The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parental factors and the successful employment of older adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the United States. To understand the interaction between diagnosis, employment outcomes, and environmental factors, Chapter II is divided into three sections. The first section provides general information on the employment of individuals with disabilities, including the definition, prevalence, and outcomes. The second section describes Autism Spectrum Disorder, specifically the diagnostic criteria, characteristics, prevalence rates, and outcomes. The third and final section presents the literature related to various environmental factors, specifically the demographic, psychological, and behavioral factors, which affect adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
According to Lyons and Fitzgerald (2007), Leo Kanner (1894-1981) and Hans Asperger (1906-1981), were pioneers in the field of autism. Whereas Kanner was the first medical professional to describe Autism (1943), Asperger discovered and described a higher functioning variation of the disorder, which would eventually be named after him 50 years later (Lyons & Fitzgerald, 2007). Despite these early publications, Autism was not included in the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) until 1980 when it published its third version. At the time, the disorder was
Autism spectrum condition affects a range of different individuals and is a spectrum condition and affects people in a number of different ways. It is important when supporting an individual with autism to identify and recognise each individuals’ abilities – what they can do successfully, needs – what the individual needs support with, strengths and gifts – what the individual is good at, what they have a real talent in, and interests – what is motivating for the person.
Some of the characteristics of those who have autism consist of repetitive thinking and compulsive attention in things like symbols, languages and numbers. The cause of autism is not yet known as of now, however, many people consider it a genetic disorder which takes place at birth. Christopher Boone has one specific form of autism known as Asperger’s syndrome, his disorder is reflected through his fascination with mathematics, detail, astronomy and colours; his thoughts on routine and violent hatred to interaction, even though it is not specified in the book. In 1943 Leo Kanner a psychiatrist published a paper surrounded around the research of 11 young patients that fit into a fine variety of diagnostic principles that he measured out to be autistic. During Kanner’s career he has seen fewer than 150 cases that go with the description he came up with of the syndrome, he theorised that autism was very unsupported and rare. Autism turned out to be a foundation of embarrassment and several of those who were diagnosed were certified; in the 1970s everything started to change (Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Simons Foundation, n.d.). Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner both used the word autism, in the 1940s when they were doing
Eugen Blueler, a psychiatrist, was the first to introduce the name "Autism" but he diagnosed this disease to a schizophrenic adult. Leo Kanner distinguished the two later in order to clarify the understanding of the disability. (Forty-six)
In another study, research was focused on how the family’s choices, social life, and other activities are affected by that fact that one of their children has autism. This study was performed through 9 families who all had a boy with autism, and these participants provided information through interviews and information about their family life. Some parents along with teachers and other specialists came up for the routine while others allowed their child to be a decision maker in what they wanted. In both cases, it seemed to be a fifty-fifty chance of it being a total success or needing more work. Once a routine was found successful, it became an integrated part of the family life. Parents had other siblings become part of the routines and moved things around in their own lives to help the child have better success
The project topic is appropriate to pursue because the guaranteed rights of special education are significant. There will always be students with exceptional needs in the world; consequently, the unsurpassed idea is to learn as much as possible about specific details in order to justify an individual with the disorder if necessary. Autism is relevant to most individuals because depending on what type of employment an individual is involved in, an individual with autism may require guidance at a specific point in time. I would like to present my research to future parents of children with autism in order for the parents to prepare for any changes. At this given point in time, autism is a prevalent subject because of the prodigious changes that are being made every day. Researching this
Research into Autism has grown enormously over the past 20 years due to growing awareness and the number of children and adults affected. In 1943, Leo Kanner first described the classic autistic syndrome. Since then, our knowledge and understanding in this area has broadened. In consequence, estimates of prevalence have increased considerably.
Two other events were in 1980 when the term “infantile autism” was added to the DSM and in 1991 when autism was added to the Individualized with Disabilities Education Act. In 1943, Dr. Leo Kanner published a paper, "Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact,” in the Nervous Child journal. He described the behavior and upbringing of eleven children with autism, along with the parent’s socioeconomic and educational background. The children were between the ages of two and eight years old and were highly intelligent.
