Outside of psychology, I study American Sign Language (ASL). Other than ASL being used as a way for the deaf to communicate, there is recent research suggesting positive outcomes from teaching non-verbal autistic children ASL as a way to communicate. My question is, are non-verbal autistic children able to use ASL as a form of structured communication or is it only understood on the lexical level? In other words, how effective is teaching non-verbal autistic children ASL?
Research in this area is fairly new. Failure to develop language skills in the left frontal cortex of the brain is considered a property of autism. This can be severe enough that they may be unable to develop any spoken language skill. ASL utilizes the right frontal cortex, making it possible to teach these children ASL. Researchers gave ASL lessons to over 100 non-verbal autistic children. Not only were these children able to learn the signs and retain their meanings, but children were able to combine signs to form complete sentences in ASL. It was obvious to the researches that connections between signs and objects were being made which showed that the children were fully understanding the concepts. The learning of the language improved their adaptive behaviors and some were able to begin speech training with success. Overall, this study showed that ASL can give non-verbal a language. Children can understand the words, concepts, and the structure of the language. I would like to know if this has a lot to do with the difference in cortex usage between spoken and signed language.
I loved reading your post- I also study ASL! I always wondered what brain region involved ASL. I am glad that it is proven to be successful, so that communication is improved with autistic children as struggling with communication can cause frustration. Good job!
I loved your post! The topic was interesting, and the post was very well-written. This specific research is fascinating because simply teaching these children ASL has to completely transform their quality of life and the lives of their families. That is so inspiring! I wonder if the practice of teaching non-verbal autistic children ASL will become a widely, routinely used practice. I also wonder if it is more difficult to teach ASL to non-verbal autistic adults when compared with non-verbal autistic children. This was a great post!
Hi Alex-Marie, I loved your post and agree that there should be more research between ASL and non-verbal communication in children with ASD. My cousin was diagnosed with ASD since he was a toddler and has never been able to verbally communicate with us. Thankfully with ASL, he has started to learn how to sign to non-verbally communicate. I would think it would be neat to create a program for parents/families with children with ASD who speak non-verbally to be able to learn ASL. This would create a better communication barrier, giving less stress on parents. Great and inspiring post!
This was such an interesting post because I would have never thought about teaching ASL to autistic children to help them communicate. I have know many autistic kids and I see how their verbal skills are not that strong and sometimes they have a really hard time communication what they want and what they are feeling. But by teaching them sign language, these kids will be able to communicate a lot better and with more people. This was a great post!
I 100% wish I had studied ASL!! I still might one day! I work at ace hardware and I have a deaf customer who comes in regularly and I wish I could sign to him! Anyways, it's great that kids can still learn sign language since it uses another part of the brain! I think it is very important to be able to communicate somehow with someone!
I also study ASL! I started in high school while at the time I was a nanny for a nonverbal child who was on the autism spectrum. The only way he had of communicating besides grunting, was by using sign! He was able to tell me yes and no, and ask for food and drinks. He didn't know a ton, but he knew the basics to get him through the day which was great and so helpful. I'm not sure how I would have gotten him what he needed without it.
Hi Alex, that is a really interesting post. I think that American Sign Language is a great way to help those who are non-verbal. I feel besides the obvious leaps that ASL would make in their communication abilities, being able to communicate effectively will most likely reduce their stress and their care givers stress. I think that ASL could also improve social interactions and build the skills required for that.
This is really cool! I also am enrolled in ASL, but I didn't know the brain regions in use were different. This could be incredibly helpful for parents and peers as well and help lessen the frustration (and possible extended problems) inherent in having a child you can't communicate with. That could relate to lower rates of abuse and bullying among children with ASD too.
One of my populations of interest in research is military families and veterans, so I was interested in how the intersection of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder and its inherent challenges might mess with the intrinsic lack of routine of a military lifestyle. A 2015 study by Davis & Finke collected qualitative data from parents of military families who had children with diagnosed ASD. Specifically, military spouses cited "relocation" as a primary source of problems in the context of their children with ASD--which makes sense, considering that moving would disrupt most of any routine an ASD child may depend on. Non-deployed spouses also mentioned the difficulty of separation and return of a deployed parent, both for the parent and for the children's routine. Further, most parents discussed limited or delayed resources, with some blaming government bureaucracy, to restart treatment or interventions in their new homes. The authors use this to discuss important options for military families that have children with autism spectrum disorder and how the gap in resources might be rectified. However, I'm interested in how sibling relationships, especially older/caregiving ones, might either be a mediating or exacerbating factor in these problems--potentially taking some pressure off parents, but also creating further issues of their own.
Davis, J. M., & Finke, E. H. (2015). The experience of military families with children with autism spectrum disorders during relocation and separation. Journal Of Autism And Developmental Disorders, 45(7), 2019-2034. doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2364-2
I agree with your statement that it makes sense military families would relocate with their children of ASD. I was shocked to read the part that they had lack of/limited/delay of resources for treatments or interventions in homes. I hope in the future that is something that could be worked on.
This was a really interesting topic. I have honestly never really considered this subject matter. I am quite surprised military families do not have more resources if their child is diagnosed ASD. The military tends to be decent when it comes to education and health benefits, but ASD can require intense and therefore expensive treatment. I imagine the moving around is hard on the child as well since socializing is already rough on a child with ASD. I would like to know how the children with ASD in military families adjust to their new environments from the child's perspective.
This post is so interesting! I was born into a military family myself so this is particularly intriguing to me. I know from experience that the constant relocation and inconsistent presence of a military parent can be very difficult for most children; therefore, I cannot imagine the impact it must have on an autistic child. I also like how you brought up the point about a sibling being a potential factor, because I have an older sibling and can definitely see that being an impactful factor. I also wonder how the warmth/rejection of the other, nonmilitary parent could specifically impact an autistic child. Overall, this was a great post!
Hi Elyssa, that was a really interesting post. I have never thought about the effect that livin in a military family would have on a child with ASD. It seems that there is still a need for research in this area as well as more allocation of resources toward families with children with ASD in the military. Perhaps there could be on base therapist to help children adapt to their new home as well as to their parent who they might not see often.
I found your post very interesting because I myself am from a military family. I have moved over 15 times and honestly loved the experience. However, I never thought about how it would be for a child with autism. Moving was easy for me because I am pretty social and would join a team to make friends. But a child with autism would not be able to do that so the transition would be a lot harder. I really hope these families are able to get the help and care they need. Very good post.
Elyssa, Your blog post was very interesting. I liked how you considered different family lifestyles and how they can affect a child living with ASD. ASD can be a very difficult disorder to live with, not to mention the added difficulties that come along with being in a military family. The constant change and lack of a consistent lifestyle are not things that would benefit a child with this disorder. I wonder if there are any programs available that can help military families of children with ASD cope and adjust. Perhaps communities could offer support groups for these children. That way during the duration of their family's stay in that location, they can form strong relationships to help them cope with the change.
While reading the chapter, I became interested in peer relationships for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I think forming peer relationships is important for children with ASD because sometimes a child may just want a friend. I was curious to see if there were any articles that examined peer relationships according to gender in children with ASD.
