Autism

Question 1

Definition and characteristics of Autism

Answer 1

A condition that children develop, which affects 700,000 people in the UK. It affects five times as many males than females. It is characterised by:
Lack of responsiveness to others.
Inability to form attachments.
Atypical social interactions. 
Repetitive behaviour.
Difficulty communicating.
Preference of order.
Resistance to change.

Question 2

Biological explanation of Autism.

Answer 2

Extreme male brain theory. (Simon Baron-Cohen).
He believes there are 3 brain types- Type E (empathizing), Type S (systematizing) and balanced.
Females are more likely to have type E and males more likely to have type S. These are believed to be caused by testosterone levels in the womb.
Autism is an extreme version of type S (the male brain).
Research shows that children with autism are even better at typically boy oriented tasks that involved systematizing. (FAlter 2008).
Baron-Cohen’s research involved self-report data that shows females score higher on empathizing and males on systematizing. Autistic children do best at systematizing.

Question 3

Non-Biological explanation of Autism.

Answer 3

Theory of Mind.
This refers to the innate ability of one person to sense another’s feelings and put themselves in their shoes.
Autistic people struggle to do this and are seen to have no theory of mind. They get upset when others don’t know things and don’t understand their emotions. This is seen as mind-blindness. REseach for this includes the Sally-Ann test.

Question 4

Outline the Sally-Ann test.

Answer 4

Aim- to see if autistic children have a theory of mind, compared to other children.
Procedure- 20 autistic children were used, 14 down syndrome and 27 ‘normal’ children. They were shown a story (when Sally leaves the room and Ann moves her marble), and asked three questions about the story:
‘Where will Sally look for her ball?’ (Belief).
‘Which doll is Sally and which Ann?’ (Naming).
‘Where is the ball really?’ (Reality).
Results:
The results showed all children answered the reality question correct. 85% of the down and normal children correctly stated where Sally would look, compared to 20% of autistic people.

Question 5

ABA therapy

Answer 5

This focuses on principals such as positive reinforcement. It improves communication and living skills in autistic children.
It uses the ABC model to reinforce positive behaviour:
Antedescent, Behaviour, Consequence. Bad behaviour is ignored.
Strengths:
A systematic way is good for treatment as autistic people tend to like routine.
Focusing on the antecedent behaviour allows the parents to see why they behave the way they do.
Weaknesses:
Time-consuming and expensive.

Question 6

Therapy dogs.

Answer 6

Therapy dogs work by:
calming the child, reducing repetitive motion, keeping them safe and helping them recognise and show emotion. 
Evidence includes: 
Viau et al (2010) that studied 42 Canadian families and found the stress level lowered after the dogs.
Hall et al (2016) found that children in the UK improved in skills after the dogs. 
Strengths:
Scientific evidence.
Lessens the strain on child and family.
Tailored for each child.
Weaknesses:
Can be expensive.
they take ages to train (18-24 months).
Not available in NHS.