Neurodiversity Flashcards
what causes neurodiversity
differences in our thinking are accounted for by differences in cultures or life experiences, everyones brains are uniquely wired/different nervous systems
neurodivergent
people whose brains function differently to others in one or more different ways
autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
a condition that affects how people think, feel and interact with others, and experience their exvironment. a lifelong disability that starts whe n a person is born and stays with them into old age, can be treated but not cured
ASD signs and symptoms
poor communication and social skills, lacks ability to understand emotional and social cues, poor non-verbal communication skills and struggles to form and maintain relations
lack of ability to understand emotional and social cues examples
struggling to hold a normal conversation, inability to responses to social interactions
poor non-verbal communications skills examples
lack of eye contact/facial expressions, using wrong gestures or not understanding them
struggle to form and maintain relationships examples
difficulty adjusting bahviours for different social contextx, struggling to make friends/short term friendships, lack of interest in peers
theory of mind
a cognitiveability that allows us to make judgements about other peoples mental states
Mary-Anne test
in 1985, this test was created by three reseaarchers to evaluate theory of mind in neurotypical children and neurodiverse children with ASD, the critical question of this assessment is the ‘belief’ question, only 20% of autistic children got it correct
several studies have shown that individuals with ASD also have
an impaired theory of mind
ADHD stands for
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
ADHD
an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impusivity that interfers with functioning or development, it is frequentlu misunderstood and underdiaganosed
three points of ADHD
inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, they tend to be intensified in quiet environments
inattention
a person may have difficulty staying on task, sustaining focus and staying organised, cluttered life/environment
hyperactivity
a person may seem to move about constantly, excessively figets, taps or talks, including in situations when it is not appropriate
impulsivity
a person acts without thinking or has difficulty with self control
what are the requirements to be diagnosed with ADHD
- needs to be excessive for the developmental age of the individual (exceeds beyond the typical) 2. needs to be present before the age of 12 (however research has contradicted this) 3. must have persisted for longer than 6 months 4. must include impairment across multiple settings
impairment
abilities disrupted/ cannot cope or keeps up with the demands of the environment
four cognitive variations in ADHD individuals
executive function, working memory, arousal and alertness, time estimation
executive function
set of skills that allow us to execute control over our behaviour, including organising, prioritising, planning and activating taks, impairment of this is ADHD
working memeory
allows us to process incoming sensory information, ADHD individuals can have difficulty dealing with visual and spatial information and/or processing auditory information
arousal and alertness
ability to be vigilant and to sustain focus, ADHD children tend to be underalert or have problems with alterness
time estimation
Individuals with ADHD show variations in how they estimate time, specifically they tend to overestumate even in very short time intervals