The article I found split the children into four groups: boys with and without ASD and girls with and with out ASD. There were 100 participants, 25 in each group. The average age of the children was 7.6. Children were then randomly assigned to play with one another according to gender and then not according to gender. They were also asked to fill out the friendship survey, which had questions about social preferences, social acceptance, social connections, group salience, reciprocal friendship, and rejection. There were many things that the article found. One was that all children preferred same-gender friends, as well as felt accepted and socially connected to same-gender friends. I did not find this result surprising at all. It was interesting that social challenges were equal for boys and girls with ASD, since gender roles portray girls to be sociable. The article also found that the social demands were placed differently on boys than on girls.
Dean, M., Kasari, C., Shih, W., Frankel, F., Whitney, R., Landa, R., & ... Harwood, R. (2014). The peer relationships of girls with ASD at school: Comparison to boys and girls with and without ASD. Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry, 55(11), 1218-1225. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12242
What I found most interesting about your research is that an ASD diagnosis did not seem to play any role in peer relationships. I like to think children prior to adolescence are innocent enough to just be accepting of whomever is willing to play with them. I think the same gender has more to do with their age group than their diagnoses or lack thereof. It is encouraging to see that children diagnosed with ASD can socialize and form relationships with their peers just the same.
Toria, I found it really interesting that ASD didn't affect relationships with peers. Upon, looking at the age group I saw that they were 6-7. Children at this time aren't very judgmental, due to the fact that they are seeking acceptance. It is an easy time to make friends at this age. I can only help but wonder if the age was 12-13 if the results would be different. At the point in a child's life they are more judgmental.
I agree with Regan, I wonder what the difference is in those who are closer to 12-13. I feel like at such a young age children don't notice differences as easily and are more accepting and naive. I would like to see the results of a study of older children. I would hope they would be equally accepting.
During this chapter, I was really interested in the accompanying disorders for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I wasn't shocked that Intellectual Disorders (ID) was one, but that epilepsy was. My mom is epileptic, so I like learning about it. She had them a lot while I was growing up, but it has been several years since she has had one. Anyway, I wonder exactly what rate of ASD individuals do have epilepsy, or mainly how much do these two relate to each other?
This study I found had two cohorts. Cohort 1 was patients that were newly diagnosed ASD, excluding those diagnosed with epilepsy prior to ASD. Cohort 2 was newly diagnosed epilepsy, excluding those diagnosed with ASD before epilepsy. Lastly, there was also a non-ASD epileptic group that was measured. Researchers gathered and calculated incidence of epilepsy in patients with ASD and then made hazard ratio (HR) to estimate risk of epilepsy in association. In cohort 1, incidence of epilepsy was 13.7 in ASD and 1.3 in non-ASD (adjusted HR being 8.4 in ASD when compared to non-ASD). In cohort 2, incidence of ASD in epilepsy was 3.4 in epilepsy group and .3 in non-epilepsy. This HR was also 8.4, proving there are very common characteristics between ASD and epilepsy.
Su, C., Chi, M. H., Lin, S., & Yang, Y. K. (2016). Bidirectional association between autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy in child and adolescent patients: A population-based cohort study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 25(9), 979-987. doi:10.1007/s00787-016-0817-6
Morgan, I found this topic to be really interesting. It only makes me wonder how much ASD plays into epilepsy. I wonder if ASD onsets epilepsy or vice versa, and how this research would be conducted. I'm also really glad to hear that your mom hasn't has an epileptic episode in several years. Modern medicine is an awesome think, and I can only hope that a link can eventually be found to prevent seizures altogether for these people.
I think its very interesting that epilepsy was comorbid with ASD. Do they know what causes the comorbidity between the two? I think this is something that definitely should be researched more, since I have never heard of the two being comorbid. Also, are there any other disorders that you found that shared an unusual comorbidity with ASD?
After reading this chapter, I could only help but wonder if people with ASD suffer from suicide contemplation. With the inability to properly communicate I can image how daily life would seem impossible. Also, people can be cruel to people who may be a little different so I can assume that bullying takes place. People with autism are also more likely to be physically and sexually abused. All these factors can only lead me to believe that suicide contemplation in ASD diagnosed people is more common than not.
I found a study that complied information from PubMed and Psychinfo for research on ASD and suicide. They found that suicide in people with ASD is largely under studied. Although suicide can be common in clinical patients there is rarely information available about the general public. It is suggested that suicide happens more frequently in clinical samples. Physical or sexual abuse, bullying, and changes in daily routine are all events associated with suicide risks for people with ASD. Individuals with ASD present risk factors from their diagnosis of ASD along with risk factors from the general public. The inability to express emotions and thoughts makes suicidal ideation difficult. Overall, more research needs to be done to determine suicidal behaviors in individuals with ASD.
Richa, S., Fahed, M., Khoury, E., & Mishara, B. (2014). Suicide in autism spectrum disorders. Archives Of Suicide Research, 18(4), 327-339. doi:10.1080/13811118.2013.824834
Regan, You brought up a great matter in your post. I am shocked to see that there was not been a lot of research done on suicide in those with ASD. Now, I wonder if the studies done have been on adults only or children with ASD. Bullying is increasing and I can also assume it happens to those with ASD as well. Great topic to bring up and maybe there will be more research done in the future on this.
Good Post! I liked your question, its something I never really thought about. Like you said in your post, people with ASD have alot of risk factors for suicide in these individuals.. All of the factors bullying, abuse, and changes in routine are all common among ASD individuals, so I was surprised that there isn't much data and agree that more research is needed.
I have never thought about ASD and suicide. With the people I work with, I never even questioned if they have thought about suicide. I can see how it is hard to research because I would think their disorder and being unable to differentiate emotion expression would add a layer of difficulty to the research. It is definitely something to look into and find out more about so we can help individuals with ASD.
Regan, Great read! Like Megan, I never thought to consider ASD and suicide having a relationship. However, it made total sense that those living with ASD can be put at a greater risk for suicide because of all the challenges they have to live with. It was a shame that so little research has been done on this topic, and I feel that it would be beneficial to the ASD community if more knowledge was presented on suicidal risks. In my opinion, anyone having suicidal idealization is saddening, and as a psychological community, we should always do our best to prevent suicide. This includes within the ASD community. More research needs to be done on how any form of suicide idealization in individuals with ASD can be prevented and treated.
In addition to my response: I'm not sure if "psychological community" was the best phrase to use in my response post, so please refrain from any judgment. Thanks!
That's a great question to ask. I am also pretty shocked that not a lot of research has been done over it. I feel like it would have been the opposite with there being plenty of research. It is however quite sad that people with ASD do have a harder time dealing with anything than others and that most people don't understand what they're going through.
Your post was very interesting and well thought-out. I think that it is certainly understudied since it is a spectrum disorder in which the symptoms may be greater in some individuals while hard to notice in others. With that being said, I think that there will be some cases of individuals in which autism will greatly impair their ability to communicate but it also makes me think if they actually know what suicide is since it may not be something that they have learned about or can't process in their minds. Overall, it would be interesting to see how individuals with different severity of autism would response to a questionnaire about life satisfaction and see what their opinions are on that. Overall, good discussion!
