ASD Case Study Summary

Research has found that on average 33% of youths in the juvenile justice system are identified as disabled and eligible for special services. However, there has been little research studying the characteristics or prevalence rates of youth with ASD in the criminal justice system. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly have impairments in communication, social skills, deficits in abstract thoughts and specific interests that could prevent individuals with ASD from understanding legal and illegal behaviors. It is also suspected that the high rates of psychiatric comorbidity associated with ASD, for example ADHD, may increase the risk of delinquency in youth with ASD.

Roger Evans is a 5-year-old enrolled in general education kindergarten classes. Roger has been identified as having ASD during a routine check-up at the age of three. Roger’s parents had been unemployed and receiving government aid. Roger’s parents have not been taking advantage of supportive resources. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have not informed the school that Roger has been identified as having ASD. During the first week, Roger’s teacher Ms. Moore observed Roger sporadically sitting by himself during lunch and recess rocking back and forth and hitting himself in the face. Ms. Moore also noticed that Roger was anti-social with his peers. Ms. Moore recorded her observations for two weeks. Roger’s behavior became a daily occurrence. Ms. Moore met with the principal, counselor, special education, and Roger’s parents to discuss her concerns. Roger’s parents admitted that Roger had been identified with ASD and has been fine at home.

According to the 2014 estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 68 children have been identified as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD); a rate that has been steadily growing over the past 20 years (National Autism Association, 2015). Increases in reported frequencies for ASD are most likely due to a combination of factors including broader diagnostic criteria and increased awareness as well as a true increase in the number of people with ASD (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Autism it self does not effect life expectancy and, in general, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can expect to live as long as the non-cognitively impaired population (National Autism Association,

Lane, Young, Baker, and Angley (2010) examined sensory processing with 54 children with autism and the connection to sensory processing associated with adaptive behavior. Three distinct sensory processing (SP) subtypes were found as a result such as sensory modulation with taste/smell sensitivity, sensory-based inattentive seeking, and sensory modulation with movement sensitivity. This study was conducted using a questionnaire given to the parents called a Short Sensory profile. This looked at all 7 sensory areas such as tactile, taste/smell, movement and visual/auditory sensitivity, under responsive, auditory filtering, and low energy (Lane, Young, Baker, & Angley, 2010). The Vinland Adaptive behavior scales was used to interview the child's parents in order to assess the child's adaptive behavior skills. The result further provided evidence that children with ASD do experience more differences in SP than their peers. It resulted in high levels of sensory domains in auditory filtering, taste/smell sensitivity and low energy. It also showed a correlation that individuals with sensory modulation with taste/smell sensitivity have significantly greater communication

Another method that is commonly used as an intervention for students with ASD is the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM). ESDM is an inclusive behavioral intervention for infants to preschool-aged children (Dawson et al., 2009; Vivanti et al., 2014). The learning objectives are based on individual strengths and weaknesses, with a focus on developmental fields that are foundational to social and social-cognitive learning and development (Vivanti et al., 2014). The students with ASD work to enhance their verbal and nonverbal communication, emotion sharing, imitation, joint attention, play, social orienting, and attention (Rogers et al., 2012).

Acute Stress Disorder (also known as ASD) is a trauma or stressor related disorder that is diagnosed in an individual within 2 days to one month after a traumatic event has occurred. This disorder can be a sign for posttraumatic stress disorder (also known as PTSD), but PTSD cannot be claimed in a patient until four weeks after an event has happened.

For many adults diagnosed with ASD, taking the risk of leaving the security of a parent’s or relative’s home is driven by the desire for independence and involvement in community life. In 2011, the Autistic Self Advancement Network (ASAN), Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE), and the National Youth Leadership conducted 72 one-on-one interviews to ask persons diagnosed with ASD what they sought in a community. Most interviewees expressed they desired a community that:

