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The purpose of this paper is to outline brain structure and development, the relationship between environment and brain development and implications for practice.

The paper is based on a selected review of the literature and clinical experience.

While genetics determine the sequence of brain maturation, the nature of brain development and functioning is determined by the young child's caregiving environment, to which the developing brain constantly adapts. The absence of input during sensitive periods may lead to later reduced functioning. There is an undoubted immediate equivalence between every mind function – emotion, cognition, behaviour and brain activity, although the precise location of this in the brain is only very partially determinable, since brain connections and function are extremely complex.

This paper provides an overview of key issues in neurodevelopment relating to the development of young children, and implications for policy and practice.

Copy Number Variations (CNVs) are not infrequently observed in aberrant neurodevelopment. CNVs can alter gene expression and have been linked to a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders. The purpose of this case study is to report the association of CNVs with a mixed neurodevelopmental disorder.

Array-Comparative Genomic Hybridisation analysis was carried out in a case of an eight-year-old boy presenting with a mixed neurodevelopmental disorder including autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, tic disorder, anxiety and severe aggression. The child's parents also underwent the same investigation.

A 6q27 deletion and multiple copies within 20q11.23 were identified. The boy's father shared the 6q27 deletion and his mother also had multiple copies within 20q11.23.

This is the first report linking the combination of 6p27 and 20q11 CNVs with a mixed neurodevelopmental presentation. Identifying CNVs that may underlie aberrant neurodevelopment is likely to assist in unravelling the aetiology of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders and lead to more effective strategies for their characterisation and management.

The purpose of this paper is to identify neurodevelopmental disorders and difficulties (NDD) in a male prison. The study used standardised tools to carry out screening and diagnostic assessment of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID).

The ADHD self-report scale, 20-item autism quotient and the Learning Disability Screening Questionnaire were used to screen 240 male prisoners. Prisoners who screened positive on one or more of these scales or self-reported a diagnosis of ADHD, ASD or ID were further assessed using the diagnostic interview for ADHD in adults, adapted Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and the Quick Test.

Of the 87 prisoners who screened positive for NDD and were further assessed, 70 met the study’s diagnostic criteria for ADHD, ASD or ID. Most of those with NDD (51 per cent) had previously gone unrecognised and a high proportion (51 per cent) were identified through staff- or self-referral to the study.

The study demonstrated that improving awareness and providing access to skilled, standardised assessment within a male prison can result in increased recognition and identification of NDD.

This paper aims to provide a brief and accessible introduction to genetics and epigenetics for forensic practitioners. It provides two primers which define key genetic concepts and explain what epigenetic mechanisms actually are. The primers are provided alongside sections that focus on genetic research relevant to forensic practice, with a range of key messages that support the call to contextualise harmful behaviour and build better awareness of gene-environment relationships.

This is an opinion paper.

Select and seminal studies from the genetic literature that have forensic practice relevance are cited. These include studies from candidate gene research and epigenetic research. They highlight a number of key themes, including the way neurodevelopment and behaviour are contextually adjusted to fit certain environments, with epigenetic changes being an underpinning biological mechanism that facilitates this.

This article aims to introduce forensic practitioners to basic concepts in genetics and epigenetics so that they are able to engage with the relevant literature and understand the far-reaching implications for forensic practice.

It is becoming increasingly useful for forensic practitioners to appreciate how life experiences are encoded into biology through epigenetics. This paper highlights the potential of genetic and epigenetic research to provide major contributions to real-world practice in the coming years. It provides a modern biopsychosocial perspective on harmful behaviour and helps deepen the understanding of our efforts to support behaviour change. It offers ways to think of social and rehabilitative initiatives in biological terms.

This paper is one of few modern texts that focusses on the relevance of genetic and epigenetic research in applied forensic practice. It aims to introduce relevant concepts in an accessible manor. It intends to introduce biologically informed ways of understanding harmful behaviour within context and with attention to its function. It contributes to a de-pathologising narrative.