Most parents wonder what is the next chapter for their child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) after they graduate from high school. For some individuals, it is to move onto higher education. As stated by Cai and Richdale (2015), the USA has one of the lowest rates of college enrollment for individuals with ASD, with over 50% of these individuals being in neither education nor employment following their secondary school (p. 31). Individuals with ASD who move forward in gaining a higher education will have to learn to adapt and determine how to transition into higher education. Mentioned by Cai and Richdale (2015), a USA national survey illustrated poor outcomes from transitioning from secondary school into adult-hood. The findings show that after young adults with ASD left the public school system, 80% live at home, 32% attended postsecondary education, only 6% had competitive jobs, and 21% had no employment or education experience at all. In addition, 40% reported having no friends. (p. 32)
Leo Kanner is the first person to formally identified autism. In 1943, Kanner labeled autism as “autistic disturbance of affective contact”. Initially, there was a lot of confusion concerning Kanner’s description of autism because it was closely related to the characterization of other mental disorders
Many people who don’t know what autism is would think that it’s a new issue in modern society, but it has become far more predominant today compared to previous years. The term autism comes from the Greek word “autos”, meaning “self”. The word autism was first used in 1908 by a swiss psychiatrist named Eugene Bleuler. He used it to describe a schizophrenic patient who had withdrawn into his own world. However, the innovators into autism research were Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner. While they were not working together, they were both doing studies during the 1940s. Leo Kanner, an American child psychiatrist, started by studying the behaviors of 11 children. What he discovered in their behaviors are both pros and cons. The pros are that they had good intellectual potential and can recollect things relatively well. Nevertheless, the cons are difficulty in socializing, adapting to change, repeating words, just to name a few. Kanner referred to their condition as Kanner’s syndrome, which was later named Early Infantile Autism. Similarly, Hans Asperger also studied a group of children that mimicked Kanner’s descriptions. One thing that’s different from Asperger’s research compared to Kanner’s research is that the children he observed did not have echolalia as a linguistic problem because they spoke like young adults. Additionally, Hans did mention that the children he evaluated were clumsy and had difficulty with fine motor skills. Hans Asperger described the milder form of autism
By understanding their social behaviors and overlooked abilities, we can help destigmatize autism and increase employment for individuals with autism. People unfairly emphasize the debilitating aspects of autism. Because of a stigma associated with these individuals, they are denied job opportunities. Over 90% of adults with autism are unemployed
Financial burdens are an obvious upset to families with autistic children, on top of the already heavy expense of having a child there is now medical costs and often counselling. Sen and Yurtsever (2007) reported that families often feel “shock, denial, suffering, depression, guilt, indecision, anger, shame, bargaining, acceptance and adaptation” upon discovering they have a child who suffers from ASD. This disorder has effects on their daily “lifestyles, social relationships, economic situation, health, and goals or expectations for the future” (Norton & Drew, 1994; Sen & Yurtsever, 2007). “Autism is the most common neurological condition diagnosed in children and it is now
Baldwin, S., Costly, D., & Warren, A. (2014) Employment activities and experiences of adults with high-functioning Autism and Asperger’s Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(10), 2440-2449. doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2112-z
autism was first described in the 1940s. Leo Kanner in the United States and Hans Asperger in Austria independently published papers describing children with severe social and communicative impairments. Both Kanner and Asperger used the term "autism" (meaning “alone”) to describe the syndromes they had identified. Kanner described children who had impoverished social relationships from early in life, employed deviant language, and were subject to behavioral stereotypies. Asperger’s description identified children with normal IQs and normal language development who suffered from social and some types of communicative impairments. (slaughter)
Autism was first written about, on an academic level, by Leo Kanner and Hans Aspergers in 1943 . These early diagnostic writings have since developed into concepts of cognitive diversity and the wide spectrum of cases and severity that is Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD . Autism is defined as a neurological and developmental disorder, which impacts on ones social functioning . The disorder is usually manifest in an unresponsiveness and resistance to physical affection, obtrusiveness, inability to communicate, repetitive behavior, obsessive-compulsive personality types and extreme anxiety that often results in aggressive behavior or tantrums .