Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit difficulties with social relationships and interactions as well as knowledge of particular social skills. “This low level of competence in the social arena inhibits the ability of youth with ASD to make and sustain friendships, recognize and cope with bullying, and successfully navigate the complex social environment (Stichter et al., 2010).” Researchers have suggested that there is a dearth of programming for this higher functioning group because their need for social services are often masked by characteristics that seems functional. Longitudinal studies of 19 people with high functioning autism (HFA) with no documented intervention showed that only 5 had moderately good adult outcomes. The other 14 showed significant impairments in …show more content…
Deficits in theory of mind stem from the inability to understand thoughts, intentions, and feelings of others. Youths with HFA/AS have a hard time understanding that others beliefs and perceptions may be different from their own. Deficits in emotion recognition stem from one’s inability to distinguish facial, gestural, and verbal expressions. Individuals with HFA/AS can often identify simple emotions, but have a hard time identifying with more complex emotions. “The recognition of facial emotional expression overlaps with theory of mind to the extent that proficient emotion recognition requires the attribution of a mental state to another (Stichter et al., 2010).” Deficits in executive functioning include poor impulse control, cognitive inflexibility, inability to produce multiple problem solutions, and poor planning and self-monitoring. Due to the fact that these individuals have high cognitive ability, interventions that target the deficits should utilize the individual’s cognitive
Studying the functions of the various structures of the brain is best carried out through analysis of brain defects. For example, individuals with autism exhibit particular behaviors that are not considered normal. Assuming that behavior originates from the brain, then it becomes clear that in order to discover the causes of the abnormal behavior a comparison must be made between and healthy brain and the brain of an autistic person. By finding structural differences such as size and composition, the role that the structures play in the behavior of the autistic can be inferred while also investigating the normal functions of brain structures.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has two main core criteria, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (DSM-5). The first of the two criteria is ‘Persistent Deficits in Social Communication and Interaction across Multiple Contexts’ under which there are three categories. The first being deficits in social emotional reciprocity which may include atypical social approach and failure of the back and forth exchange of normal conversation. In addition, there may be a failure to respond or initiate social interaction as well as reduced emotions, interest or effect sharing. In the scenario ‘Ben loves Trains’ it is indicated that Ben is content to play alone for hours, he doesn’t interact with his sister in
Common behaviors exhibited by individuals on the Autism Spectrum are labeled as disruptive and self injurious. Fortunately, these behaviors, that can be dangerous to the Autistic individual and others around them, can be managed with psychopharmacological treatment. Behaviors that often times fall under the category of common disruptive and self injurious behaviors, according to Ji, Capone and Kaufmann (2011), are irritability, impulsivity, having temper tantrums and yelling at inappropriate times. Physically aggressive behaviors, such as biting, scratching, kicking and hitting, are often times, more dangerous than some of the other behaviors exhibited. Physically aggressive behaviors are seen as more dangerous than other type of aggressive behaviors because they can harm someone, and in some instances cause fractures, sprains and in severe instances, can cause death. Bronsard, Botbol and Tordjman (2010) found after researching 74 Autistic children and Adolescence that the most prevalent aggressive behaviors are slapping, pinching, throwing objects, head butting, scratching, tearing, hair/scab/skin pulling, biting, kicking, poking and spitting. Along with physical aggression, individuals on the Autism Spectrum often times display self injurious behaviors. In the study, “Self-Injurious Behaviour in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability”, Richards, Oliver, Nelson and Moss (2012) studied 149 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and found that the most common self injurious behaviors displayed are hitting ones-self with their own body, hitting themselves against objects/with objects, biting themselves, pulling/rubbing and scratching self and sodomizing themselves. Researches found that these behavi...
This paper will review five studies concerning the behavior and development of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The studies investigate how autism effects communication, socialization, cognitive development, and a number of other areas. Researchers use many different types of scales to measure and compare the difference between children with ASD and typically developing children.
However, the pattern of brain abnormality is distinct because autism releases many perceptual and cognitive systems. Social deficits are commonly viewed as the primary characteristics of autism and or other neuropsychiatric disorders (p. 126). The current conceptualization of social deficits entails poor eye contact; a failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to their developmental level; abnormal emotional intonations in voice and speech; marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction; and failure to spontaneously seek to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (p. 126). Although, not part of the current diagnostic criteria, evidence suggests that people who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have marked deficits in face perception. Recognition of individual faces is a fundamental part of interpersonal interactions and successful functioning within a social group. Children and adults have developed perceptual processes capable of distinguishing between faces. Faces may appear to be quite different from one another, features of
Autism is a neurobiological disorder that causes discrepancies or differences in the way information is processed (Essential Guide to Finally Understanding Autism). The process of obtaining information affects an individual with autisms ability to do many things. For example, someone with this particular disorder may have more trouble understanding and using language to interact and communicate with people. He or she may also experience difficulty understanding and relating to people, events, and objects in the environment. Autism also affects ones ability to respond to sensory stimuli. Like other developmental disabilities, autism effects can range in the differentiations of severity.
