address those challenges.
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Information on seeking an evaluation, receiving a diagnosis, and getting educational and workplace accommodations.
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Community support (including Facebook).
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Additional resources.
6. Asperger/Autism Network (AANE): AANE.org
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Information on challenges commonly experienced by individuals with ASD and intervention options.
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Educational resources for adults and teens with ASD about common challenges, including getting diagnosed, receiving work and school accommodations, mental health conditions, and relationships with family and friends .
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Educational resources for women with ASD and parents of girls with ASD, including information on how it often presents differently with unique everyday challenges and intervention needs, and how to overcome barriers to getting diagnosed and receiving appropriate interventions.
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Experiences of individuals with ASD.
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Provider directory, including neuropsychologists.
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Community support, including meet ups.
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Additional support for family and friends and providers.
Mental Health Conditions
1. International OCD Foundation: iocdf.org
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Information on OCD, its treatment.
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Information on conditions that often occur with OCD.
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Provider directory.
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Educational resources.
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Resources for family, educators, and professionals.
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Community support.
2. Anxiety & Depression Association of America: adaa.org
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Different types of anxiety and depression and their treatment.
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Provider directory.
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Educational resources.
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Community support.
3. CDC Mental Health: crisislifeline
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Different mental health conditions and their treatments for children and adults.
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The impact that different stressors, including physical health conditions, can have on mental health.
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Tips for coping with common stressors to promote mental health.
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Mental health crisis resources.
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How to get help and provider directories.