After reading through the textbook chapter about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), I was intrigued by the significant amount of stress thrust upon autistic children. Difficulty in emotion recognition can lead to communication and social interaction problems, which can be extremely frustrating for a child. Accordingly, this summer I learned more about animal therapy (through an internship course), such as equine therapy and animal assisted therapy, and how animal therapy can be uniquely beneficial to autistic children. With this in mind, I began to think about my pet dog and how it helps me cope with daily life stress. I began to wonder: Can owning a pet dog (in contrast to a therapy dog) be beneficial to a child with autism?
A significantly small amount of research has been done over the effects of owning a pet on children with autism (i.e. variations in child’s behavior in the presence of a pet dog). One of the first research studies on the subject reviewed how a pet dog can impact an autistic child’s adaptability, social skills, and conflict management. Results indicated that the impact of a pet dog’s influence on an autistic child is largely determined by a child’s individual characteristics. Explicitly, a child’s adaptability advanced in the presence of a dog, but specifically in those who had also been in contact with horses. It was discussed that exposure to several types of animals could be particularly advantageous. Older autistic children showed improved social skills in the presence of a pet dog, especially children around eight years old. Finally, conflict management was greater (in the presence of a pet dog) in older children who had more developed language capabilities and had owned a dog previously. This study implicates that a pet dog can have positive effects on an autistic child, but the effects are largely dependent on the child’s unique characteristics. More research in this area would be extremely useful for autistic children and their families, as it could potentially ease some of their daily stressors.
Hall, S. S., Wright, H. F., & Mills, D. S. (2016, February 19). What factors are associated with positive effects of dog ownership in families with children with autism spectrum disorder? The development of the lincoln autism pet dog impact scale. PLoS ONE, 11(2), 1-19. Retrieved November 2, 2016, from PsycINFO.
I found your post intriguing. I know that therapy animals are often used in retirement homes and hospitals. Over the past few summers I have volunteered in a hospital in the inpatient therapy unit, and the therapy dogs would come a couple times a month to provide companionship to the patients. Some of these patients spoke a foreign language and could not communicate effectively with anyone in the hospital. The therapy dogs brought joy to most of the patients, but I noticed that they brought a significant amount of comfort to those patients who couldn't communicate with others due to a language barrier. Because of this, I can see how owning an animal to provide companionship would be beneficial for children with ASD. Thank you for sharing!
I really liked your idea of how owning a pet could help these children. I think that it would certainly be beneficial for children with autism to have a pet since their stress level could definitely improve. Children with autism could definitely bond with other children since children always want to pet dogs and can definitely bond with others while playing with pets! Overall I think that a good experiment would be to find a sample of autistic children and get a base salivary stress sample and follow the children in a longitudinal study to see how much their stress has changed over time. I think that a diary with entries of how the child is feeling would also be convenient to see what kind of emotions are felt throughout the study and to see how well does owning a pet benefit a child.
Communication impairments are part of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), thus having parents figure out a way to teach the child how to communicate,in some cases in the form of American Sign Language (ASL). I have also read about the parent-child, and/or family relationships during this chapter. One question that I have is that, with older siblings, how could one benefit in communication with having older siblings?
I read that a study was done to see how communication impairment in a child with ASD was impacted by having an older sibling. In a study completed at an Autism Center, two groups were given standardized tests, one group of children with ASD that had no older siblings, and the other group of children with ASD that had typically developing older siblings. Results indicated that the social-deficits and non-verbal communication deficits were less severe than those without siblings.
With this we could imply that a child with ASD who has an older sibling has more opportunity to have social interactions than those with ASD who don't have siblings. Now, unfortunately, not all children with ASD, just as in the study, will have older typically developing siblings. This could possibly be a motive to create a program just as "Big Brothers, Big Sisters" to help the non-verbal and social deficits in children with ASD.
Ben-Itzchak, E., Zukerman, G., & Zachor, D. A. (2016). Having older siblings is associated with less severe social communication symptoms in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal Of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44(8), 1613-1620. doi:10.1007/s10802-016-0133-0. Retrieved November 2, 2016, from PsycInfo
Good Post! Its a good idea you came up with, a big brother/sister program for kids with ASD. I also was not surprised that someone with an older sibling had less communication deficits. Having that sibling relationship would allow for more communication and even teaching by the sibling. It would be interesting to see how much a big brother/sister program would postively effect someone with ASD w/o a sibling.
Intersting post! I could see how having an older sibling could help the socializing impairment. If you are around someone who is developing well for their age, it provides a good role-model so to speak. Overall great post! I am interested to look into more studies done on this! I wonder if there are any confounding variables.
At first, when reading this chapter, I didn’t understand why autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) were grouped together. My initial understanding of both disorders was separate and very distinct from one another but as I was reading I saw some similarities between the two. My question is how do these two disorder overlap? And does the comorbidity lead with one, while ending with another? Or visa versa I found that each disorder have shared clinical, and neurophysiological features. “Social withdrawal, communication impairment, and poor eye contact seen in ASD are similar to the negative symptoms seen in youths with schizophrenia” (Divir & Frazier 2011). While a child with ASD become distressed, they might become paranoid, which is similar to the psychosis characteristics of COS. These similar characteristics of comorbidity and development were used in the term “ multiple complex developmental disorders (MCDD)” (Divir & Frazier 2011). Some similar neurophysiological features are lower gray matter volume within limbic-striato-thalamic neurocircuity. While both ASD and COS have similar accelerated brain development, the difference is the on set of this, which coincides with the on set of each disorder. In conclusion ASD and COS overlap in many different features, making them comorbid to each other, but ones disorder does not lead to another and vise versa. This makes it possible for an individual to have both ASD and COS, which is all the more reason to continue research and further investigate specific differences.
Dvir, Y., & Frazier, J.A. (2011) Autism and schizophrenia: what are the connections? Psychiatric times, 28(3), 34-35. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.lib-e2.lib.ttu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?sid=0b110932-2989-456a-aaf3-629043a147df%40sessionmgr101&vid=0&hid=114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=510998764&db=ofm
Kyleigh, I found your post to be very interesting. I, too, always thought the disorders would be separate. I loved being able to learn the overlap between the disorders. It will be important to continue research and distinguish between the two and better help each disorder! Thanks for the great read!!
Kyleigh, This is interesting! I always thought schizophrenia and ASD were two different disorders, mainly because of how the focus of schizophrenia is mainly on adults and not children. Now it's understandable why Autism is not just it's own disorder but is now on a spectrum and can include all of these other disorders within it. I think it makes diagnosing multiple disorders easier.
Reading through the chapter and the comments, I began to wonder since peer relationships can be important towards individuals with ASD is there a way to improve social skills in those children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder? In the article I found it talks about a self-management training program. It is one that they have "extensively researched behavior change intervention procedures for children with ASD."Self-management is the "use of operant techniques to produce socially desired change in one's own behaviour." Several researchers have reported a great number of success in using this method. The method can consist of discrimination training, role playing, and feedback on appropriate and inappropriate behavior. In the article they did an experiment with a young girl by recording her in different environments, having different people there to show her what is right and wrong and giving her candy she enjoyed as a reinforcement. The intervention they did with the self-management was considered effective in improving her social skills in the end.
Since relationships can really make or break any child even those without any disorder. It was really good to see that there are ways that those with a disorder can improve their social skills and that there are people there to help them along that path.