Children experience trauma more often than many early childhood educators realize. As many as 26% of children experience multiple trauma events such as abuse, neglect, parental substance abuse, parental incarceration, and so forth. Trauma impacts brain development in many negative ways that may have serious consequences on the child’s ability to learn, grow socially and emotionally, and develop physically. These brain changes also change how the child will play in the early childhood classroom, and information is given to help recognize the signs of trauma in children. The early childhood educator can make trauma-sensitive modifications in the classroom to assist the traumatized child’s ability to play out the problem. School counselors can be a resource for assisting early childhood teachers when working with traumatized children. A brief description of the importance of play therapy as a developmentally appropriate method to help traumatized young children is provided.

There is now a vast amount of available information, research and policy on the transition of young people with learning disabilities to adulthood. These sources are informed by different professional philosophies and practices, resulting in a heterogeneous mass of data that can be confusing, contradictory and repetitive. In this review we provide an overview of recent publications about services for young people with learning disabilities at the time of transition, with particular focus on those with mental disorders including neurodevelopment disorders and/or challenging behaviour. We discuss their relevance to good practice and the implications for the future development of services for people with learning disabilities in the UK. We argue that, despite the qualitative differences between the experience of transition to adulthood for young people with learning disabilities and that of other young people, the principles of service provision remain the same. Developments in research and clinical practice in this field ought to reflect good practice, as well as embracing new methodologies, and benefit from advances in adolescents without learning disabilities.

A wealth of research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has led to increased understanding and identification of each of these developmental disorders. Existing literature has sparked controversial discussions regarding whether aspects of ASD and ADHD predispose individuals to criminality. The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between these conditions and offending.

A review of the literature on ASD, ADHD and offending was undertaken. This paper looks at the particular focus of the literature on the involvement of individuals with ADHD and ASD within the criminal justice system.

There is some evidence of a link between ADHD and criminality. However, the relationship between ASD and offending is a little more difficult to ascertain. Complicating this further is the relatively unexplored subject of comorbid ASD/ADHD and criminal behaviour. This paper found that additional cognitive deficits and conduct problems are associated with comorbid ASD/ADHD, highlighting the need for further research and development of interventions.

This paper seeks to examine whether predictions can be made with regards to what offending behaviour may look like in an individual with comorbid ASD/ADHD. This paper reviews the literature on offending in relation to both disorders to examine whether predictions can be made with regards to what the offending behaviour of an individual with ASD and ADHD may look like.

Lead is a well-established environmental contaminant that over the last 50 years has become recognized as a neurotoxin with its greatest concern for the developing child (i.e. both in-utero and postnatally). What is problematic is that children exposed to lead often come from lower socioeconomic status (SES), are largely Black communities and are further at increased risk for developing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The literature on ACEs had focused much on trauma, single parenting, child abuse, lack of finances and stress, etc., but has not considered the intersectionality of these ACEs as risk factors within environmental neurotoxic exposures such as lead poisoning. This is important as most low SES communities are Black. In particular, within the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), Black families have been neglected of proper lead-abatement to their apartments for nearly 70 years.

This is a viewpoint/perspective paper that examines the lived experiences of Black folxs in NYCHA through a Black critical theory (BlackCrit) and antiblackness framework pertaining to ACEs, and lead poisoning within the NYCHA system of New York City. This perspective paper draws upon the last three years of news reports, five decades of publicly available data sets from NYCHA and the comptroller to raise an awareness of how Black children are treated by NYCHA generation after generation which can be argued as a mass atrocity against NYCHA residents. Furthermore, the systematic and institutionalized racism and environmental injustices by NYCHA and the state can also be considered as a crime against humanity. As such, BlackCrit could help to position awareness, advocacy and knowledge about Black folxs residing in NYCHA to achieve fair, safe and affordable public housing to experience Black joy across future generations.

