Autism

Question 1

What kind of disorder is Autism spectrum disorder?

Answer 1

Neurological & developmental disorder that begins early in childhood & lasts throughout a person’s life.

Question 2

What were those with higher level of function with Autism diagnosed with?

Answer 2

Asperger’s syndrome.

Question 3

How did the DSM-5 change from Asperger’s?

Answer 3

They got rid of it and made Autism a spectrum with grades (grade 3 (lots of support) to grade 1 (little support))

Question 4

The start of Autism?

Answer 4

Around the 12 month mark the decline in a child’s development starts to appear.

Question 5

What are the three major difficulties of ASD?

Answer 5

1. Impaired communication
2. Impaired social interactions
3. Restricted behavior, interests, and activities

Question 6

What is the impaired communication problem?

Answer 6

People with autism nearly always have problems or delays in communication. For those who develop speech, the pattern of communication is often quite unusual. (Echolalia – repeating the speech and intonation of others is common.)

Question 7

What is the impaired social interaction problem?

Answer 7

Kids with Autism suffer with: Coordination of capacities to experience emotion, send emotional messages to others, and read others’ emotional signals.

Question 8

What is restricted behavior?

Answer 8

Individuals with autism often exhibit repetitive, apparently pointless behaviors called stereotypies (stimming, ritualistic behaviors…)

Question 9

Prevalence of ASD?

Answer 9

1 in 66 (1 in 42 males and 1 in 165 females) (around world consistently 4:1 ration for genders)

Question 10

Etiology of ASD?

Answer 10

ASD is highly heritable (genetic).

Question 11

What are the environmental factors?

Answer 11

1. Maternal diet: nutrient deficiency
2. Maternal smoking, alcohol, or drugs.
3. Air pollutants
4. Maternal and Paternal age

Question 12

What is an autism comorbidity?

Answer 12

Immune dysregulation and gastrointestinal disturbances are common among individuals with ASD.

Question 13

True or False: ASD condition resulting from overall brain reorganization, beginning early in development.

Answer 13

True

Question 15

What is the extreme male brain theory?

Answer 15

Exposure to testosterone during pregnancy can influence autism since males are more logical and less emotional.

Question 16

What are mirror neurons?

Answer 16

Neurons that will fire both when an individual performs a certain action, and when they observe that action being performed by someone else.

Question 17

What neurons found in the insula and cingulate cortex might have a role in empathy?

Answer 17

Mirror neurons.

Question 18

What does autism have to do with mirror neurons?

Answer 18

It seems that many of the deficits seen in autism are precisely those skills that are controlled by mirror neurons.

Question 19

Do individuals with ASD have a dysfunctional Mirror Neuron system?

Answer 19

Kids with ASD showed reduced activity in the frontal mirror neuron system. Correlated with the severity of disorder (Higher severity – lower activity in MNS).

Question 20

What are the current therapeutic advances?

Answer 20

Mostly, behavioural-based therapies; most common is “Applied Behaviour Analysis” (ABA).