Liu, Y., Moore, D. W., & Anderson, A. (2015). Improving social skills in a child with autism spectrum disorder through self-management training. Behaviour Change, 32(4), 273-284. doi:10.1017/bec.2015.14
Heather, I find this very interesting because it is proactive. Many childhood disorders including ASD have the similar characteristic of social deficiencies, which create peer relationship problems, and research like this improves these skills. I believe the world need to do more research like these, that can be applied to improve disorders.
Heather, I agree with you in that peer relationships are a major factor in any growing individual's life and how those relationships may be different for children with ASD. Your research made me wonder at what age do you begin a child with ASD in self-management training programs? Can you do it while they're still young so they're prepared for middle school/HS, or do you have to wait to see how their social skills may develop normally. Overall, I think its nice to see programs focusing on how to help kids develop socially and with the right techniques.
While reading the chapter, I became curious if any treatment could significantly help lower stress and anxiety in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder while also helping them with social interactions!
I came across an article that said dogs are beneficial for children during therapy. The study went researched whether trained dogs in a family environment would also help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. They compared similar families that were getting a dog and not getting a dog before, during intervention, and afterwards. Their study found that the families that acquired dogs had a significant improvement of family functioning and lowered the children's anxiety levels.
The fact that dogs can have such an impact on people is astounding! They help those with all sorts of disorders and just help provide companionship in general. Families with a child on the spectrum are more likely to divorce due to stress. The fact that trained dogs can help family improvement and lower anxiety in children with ASD is a big step. They've also been known to improve the child's independence and can also help keep them safe. The only downside I can see of this treatment is the cost of the trained dog and the money to take care of it as well. Other than that, dogs are wonderful animals and will continue helping so many people, physically and emotionally!
Wright, H., Hall, S., Hames, A., Hardiman, J., Mills, R., & Mills, D. (2015). Pet dogs improve family functioning and reduce anxiety in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Anthrozoös, 28(4), 611-624. doi:10.1080/08927936.2015.1070003
Great post! I read another post above about a similar topic. That study found that a wide array of animals can provide the same benefit for children with ASD. The study specifically studied how horses and dogs affected the children with ASD. They found that exposure to multiple animals provides more benefits to children with ASD than just one animal would provide. I agree that training an animal for this would be expensive, but I wonder if owning a pet dog (untrained for children with ASD) would provide the same benefits. Thanks for sharing!
Lauren, I enjoyed reading your post! At first when I think about therapy animals for children with ASD I think of horses as Rachel said above! But to learn that dogs as well produce great benefits when working with these children brought me great joy. I also like how you mentioned that not only does the the stress decrease in the child but also in the family and that is important because I think a lot of parents with ASD kids may think a pet would cause more stress to take care of but in reality they help the family all around.
When reading the chapter about Autism spectrum disorders in are chapter. It related with me because I work at a rec center back home and some of the kids have autism. When interacting with them at first I didn't understand some of their actions. One child for example would carry around a schedule and was very repetitive, would ask me the same questions over and over. I was very shocked to learn that he drove and got really good grades. This made me curious if everyone that had autism was intelligent.
I found research that looked into the intelligence of kids/teens with autism. I previously thought that autism was related to below average intelligence. I found out that most people with autism have a very high IQ. There brain develops faster and grows larger than normal people. There are alot of area's that people with autism excel in more than average people. However in most cases these advanced characteristics lead to imbalanced intelligence and co morbidities to other disorders. I think more research needs to be done to look into autism intelligence and how their brain functions.
Crespi, B. J. (2016). Autism As a Disorder of High Intelligence. Frontiers In Neuroscience, 1-17. doi:10.3389/fnins.2016.00300
Shawn- Interesting topic! I also assumed autism was correlated to low IQ so it was cool to see how actually they are very intelligent! I am also intrigued to look into more research on this. I am so fascinated by the brain so looking at comparisons would be super cool!
Shawn, I also find this amazing. While some might view ASD characteristics as deficits, in reality the characteristics are a result of surplus of brain development. I wonder if the fast development of the brain neglected some neurophysiological detail, maybe explaining their sensitivity to certain aspects of stimulation.
While reading the chapter I began to wonder if women who take depression medicine during their pregnancy can cause ASD. I found an article that conducted a study.
The study that was done looked at mothers who were using antidepressant drugs. It was concluded that there was a correlation between drug use and ASD. Although the risk was low, there was an increase in likelihood (especially if taken during the first trimester) of having children who have autism.
I found these results very interesting. I know that certain drugs and substances can affect mothers and their babies but I didn't think that antidepressant drugs could cause damage to the fetus. I am intrigued to see if there are more studies to see where on the spectrum the babies who were exposed to antidepressants land.
Croen, L. A., Grether, J. K., Yoshida, C. K., Odouli, R., & Hendrick, V. (2011). Antidepressant use during pregnancy and childhood autism spectrum disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(11), 1104–1112. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.73
Christina, I never thought of how antidepressants could affect children in the fetus. I knew there were side effects, just not specifically. This is interesting, because the medicine has to help with the mother's mental health, but can cause a mental disability in her child. I wonder if the mother took them before she knew she was pregnant and then stopped just a couple of weeks or a month into her pregnancy; whether the child could still have ASD.
Recently, I had seen a video of a couple, who both had mental disabilities, discussing their love for one another and their plans to have children. I'm not for sure what they were diagnosed with, but it was clear that there was intellectual disability. This video as well as an experience I had volunteering to help the special needs classes in gym in the morning made me curious about sexuality among those with ASD. There was this one boy who always had his hand down his pants. We had to repeatedly ask him to stop touching himself. I wanted to research if this was a common thing.
I stumbled upon the article "Sexual Behavior in High-Functioning Male Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder". It turns out that sexuality among these individuals is actually a major concern and problem that parents often seek help for. It is very common that individuals with ASD display sexual interest, the problem lies with how they act on these desires. It is often the case that masturbation takes place in the presence of other people, masturbation leads to mutilation, use of unusual objects, and hypermasturbation.
Majority of the people in the study had a high interest in sexual behavior, but did not know how to perform. Some even had to be taught how to masturbate. (Yes I am aware of how graphic this is, sorry for anyone offended). It was also common that typical ASD symptoms such as fixation and repetition were present during their acts.
Forgot my citation: Hellemans, H., Colson, K., Verbraeken, C., Vermeiren, R., & Deboutte, D. (2006). Sexual Behavior in High-Functioning Male Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(2), 260-269. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0159-1
I actually found this really interesting. I took a human sexual behavior class a few semesters ago, but we never talked about adolescents with ASD. Did the article say anything about teaching adolescents with ASD about safe sex practices, including masturbation? I find it awful that their masturbation leads to mutilation. Is there any way that people can teach them a safe way to masturbate?
Outside of psychology, I study American Sign Language (ASL). Other than ASL being used as a way for the deaf to communicate, there is recent research suggesting positive outcomes from teaching non-verbal autistic children ASL as a way to communicate. My question is, are non-verbal autistic children able to use ASL as a form of structured communication or is it only understood on the lexical level? In other words, how effective is teaching non-verbal autistic children ASL?
