sensory hypes/hyposensitivity - high or low sensitivity to thing they hear, touch, see, taste e.g. prefer touching cold than hot, food textures
perceptual overload - overwhelmed by sensory info in environment e.g. loud party
motor coordination issues - when performing routine physical tasks
imitation difficulties - often seen in babies with autism
echolalia - meaningless repetition of words or phrases
non bio exp of autism AO1
theory of mind - Baron Cohen
suggests they have mind blindness (inability to understand others intentions) e.g. difficulty recognising facial expressions and non verbal cues
mind in the eyes - Cohen showed images of eyes with 4 surrounding words to describe the look, p's had to choose which word best describes the eyes they saw
non bio exp of autism AO3
theory of mind is good at explaining why people with autism have problems with social communication and interaction
however, its not a causal explanation of autism - describes the problem that children with autism have but doesn't explain why its developed
also its argued the bio explanation is better at explaining why children might develop autism at greaterdepth
bio exp of autism AO1
amygdala dysfunction
research suggests amygdala may be responsible for several characteristics of autism e.g. abnormal eye contact
amygdala is densely interconnected with other brain structures like the hypothalamus and prefrontalcortex so it influences motivation, emotion and socialinfluence
abnormal development of amygdala has an impact on the operation of prefrontal cortex
Nordahl found 2 year olds amygdalas with ASD were 6-9% larger than those without
bio exp of autism strength
support from clinical studies - Kennedy et al 2009 studied 'SM' who didn't have ASD but a rare genetic disorder that impaired her amygdala function
her preferred personal space distance for social interaction was about half of that matched controlp's
this supports the theory because it shows that amygdala dysfunction is associated with socialdeficits that are similar to those found in ASD
bio exp of autism weakness
however findings about the role of amygdala are inconsistent
e.g. herbert et al 2003 reported smalleramygdala volumes in children with ASD compared with control group but other research findings from various age groups differ
this casts doubt on the validity of amygdalas dysfunction theory and means precise role of amygdala in ASD are still unclear.
bio exp of autism strength 2
application - explanation offers potential target for treatment
more research needs to be done to identify the biochemical abnormalities associated with amygdala dysfunction that may account for symptoms of ASD but potential for drug based treatment that corrects amygdala functioning
if amygdala dysfunction is reliably linked with ASD it could lead to earlier diagnoses and help shorten the stressful journey
bio exp of autism weakness 2
link between ASD and amygdala dysfunction may be indirect
people with amygdala damage can't process anxiety info normally so socialfunctioning is impaired
anxiety is a comorbid feature of ASD
Susan white suggests there may be a link AD and social behaviour deficits that are the outcome of abnormal processing of anxiety
this shows the role of amygdala in ASD is morecomplex than conventional dysfunction explanation suggests
supporting individuals with autism AO1
CBT
can be used with individuals who experience anxiety as a symptom
focuses on identifying negative thoughts and challenging them through developing skills to promote positive behaviour
teaching child skills to deal with situation
CBT needs to be adapted for individuals as they often have difficulties recognising emotions and communicating their feelings
visualcues can be used
supporting individuals with autism AO1
ABA (applied behaviour analysis)
aimed at improving communication and social skills
effective ways of interacting with others is demonstrated and improved behaviours are rewarded
uses SLT and OC and token economy
rewards given in planned and unplanned situations e.g. school
skills are learnt and practiced in those situations e.g. maintain eye contact
behaviours that are negative are ignored
CBT strengths
effectiveness - Wood et al 2009 found that CBT reduced anxiety symptoms in 78.5% of children with autism, this supports effectiveness of CBT for reducing anxiety in autistic children
no side effects
sofronoff et al 2005 looked at the effectiveness of CBT on children who had autism and were exhibiting anxiety symptoms, they found that CBT reduced the children's anxiety symptoms compared to the control group who were on the waiting list for the treatment
active parent involvement improved the effectiveness
CBT weakness
CBT is expensive as it requires a trained therapist to deliver the treatment
CBT doesn't confront the causes of anxiety, it just challenges present thinking
treatment works better with autistic children who have reasonable language skills and can express their thoughts, some can't use language so CBT wouldn't be suitable for them
BUT - it can reduce anxiety in autistic children in just 16 sessions (wood et al)
ABA strength
effectiveness - Cohen compared 21 children who received 35 to 40 hours of ABA per week to a control group of 21 age and IQ matched children, the ABA group obtained significantly higher IQ and adaptive behaviour scores than control group
ABA can be used with a range of behaviours as it can be adapted to the individual
ABA weakness
autistic children may feel that they aren't accepted for who they are as their behaviour is classed as abnormal and needing improvement, some adults say they have been traumatised by the treatment they received as a child which goes against UNCRCguidelines
criticised for only changing behaviour at a surface level, can be taught how to communicate in a socially acceptable way making them appear normal but they may not understand why they are performing the behaviours they have been taught