Although the name may suggest otherwise, the orphan disease does not appear only in children deprived of parents. This problem results from disturbed, incorrect relations between the child and its caregivers. The issue of an orphan disease is extremely important because the related ailments affect both the course of a child's development and its functioning in adulthood.
Orphan diseaseis also called inorganic developmental delay syndrome and hospitalization. The disease is encountered in those children who do not have sufficiently satisfied emotional needs. Orphan disease may occur in a child who is completely deprived of parents, as well as in a child who is in isolation from their caregivers for a long time (e.g. due to staying in a medical facility). Ailments caused by an orphan disease focus on emotional problems and inappropriate emotional relationships with other people, but there may also be somatic symptoms.
Orphan disease: causes
The most important factors behind an orphan disease are lack of attachment to caregivers and feelings of rejection. In the pathogenesis of the disease, the absence of the mother in the child's life is especially taken into account. However, it does not have to be the lack of a biological mother - inorganic developmental delay syndrome is generally associated with the lack of an extremely important caregiver for the child.
The third and fourth years of a young person's life are considered to be the time when the most important dysfunctions related to the bond between mother and child may appear. A child who experiences love and a sense of commitment on the part of the mother (or other caregiver) in the above-mentioned period of life, most likely in later life will be able to create proper emotional relationships on its own. The problem arises when a few-year-olds do not have the opportunity to experience the above-mentioned feelings from their guardians - this is when the orphan disease may develop.
Not only the mere absence of a mother / guardian is conducive to the emergence of an orphan disease. The disease is also observed in children who, for some reason, do not have frequent contact with their parents - as an example, parents who spend most of theirtime at work or those who left their descendants due to economic emigration.
Inorganic developmental delay syndrome occurs in children living in pathological families. Pathologies favoring an individual may be addictions occurring in parents (e.g. to alcohol or drugs), but also their diseases (e.g. personality disorders) and behavior (such as physical violence). Parents who have difficulty showing affection increase the risk of their child developing an orphan disease. The emotional coldness of the caregivers and the related lack of feeling of love (especially on the part of the mother) may result in the child's need for attachment not being satisfied, which may result in an orphan disease.
Orphan disease: symptoms
The orphan disease has three phases.
1. Protest phase.The child fights for the missing feelings and demands them - he often cries and screams in order to attract the attention of the caregivers. Over time, these symptoms gradually give way to others, such as aggressive behavior or loss of interest in the surrounding world. A child with an orphan disease in the protest phase may have sleep problems, experience gastrointestinal discomfort (e.g. vomiting) and refuse to eat.
2. The despair phase.The period of despair that occurs after the protest phase may suggest a gradual disappearance of the child's problems, but it is definitely different - the disease is getting worse. The child becomes more and more lethargic and sad, and the anxiety they experience increases. There are other somatic problems, the causes of which are usually impossible to establish - a small patient may experience bedwetting and increasing weight loss. Due to the eating disorder, the patient becomes pale, more prone to infections, and growth disorders may also appear.
A characteristic feature of the despair phase are motor automatisms. The child may sway in the armchair (one of the behaviors that are typically attributed to an orphan disease) or persistently suck their thumb. A patient with an inorganic developmental disability syndrome may seek body contact with people seemingly strangers to him - such a child may, for example, want to cuddle with his parents' friends, it may even apply to those who the child sees for the first time in his life.
3. Alienation phase.At this stage of an orphan disease, the child is at its most calm. It is apparent peace because it actually results from closing in on yourself while feeling anxious at the same time. Patient in phasealienation becomes passive and apathetic, he may avoid socializing. The facial expressions of such a child are usually impoverished, and they often avoid eye contact (instead they wander over the walls, which is referred to as "ceiling"). Inhibition of mental development may be noticeable (usually, however, mental development deviates from the norm to a small extent). Somatic symptoms in the alienation phase are usually absent.
ImportantOrphan disease: consequences of the problem in adults
Children who have suffered from an orphan disease may experience various types of disorders also when they reach adulthood. Patients may experience problems in contacts with others: on the one hand, they strongly need emotional involvement in the relationship with another person, and on the other hand, they feel the fear of being attached. The described relationship is one of the reasons that in patients with orphan disease increases the risk of developing personality disorders (mainly borderline personality disorders).
In adulthood, people with nonorganic developmental delay syndrome may be passive and cold. They are also at increased risk of depression. Patients may experience concentration and attention disorders, and abstract thinking may be a problem for them. There is also a relationship between experiencing an orphan disease and engaging in aggressive behavior in adulthood and coming into conflict with the law.