1 5. Autism What is Autism Prevalence of Autism Autistic Spectrum Disorders Characteristics of Autism Diagnosing Autism Theories – the theory-of-mind deficit theory – the executive function deficit theory – the central coherence theory Learning Outcomes
28
Embed
1 5. Autism What is Autism Prevalence of Autism Autistic Spectrum Disorders Characteristics of Autism Diagnosing Autism Theories –the theory-of-mind deficit.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
1
5. Autism
What is AutismPrevalence of AutismAutistic Spectrum DisordersCharacteristics of AutismDiagnosing AutismTheories
– the theory-of-mind deficit theory
– the executive function deficit theory
– the central coherence theory Learning Outcomes
2
What is Autism?
complex developmental disability Autism first described by Kanner (1943) typically appears during the first three
years of lifemost severe childhood neuropsychiatric
condition triad of impairments
– socialisation– communication– imagination
3
Prevalence of Autism
2-6 cases per 1,000growing at a rate of 10-17 percent per
yearboy:girl 4:1Usually identified before 30 monthsNo racial or socioeconomic differences
4
Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Autism is one of five disorders coming under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD)
– Autistic Disorder
– Asperger's Disorder
– Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)
– Rett's Disorder
– PDD-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS)
5
Characteristics of Autism Persons with autism may exhibit some of the
following traits.
– Insistence on sameness; resistance to change – Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or
pointing instead of words – Repeating words or phrases in place of normal,
responsive language – Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not
apparent to others – Prefers to be alone; aloof manner – Tantrums – Difficulty in mixing with others – May not want to cuddle or be cuddled – Little or no eye contact
6
– Unresponsive to normal teaching methods – Sustained odd play – Spins objects – Inappropriate attachments to objects – Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity
to pain – No real fears of danger – Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme
under-activity – Uneven gross/fine motor skills – Not responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf
although hearing tests in normal range.
Characteristics of Autism
7
Language development
delayed and deviant peculiar use of sounds and words Echolalia Pronominal reversal - use 'i' where 'you' is
meant and vice-versa
– e.g. 'do you want a drink' instead of 'i want a drink'
denial of personal identity? (psychoanalysts)
or just related to echoing
Use of '-ing'
– 'daddy piping', 'boy bubbling' (boy blowing bubbles) - 9 yr old autistic girl (Wing 1976)
8
Social development
physical and emotional distance from others
failure to develop social attachments lack of cooperative group playdifficulties in reacting to or recognising
other people's feelings
9
Intellectual development
poor on verbal abilitymay perform above average on memory
or spatial tasksmay be talented in music or drawing1/4 - 1/3 have IQ>70
10
Diagnosing Autism
no medical tests for diagnosing autism Early Diagnosis Diagnostic Tools The NICHD lists these five behaviors that signal
further evaluation is warranted:– Does not babble or coo by 12 months
– Does not gesture (point, wave, grasp) by 12 months
– Does not say single words by 16 months
– Does not say two-word phrases on his or her own by 24 months
– Has any loss of any language or social skill at any age.
11
several tests have been developed that are now used in diagnosing autism
– CARS rating system (Childhood Autism Rating Scale)
– The Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT)
– The Autism Screening Questionnaire
– The Screening Test for Autism in Two-Year Olds
Diagnosing Autism
12
Theories
Some current psychological theories of autism
– the theory-of-mind deficit theory
– the executive function deficit theory
– the central coherence theory
13
Theory of Mind autistic children cannot engage in meta-
representations, therefore cannot develop ToM– autistic children don't seem to show pretend/symbolic play (Baron-
Cohen, 1987)
– Therefore predict poor performance on false belief tasks
– Baron-Cohen, Leslie & Frith (1985) found this poor performance.
Also:
– chance performance on mental-physical distinction (Baron-Cohen, 1989)
– poor understanding of functions of the mind (Baron-Cohen, 1989)