ReplyDeleteResearch in this area is fairly new. Failure to develop language skills in the left frontal cortex of the brain is considered a property of autism. This can be severe enough that they may be unable to develop any spoken language skill. ASL utilizes the right frontal cortex, making it possible to teach these children ASL. Researchers gave ASL lessons to over 100 non-verbal autistic children. Not only were these children able to learn the signs and retain their meanings, but children were able to combine signs to form complete sentences in ASL. It was obvious to the researches that connections between signs and objects were being made which showed that the children were fully understanding the concepts. The learning of the language improved their adaptive behaviors and some were able to begin speech training with success. Overall, this study showed that ASL can give non-verbal a language. Children can understand the words, concepts, and the structure of the language. I would like to know if this has a lot to do with the difference in cortex usage between spoken and signed language.
Bonvillian, J.D., Nelson, K.E. & Rhyne, J.M. J (1981)Autism Dev Disord
Hey Alex!
DeleteI loved reading your post- I also study ASL! I always wondered what brain region involved ASL. I am glad that it is proven to be successful, so that communication is improved with autistic children as struggling with communication can cause frustration.
Good job!
Alex-Marie,
DeleteI loved your post! The topic was interesting, and the post was very well-written. This specific research is fascinating because simply teaching these children ASL has to completely transform their quality of life and the lives of their families. That is so inspiring! I wonder if the practice of teaching non-verbal autistic children ASL will become a widely, routinely used practice. I also wonder if it is more difficult to teach ASL to non-verbal autistic adults when compared with non-verbal autistic children. This was a great post!
Erin Cameron
Hi Alex-Marie,
DeleteI loved your post and agree that there should be more research between ASL and non-verbal communication in children with ASD. My cousin was diagnosed with ASD since he was a toddler and has never been able to verbally communicate with us. Thankfully with ASL, he has started to learn how to sign to non-verbally communicate. I would think it would be neat to create a program for parents/families with children with ASD who speak non-verbally to be able to learn ASL. This would create a better communication barrier, giving less stress on parents. Great and inspiring post!
Alex-Marie,
DeleteThis was such an interesting post because I would have never thought about teaching ASL to autistic children to help them communicate. I have know many autistic kids and I see how their verbal skills are not that strong and sometimes they have a really hard time communication what they want and what they are feeling. But by teaching them sign language, these kids will be able to communicate a lot better and with more people. This was a great post!
I 100% wish I had studied ASL!! I still might one day! I work at ace hardware and I have a deaf customer who comes in regularly and I wish I could sign to him! Anyways, it's great that kids can still learn sign language since it uses another part of the brain! I think it is very important to be able to communicate somehow with someone!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI also study ASL! I started in high school while at the time I was a nanny for a nonverbal child who was on the autism spectrum. The only way he had of communicating besides grunting, was by using sign! He was able to tell me yes and no, and ask for food and drinks. He didn't know a ton, but he knew the basics to get him through the day which was great and so helpful. I'm not sure how I would have gotten him what he needed without it.
DeleteHi Alex, that is a really interesting post. I think that American Sign Language is a great way to help those who are non-verbal. I feel besides the obvious leaps that ASL would make in their communication abilities, being able to communicate effectively will most likely reduce their stress and their care givers stress. I think that ASL could also improve social interactions and build the skills required for that.
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex,
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool! I also am enrolled in ASL, but I didn't know the brain regions in use were different. This could be incredibly helpful for parents and peers as well and help lessen the frustration (and possible extended problems) inherent in having a child you can't communicate with. That could relate to lower rates of abuse and bullying among children with ASD too.
One of my populations of interest in research is military families and veterans, so I was interested in how the intersection of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder and its inherent challenges might mess with the intrinsic lack of routine of a military lifestyle. A 2015 study by Davis & Finke collected qualitative data from parents of military families who had children with diagnosed ASD. Specifically, military spouses cited "relocation" as a primary source of problems in the context of their children with ASD--which makes sense, considering that moving would disrupt most of any routine an ASD child may depend on. Non-deployed spouses also mentioned the difficulty of separation and return of a deployed parent, both for the parent and for the children's routine. Further, most parents discussed limited or delayed resources, with some blaming government bureaucracy, to restart treatment or interventions in their new homes. The authors use this to discuss important options for military families that have children with autism spectrum disorder and how the gap in resources might be rectified. However, I'm interested in how sibling relationships, especially older/caregiving ones, might either be a mediating or exacerbating factor in these problems--potentially taking some pressure off parents, but also creating further issues of their own.
ReplyDeleteDavis, J. M., & Finke, E. H. (2015). The experience of military families with children with autism spectrum disorders during relocation and separation. Journal Of Autism And Developmental Disorders, 45(7), 2019-2034. doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2364-2
Elyssa,
DeleteI agree with your statement that it makes sense military families would relocate with their children of ASD. I was shocked to read the part that they had lack of/limited/delay of resources for treatments or interventions in homes. I hope in the future that is something that could be worked on.
Elyssa,
DeleteThis was a really interesting topic. I have honestly never really considered this subject matter. I am quite surprised military families do not have more resources if their child is diagnosed ASD. The military tends to be decent when it comes to education and health benefits, but ASD can require intense and therefore expensive treatment. I imagine the moving around is hard on the child as well since socializing is already rough on a child with ASD. I would like to know how the children with ASD in military families adjust to their new environments from the child's perspective.
Elyssa,
DeleteThis post is so interesting! I was born into a military family myself so this is particularly intriguing to me. I know from experience that the constant relocation and inconsistent presence of a military parent can be very difficult for most children; therefore, I cannot imagine the impact it must have on an autistic child. I also like how you brought up the point about a sibling being a potential factor, because I have an older sibling and can definitely see that being an impactful factor. I also wonder how the warmth/rejection of the other, nonmilitary parent could specifically impact an autistic child. Overall, this was a great post!
Erin Cameron
Hi Elyssa, that was a really interesting post. I have never thought about the effect that livin in a military family would have on a child with ASD. It seems that there is still a need for research in this area as well as more allocation of resources toward families with children with ASD in the military. Perhaps there could be on base therapist to help children adapt to their new home as well as to their parent who they might not see often.
DeleteElyssa,
DeleteI found your post very interesting because I myself am from a military family. I have moved over 15 times and honestly loved the experience. However, I never thought about how it would be for a child with autism. Moving was easy for me because I am pretty social and would join a team to make friends. But a child with autism would not be able to do that so the transition would be a lot harder. I really hope these families are able to get the help and care they need. Very good post.
Elyssa,
DeleteYour blog post was very interesting. I liked how you considered different family lifestyles and how they can affect a child living with ASD. ASD can be a very difficult disorder to live with, not to mention the added difficulties that come along with being in a military family. The constant change and lack of a consistent lifestyle are not things that would benefit a child with this disorder. I wonder if there are any programs available that can help military families of children with ASD cope and adjust. Perhaps communities could offer support groups for these children. That way during the duration of their family's stay in that location, they can form strong relationships to help them cope with the change.
While reading the chapter, I became interested in peer relationships for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I think forming peer relationships is important for children with ASD because sometimes a child may just want a friend. I was curious to see if there were any articles that examined peer relationships according to gender in children with ASD.
