Task 4 Being the odd one Flashcards
What is autism? In one sentence
Is a group of developmental disorders associated with a spectrum of executive dysfunctions
ASD includes a wide range “a spectrum” of symptoms, skills and levels of disability, such as..
Name 4 points
- difficulty communicating and interacting with others
- rezeptive behaviors
- symptoms that typically are recognized in the first 2 years of life
- Symptoms that hurt the individuals ability to function socially, at school or work, or other areas of life
What do all individuals on the spectrum share?
All individuals of the spectrum share difficulty in making sense of the world
Individuals with ASD show a executive dysfunction as a characteristic impairment
What are these?
Higher order control processes to guide behavior in changing environment
Name 5 higher order control processes / abilities
- planing
- Mental flexibility
- response inhibition
- generativity
- self-monitoring
Behaviors linked to executive dysfunction include:
Name 5 characteristics
- need for sameness
- strong linking for receptive behaviors
- lack of impulse control
- difficulty initiating new non-routine actions
- difficulty switching between tasks
Planning
Planning describes a cognitive skill that requires constant monitoring, evaluation and updating of actions
Tower of London Task os often used to assess planning and problem solving skills
it is unclear if deficits are causally related to ASD or rater to IQ
Mental flexibility
is the ability to shift to different thought/ action in response to situation change
Task of sorting cards either for color, shape or number
poor performance on tasks has been shown by several researchers, but it remains the probability that the poor performance is confounded by other variables beside ASD e.g. verbal ability, IQ or task demands
Response inhibition
ability to suppress irrelevant or interfering information impulses
Stroop task: participants have to name the color that words are written in, whilst ignoring the word representing color itself
unknown whether performance impairment for ASD children and if so whether that reflects an impairment in inhabitation of prepotent responses, strategy formation, generatively or the nature of rules
Generativity
ability to generate novel ideas and behaviors spontaneously
test of verbal fluency (produce as many words for a category as you can)
ASD shows no impairment of generatively expect more repetition of the same word
Self-monitoring
ability to monitor ons’s own thoughts and actions (behavior)
Verbal fluency task shows are repetitions in ASD-patients compared compared to controls
What was the research goal of the study of the first article “executive functioning in children with autism spectrum disorders”?
To address previous limitations in studies of executive functions in children with ASD
In which executive functions do ASD people show impaired performance?
in response inhibition, planning skills and self-monitoring, but no note worthy difference to control group in generatively & mental flexibility
In which executive functions is a positive correlation with age?
unusual age-related performance only found in inhibition -, planning - & self-monitoring- tasks -> difficulties with these executive functions reflect autistic symptomology and not intellectual disability or verbal difficulties
Name 4 key terms which define Inclusion
the process of inclusion
- Presence =being there without any sort of integrated segregation from non-disabled children
- Participation= chance to get a quality education conforming to their abilities
- acceptance = by teachers & peers
- achievement = progress (academic, social, emotional skills)
What are the disadvantages / the risks for an ASD child on a mainstream school?
- are more than 20 times more likely to be excluded from school
- are difficult to teach by teachers (lots of mainstream schools do not have necessary training and support)
- experience higher degree of bullying and social isolation
- consequently, higher risk of developing mental health problems
- kids find school stressful and anxiety provoking
What is the aim of the second article “autism spectrum and inclusion..”?
the aim is to outline evidence-based strategies to facilitate the presence, participation, acceptance and achievement of students with ASD in mainstream schools
Name 6 strategies to facilitate inclusion
- Challenge stereotypes & raise exceptions
- Create order from chaos
- Promote peer understanding
- develop social skills
- adapt academic subjects
- Modify conversational language
Challenge stereotyping & raise exceptions
Pupils with ASD are often treated differently, because teachers automatically put them into a category and show lower expectations of the children’s intellectual capabilities -> danger of self-fulfilling prophecies
Pay attention to the individual needs of every single pupil, since every person with ASD is different and shouldn’t be stereotyped
Create order from chaos
Schools are often a source of noise & chaos = extremely difficult for pupils with ASD to concentrate, because they often have a strong need for routine, causes anxiety
Schools could take the effort to try to create “relaxation areas”/ individual schedules to create routine and predictability
Promote peer understanding
Pupils with ASD often lack in social understanding and communication skills
= social isolation & bullying (other children see them as different or “weirdos” ->mental health issues in the long-term
Educating peers about ASD in a CoF (Circle of Friends) framework can help to challenge stereotypes and facilitate the building of natural friendships which enhances a positive sense of self in the pupils with ASD
Develop social skills
Hidden curriculum – set of social skills e.g. using and correctly interpreting body language – these skills need to be explicitly taught to students with ASD because they lack in this knowledge
Useful tool is e.g. social stories to (descriptive, directive &perspective sentences) make social skills accessible and easy to understand
Adapt academic subjects
school subjects need to be adjusted to need of kids with ASD
Science can be difficult since it has a lot of abstract concepts: use concrete (visible) examples rather than just the abstract as ASD-kids have a visual preference -> e.g. atom model
Math can be straightforward and difficult since it uses logical systems, but often also engage with abstract concepts : same as above -> give cube when calculating volume whatsoever
Literature & history: demand mentalising (putting oneself in the shoes of another) which ASD-kids have a hard time doing -> explain step-by-step strategies as for how to address such tasks
Modify conversational language
Pupils with ASD show difficulties in understanding non-literal use of language (e.g. metaphors, irony)
can interpret something wrong and be confused or even feel insulted
Teachers need to pay close attention to their use of language and explain metaphors to students in the autistic spectrum to make them understandable
define Bullying
relationship problem, involving repeated hostile actions in a relationship characterizes by a power differential
define power
can be attained through social status advantage (popularity), physical size / strength, age, IQ, membership in socially defined domination group
Name 4 types of bullying
verbal (name calling)
social (rumor spreading or leaving someone out on purpose)
physical
cyber
What is the role of parents?
function as primary socialization agents and play a critical role in their children social development & understanding
What are the consequences of bullying? Name 6
- psychosomatic symptoms
- poor social & emotional adjustment
- low ratings of school commitment
- depression & anxiety
- clinically significant social problems
- criminal behavior (drugs, weapons, physical fighting)
Explain the bidirectional relationship between bullying and mental health problems
Bullied = increase risk of mental health problems
Higher level of mental health problems = more likely to be bullied
ASD kids have a greater risk for victimization because
- socio-communicative & behavioral difficulties
- atypical interests
- intense emotional / behavioral reactions to victimization may encourage child that’s bullying further
- have fewer friends / engage in viewer social interactions
Who is generally more often victimized ?
boys
When victimization occur most?
during middle school and transition to high school (age 12 to 15)
What is the aim of the study “bullying experiences among children and youth with ASD”?
To build an understanding of bullying experience among children with ASD based on parent reports by examine rates of various forms of bullying, exploring the association between victimization and mental health problems, and investigating individual and contextual variables as correlates of victimization
Is the hypothesis that social and verbal forms of bullying would be reported more often than physical true or false ?
Its proven that verbal forms of bullying are as effective as physical and not that easily detected by parents or teachers
Name implications for presentation and intervention
- any adults with ASD children must maximize positive interactions while minimizing negative ones
- provide structure where aggressive / bullying behavior cannot develop
- bewahre of bystander effect
- adults must remember that they serve as role models
Be aware of peer dynamics
Name 4 roles associated to bullying
assistant to the bully
reinforce of the bully
outsider
defender
What should teachers do to prevent bullying
inhale children’s capacities to be defenders and promote their awareness of their roles to reduce reinforcement and maintenance of the bully
