Understanding autism through RPM

Question 0

What happens when all the senses do not get linked together?

Answer 0

Child may focus on one aspect of sensory input- auditory, visual, tactile or kinesthetic. Child may define his or her environment through that particular mode of refuge.

Question 1

What is underconnectivity theory?

Answer 1

Theory demonstrates that autism is a system wide brain disorder that restricts the coordination and integration among brain areas.

Question 2

What is Equilibrium?

Answer 2

According to Piaget, organisms strive to adapt through reaching equilibrium- a balance between cognitive, emotional and motor functions.

Question 3

What are two main types of environment?

Answer 3

Internal and external

Question 4

Internal environment

Answer 4

Dictated primarily by the body’s central nervous system.

Question 5

External environment

Answer 5

The surroundings with which the internal environment must correlate.

Question 6

What happens when the internal and external environments are in harmony?

Answer 6

The body responds to a stimulus with the right action at the right moment so as to bring equilibrium between the actions and social expectations.

Question 7

What is needed for equilibrium between expectations and actions to occur?

Answer 7

There must be the ability to:

1. Form a plan by mentally organizing the steps of an action.
2. Execute the steps of an operation through action.

Question 8

Achieving equilibrium can be considered what?

Answer 8

Adaptation

Question 9

What are the steps to Adaptation?

Answer 9

1. Assimilation

2. Accommodation

Question 10

Assimilation

Answer 10

The ability to interpret new experiences in the context of existing knowledge.

Question 11

Accommodation

Answer 11

The ability to modify the familiar knowledge in order to account for new dimensions of an object or event that are revealed through novel experience.

Question 12

List 4 stages of development.

Answer 12

Stage 1 - sensory motor intelligence
Stage 2 - pre operational thought
Stage 3 - concrete operational thought
Stage 4 - formal operational thought

Question 13

Stage 1

Answer 13

Sensory motor intelligence - infant gets exposed to sensory stimulations from internal and external environments.
Infant begins to interact with the environment in 3 areas: cognitive, emotional, and motor. Equilibrium occurs.

Question 14

What causes atypical behavior?

Answer 14

Disconnections between the cognitive, emotional, and motor learning.

Question 15

Stage 2

Answer 15

Pre operational thought. An individual develops tools for representing his thoughts symbolically through gestures, imitation, symbolic play, symbolic drawing, language and speech.

Question 16

What are mirror neurons?

Answer 16

Are in the Brain cells in the promotors cortex. Identified in 1990’s. They are responsible to fire when the observer imitates an activity.

Question 17

According to research from UC San Diego, what contributes to impairments in autism?

Answer 17

Individuals with autism have a dysfunctional mirror neuron system.

Question 18

Which stage of development hinges upon effective function of the mirror neurons.

Answer 18

Much of the Pre operational stage of cognitive development.

Question 19

Absence of imitation, symbolic drawing, symbolic play, gesture or audible speech must not conclude what?

Answer 19

That there is an impairment of receptive language or lack of cognitive understanding.

Question 20

Stage 3

Answer 20

Concrete operational thought - able to manipulate categories, classification systems and hierarchy within groups. Can successfully solve problems connected to physical reality. Can analyze and manage social relationships and social problems. Reasoning around real objects and the relationships between them.

Question 21

What stage cannot be mastered if a person is not exposed to a wide range of objects through personal encounter and/or education.

Answer 21

Concrete operational thought

Question 22

What is harm in assuming that a person is incapable of learning?

Answer 22

Will likely lead to failure of developing the concrete operational thought stage, resulting in an even greater state of disability.

Question 23

3 conceptual skills in concrete operational stage

Answer 23

1) . Conservation skills
2) . Classification skills
3) . Combinatorial skills

Question 24

Stage 4

Answer 24

Formal operational thought- allows individual to create laws and rules that can be used for problem solving. New development in frontal cortex which helps in coordination and execution of functions such as:
• self evaluation
• long term planning
• synthesis of emotions, actions and behavior

Continued myelination of nerve fibers leading to faster connectivity and communication among different areas of the brain.

Question 25

What is encoding?

Answer 25

Informs a person about the space and situation he or she is in. If a person is limited to 1 or 2 sensory modes, the environment may not be perceived in its completeness. All 4 sensory learning channels must work in sync to properly encode the environment.

Question 26

Visual

Answer 26

Global - see it in wholeness but not detail

Selective - choose to see one thing over all others

Generalized - able to see the details as part of the whole environment and able to focus on the relevant parts