ReplyDeleteThe article I found split the children into four groups: boys with and without ASD and girls with and with out ASD. There were 100 participants, 25 in each group. The average age of the children was 7.6. Children were then randomly assigned to play with one another according to gender and then not according to gender. They were also asked to fill out the friendship survey, which had questions about social preferences, social acceptance, social connections, group salience, reciprocal friendship, and rejection. There were many things that the article found. One was that all children preferred same-gender friends, as well as felt accepted and socially connected to same-gender friends. I did not find this result surprising at all. It was interesting that social challenges were equal for boys and girls with ASD, since gender roles portray girls to be sociable. The article also found that the social demands were placed differently on boys than on girls.
Dean, M., Kasari, C., Shih, W., Frankel, F., Whitney, R., Landa, R., & ... Harwood, R. (2014). The peer relationships of girls with ASD at school: Comparison to boys and girls with and without ASD. Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry, 55(11), 1218-1225. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12242
What I found most interesting about your research is that an ASD diagnosis did not seem to play any role in peer relationships. I like to think children prior to adolescence are innocent enough to just be accepting of whomever is willing to play with them. I think the same gender has more to do with their age group than their diagnoses or lack thereof. It is encouraging to see that children diagnosed with ASD can socialize and form relationships with their peers just the same.
DeleteToria, I found it really interesting that ASD didn't affect relationships with peers. Upon, looking at the age group I saw that they were 6-7. Children at this time aren't very judgmental, due to the fact that they are seeking acceptance. It is an easy time to make friends at this age. I can only help but wonder if the age was 12-13 if the results would be different. At the point in a child's life they are more judgmental.
DeleteI agree with Regan, I wonder what the difference is in those who are closer to 12-13. I feel like at such a young age children don't notice differences as easily and are more accepting and naive. I would like to see the results of a study of older children. I would hope they would be equally accepting.
DeleteDuring this chapter, I was really interested in the accompanying disorders for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I wasn't shocked that Intellectual Disorders (ID) was one, but that epilepsy was. My mom is epileptic, so I like learning about it. She had them a lot while I was growing up, but it has been several years since she has had one. Anyway, I wonder exactly what rate of ASD individuals do have epilepsy, or mainly how much do these two relate to each other?
ReplyDeleteThis study I found had two cohorts. Cohort 1 was patients that were newly diagnosed ASD, excluding those diagnosed with epilepsy prior to ASD. Cohort 2 was newly diagnosed epilepsy, excluding those diagnosed with ASD before epilepsy. Lastly, there was also a non-ASD epileptic group that was measured. Researchers gathered and calculated incidence of epilepsy in patients with ASD and then made hazard ratio (HR) to estimate risk of epilepsy in association. In cohort 1, incidence of epilepsy was 13.7 in ASD and 1.3 in non-ASD (adjusted HR being 8.4 in ASD when compared to non-ASD). In cohort 2, incidence of ASD in epilepsy was 3.4 in epilepsy group and .3 in non-epilepsy. This HR was also 8.4, proving there are very common characteristics between ASD and epilepsy.
Su, C., Chi, M. H., Lin, S., & Yang, Y. K. (2016). Bidirectional association between autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy in child and adolescent patients: A population-based cohort study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 25(9), 979-987. doi:10.1007/s00787-016-0817-6
Morgan,
DeleteI found this topic to be really interesting. It only makes me wonder how much ASD plays into epilepsy. I wonder if ASD onsets epilepsy or vice versa, and how this research would be conducted. I'm also really glad to hear that your mom hasn't has an epileptic episode in several years. Modern medicine is an awesome think, and I can only hope that a link can eventually be found to prevent seizures altogether for these people.
Morgan,
DeleteI think its very interesting that epilepsy was comorbid with ASD. Do they know what causes the comorbidity between the two? I think this is something that definitely should be researched more, since I have never heard of the two being comorbid. Also, are there any other disorders that you found that shared an unusual comorbidity with ASD?
After reading this chapter, I could only help but wonder if people with ASD suffer from suicide contemplation. With the inability to properly communicate I can image how daily life would seem impossible. Also, people can be cruel to people who may be a little different so I can assume that bullying takes place. People with autism are also more likely to be physically and sexually abused. All these factors can only lead me to believe that suicide contemplation in ASD diagnosed people is more common than not.
ReplyDeleteI found a study that complied information from PubMed and Psychinfo for research on ASD and suicide. They found that suicide in people with ASD is largely under studied. Although suicide can be common in clinical patients there is rarely information available about the general public. It is suggested that suicide happens more frequently in clinical samples. Physical or sexual abuse, bullying, and changes in daily routine are all events associated with suicide risks for people with ASD. Individuals with ASD present risk factors from their diagnosis of ASD along with risk factors from the general public. The inability to express emotions and thoughts makes suicidal ideation difficult. Overall, more research needs to be done to determine suicidal behaviors in individuals with ASD.
Richa, S., Fahed, M., Khoury, E., & Mishara, B. (2014). Suicide in autism spectrum disorders. Archives Of Suicide Research, 18(4), 327-339. doi:10.1080/13811118.2013.824834
Regan,
DeleteYou brought up a great matter in your post. I am shocked to see that there was not been a lot of research done on suicide in those with ASD. Now, I wonder if the studies done have been on adults only or children with ASD. Bullying is increasing and I can also assume it happens to those with ASD as well.
Great topic to bring up and maybe there will be more research done in the future on this.
Good Post! I liked your question, its something I never really thought about. Like you said in your post, people with ASD have alot of risk factors for suicide in these individuals.. All of the factors bullying, abuse, and changes in routine are all common among ASD individuals, so I was surprised that there isn't much data and agree that more research is needed.
DeleteI have never thought about ASD and suicide. With the people I work with, I never even questioned if they have thought about suicide. I can see how it is hard to research because I would think their disorder and being unable to differentiate emotion expression would add a layer of difficulty to the research. It is definitely something to look into and find out more about so we can help individuals with ASD.
DeleteRegan,
DeleteGreat read! Like Megan, I never thought to consider ASD and suicide having a relationship. However, it made total sense that those living with ASD can be put at a greater risk for suicide because of all the challenges they have to live with. It was a shame that so little research has been done on this topic, and I feel that it would be beneficial to the ASD community if more knowledge was presented on suicidal risks. In my opinion, anyone having suicidal idealization is saddening, and as a psychological community, we should always do our best to prevent suicide. This includes within the ASD community. More research needs to be done on how any form of suicide idealization in individuals with ASD can be prevented and treated.
In addition to my response: I'm not sure if "psychological community" was the best phrase to use in my response post, so please refrain from any judgment. Thanks!
DeleteThat's a great question to ask. I am also pretty shocked that not a lot of research has been done over it. I feel like it would have been the opposite with there being plenty of research. It is however quite sad that people with ASD do have a harder time dealing with anything than others and that most people don't understand what they're going through.
DeleteHello Regan,
DeleteYour post was very interesting and well thought-out. I think that it is certainly understudied since it is a spectrum disorder in which the symptoms may be greater in some individuals while hard to notice in others. With that being said, I think that there will be some cases of individuals in which autism will greatly impair their ability to communicate but it also makes me think if they actually know what suicide is since it may not be something that they have learned about or can't process in their minds. Overall, it would be interesting to see how individuals with different severity of autism would response to a questionnaire about life satisfaction and see what their opinions are on that.
Overall, good discussion!
