Deferred Imitation In Children

Autism is a developmental disorder, which is characterized by a dyad of difficulties in a) communication and social interaction and b) restricted interests and imagination (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might find it challenging to understand what other people think or what the reasons for their behaviours are, as their ‘theory of mind’ may not be well developed (Schuwerk, Vuori & Sodian, 2015). It is possible that this is why they might behave in socially inappropriate ways, being unable to differentiate between different contexts, while they might also find it difficult to make friends. Moreover, it is likely that they are fond of routines, repetition and structure (Carnahan, Musti-Rao, & Bailey, 2009), as they might be nervous with unknown, new situations. In addition, some of them might not do eye contact with other people, whereas some others might not endure to be touched and might have a difficulty developing speech (Jordan, 2005). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might sometimes be prohibited to initiate conversations and might struggle with finding different ways to play and behave, due to the possible deficit of imagination, which in some cases might result in them having a narrow sphere of interests. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this group of people is rather heterogeneous, as characteristics of autism may differ from one individual to another (Gwynette, 2013). Another point is that people with Autism

Socially, children with autism have a lot of difficulty with peers as they do not express as much empathy or social involvement as their classmates. Baron-Cohen (2002) refers to children with autism preferring less involved social interaction, saying that “(children)often engage in “parallel play” at the edge of a group rather than joining in cooperative play”

Charman, T., Swettenham, J., Baron-Cohen, S., Cox, A., Baird, G., & Drew, A. (1997). Infants with autism: An investigation of empathy, pretend play, joint attention, and imitation. Developmental Psychology, 33(5), 781-789.

This disorder affects an individual’s ability to communicate, understand language, and relate to others (NICHCY, 2010). Children with Autism take longer to pick up on social cues and have tough time reading what others are thinking and feeling. They have difficulty construing emotions and facial expressions of others as well. Children with Autism often experience developmental delays in speech. More severe cases of Autism can have an affect in the individual’s ability to communicate, so the use of communication systems such as sign language, electronic word processors, and speech generated devices are beneficial (Autism Speaks, N.D.). Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder have difficulty adjusting to changes in their routine, express unusual actions when playing with toys and objects, and may

Communication is significant issue for many children with autism. They do not contact with other people clearly, and they also have many issues in using the language correctly. In the article “Cerebellum, Language, and Cognition in Autism and Specific Language Impairment” Hodge (2010) writes that children with autism have difficulties at the individual understands (receptive language) as well as what is actually spoken by the individual (expressive language) are significantly delayed or nonexistent. In other words, children with autism face difficulties to express their thoughts clearly or response to other people. However, In the article “Making Meaningful Worlds: Role-Playing Subcultures and the Autism Spectrum” Fein (2015) claims that there

Raising a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be an unexpected and overwhelming experience for parents and families. ASD is a developmental disability that can cause significant delays in communication, social and behavioral challenges (CDC, 2016). With the growing prevalence of ASD comes the increasing need for health, education and social services. As previously mentioned, it is estimated that 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with ASD (CDC, 2016). Additionally, children with ASD can obtain significant challenging behaviors that can include tantrums, aggression, self-injurious behavior, noncompliance, property destruction and hyperactivity (Bearss et. al, 2013). Compared to parents of typically developing children, parents of children with ASD report a greater sense of helplessness along with avoiding conflict when dealing with challenges of parenting. To decrease noncompliance and unwanted behaviors along with increasing independence, parents of children with ASD may need specific instruction in behavioral interventions and procedures (Bearss et. al, 2013). This being said, young children with ASD can benefit immensely from early intervention. Early intervention can be defined as the experiences and opportunities utilized by primary caregivers of infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities that use behavioral concepts to shape and influence social interaction with people and objects (Odom, Horner, Snell & Blacher, 2007). The purpose

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a growing disorder that affects 1 in 300 children in the U.S. Autism can be defined as a disorder in brain developments that can cause a lack in motor skills. Motor skills progress throughout the life span creating growth in the human brain, thus allowing the child to grow developmentally and physically. Simple motor skills including brushing your teeth, snapping buttons on a shirt, brushing your hair, and writing your name are learned easily by most children. However, children with ASD may not develop these skills causing them to be behind most children their age socially, cognitively, and in their daily living skills. Motor delays and lack of social responsiveness can be found in children who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder possibly due to brain developmental delays Due to the lack of motor skill development in autism patients, it is advised they seek therapy to help increase their motor ability and social skills in order to stimulate growth in these areas and have the chance to become more independent at home. This research investigates autism, the importance of motor therapy, and describes the changes seen in patients with therapeutic treatments.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by qualitative impairments in social interaction and communication, and restricted, repetitive behavior (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013), and is associated with impairments in executive functions. Autism Spectrum Disorder is also defined as a group of disorders that impair an individual’s ability to understand and engage in the give-and-take of social relationships. (Boyd, 2015) Autism is a well-known disability in the world today. Autism statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identify 1 in 68 American children on the Autism spectrum. There has been a prevalent increase in the cases of autism in the past 40 years. Over 3 million people in the United States alone are affected by autism. Government autism statistics suggest that the prevalence of autism has increased 10 to 17 percent annually in recent years. There is no established explanation for why there is such an increase in autism in the recent years, but more people being aware of it and environmental factors could be a factor to the increase. (Jenson, Steinhausen, Lauritsen. 2014)

