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Autism

Autism. A Spectrum Disorder. A n estimated 560,000 people under the age of 21 in the U.S. are on the Autism Spectrum ( Johnson, 2008). About four or five boys are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder for every girl who is diagnosed (Loveland, 2008). What is Autism ?.

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Autism

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  1. Autism A Spectrum Disorder

  2. An estimated 560,000 people under the age of 21 in the U.S. are on the Autism Spectrum (Johnson, 2008)

  3. About four or five boys are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder for every girl who is diagnosed(Loveland, 2008)

  4. What is Autism? • Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities. (Smith, Polloway, Patton, & Dowdy, 2008)

  5. Autism is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) • A PDD is a behavioral disorder of speech, communication, social interaction, and repetitive type compulsive disorder (PDD and Autism Spectrum Disorder are interchangeable) (Grossman, 2004) http://www.nde.state.ne.us/autism/images/image002.jpg

  6. The Five PDDs: -Autistic Disorder -Asperger Syndrome -Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) -Rett Syndrome -Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)

  7. Autism spectrum disorders

  8. Autistic Disorder or Autism • Individuals with autistic disorder have deficits in three areas of functioning • In particular, they have qualitative impairments in social interaction, qualitative impairments in their ability to communicate and a response to the environment that is considered atypical or inappropriate (Alessandri, 2008)

  9. Classic Autism • Classic autism is also referred to as Kanner's autism. Kanner refers to Leo Kanner, the physician who coined the word 'autism' in 1943 in a very important study. Classic autism is best reflected as the most severe form of autism, in that children with classic autism have symptoms in all of the three major categories of symptom presentation. They have substantial social deficits, they have fairly dramatic communication impairments and their responses to the environment are quite atypical.(Alessandri, 2008)

  10. High Functioning Autism • High-functioning autism is an informal term used to refer to individuals who have had a diagnosis of austistic disorder, but they have normal or above-average IQs. Individuals diagnosed with Asperger disorder also have normal or above-average IQ. However, they do not have a language delay. And individuals referred to as having high-functioning autism have had a language delay in their early childhood. (McPhee, 2008)

  11. Asperger Syndrome Characterized by relatively good basic language skills and difficulties in social interactions and conversation. A child with Asperger Syndrome may also have intense or restricted interests and/or challenging behaviors The essential difference between Asperger disorder and autistic disorder is that with Asperger disorder there is no language delay, meaning a child had meaningful words by 2 [years old] and phrase speech by 3 [years old]. And there's also no cognitive delay. (McPhee, 2008)

  12. PDD-NOS Describes a person who meets some but not all the criteria for autism or has milder symptoms in one or more areas For a child diagnosed with PDD-NOS, they will have fewer social impairments than a child with autistic disorder or a child diagnosed with Aspergerdisorder This particular autism spectrum disorder is considered to be among the least severe of the autism spectrum disorders (Alessandri, 2008)

  13. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AutismOverview/story?id=5388102RettSyndromehttp://abcnews.go.com/Health/AutismOverview/story?id=5388102RettSyndrome RettSyndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which a child develops along a typical path until about 6-18 months of age. After this time, there is a gradual loss of a broad range of skills that were previously acquired. There is a slowing of brain and head growth. There are problems in gross motor development. There may be seizures. Over time, the child develops an intellectual disability and may lose any acquired language. There is also a distinctive hand-wringing movement that develops. Almost exclusively in girls, very rare, only 1 in 10-15,000 girls exhibit Rett Syndrome Is a genetic basis connection on X Chromosome No cure, but treatment for symptoms (Loveland, 2008)

  14. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AutismOverview/story?id=5387956Childhood Disintegrative Disorder Childhood disintegrative disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which a child develops along the typical pathway until about three to four years of age, or in some cases, older. After that time, the child suffers a loss of many developmental skills that were previously acquired. These can include language, social skills, play, self-care, toileting and motor skills. (Loveland, 2008)

  15. Causes What causes these mysterious disorders? • (ABC News Photo Illustration)

  16. Possible causes of the past… Early attempts to blame autism on poor mother-child bonding sparked controversy … … In 1980’s those speculations were eliminated when autism was found to be an organic disorder … (Smith, Polloway, Patton, & Dowdy, 2008)