Thus, rather than civic and state government response efforts focusing their full attention and resources to serving and supporting individuals affected by ACEs they should equally consider the environments in which Black people live and also allocate funds proportionally to address these areas often overlooked. Moreover, proportions of these funds should be redirected especially to lead-abatement and removal of known sources of lead exposures, evaluation of suspected sources of lead exposures (i.e. drinking water, baby food and formula, children’s juice and cereal products, superfund and other waste sites, electronic recycling plants, etc.) and accompanied by all affected children undergoing full and comprehensive neuropsychological testing and follow up studies paid for by the state. The goal should have two fundamental objectives: (1) accepting accountability for failing to address these preventable neuropsychological issues directly affecting Black children generation after generation and (2) offering the proper waived or reimbursable supports and resources to help Black children sustain the best quality of life (QOL) trajectory possible when diagnosed with lead poisoning.

The manuscript is a viewpoint/perspective paper grounded in BlackCrit and an antiblackness framework. There are ample public news reports and public data available from NYCHA on these matters over the last three years. However, the scope of this paper was not to delve too deep into these numbers per se, but rather to address the concerns leading up to and arguably contributing to, at least in part, to these numbers of lead-exposed Black children in NYCHA. Lead poisoning has never been considered as an ACE and its relationship to mass atrocity research is novel which may pave a new avenue for research of this kind through the utility of BlackCrit and antiblackness framework to support and advocate for change so that Black children can be provided with a basic human right of safe housing and experience Black joy.

BlackCrit has not been used in the context of lead poisoning research. Mostly individuals and families of middle- and low-income have been studied in the context of poverty and lead poisoning. However, many people who live in poverty, in public housing, within New York are Black. Thus, Black children are generation after generation exposed to unaddressed lead-abatement and it appears that now more than ever BlackCrit should become the framework for how this work should be discussed in the literature to raise awareness to state governments regarding Black folx's persistent lead poisoning, NYCHA's neglect and mass atrocity research as a long overdue advocacy effort to bring the necessary voice, authentic narrative, and actual knowledge of the lived experiences of Black families in NYCHA with lead poisoning.

The goal of this viewpoint/perspective paper should have two fundamental objectives (1) NYCHA and New York State accepting accountability for failing to address these preventable lead poisoning issues directly affecting Black children; and (2) offering the proper support and resources to help Black children sustain the best QOL trajectory possible when diagnosed with lead poisoning.

Lead poisoning research has never been approached through a mass atrocity and BlackCrit framework and perspective. This is the first report on bridging these fields within the context of NYCHA public housing neglect of lead-abatement and continued poisoning of current and future generations of Black children. This failure of NYCHA lead-abatement contributes annually to economic loss in New York State for many years to come which could be entirely avoided.

This study contributes to the understanding of the health effects of pesticides exposure and of how pesticides have been and should be regulated.

This study presents literature reviews for the period 2000–2013 on (i) the health effects of pesticides and on (ii) preference valuation of health risks related to pesticides, as well as a discussion of the role of benefit-cost analysis applied to pesticide regulatory measures.

This study indicates that the health literature has focused on individuals with direct exposure to pesticides, i.e. farmers, while the literature on preference valuation has focused on those with indirect exposure, i.e. consumers. The discussion highlights the need to clarify the rationale for regulating pesticides, the role of risk perceptions in benefit-cost analysis, and the importance of inter-disciplinary research in this area.

This study relates findings of different disciplines (health, economics, public policy) regarding pesticides, and identifies gaps for future research.

This report explores the relationship between the autosomal recessive disorder Schwachman‐Diamond syndrome (SDS) and neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), mixed receptive‐expressive language disorder and intellectual disability. It also reflects on the management of associated developmental, emotional and behavioural challenges. A six‐year‐old boy with SDS underwent comprehensive psychiatric and psychological assessment and was found to meet DSM‐IV‐TR (APA, 2000) diagnostic criteria for ADHD combined type and to have mild intellectual disability. A diagnosis of ASD was excluded. Management of his ADHD included psycho‐education, behaviour modification, educational recommendations and medication. This study adds to knowledge of Shwachman‐Diamond syndrome and management of co‐morbid neurodevelopmental disorders.