After reading through the textbook chapter about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), I was intrigued by the significant amount of stress thrust upon autistic children. Difficulty in emotion recognition can lead to communication and social interaction problems, which can be extremely frustrating for a child. Accordingly, this summer I learned more about animal therapy (through an internship course), such as equine therapy and animal assisted therapy, and how animal therapy can be uniquely beneficial to autistic children. With this in mind, I began to think about my pet dog and how it helps me cope with daily life stress. I began to wonder: Can owning a pet dog (in contrast to a therapy dog) be beneficial to a child with autism?
ReplyDeleteA significantly small amount of research has been done over the effects of owning a pet on children with autism (i.e. variations in child’s behavior in the presence of a pet dog). One of the first research studies on the subject reviewed how a pet dog can impact an autistic child’s adaptability, social skills, and conflict management. Results indicated that the impact of a pet dog’s influence on an autistic child is largely determined by a child’s individual characteristics. Explicitly, a child’s adaptability advanced in the presence of a dog, but specifically in those who had also been in contact with horses. It was discussed that exposure to several types of animals could be particularly advantageous. Older autistic children showed improved social skills in the presence of a pet dog, especially children around eight years old. Finally, conflict management was greater (in the presence of a pet dog) in older children who had more developed language capabilities and had owned a dog previously. This study implicates that a pet dog can have positive effects on an autistic child, but the effects are largely dependent on the child’s unique characteristics. More research in this area would be extremely useful for autistic children and their families, as it could potentially ease some of their daily stressors.
Hall, S. S., Wright, H. F., & Mills, D. S. (2016, February 19). What factors are associated with positive effects of dog ownership in families with children with autism spectrum disorder? The development of the lincoln autism pet dog impact scale. PLoS ONE, 11(2), 1-19. Retrieved November 2, 2016, from PsycINFO.
Erin,
DeleteI found your post intriguing. I know that therapy animals are often used in retirement homes and hospitals. Over the past few summers I have volunteered in a hospital in the inpatient therapy unit, and the therapy dogs would come a couple times a month to provide companionship to the patients. Some of these patients spoke a foreign language and could not communicate effectively with anyone in the hospital. The therapy dogs brought joy to most of the patients, but I noticed that they brought a significant amount of comfort to those patients who couldn't communicate with others due to a language barrier. Because of this, I can see how owning an animal to provide companionship would be beneficial for children with ASD. Thank you for sharing!
Erin,
DeleteI really liked your idea of how owning a pet could help these children. I think that it would certainly be beneficial for children with autism to have a pet since their stress level could definitely improve. Children with autism could definitely bond with other children since children always want to pet dogs and can definitely bond with others while playing with pets! Overall I think that a good experiment would be to find a sample of autistic children and get a base salivary stress sample and follow the children in a longitudinal study to see how much their stress has changed over time. I think that a diary with entries of how the child is feeling would also be convenient to see what kind of emotions are felt throughout the study and to see how well does owning a pet benefit a child.
Overall, your post was great!
Communication impairments are part of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), thus having parents figure out a way to teach the child how to communicate,in some cases in the form of American Sign Language (ASL). I have also read about the parent-child, and/or family relationships during this chapter. One question that I have is that, with older siblings, how could one benefit in communication with having older siblings?
ReplyDeleteI read that a study was done to see how communication impairment in a child with ASD was impacted by having an older sibling. In a study completed at an Autism Center, two groups were given standardized tests, one group of children with ASD that had no older siblings, and the other group of children with ASD that had typically developing older siblings. Results indicated that the social-deficits and non-verbal communication deficits were less severe than those without siblings.
With this we could imply that a child with ASD who has an older sibling has more opportunity to have social interactions than those with ASD who don't have siblings. Now, unfortunately, not all children with ASD, just as in the study, will have older typically developing siblings. This could possibly be a motive to create a program just as "Big Brothers, Big Sisters" to help the non-verbal and social deficits in children with ASD.
Ben-Itzchak, E., Zukerman, G., & Zachor, D. A. (2016). Having older siblings is associated with less severe social communication symptoms in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal Of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44(8), 1613-1620. doi:10.1007/s10802-016-0133-0. Retrieved November 2, 2016, from PsycInfo
Good Post! Its a good idea you came up with, a big brother/sister program for kids with ASD. I also was not surprised that someone with an older sibling had less communication deficits. Having that sibling relationship would allow for more communication and even teaching by the sibling. It would be interesting to see how much a big brother/sister program would postively effect someone with ASD w/o a sibling.
DeleteIntersting post! I could see how having an older sibling could help the socializing impairment. If you are around someone who is developing well for their age, it provides a good role-model so to speak. Overall great post! I am interested to look into more studies done on this! I wonder if there are any confounding variables.
DeleteAt first, when reading this chapter, I didn’t understand why autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) were grouped together. My initial understanding of both disorders was separate and very distinct from one another but as I was reading I saw some similarities between the two. My question is how do these two disorder overlap? And does the comorbidity lead with one, while ending with another? Or visa versa
ReplyDeleteI found that each disorder have shared clinical, and neurophysiological features. “Social withdrawal, communication impairment, and poor eye contact seen in ASD are similar to the negative symptoms seen in youths with schizophrenia” (Divir & Frazier 2011). While a child with ASD become distressed, they might become paranoid, which is similar to the psychosis characteristics of COS. These similar characteristics of comorbidity and development were used in the term “ multiple complex developmental disorders (MCDD)” (Divir & Frazier 2011). Some similar neurophysiological features are lower gray matter volume within limbic-striato-thalamic neurocircuity. While both ASD and COS have similar accelerated brain development, the difference is the on set of this, which coincides with the on set of each disorder.
In conclusion ASD and COS overlap in many different features, making them comorbid to each other, but ones disorder does not lead to another and vise versa. This makes it possible for an individual to have both ASD and COS, which is all the more reason to continue research and further investigate specific differences.
Dvir, Y., & Frazier, J.A. (2011) Autism and schizophrenia: what are the connections? Psychiatric times, 28(3), 34-35. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.lib-e2.lib.ttu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?sid=0b110932-2989-456a-aaf3-629043a147df%40sessionmgr101&vid=0&hid=114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=510998764&db=ofm
Kyleigh,
DeleteI found your post to be very interesting. I, too, always thought the disorders would be separate. I loved being able to learn the overlap between the disorders. It will be important to continue research and distinguish between the two and better help each disorder! Thanks for the great read!!
Kyleigh,
DeleteThis is interesting! I always thought schizophrenia and ASD were two different disorders, mainly because of how the focus of schizophrenia is mainly on adults and not children. Now it's understandable why Autism is not just it's own disorder but is now on a spectrum and can include all of these other disorders within it. I think it makes diagnosing multiple disorders easier.
Reading through the chapter and the comments, I began to wonder since peer relationships can be important towards individuals with ASD is there a way to improve social skills in those children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder?
ReplyDeleteIn the article I found it talks about a self-management training program. It is one that they have "extensively researched behavior change intervention procedures for children with ASD."Self-management is the "use of operant techniques to produce socially desired change in one's own behaviour." Several researchers have reported a great number of success in using this method. The method can consist of discrimination training, role playing, and feedback on appropriate and inappropriate behavior. In the article they did an experiment with a young girl by recording her in different environments, having different people there to show her what is right and wrong and giving her candy she enjoyed as a reinforcement. The intervention they did with the self-management was considered effective in improving her social skills in the end.
