(PS2011) Lecture 9: Social communication difficulties in autism spectrum disorder Flashcards
(reading):
Slater, & Quinn, Developmental psychology: Revisiting the classic studies. Chapter 10. Hill, E.L. (2004). Evaluating the theory of executive dysfunction in autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8, 26-32.
(reading):
(lecture summary):
This lecture provides an introduction to autism spectrum disorder, a complex developmental disorder affecting many aspects of behaviour. Focus will be given to exploring core social and communication difficulties, which include impairments in theory of mind and emotion processing.
- Social communication difficulties are central to autism.
- The dominant explanation for these difficulties has been dysfunction in ToM.
- However, ToM does not account for restricted and repetitive behaviours, the other core area of difference in autism.
- The EF account attempted to explain both types of impairment, but it is limited in how many social communication difficulties it can explain.
(lecture summary):
(lecture study question):
To what extent does impairment in theory of mind explain autism spectrum disorder?
(lecture study question):
(lecture):
What is autism? (describe some facts)
(lecture):
- A neurodevelopmental disorder.
> Atypical brain functioning.
> Emergent in early childhood. - The causes are unknown.
- Behaviourally defined
> Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5)
> International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) - A life long condition.
- Effects 1 in 100 individuals.
- More common in boys (3:1 ratio).
(read slide 3)
(lecture):
In people with autism, what impairments in social communication can they experience?
(lecture):
- Impairment in social-emotional reciprocity
- Impaired non-verbal communication – eye gaze, facial expression, gestures.
- Impairment in developing, maintaining and understanding relationships
(watch lecture back around 7 min mark)
(lecture):
In people with autism, what restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) might they display?
(lecture):
- Stereotyped or repetitive movements, use of objects, or speech
- Insistence on sameness, inflexible routines, ritualised behaviour
- Intense or unusual interests
- Sensory difficulties
(watch lecture back around 10 min mark)
(lecture):
How might a clinician diagnose a person with autism?
(lecture):
- A clinician makes a decision based on whether the child has a criterion number of behaviours.
- They can use tools such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and Autism Diagnostic Interview, but approach to diagnosis varies.
- Not all children will show all behaviours but they will reach a certain criterion.
- Some individuals do not receive a diagnosis until adulthood. (due to things like masking)
(watch lecture back around 12 min mark)
(lecture):
Why are we interested in cognition? (when autism is behaviourally defined…?)
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- Cognitive theories seek to identify atypical ‘thinking styles’ in autism.
- Informing us about the processes/mechanisms underlying autistic behaviours.
- Helping us understand ‘why’ behaviours occur.
(lecture):
Describe the single deficit accounts used to explain the cause of autism.
(lecture) :
- Psychologists have traditionally attempted to explain autism in terms of a single underlying cognitive atypicality.
- The cognitive atypicality should:
> Be universal in individuals with autism
> Be unique to autism (discriminant validity)
> Show explanatory power by explaining all symptoms and relating to symptom severity
e.g., ‘Theory of Mind’ and ‘Executive Function’
(watch lecture back around 18 min mark)
(lecture):
Describe the Theory of Mind.
(lecture):
- The ability to attribute mental states (emotions, desires, beliefs) to the self and others.
- Beliefs are more sophisticated than emotions and desires. They involve understanding that people act in accordance to what they think about the world, rather than how it really is.
(lecture):
Describe the Theory of Mind (ToM) in autism (e.g. Baron-Cohen et al., 1985)
(lecture):
See slide 11-13
(Watch lecture back around 20 min mark)
(lecture):
Describe some issues with the Theory of Mind (ToM) in autism (e.g. Baron-Cohen et al., 1985)
What experiment might address these?
(lecture):
See slide 14
experiment fix: anticipatory looking (Senju et al., 2009)
(Watch lecture back around 24 min mark)
(lecture):
Describe the Anticipatory looking experiment (Senju et al., 2009)
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See slide 15-18
(Watch lecture back around 27 min mark)
(lecture):
Describe Frith-Happé animations (Abell et al., 2000)
(lecture):
See slide 19-24
(Watch lecture back around 36 min mark)
(lecture):
Describe some benefits and limitations of the Theory of Mind (ToM).
(lecture):
Universal?
- Not all autistic children fail standard FB tasks, although this may reflect task factors (cf. measures of spontaneous FB or more complex coding of mental state language).
Unique?
- You can have impaired ToM and not have autism: e.g. profound deafness, blindness, specific language impairment, certain types of intellectual disability
Explanatory power?
ToM does not explain all the behavioural symptoms of autism:
- An absence of ToM leads to a critical breakdown in social communication, e.g. social and emotional understanding, friendships, conversations.
- But, the theory does not easily explain restricted and repetitive behaviours.