Task 4 Being the odd one

Question 1

What is autism? In one sentence

Answer 1

Is a group of developmental disorders associated with a spectrum of executive dysfunctions

Question 2

ASD includes a wide range “a spectrum” of symptoms, skills and levels of disability, such as..
Name 4 points

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

What do all individuals on the spectrum share?

Answer 3

All individuals of the spectrum share difficulty in making sense of the world

Question 4

Individuals with ASD show a executive dysfunction as a characteristic impairment
What are these?

Answer 4

Higher order control processes to guide behavior in changing environment

Question 5

Name 5 higher order control processes / abilities

Answer 5

1. planing
2. Mental flexibility
3. response inhibition
4. generativity
5. self-monitoring

Question 6

Behaviors linked to executive dysfunction include:

Name 5 characteristics

Answer 6

• need for sameness
• strong linking for receptive behaviors
• lack of impulse control
• difficulty initiating new non-routine actions
• difficulty switching between tasks

Question 7

Planning

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Mental flexibility

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Response inhibition

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Generativity

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Self-monitoring

Answer 11

ability to monitor ons’s own thoughts and actions (behavior)

Verbal fluency task shows are repetitions in ASD-patients compared compared to controls

Question 12

What was the research goal of the study of the first article “executive functioning in children with autism spectrum disorders”?

Answer 12

To address previous limitations in studies of executive functions in children with ASD

Question 13

In which executive functions do ASD people show impaired performance?

Answer 13

in response inhibition, planning skills and self-monitoring, but no note worthy difference to control group in generatively & mental flexibility

Question 14

In which executive functions is a positive correlation with age?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Name 4 key terms which define Inclusion

the process of inclusion

Answer 15

1. Presence =being there without any sort of integrated segregation from non-disabled children
2. Participation= chance to get a quality education conforming to their abilities
3. acceptance = by teachers & peers
4. achievement = progress (academic, social, emotional skills)

Question 16

What are the disadvantages / the risks for an ASD child on a mainstream school?

Answer 16

• 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

Question 17

What is the aim of the second article “autism spectrum and inclusion..”?

Answer 17

the aim is to outline evidence-based strategies to facilitate the presence, participation, acceptance and achievement of students with ASD in mainstream schools

Question 18

Name 6 strategies to facilitate inclusion

Answer 18

1. Challenge stereotypes & raise exceptions
2. Create order from chaos
3. Promote peer understanding
4. develop social skills
5. adapt academic subjects
6. Modify conversational language

Question 19

Challenge stereotyping & raise exceptions

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Create order from chaos

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Promote peer understanding

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Develop social skills

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Adapt academic subjects

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Modify conversational language

Answer 24

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

Question 25

define Bullying

Answer 25

relationship problem, involving repeated hostile actions in a relationship characterizes by a power differential

Question 26

define power

Answer 26

can be attained through social status advantage (popularity), physical size / strength, age, IQ, membership in socially defined domination group

Question 27

Name 4 types of bullying

Answer 27

verbal (name calling)
social (rumor spreading or leaving someone out on purpose)
physical
cyber

Question 28

What is the role of parents?

Answer 28

function as primary socialization agents and play a critical role in their children social development & understanding

Question 29

What are the consequences of bullying? Name 6

Answer 29

1. psychosomatic symptoms
2. poor social & emotional adjustment
3. low ratings of school commitment
4. depression & anxiety
5. clinically significant social problems
6. criminal behavior (drugs, weapons, physical fighting)

Question 30

Explain the bidirectional relationship between bullying and mental health problems

Answer 30

Bullied = increase risk of mental health problems

Higher level of mental health problems = more likely to be bullied

Question 31

ASD kids have a greater risk for victimization because

Answer 31

• 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

Question 32

Who is generally more often victimized ?

Answer 32

boys

Question 33

When victimization occur most?

Answer 33

during middle school and transition to high school (age 12 to 15)

Question 34

What is the aim of the study “bullying experiences among children and youth with ASD”?

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Is the hypothesis that social and verbal forms of bullying would be reported more often than physical true or false ?

Answer 35

Its proven that verbal forms of bullying are as effective as physical and not that easily detected by parents or teachers

Question 36

Name implications for presentation and intervention

Answer 36

• 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

Question 37

Be aware of peer dynamics

Name 4 roles associated to bullying

Answer 37

assistant to the bully
reinforce of the bully
outsider
defender

Question 38

What should teachers do to prevent bullying

Answer 38

inhale children’s capacities to be defenders and promote their awareness of their roles to reduce reinforcement and maintenance of the bully