For example, autistic children often use “picture boards” to communicate with others or learn a daily routine. The efficacy of visual instruction may generalize to higher-level skills such as social interaction. Ganz, Kaylor, Bourgeois, and Hadden (2008) used visual cues while instructing three children with ASD to follow social scripts. This study expanded on previous findings that autistic children who are taught to perform social scripts demonstrate improved conversational skills. For each child, the researchers created three scripts for different activities such as playing in a sandbox or coloring. A script consisted of short sentences the child could say while conversing with a peer about the activity. Each child was first taught his or her scripts to mastery. Research established baseline performance by instructing the child to perform a script with a peer for the first time. During the conversation, the participant received no other cues. Each child subsequently underwent intervention sessions, during which they were shown cue cards with appropriate lines of their script accompanied by a picture as they conversed with their peer. Lastly, the child was again required to perform the script without cues in a return-to-baseline condition. During baseline, intervention, and return sessions, researchers noted the verbal statements that the participant made, categorizing statements as scripted, unscripted, and preservative. Unscripted speech consisted of any statements not in the script, and unscripted statements were also categorized as preservative if they were repetitions of a previously spoken statement or out-of-context sentences. Researchers responded to perseverative statements discouragingly by showing a “shhh” card containing a drawing of a face with an index finger over the

Play is an occupation in which all children should engage in to enhance development. Play should be enjoyable, fun, impulsive and naturally motivating. When children engage in play, they are able to discover their surrounding environments, experiment with ideas, and learn from experience (Garvey, 1977; Rubin, Fein & Vandenberg, 1983; Smith & Vollstedt, 1985, as cited by Mastrangelo, 2009). Due to social, cognitive and emotional difficulties, children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are unable to develop play skills at the same rate as children without

Individuals with autism demonstrate delays or deficits in social interaction and behaviours. Autism is apparent from early childhood, but can emerge in early adulthood. It is associated with a wide range of possible causes, but genetic factors are the main causes. Children with autism have impairments in cognition, language delays, and lack of or poor social interactions. Lack of communication may force these children to adopt repetitive behaviours such as self-inflicted injuries and violence. The teaching process requires interventions that address the repetitive behaviours, skill development, and play

One of the fundamental symptoms of autism is the need for aloneness, (Kanner, 1943). Attachment style in infants becomes evident from three months of age, and parents of autistic children struggle to see their child's attachment to them right away, as it can be seen through something as subtle as lack of eye contact. Autistic children do not engage in play as often as other children their age, and they prefer to play alone, (Volkmar, Cohen). Following the play, autistic children engage in object play without the symbolic meaning. They may take a fire truck just to throw it in the air instead of using it to represent an actual fire truck. Disengaging in symbolic play, and play with other children can be damaging because interaction is key to language development, (Kanner). The importance of social interaction and engagement is important, because if autistic individuals have a shot at participating in society in the future, they need to go through excessive training and treatment. Two years of treatment improved autistic symptoms greatly, even as young as 18 months, (ESDM; Dawson et al,. 2010). With a constant desire to be isolated from the world around them, deep connections and focus can be lost in training or never there to begin with making improvement

This study’s purpose was to teach reciprocal pretend play skills to children with autism through the use of video modeling.

Children with a diagnosis of being autistic have a greater chance of being friendless or non-sociable in situation, as of their nonexistence of initiative for social interactions with others. Baker (2000) chose to investigate, how to incorporate social engagement behavior though the use of games with their siblings. The study have identify six dependent variable for this study. They were

In the article, Assessing Stimulus Control and Promoting Generalization via Video Modeling when Teaching Social Responses to Children With Autism (Jones, Lerman, and Lechago 2014), different methods and their generalization for teaching children with autism social responses are assessed. The authors (Jones, Lerman, and Lechago, 2014) were interested in whether or not children's learned proper social responses with adults would also generalize to children responding appropriately to their peers. This should be the goal, they claim (2014). All these different methods such as play-scripting, reinforcement, and video-modeling should promote peer relationships through learning better social behavior with adults. They also wanted to