Chapter 16 - Autism Spectrum Disorders Flashcards
1
Q
Autism Spectrum Disorder
A
- significantly impaired behavior or functioning in multiple areas of development that are disproportionate to their age:
- social interactions, behavior/flexibility of behavior, verbal and nonverbal behavior, interests
- typically noticed at very young age
2
Q
What are the two categories of symptoms of ASD?
A
- social interactions and communication
- repetitive activities and restricted interests; addition of sensory criteria (sensitivity to certain stimuli)
3
Q
Social interactions and communication (category 1 of symptoms of ASD)
A
- inability to relate to, to be interested in, or enter into social interactions
- deficits in nonverbal communication like showing inappropriate facial gestures
- disconnection w/ others, apathetic, aloof
- difficulty developing and maintaining relationships
4
Q
What is language like in pts with ASD?
A
- literal and concrete - pragmatic
- difficulty learning language
- ranges from rudimentary to nonverbal
- comprehension is difficult
5
Q
Restrictive/Repetitive Behaviors
A
- restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities as follows:
- stereotyped or repetitive speech, motor movements (flapping hands, rocking, pigeon-toed), use of objects
- excessive adherence to routine (everything has to be the same, difference can cause anxiety or rage)
- highly restricted and abnormally intense, fixated interests
- hypo or hyper reactivity to sensory input or unusual sensory interests
- not interested in imaginative/symbolic play
6
Q
Epidemiology of ASD
A
- occurs in 4-5 out of 10,000
- more common in males
7
Q
Etiology of ASD
A
- perinatal complications/abnormalities in brain development
- gene/environment interaction (~20 genes involved)
- correlated with immune and gastrointestinal symptoms
8
Q
Some children with ASD may show a 25-50% increase in ______.
A
serotonin
9
Q
Along with the increase in serotonin, what are the other neuropsychological pathogeneses of ASD?
A
- greater head circumference due to having two growth spurts after being born with smaller head
- atypical white to gray matter ratios
- structural and functional abnormalities of the cerebellum contribute to attentional difficulties
- volumetric reductions in limbic system
- hypofrontality
10
Q
Neuropsychological Assessment
A
- children show deficits on several cognitive domains including:
- language
- memory
- executive functions (difficulty determining meaning of literal or hypothetical language, reasoning/abstract thinking, can’t determine whole from its parts)
- deficiency in academic performance
11
Q
Executive functioning in ASD
A
- poor complex planning and mental shifting performance
- “stuck in set” perseveration (inability to let go of step 1 to move onto step 2; only able to sort by color in WCS, not number or shape)
- impairment in executive planning
- tested via Wisconsin card sort
12
Q
Social cognition in ASD
A
- impairment in facial perception, social orientation, joint attention (sharing activities or conversation), imitation, and TOM
- prefer objects over humans
13
Q
Theory of Mind (TOM)
A
- capacity to understand other people by ascribing to mental states of others
- predicting other’s responses
- knowledge that others beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions and thoughts may be different from one’s own
- empathy
14
Q
Developmental course of ASD
A
- generally detected before the age of three
- tend to be better with visuospatial tasks
15
Q
Toddler and preschool years (developmental course of ASD)
A
- onset of speech and lang. delayed
- exhibit echolalia and reversed pronouns
