Developmental psychopathology is just as interested in an individual who has not followed a normal development pattern but does not exhibit disorders as it is in an individual who exhibits
abnormal behavior because of developmental deviations.
For example, when a child diagnosed with autism - spectrum disorder has a difficult play date, the mother focuses on what the child does wrong (attentional bias), labels it («that's his autism causing it»), and then begins to ruminate («he's
abnormal,» «he'll never be mainstreamed,» «He'll never become independent,» «I'll never have time for myself again,» «I am a bad mother
because I have not managed to change his
behavior,» «I should never have had children,» «I can not cope with this any longer»).