autism spectrum conditions ASD... · autism spectrum conditions Dr Liz Pellicano Centre for Research in Autism and Education autism has captured public attention overview of talk

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autism spectrum conditions

Dr Liz Pellicano Centre for Research in Autism and Education

autism has captured public attention

overview of talk

1.  current definition of autism 2.  what we know about autism so far 3.  focus on variability – or heterogeneity – in autism in

terms of: -  children’s autistic features -  children’s cognitive skills -  children’s sociability -  children’s academic success

autism (as defined in DSM-IV)

problems with social

reciprocity

problems with language +

communication

poor behavioural

flexibility

the “social symptoms”

the “non-social symptoms”

diagnostic features of autism

§  difficulties in social relationships –  atypical use eye gaze & gesture –  difficulties developing friendships –  limited social/emotional understanding –  limited sharing


§  difficulties in communication –  language delay –  conversation often one-sided and awkward –  repetitive language –  lack of make-believe play

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§  repetitive and rigid behaviours –  preoccupations –  preference for routines –  motor mannerisms –  sensory sensitivities

fact 1:

autism is usually diagnosed around the age of 2-3 years and often later (6-8 years)in more verbally-able children

fact 2:

autism is a hidden condition

fact 3:

autism is a common developmental condition (1 in every 100)

fact 2:

autism is a common developmental condition (1 in every 100)

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fact 4:

there is huge variation in terms of behaviour among individuals diagnosed with the condition à the “autism spectrum”

two case examples ...

Jonathan: a cognitively able 8-year-old boy with

autism, who has several intense obsessions but enjoys going to school and wants to interact with his peers

Adam: an 8-year-old boy with an additional (mild)

learning disability, whose language skills are very limited (much of what he says is echolalic) and who enjoys playing on his own

the autism spectrum

too simplistic!

description of autism must account for level of ability & “severity”

✖

the definition of autism is in flux: DSM-5

proposed changes to the DSM:

1.  no specific diagnoses for autism, Asperger’s disorder, PDD-NOS, or childhood disintegrative disorder but

... a new SINGLE diagnostic category called: “Autism Spectrum Disorders”

the definition of autism is in flux: DSM-5

proposed changes to the DSM:

1.  there will be TWO domains rather than three:

-  social/communication deficits (must meet all THREE criteria)

-  fixated interests and repetitive behaviours, including unusual sensory interests (must meet TWO out of four criteria)

à what will be the implications of these changes for practice?

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fact 5:

there is also much variability at the level of cognition

cognitive skills in autism

autism?

theory of mind (ToM)

central coherence (CC) or local processing

executive function (EF)

Happé et al. (2006)

a 3-year follow-up study: tracking changes over time

22

0 0 0

6

7

1

1

n=37

time 1 (~ 5 years 6 months)

Pellicano (2010), Child Dev.



executive function

(EF)

7

11 1 2

6

4

1

5

time 2 (~8 years 6 months)

n=37



executive function

(EF)

Pellicano (2010), Child Dev.

fact 6:

there is also variability in terms of the young person’s degree of sociability

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understanding autistic friendships

§  DSM-IV: “failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level”

§  we saw 12 children with autism and 11 peers without autism from culturally-diverse Years 5 and 6 mainstream classrooms and asked them, their parents, their teachers and their non-autistic peers about their friendships

F001

F004 F002

F003

Caitlin

F012

F014

F005

F011

F006

F010

Zane

F009

F008

F026

Lucy

F029

F028

F024 F030

F025

F023

F021 F022 F031

F015

F017 F018

F020

F016

F019

Caitlin & Zane are “central” to their social groups, while Lucy has “peripheral” status

variability in degree of centrality in classroom social networks

more variability ...

§  ... in degree of autistic children’s satisfaction with, and motivation to establish and maintain, their friendships:

“Sometimes I’ve got nobody. The two boys play with the two girls. I try to watch. I want more friends because there are no new people in the class. Only new people be my friend. The other people don’t want to be my friend” (Henry)

vs.

“I am happy with my life right now. I am not friendly and talkative, but I am not not friendly. I am somewhere in the middle” (James)

eliciting the young person’s perspective...

§  is CRITICAL to understanding the needs of individual children!

§  we found that parents and teachers played an important and active role in supporting the autistic child’s friendships but this sometimes conflicted with what the children themselves wanted:

“... sometimes I want to play by myself ...” (Caitlin)

Calder, Hill, & Pellicano, in prep.

fact 7:

there is also variability in terms of the young person’s academic success

maths and autism

§  the common stereotype that people with autism are numerical geniuses persists among the research community as well as the public

§  but we know from the FEW research studies on this topic that there is much variability (again!):

à some children show talents in this area (up to 16%) but between 6% and 22% struggle with this aspect of the school curriculum

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autistic children’s “number sense”

§  the ability to know how many or much there is of something without counting it

§  typical children have this number sense from a young age, and their performance on ‘number sense’ tasks correlates highly with maths achievement

à could differences in this number sense explain why some autistic children are good at maths and others are not?

measuring “number sense”

introductionfixation

(until child is ready)

trial (500ms)“which side has

more dots?”introduction

fixation (until child is

ready)

trial (500ms)“which side has

more dots?”

“The Marbles Task”

measuring “number sense”

This present is for house 59

Where should I deliver it?

0 100



0 100



0 100

“The Postman Pat Game”

children with better number sense are the ones with better maths skills

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

60 75 90 105 120 135

"num

be

r se

nse

" p

erfo

rma

nce

score on standardized maths test

autism

typical

Pellicano, Aagten-Murphy, Daniel & Burr, in prep.

conclusions

§  autism is a developmental condition currently defined in terms of behaviour

§  individuals broadly share the core diagnostic features of autism ... yet there are often striking differences, in terms of (and these were just a few examples) the degree to which: §  individuals manifest autistic symptoms §  show cognitive strengths and weaknesses §  are motivated to establish and maintain friendships §  display academic skills in number processing and

arithmetic

conclusions

§  the variability in autism is the norm rather than the exception …

… which must be accounted for both in theory and in practice …

how will this knowledge influence your practice?

autism spectrum conditions ASD... · autism spectrum conditions Dr Liz Pellicano Centre for Research in Autism and Education autism has captured public attention overview of talk

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