9/11- Topics in ASD: Developmental Differences Flashcards
How is the DSM-V different from the DSM-IV?
- There is no longer the Rett’s Disorder due to a genetic cause.
- All disorders such as Autism, Asperger’s, CDD, and PDD-NOS are under the general umbrella of “Autism Spectrum Disorder.”
- Therefore no more classification of Pervasive Developmental Disorder
What is the difference between High Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome?
HFA:
- Signs & symptoms are less severe
- May experience classic signs of Autism in early childhood
- Later cognitive testing reveals average to above average intelligence
Asperger’s Syndrome:
- Early language & cognitive developmental is normal
- Less likely to experience preoccupation with objects
- Less likely to experience unusual motore behaviors
Why is ASD not a localized brain disorder?
- Because it affects multiple areas & multiple networks.
- They know this through traditional MRI’s and a new procedure known as fMRI
What did the Neuroscientific studies (Geshwin, et al, 2007, Muller 2007, Rippon, et al 2007) state?
- ASD is not a localized brain disorder
- Disorder involving multiple functional networks
- Under-connectivity of the neural system
What is the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)?
- Relatively new procedure that uses a powerful magnetic field to measure & observe metabolic changes that take place in an “active” brain
- This is different from traditional MRI because the activity of the brain is recorded during cognitive or language tasks –> So researchers look for patterns of blood flow in different regions of the brain
- Diagnostic method of choice for learning how normal, diseased, or an injured brain is working.
What is the diagnostic method of choice for learning how normal, diseased, or an injured brain is working?
- fMRI
What is the goal of neuroscience?
- To use brain imaging to distinguish between Autism & other developmental disorders (with similar early symptoms)
- Also helps to distinguish between different subgroups of different types of Autism. (Example: One subgroup is a type where the brain is structurally larger caled, “macrocephaly” found sometimes among kids w/HFA)
T/F: Brain differences contribute to core deficits, core deficits cause processing and learning differences?
TRUE
What percent of children with autism do NOT have an intellectual disability?
40%
What are the 7 neurobiological findings?
- High peripheral levels of serotonin
- High rates of seizure disorder
- Persistent primitive reflexes
- Increased head size & increased brain volume
- Changes within CNS
- Fusiform gyrus & faces
- Placental abnormalities
What is Serotonin and where is it located?
- It is a neurotransmitter that egulates sleep mood & body temperature
- Located in the Central Nervous System
What percent of children with autism have normal EEG’s?
About 50%
What is the reflex known as that is in infants where a Dr. brings the hammer to the mouth & infant starts sucking?
- Visual Rooting Reflex
What percent of children have increased brain growth in infancy?
About 20%
The Changes in the CNS within the Neurological finding include Mincolumns, mirror neurons… What are these mirror neurons?
- They are a system of neurons, located in the pre-motor cortex. Relevant part of the brain for planning, execution, & selection of actions.
- This part of the brain is activated when your making a facial gesture, its the same part of the brain that is working when you’re observing other facial expression.
- Mirror Neurons help facilitate & translate the emotions of others.
Regarding Autism and the brain: List the area of difficulties within the brain and their functions
- Prefrontal cerebral cortex —> Social Thinking
- Hypothalamus —> Motor functions
- Amygdala —> Social, emotional learning
- Fusiform Gyrus —> Face recognition
- Middle Temporal Gyrus —> Recognition facial expression
- Pulvinar —> Emotional Relevance
What is information processing in children with autism?
- How the brain attaches meaning to information
What are the requirements of information processing in children with autism?
- Attention
- Sensory
- Perception
- Visual spatial processing
- Shifting attention
T/F: Information processing becomes more complex because of time constraints, simultaneous processing demands or stress & anxiety?
TRUE
T/F: Shifting attention when multi-tasking is a crucial skill.
TRUE
What does cognition involve in children with autism?
- Higher order of thinking
- Working Memory
- Language
- Problem Sovling
What is cognition supported by?
- collaboration of many brain regions
What percent of children with autism have intellectual disability?
50 - 60 %
What areas of cognition are impacted by ASD?
- Memory
- Metacognition
- Executive functioning
- Central Coherence
- Abstract thought
T/F: Children with ASD think whole to parts?
FALSE! They think parts to whole
What is a strength of memory in children with ASD?
Superior for Rote Information
What is a weakness of memory in children with ASD?
- Difficulty accessing short-term and working memory
What does metacognition refer to?
- The understanding of how one things/learns
- The understanding of one’s strengths & weaknesses
What is a weakness of metacognition?
- Lack of self-awareness & comprmises
- Ability to generalize newly learned skills
What cognitive processes are involved with language?
- Attention: orientation & reaction
- Perception/Discrimination: Identify stimuli based on relevant characteristics
- Organization: Organizing incoming censory information
- Memory: recall information previously learned
- Concept formation: encoding of information (affects ease of retrieval)
- Problem-solving & transfer: generalization of learned materials in solving cimilar but novel problems
- Management/Executive function: cognitive strategies need for a task; monitors feedback & outcomes to shift resources if needed.
Regarding Theory of Mind development, what happens at 9 months of age?
- Child starts to understand that other people want them to pay attention to something
Regarding Theory of Mind development, what happens between the ages of 6 months and 12 months?
- Joint attention, including gaze & point following & alternation of gaze between person & object
- First words
Regarding Theory of Mind, what develops between the ages of 13 months and 24 months?
- Recognize different people have different intentions.
- Early pretend play.
Regarding Theory of Mind development, what happens between the ages of 30 months and 36 months of age?
- Begin to use mental state terms with truly mentalistic functions
- Increased sophisticated pretend play
Regarding Theory of Mind developement, what happens between 37 months and 48 months of age?
- Increase ability to understand how things look from anothers persepective
Regarding Theory of Mind development, what happens between 49 months and 60 months of age?
- Consistently pass fals belief & appearance reality tasks
What is the primary deficit with children with autism?
- Communication
How do children learn and solve problems?
- Through social interaction
What are some deficits in ASD?
- Communication will be delayed & Deviant
- Pragmatics/ social communication