Although there is no known cure for autism, there are ways to help children with autism improve their social delays. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has acknowledged the importance of social skills training, the APA has defined autism as being a disorder that greatly effects verbal and nonverbal communication and greatly impairs all things that have to do with social interaction (APA, 2001). Children with autism will not learn from interactions with their typical peers alone, there needs to be some adult intervention as well (Disalvo & Oswald, 2002). The main obstacle that children have to overcome when they are diagnosed with autism is their social skills impairments (Carpenter et al., 2009).
Imagine you walk into a classroom and you see a child sitting alone at a desk, almost in their own world. Or maybe you see a person sitting at a park, rocking back and forth, talking to themselves. The chances are these people may have autism. 15 of every 10,000 births result in a person with this life altering disorder (source 1). Autism is a developmental disability of the brain that affects communication. There is no cure for this disability and few answers of how to treat it.
Autism Spectrum Disorder allow students to struggle with reading comprehension and language development in the classroom. The article discusses about finding helpful reading skills for students to use to master and understand what the student is reading. Gately states, “often students have deficits in language and social cognition and difficulty interpreting and labeling emotions and incorporating or integrating each of these aspects of communication to gain meaning in social situations” (pg. 40). Combining these aspects in language arts can decrease the knowledge and lose a student when the student is not sure what they are reading about. The student is unable to make a connection while reading. The article mentions helpful strategies for
The social issues and communicative issues are very intertwined and the two factor model (social communication and restrictive, repetitive behaviors) of the DSM-5 has been supported by literature and the APA committee has come to a full agreement about the two domains that qualifies an individual for autism spectrum disorder. The rationale behind a merger between social interaction and communication into one category was for the reason that individuals use and need communication when engaging in social behaviors in their environment with other people (Carpenter et al. 1998). For instance, a child cannot engage in social greetings (e.g. saying hi, hello, good morning) or take part in back and forth conversation without language itself (e.g. sign, vocal). Furthermore, previous findings have shown that social and communicative skills are highly correlated with one another within a sample of children who have a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (Lord, 2011), hence another reason as to why the two domains merged into one single
During the 1950’s and 1960’s, people with autism were isolated and some were sent away to institutions. Today, many of those with autism can attend school with other children. Methods are available to help improve their social, language, and academic skills. Even though more than 60 percent of adults with autism continue to need care throughout their lives, some programs are beginning to demonstrate that with appropriate support, they can be trained to do meaningful work and participate in the life of the community.
The percentage of students educationally identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is on the rise and school counselors are called to serve this population (www.schoolcounselor.org). Effective counseling provided to students with ASD requires knowledge and understanding of the distinct characteristics and social problems associated with ASD as well as the ability to develop a respectful, trusting and collaborative partnership with the student. According to Baron-Cohen (1995) “Individuals with Asperger’s generally experience mild frustration in understanding social nuances and in determining the intent of others” (p. 276). Therefore, even when kids and adolescents with Asperger’s actively try to seek out others, they encounter social isolation
I remember the first time I went to work with my mother, a speech pathologist. I remember thinking to myself, “Why are some of these kids so different? Why aren’t they behaving themselves?” My mother’s case load included many children with autism. A group of whom I met on this first visit. You certainly could run into an individual touched by autism if you shadowed a speech pathologist or went to a therapist’s office as many autistic individuals seek out aid from these types of professionals.
One of the most difficult things teachers will face when dealing with Autistic children is their lack of communication skills and inappropriate or nonexistent social skills. In addition to academic instruction children with Autism require instruction in communication techniques and social skills. Kamps et.al. says “A key to accommodating students with autism in public school settings is the provision of social and behavioral programming to develop meaningful participation with nondisabled persons” (p.174).
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological disorder that affects children and individuals all over the world in large quantities. There is no known cause or cure for Autism. Autism awareness is extremely important for individuals that are affected by autism every day. Individuals and their families are struggling throughout the years, financially and emotionally. Insurance coverage for individuals on the autism spectrum is important for the duration of the individual’s life and all those involved. Autism Awareness is an important priority for the wellbeing of humanity. Autism is an epidemic.