Since relationships can really make or break any child even those without any disorder. It was really good to see that there are ways that those with a disorder can improve their social skills and that there are people there to help them along that path.
Liu, Y., Moore, D. W., & Anderson, A. (2015). Improving social skills in a child with autism spectrum disorder through self-management training. Behaviour Change, 32(4), 273-284. doi:10.1017/bec.2015.14
Heather,
DeleteI find this very interesting because it is proactive. Many childhood disorders including ASD have the similar characteristic of social deficiencies, which create peer relationship problems, and research like this improves these skills. I believe the world need to do more research like these, that can be applied to improve disorders.
Heather,
DeleteI agree with you in that peer relationships are a major factor in any growing individual's life and how those relationships may be different for children with ASD. Your research made me wonder at what age do you begin a child with ASD in self-management training programs? Can you do it while they're still young so they're prepared for middle school/HS, or do you have to wait to see how their social skills may develop normally. Overall, I think its nice to see programs focusing on how to help kids develop socially and with the right techniques.
While reading the chapter, I became curious if any treatment could significantly help lower stress and anxiety in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder while also helping them with social interactions!
ReplyDeleteI came across an article that said dogs are beneficial for children during therapy. The study went researched whether trained dogs in a family environment would also help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. They compared similar families that were getting a dog and not getting a dog before, during intervention, and afterwards. Their study found that the families that acquired dogs had a significant improvement of family functioning and lowered the children's anxiety levels.
The fact that dogs can have such an impact on people is astounding! They help those with all sorts of disorders and just help provide companionship in general. Families with a child on the spectrum are more likely to divorce due to stress. The fact that trained dogs can help family improvement and lower anxiety in children with ASD is a big step. They've also been known to improve the child's independence and can also help keep them safe. The only downside I can see of this treatment is the cost of the trained dog and the money to take care of it as well. Other than that, dogs are wonderful animals and will continue helping so many people, physically and emotionally!
Wright, H., Hall, S., Hames, A., Hardiman, J., Mills, R., & Mills, D. (2015). Pet dogs improve family functioning and reduce anxiety in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Anthrozoös, 28(4), 611-624. doi:10.1080/08927936.2015.1070003
Lauren,
DeleteGreat post! I read another post above about a similar topic. That study found that a wide array of animals can provide the same benefit for children with ASD. The study specifically studied how horses and dogs affected the children with ASD. They found that exposure to multiple animals provides more benefits to children with ASD than just one animal would provide. I agree that training an animal for this would be expensive, but I wonder if owning a pet dog (untrained for children with ASD) would provide the same benefits. Thanks for sharing!
Lauren,
DeleteI enjoyed reading your post! At first when I think about therapy animals for children with ASD I think of horses as Rachel said above! But to learn that dogs as well produce great benefits when working with these children brought me great joy. I also like how you mentioned that not only does the the stress decrease in the child but also in the family and that is important because I think a lot of parents with ASD kids may think a pet would cause more stress to take care of but in reality they help the family all around.
When reading the chapter about Autism spectrum disorders in are chapter. It related with me because I work at a rec center back home and some of the kids have autism. When interacting with them at first I didn't understand some of their actions. One child for example would carry around a schedule and was very repetitive, would ask me the same questions over and over. I was very shocked to learn that he drove and got really good grades. This made me curious if everyone that had autism was intelligent.
ReplyDeleteI found research that looked into the intelligence of kids/teens with autism. I previously thought that autism was related to below average intelligence. I found out that most people with autism have a very high IQ. There brain develops faster and grows larger than normal people. There are alot of area's that people with autism excel in more than average people. However in most cases these advanced characteristics lead to imbalanced intelligence and co morbidities to other disorders. I think more research needs to be done to look into autism intelligence and how their brain functions.
Crespi, B. J. (2016). Autism As a Disorder of High Intelligence. Frontiers In Neuroscience, 1-17. doi:10.3389/fnins.2016.00300
Shawn-
DeleteInteresting topic! I also assumed autism was correlated to low IQ so it was cool to see how actually they are very intelligent! I am also intrigued to look into more research on this. I am so fascinated by the brain so looking at comparisons would be super cool!
Shawn,
DeleteI also find this amazing. While some might view ASD characteristics as deficits, in reality the characteristics are a result of surplus of brain development. I wonder if the fast development of the brain neglected some neurophysiological detail, maybe explaining their sensitivity to certain aspects of stimulation.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the chapter I began to wonder if women who take depression medicine during their pregnancy can cause ASD. I found an article that conducted a study.
ReplyDeleteThe study that was done looked at mothers who were using antidepressant drugs. It was concluded that there was a correlation between drug use and ASD. Although the risk was low, there was an increase in likelihood (especially if taken during the first trimester) of having children who have autism.
I found these results very interesting. I know that certain drugs and substances can affect mothers and their babies but I didn't think that antidepressant drugs could cause damage to the fetus. I am intrigued to see if there are more studies to see where on the spectrum the babies who were exposed to antidepressants land.
Croen, L. A., Grether, J. K., Yoshida, C. K., Odouli, R., & Hendrick, V. (2011). Antidepressant use during pregnancy and childhood autism spectrum disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(11), 1104–1112. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.73
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DeleteChristina,
DeleteI never thought of how antidepressants could affect children in the fetus. I knew there were side effects, just not specifically. This is interesting, because the medicine has to help with the mother's mental health, but can cause a mental disability in her child. I wonder if the mother took them before she knew she was pregnant and then stopped just a couple of weeks or a month into her pregnancy; whether the child could still have ASD.
Recently, I had seen a video of a couple, who both had mental disabilities, discussing their love for one another and their plans to have children. I'm not for sure what they were diagnosed with, but it was clear that there was intellectual disability. This video as well as an experience I had volunteering to help the special needs classes in gym in the morning made me curious about sexuality among those with ASD. There was this one boy who always had his hand down his pants. We had to repeatedly ask him to stop touching himself. I wanted to research if this was a common thing.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled upon the article "Sexual Behavior in High-Functioning Male Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder". It turns out that sexuality among these individuals is actually a major concern and problem that parents often seek help for. It is very common that individuals with ASD display sexual interest, the problem lies with how they act on these desires. It is often the case that masturbation takes place in the presence of other people, masturbation leads to mutilation, use of unusual objects, and hypermasturbation.
Majority of the people in the study had a high interest in sexual behavior, but did not know how to perform. Some even had to be taught how to masturbate. (Yes I am aware of how graphic this is, sorry for anyone offended). It was also common that typical ASD symptoms such as fixation and repetition were present during their acts.
Forgot my citation:
DeleteHellemans, H., Colson, K., Verbraeken, C., Vermeiren, R., & Deboutte, D. (2006). Sexual Behavior in High-Functioning Male Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(2), 260-269. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0159-1
Kristen,
DeleteI actually found this really interesting. I took a human sexual behavior class a few semesters ago, but we never talked about adolescents with ASD. Did the article say anything about teaching adolescents with ASD about safe sex practices, including masturbation? I find it awful that their masturbation leads to mutilation. Is there any way that people can teach them a safe way to masturbate?