  17. Section 2: Environmental Factors Section 2: Genetics, Family & Social History Section 2: Other Medical Conditions Associated With Autism Current Risk Factors (Abcnews.com)

  18. Family History • A family history of autism does slightly increase the risk of having another child with autism. This is greatest when a couple has a child with autism and they're considering having further children. Baby boys are at much greater risk than girls for reasons that we don't fully understand. While the risk of having a child with autism is increased significantly over the general population if there's already one child with autism, it is still far more likely that a subsequent child will not have autism than that they will have autism (Beaudet, 2008)

  19. Fertility Drugs • “To my knowledge there is no study on that aspect and no positive association between these fertility drugs and autism, to my knowledge.” -Dr. Thomas Bourgen, Ph. D.

  20. Gastrointestinal Disorders • Several studies have looked at gastrointestinal disorders and autism and there is a broad range of reported frequencies. The more recent and probably better-done studies suggest a frequency somewhere between 50 and about 70 percent of children with autism having some type of a gastrointestinal-associated condition. (Buie, 2008)

  21. It’s a mystery Age of parents at birth, metal toxins, immunizations genetics, gender……… BUT……There’s no SCIENTIFIC PROOF All we do know, is that there is some genetic basis (Johnson, 2008)

  22. “We don’t know” • Age At Conception And Autism Risk? • Ethnicity and Autism Spectrum Risk? • Upper-Income Families And Autism Risk? • Working Mothers And Risk Of Autism? • Can My Parenting Cause Autism In My Kid?

  23. … • Breastfeeding And Risk Of Autism? • Does Smoking Up Autism Risk In My Child? • Household Items And Autism Risk? • Can Lead Paint Increase Risk Of Autism? • Could A Mother's Cold Up Autism Risk? • Alcohol, Marijuana And Autism Risk? • Do Vaccinations Cause Autism? … There are too many cases with too many differences; not enough is know to draw any concrete conclusions about causes or therefore, cures.

  24. Treatment • Early Intervention • Applied Behavior Analysis • Medicine • Quack Treatments

  25. Early Intervention • Intervention is often introduced to work on specific and core skills of the disorder such as socialization, communication, repetitive interests and activities. • The intervention may address very specific skills such as reducing inappropriate behaviors or improving skills that are necessary for the child to be successful in their environment. • Working on skills that come natural to children not on the spectrum (Swiezy, 2008)

  26. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) • An approach that was derived from learning theory. In ABA, a socially significant behavior is targeted, such as a child learning to make request. And then an environmental alteration is introduced, such as teaching instructions and a reward for a correct response. And then the change in the targeted behavior is objectively measured. • Begin by using tangible rewards, reason is that they are not as responsive to social rewards , therefore tangible rewards are crucial to their success. (McPhee, 2008)

  27. Medicine • Pharmacologic treatment is not an essential part of the treatment plan for every child with autism. In some cases, however, it is useful. For example, if there's an interfering symptom, like hyperactivity, aggression, or anxiety, that prevents the child from participating in the usual treatment program, then a prescription may help the child to become more available and more able to participate. (Arnold, 2008)

  28. Legitimate or Quack Treatment? • Doing everything possible that is offered without carefully weighing your choices is not a good idea. Parents are encouraged to behave like scientists -- carefully weighing the evidence for and against particular treatments. This can be very difficult as there are a wide variety of treatments possible, and emotions are often running high. But it's important to check out choices carefully because the time, money, and effort spent in ineffective treatment takes away from things that could work • Track measurable , observable goals before and after intervention • At this time ABA is said to be the best practice (Warner, 2008)

  29. Impact on Learning and Development Students cannot exist socially, therefore often need to be placed in special classrooms, separate from the mainstream

  30. The Bridge Program • “The Bridge Program provides support to students who continue to require intensive interventions and individualized programming in separate setting for some or most of their school day • This includes children with significant communication and learning needs and students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders • Each child has an individual schedule and program based on his/her IEP • Decisions about time spent within their general education classroom and in the Bridge Program classroom where they will work on specific skills, will be made by the student’s individual educational team and monitored on an ongoing basis” -Edgartown School, Bridge Program Mission Statement

  31. Martha’s Vineyard Public School System embraces a philosophy that values inclusion, meaning we strive to provide individualized programs to students with disabilities in the least restrictive environmenthttp://abcnews.go.com/Health/AutismOverview/story?id=5388271

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