(PS2011) Lecture 9: Social communication difficulties in autism spectrum disorder Flashcards

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1
Q

(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.

A

(reading):

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2
Q

(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.
A

(lecture summary):

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3
Q

(lecture study question):

To what extent does impairment in theory of mind explain autism spectrum disorder?

A

(lecture study question):

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4
Q

(lecture):

What is autism? (describe some facts)

A

(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)

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5
Q

(lecture):

In people with autism, what impairments in social communication can they experience?

A

(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)

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6
Q

(lecture):

In people with autism, what restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) might they display?

A

(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)

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7
Q

(lecture):

How might a clinician diagnose a person with autism?

A

(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)

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8
Q

(lecture):

Why are we interested in cognition? (when autism is behaviourally defined…?)

A

(lecture):

  • 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.
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9
Q

(lecture):

Describe the single deficit accounts used to explain the cause of autism.

A

(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)

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10
Q

(lecture):

Describe the Theory of Mind.

A

(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.
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11
Q

(lecture):

Describe the Theory of Mind (ToM) in autism (e.g. Baron-Cohen et al., 1985)

A

(lecture):

See slide 11-13

(Watch lecture back around 20 min mark)

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12
Q

(lecture):

Describe some issues with the Theory of Mind (ToM) in autism (e.g. Baron-Cohen et al., 1985)

What experiment might address these?

A

(lecture):

See slide 14

experiment fix: anticipatory looking (Senju et al., 2009)

(Watch lecture back around 24 min mark)

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13
Q

(lecture):

Describe the Anticipatory looking experiment (Senju et al., 2009)

A

(lecture):

See slide 15-18

(Watch lecture back around 27 min mark)

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14
Q

(lecture):

Describe Frith-Happé animations (Abell et al., 2000)

A

(lecture):

See slide 19-24

(Watch lecture back around 36 min mark)

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15
Q

(lecture):

Describe some benefits and limitations of the Theory of Mind (ToM).

A

(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.

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16
Q

(lecture):

Define executive function (EF)

A

(lecture):

See slide 28-29

(watch lecture back around 42 min mark)

17
Q

(lecture):

Describe the executive function theory of autism.

A

(lecture):

See slide 30-37

(Watch lecture around 43 min mark to the end)