1. Introduction
An aspect of health that is seldom looked at in a positive light is the actual developmental processes of people from childhood to adulthood. It has been proposed that instead of looking for the traditional definition of what is classified as “normal” or “abnormal”, development abnormalities can be viewed as “variations on the path of development and differences”. Health disorders can vary in different severity levels from mild to moderate to severe. They can affect different aspects of a person’s development and have different long-term effects. Stepansky & Todman (1999) states, “Some disorders may be restricted to one developmental phase (for example, specific learning disorders), while others may cover a range of disorders (for example, pervasive developmental disorders)”. An example of this would be that ADHD tends to continue throughout children’s development. Schizophrenia is often first diagnosed in adolescence or young adulthood, but can also be diagnosed as late as the age of 30. So, therefore, the developmental course and long-term effect vary across different disorders. This is a very important aspect of disorders that will be assessed through the different stages of this learning resource. Another point to remember is that the presence of a disorder does not necessarily imply that it will have a very bad or destructive effect on a person’s life. Certain disorders have the potential to be overcome, and even those which do not have full potential to be “cured” can have effective treatments or management interventions.