Children with ASDs have many listening and attention deficits. Thirty to fifty percent of individuals diagnosed with ASDs are also diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), a disorder associated with difficulty sustaining attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior (Leitner 1). Children diagnosed with ASDs, especially if they are diagnosed with ADHD too, are often hyperactive and can run without ever tiring (Furneaux 29). To help children with these deficits, variable-speed tape recorders and personal FM listening systems may be used (Stanberry 2-3). Variable-speed (VSC) tape recorders allow a user to listen to pre-recorded text or to capture spoken language and play it back later (Stanberry 5). The user can than speed

The purpose of this study was to determine whether sensory activity schedule intervention is effective in supporting participation of children with autism and if it increases their task performance in the classroom. There was no specific theoretical foundation for this study, however multiple studies have previously been completed using sensory based interventions using equipment, but have shown mixed results. The design for this study is a non-concurrent AB single system research design, which can be a mixture of quasi-experimental and non-experimental designs. The dependent variable for this study is sensory processing. The independent variable is the phase in the study because each phase sensory activity schedule changes in each phase.

The sensory integration theory postulates that the deficiencies in learning and behavior on children with autism spectrum disorder are due to brain dysfunctions. Occupational therapy may engage the stabilization of sensory integration to enhance the children sensory experiences that can enable individuals to comprehend response tactics and accustom to sensory inputs and centralize on the primary systems of the body that are sensory stimulators which includes; tactics, vestibular and proprioceptive (Gavalas, Christina, Toron, & Marjorie, n.d., p. 59). In the recent past, occupational therapists have devised weighted

When the phrase “sensory processing pattern” is coupled with behavioral responses in autistic disorder, one might agree that the two belong together. Not knowing much about autistic disorder, yet very interested in the topic, I found it fascinating that some sensory processing (SP) difficulties have a high correlation with the behaviors of autism, while other SP difficulties have been found to have little to do with the disorder. This can be seen in the study that was conducted in 2007 which was published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The article, The Relationship between Sensory Processing Patterns and Behavioral Responsiveness in Autistic Disorder: a Pilot Study, investigated the correlation between sensory processing patterns and the social, emotional and behavioral receptiveness of autistic children. (Baker, Lane, Angley, & Young, 2007).

“Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the name given to describe a wide range of behaviors amongst the autistic population. Children with autism are less able to interact with the world as other children do. Normally they have shortfalls in five key ranges: verbal, non-verbal correspondence, social mindfulness, and connections” (The New Talkers.com). This is one of the disorders that can either be recognized right away in a child, take a long time to diagnose, or might not even be noticeable; the lack of diagnosis can also become a negative issue in an autistic person’s life. Because this disorder is fairly common, and can be devastating should a child have ASD but remain undiagnosed, public schools should train their teachers and staff to recognize autism and its symptoms. There are many students that are being failed rather than receiving the help required to help these children succeed. Many in the general public as well are not informed of what autism is, and can be judgmental towards these kids without understanding why these kids act the way they do. Parents and specially teachers need to be educated about this disorder so that these children can grow up having a better future.

Their specific study included thirty-four children who are suffering from the autism spectrum disorder. The participants ages ranged from 40 to 65 months and were tested pre and post treatment using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale to identify the effectiveness of sensory integration on the developmental skills of the child. After looking into the results, conclusions showed that there was significant improvement in the child’s motor skills especially once providing them with this program at such an early age (Abdel Karim, A. E., & Mohammed, A. H., 2015). While looking more into the parent mediated aspect of these programs, Nicole Stadnick, Aubyn Stahmer, & Lauren Brookman-Frazee, describe a program called Project ImPACT, which is a parent involved program for autistic children. The researchers’ main focus was to indicate which parent factors have successfully impacted the child’s outcome in terms of seeing improvement in their

strategies to assist people with ASD or other challenges by breaking down their behavior into small components. They consider the internal details. Others take a holistic view and look at the behavior so they details they consider are mainly external, from the environment for example.

I plan on working with children in pediatric outpatient setting. I hope to assist children with autism, learning disabilities, sensory processing disabilities, and others. The article is a great resource for collective information on the history, theory, approach, and limitations of sensory processing disorder. I will be able to use this evidence in my future practice. Furthermore, I will know to investigate deeper into evidence-based techniques related to this sector of practice. The processing of this peer-reviewed article led me to discovery of future continuing education in my