Developmental Psychopathology

Many treatment approaches have developed different ways of dealing with the challenges of autism. First, there is the theory of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which consists of giving a child a specific task, which teaches skills from basic ones to more complex ones, such as social interaction. Children taking this approach, work 30-40 hours a week with a trained professional. (West 66) It may be emotionally difficult for the child, and his/her parents to dedicate so much time, yet it is worth it. However, it has been proven that ABA methods have shown consistent results in teaching new skills and behaviors to children with autism. (West 68)

“Teaching Play Skills to Children with Autism Using Visually Structured Task”, written by Patricia K. Hampshire and Jack J. Hourcade, focuses on teaching a 7-year-old boy named Keith that has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) play skills. Keith’s special education teacher, Ms. Pool, and his first grade general education teacher, Ms. Carter, have been concerned with Keith’s social isolation in the classroom and believe that he would gain a great deal if he strengthened his social interaction with peers and developed more suitable play behaviors with toys.

Social interaction is defined as “a process of reciprocal stimulation and response between two people. It develops competition, interaction, influences social roles and status, and influences people in development of social relationships.” (What is SOCIAL INTERACTION) By adolescence most individuals are fairly competent at social interaction and have a general understanding of what is required of them in most social situations. For high functioning autistic children, this is far from the case. Simple interactions between themselves and others can be confusing and difficult to navigate without proper adaptive training in social behavior. In the following sections, we will explain the need for this training, how it is implemented, and the

Social Motivation Theory of Autism. Social motivation deficits is connected with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and has recently gained increased interest (Chevallier et. al., 2012). This establishes a movement in autism research, which in the past has concentrated on cognitive deficiencies and moderately less focus to motivational influences (Chevallier et. al., 2012). In conclusion, autism spectrum disorder may be understood as an ultimate situation of reduced social motivation and an influential model to recognize individuals’ basic motivation to pursue approval and escape

Autism is a rare disease that can be characterized by a “neurodevelopmental disorder categorized by the inability to relate to and perceive the environment in the realistic manner.” (Anthes, 1997) The signs of autism are mainly found in infants to young children usually between the ages of newborn to two years. The main symptoms that are discussed are “impairment in social interaction fixation of inanimate objects, inability to communicate normally, and resistance to changes in their daily routine.” (Anthes, 1997) Autism is a very understood disease but one thing most people do not know is that autism not only effects a child’s life mentally and physically, it also effects their social ability to have friends, play normally and even grow up

Autism could be described by Piaget 's two-factor theory of figurative and operative functions. Several autistic children exhibit an arrest in operative functions at the

Mindreading is defined as the ability to “make sense of other people and to coordinate our behavior with theirs” (Bermudez, 354). Many cognitive scientists believe the theory of mind mechanism (TOMM) is important to mindreading. These scientists contend that autistic individuals suffer from an impairment to this theory of mind module. However, others have argued that theory of mind, which is “the ability to form beliefs about the mental states of others”, is not a modular ability, but instead the result of the interaction of many different cognitive skills. In their paper “Generous or Parsimonious Cognitive Architecture? Cognitive Neuroscience and Theory of Mind,” Philip Gerrans and Valerie E. Stone take this view of theory of mind. I will review this paper and its arguments, then address the response to Gerrans and Stone made by Carl Hildebrand.

Autism affects 1 in every 110 children today (NICHCY, 2010). This statistic reveals a considerably large ratio of children and adults who have Autism. In society, everyone is diverse and unique in his or her own way. These differences are apparent in appearance, interest, and abilities. Differences are what shapes individuals into who they are, and who they want to become. Individuals learn differently, and the same is true for children with Autism. Autism is a neurological disorder that affects children up to three years and older. (Autism Speaks, N.D.)

