Ch 14 ASD Flashcards by Elsa Lee

ASD is characterized by 2 things

deficits in social communication and socialization

repetitive restrictive behaviors (RRB)

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ASD has high concordance rate in

monozygotic twins

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ASD has low concordance rate in

dizygotic twins

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ASD brain size (weight volume circumference)

larger than average in younger subjects

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Describe ASD distinctive developmental course in brain size

normal or slightly small at birth
growth spurt from 6-24 mos larger than average brain (macrocephaly), enlarged brain volume
slowed growth that returns to normal brain size by later childhood

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Describe ASD corpus callosum

corpus callosum is undersized and not enlarged proportionally to enlargement of brain

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Perfusion in ASD brain

lower generally, but distribution varies

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Metabolic and DTI studies show ASD brain are

reduced in fiber integrity and density of metabolites

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Monoamine Neurotransmitter affect

mood, arousal, attention

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earliest biological finding in autism regarding NT difference?

hyperserotonemia (increase in serotonin levels in blood platelets)

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other neurotransmitter differences in ASD

glutamate and GABA show decreased activation and abnormalities in receptors

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NP deficits in ASD - weak central coherence

difficulties in integrating info from the environment into a meaningful whole

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NP deficits in ASD - social

social motivation - decreased motivation to orient to social stimuli
poor theory of mind

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risk factors

heritability
influenced by environment
being younger sib of an affected child
prematurity
old maternal age
obstetric complications

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gender ratio of ASD

male to female is 4:1

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girls with ASD generally have higher or lower IQ than boys?

lower verbal and lower non verbal IQ

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life expectancy of ASD

lower , with death causes including seizure, accident

more likely to happen among those with severe ID/ASD

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comorbidity

IQ 40-70%
anxiety 22-84%
depression 4-58%
tic disorders 6%
seizure disorder 11-39 %
ADHD 55%

Measures of ASD

ADI-R (parent interview ages 2+)
ADOS
M-CHAT
CARS (15 items)

ASD can be reliably diagnosed as early as

18-24 months

Regressive onset

takes place at around 15-24 months

Echolalia begins around what age

3,4,5

what’s the percentage of ASD lose sx of autism and function w/in normal range of social relationship?

5-20%

percent of adults with ASD who have poor outcom

50% require high level of residential assistance

have few friends, no employment

Rett's disorder

MeCP2 gene, X-linked gene 4 stages of progression 1) typical development until age 6 to 18 mos, then significant decline of motor and social skills, head growth decreases 2) sx of ASD, motor stereotypies, loss of cog and language skills, decreased motor skills 3) ASD sx diminish, cognitive gains made, motor skills continue to decline, seizure onset common, poor ADL 4) motor continues to decline, wheelchair dependent loss of purposeful hand movements, repetitive hand mannerism (hand wringing, hand washing) progressive cerebral atrophy

IQ in ASD

varies, usually non verbal > verbal

Attention in ASD

impaired in shifting attention sustained attention is spared heightened attention to personally salient stimuli

Processing Speed in ASD

impaired in verbal task intact in non verbal task usually slowed in general when there are distractions

Language in ASD

20-30% asd population remains non verbal verbal ASD people may show relatively strengths in phonology, articulation, basic grammar, single word receptive and expressive vocab higher semantic requirement, prosody, comprehension, pragmatics are usually harder

Visuospatial abilities in ASD

some have good VS skills - identify, match, copy visual stimuli tend to focus on details and not integrate well deficits in facial processing and recognition focus less on eyes

Memory in ASD

non declarative (eg procedures, perceptions) are ok declarative memory usually more impaired (e.g. events, facts) memory for social info impaired may be less efficient in learning contextual materials

Executive Functioning in ASD

usually impaired

Sensorimotor functioning in ASD

impaired over or under sensitivity visual self stimulation

when assessing sensorimotor function in ASD, it is important not to require

imitation skills

social skills in ASD

impaired in | reciprocity, eye contact, referencing, integration of cues, imitation, theory of mind

Academic skills in ASD

rote memorization strong abstract thinking and inferences are weak high fx ones are ok with decoding, spelling, math most difficulties in comprehension, math word problems, writing

PVT SVT in ASD

pragmatic language deficits may make it hard for ASD people to understand tast disengagement hyperarousal to stimuli lack motivation

Adaptive skills

variable

Best age for Early intervention?

greatest likelihood of success if started before 5 y/o | optimal age of services around 2-3

ABA duration

15-25 hours per week

Medications for ADHD

methylphenidate | amtomoxetine, clonodine, guanfacine

picture exchange communication system

helps kids with difficulties with spoken language | use small pictures to represent objects, actions, words for communication

Which syndrome has a high comorbidity with ASD as high as 50-90%?

Fragile X