Encephalopathy is a fancy word for brain impairment. Encephalopathies are not typically degenerative, that is, they don’t usually worsen. In general, the child typically has reduced intellectual ability, learning difficulties, limited language skills, attention-deficit, and delayed life/self-care skills. The cause of the impairment is often attributed to some medical condition such as ongoing seizures, head injury, serious illness, prenatal injury/substance abuse, or something that happened during development. The level of impairment can range from very mild or subtle, to severe deficits. Symptoms can be specific such as reduced language or attention, or more global with several areas being impacted. Although not always the case, behavioral problems are often present. Behaviorally, children frequently struggles to regulate their emotions and control their behaviors, and are often prone to temper tantrums, aggression, emotional outbursts, poor impulse-control, and have difficulties using appropriate judgment. They may be either overly impulsive (e.g., acting without thinking about the consequences of their misbehaviors) or lack initiation or motivation to carryout daily life tasks (e.g., poor hygiene) or struggle to function in the classroom (e.g., engage in disruptive behaviors). In general, these children very often struggle applying their knowledge to new situations or lack understanding of what to do or how to behave in specific situations. Social problems may also be present as well.
Interventions (e.g., therapy) often help to improve functioning and can teach the child effective coping strategies. Understanding the child’s neurocognitive profile can be useful for using their strengths to compensate for their weaknesses. Behavioral approaches usually work best.