Szatmari P, Bartolucci G, Bremner R, Bond S, Rich S. A follow-up study of high-functioning autistic children. J Autism Dev Disord. 1989;19:213–25

The purpose of social mainstreaming is so that children are better able to observe and learn how other children react and behave correctly in social situations. Autistic children often learn through imitation, or learning how to “copy” the behavior of someone else. Studies have shown that a structured routine is very helpful because it supports the need to be constantly aware of what everyone else is doing and begin doing it as well. If there is too much unpredictable change, most autistic children have the tendency to become more withdrawn socially. The most obvious reasoning for this is because they must work harder to imitate the behavior of the others around them. One helpful way to help children cope with change or transition is through the use of verbal or physical representations of the process of change (Davis 57). This not only demolishes the excuse for autistic children to remain in inclusion classrooms, but it also provides a very real suggestion in order to deal with the social and structural changes within a classroom. With a view of correct behavior within a regular classroom with regular learners, an autistic child is better able to grasp his or her personal behavioral patterns, and react or “imitate” appropriately in certain

In this book, “Helping children with autism learn: Treatment approaches for parents and professionals” Siegel gives parents of autistic children what they need most: hope. Siegel explains that how to take an inventory of a child particular disabilities that break down the various kinds unique to autism. Many other signs and symptoms are also seen in a child suffering from autism are atypical eating, lack of intuition and less attention to social stimuli. This book has been a great help in the research as it explains about the key understanding of each autism case as a discrete set of learning disabilities, each of which must be treated individually. This book is relevant to my research as it has important documentation and papers about the conference. It provides a detailed account of the issues, at the same time, Siegel offer a new understanding and a practical, thoughtful approach that will give parents a new hope.

Theory of mind (ToM) is “the specific ability to attribute mental states to oneself and to others” (Pellicano, 2007, p. 974). Attributing mental states essentially allows one to read another’s body language and therefore predicts their behavior. This is important in the socialization of a child, something that an autistic child struggles with. Baron-Cohen et al. (2000) believe the term ToM is synonymous with social intelligence. The executive function (EF) is “a set of functions thought to be necessary for flexible, future-oriented behavior, especially in novel circumstances” (Pellicano, 2007, p. 974). The executive function is involved in many aspects of development, including working memory, the ability to plan effectively, and flexibility in focusing one’s attention to different people and objects. In a young child’s development, EF and ToM play a significant role. There are contradicting theories about which aspect affects the other, but it appears that the general belief is that together, they have an affect and that the two functions feed off of each (Pellicano, 2007). Pellicano (2007) found that in autistic children, when the EF is impaired, ToM is not intact. In other words, autistic children cannot read other’s body language if they have an impairment in their EF. Additionally, because of this impairment, they show an inability to be flexible, use their working memory, or plan for the future (Pellicano, 2007). One of the

Most children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder will have a language delay. The language delay can range from a mild to severe. If done early, speech and other early intervention therapies can dramatically improve the language skills of a child with autism spectrum disorder. One way these therapies are successful is, research shows that there are many early behaviors that lay a foundation for the learning of language. These early behaviors are closely related to whether or not a child is able to understand another person and use this understanding to communicate with them. Two important early behaviors required for these skills are symbolic play and joint attention. An example of symbolic play is when a child uses his crayon and pretends it is a truck. Joint attention is when a child has equal attention on an object and another person. For example, they see a plane flying in the sky and they point at the plane while looking at another person to check if they are looking (Fessenden, 2012). Both of these early behaviors are vital in learning appropriate language skills. Early invention services work on these skills which helps lay a proper foundation for language development.

It also includes restricted repetitive behaviors, interests and activities. These issues cause significant impairment in social, occupational and other areas of functioning.” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014) Also, individuals with ASD may be susceptible for sensory overload. Since communication and interactions with others is a necessity in schools, students with Autism need assistance in coping with this disorder. Methods of intervention will be discussed in the paper. One of those methods is the use of

To encourage the development of social skills students are encouraged to interact with one another throughout the day in a variety of methods, including partner work, small group activities, and large group activities. These teaching techniques enable autistic children to relate to their peers. As autistic children relate to their peers more they are more accepted and in turn continue to learn and acquire new and improved social skills.