Post on 13-Jul-2015
February 13, 2013
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1. Old and New Classifications
2. Verbal vs. Performance Abilities
3. Executive function
4. Recent research in the news – is it accurate?
5. Tips for working with students
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Autistic Disorder
Nonverbal Learning Disabilities (NLD)
Rett’s Disorder (rare)
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (rare)
Asperger’s Disorder
Pervasive Developmental Disorder (somewhat rare)
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MORE LESS SEVERE SEVERE
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*Disturbances in social relationships
*Difficulties with communication
*Unusual and repetitive interests and behaviors
*Deficient in executive functioning: trouble with
prioritization, impulse control, attention,
retention, organization
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6
Frontal
Posterior
Systems or object orientated not people orientated
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Baron-Cohen – Autism Research Centre Cambridge University
Autistic Disorder Asperger’s Disorder Nonverbal Learning Disabilities
Strong in performance abilities
Weak in performance abilities
Weak in performance abilities
Weak in verbal tasks Strong in verbal tasks Strong in verbal tasks
Content to be loners Seek out social interaction, little success
Seek out social interaction, little success
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Subtests of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Purpose: illustrate the testing our students endure
Help understand performance vs. verbal abilities
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29 Questions
Measures: general information one has acquired
in his/her culture
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Part 1: 3-7 digits are reproduced
Part 2: 3-7 digits are reproduced backwards
Measures: attention, concentration, mental control
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35 words
Measures: degree of learning, comprehension,
expression
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14 problems
Measures: concentration, mental math ability
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14 items that ask what way 2 things are alike
Measures: Abstract verbal reasoning
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20 cards
Measures: ability to perceive visual details
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9 tasks
Measures: nonverbal abstract processing,
problem solving
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26 items
Measures: inductive reasoning, nonverbal
abstract problem solving
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26 items
Measures: spatial reasoning
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27 items
Measures: Quantitative and logical reasoning
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Summary
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No 2 people display the same problems to the same degree or in the same way
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EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING
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Called context blindness
Have social skills but cannot use them in all situations
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Not one single thing
Believed to be an element of executive dysfunction
Low energy and being out of touch with one’s body and emotions
Difficulty in changing gears
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Difficulty starting things if stopped
Difficulty in stopping things started
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Might be able to do something easily one day but run up against severe inertia with the same task the next day
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Autism isn’t something constant like blindness or deafness but rather something variable, more like multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, or lupus. What we can do one day, we can’t do every day. What we can’t do one day, we might be able to do on another.
www.unstrangemind.wordpress.com
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Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, January 2013
News media reporting children can “recover”
Behavioral therapy early in life
Deborah Fein of University of Connecticut
n= 34
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“Higher cognitive functioning and somewhat milder initial symptoms”
Parent reports that participants “had typically developed friends”
20% reported impairment in nonverbal social interaction
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3 - parent completion surveys
1 - clinician observing and scoring
1 - IQ test
1 - handedness test (left handedness is more common in ASD)
2 - facial recognition and language
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Statement from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
Autism is a natural part of the human condition and not something to recover from or eliminate. The goal of autism research should be to create happy Autistic people, not to encourage ‘passing for non-Autistic’ without regard to the impact on our quality of life.
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Every difficulty or issue cannot be “fixed”
Most important interventions are patience and being positive
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Reinforce turn-taking when speaking with others
Reinforce cues for when to reply, interrupt, listen, change the topic, and end the conversation
Wait longer than you usually would for an answer
Make the same point several different ways
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Provide oral material in written form as well
Explain and point out the signals and clues when a person is using sarcasm
When showing movies use closed captioning
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Remind often of assignments and due dates
If frequently forgetting materials, encourage student to use peer assistance
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Do not give false praise
Provide positive, explicit, appropriate, accurate, and specific praise
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Normal levels of auditory and visual input can be perceived as too much or too little
Keep the level of sensory stimulation within the student’s ability to cope
Consider developing a crash room for students with sensory overload
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Resistance to change is usually an indication of stress
Explain fully what the change entails
Be as consistent as possible
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Accept, support and understand autism as diversity
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