Week 1 - A is for Autism Flashcards
What does aetiology mean?
The study of the causes of a disease
What does stimming mean?
Self-stimulatory behaviours and May present as back and forth rocking, twirling of flapping the hands
What does ASC mean?
Autism Spectrum Condition
Seen to be less stigmatising than ASD by some
What does neurotypical mean?
Term used to describe people outside of the autism spectrum or are not affected with a developmental disorder
Characteristic of the general population and typical neurology.
What is anorexia nervosa?
Medical term for anorexia
Anorexia is an eating disorder and serious mental health condition.
People who have anorexia try to keep their weight as low as possible by not eating enough food or exercising too much, or both. This can make them very ill because they start to starve.
They often have a distorted image of their bodies, thinking they are fat even when they are underweight.
Men and women of any age can get anorexia, but it’s most common in young women and typically starts in the mid-teens.
(NHS website)
What are ADLs?
Give 3 examples
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
Activities of daily living (ADLs) are basic tasks that must be accomplished every day for an individual to thrive. Generally, ADLs can be broken down into the following categories:
- Personal hygiene
Bathing, grooming, oral, nail and hair care - Dressing
The ability to make appropriate clothing decisions and physically dress and undress oneself - Eating
The ability to feed oneself but not necessarily the capability to prepare food - Continence management
A person’s mental and physical ability to properly use the bathroom, to avoid incontinence - Transferring/ Mobility
The extent of a person’s ability to change from one position to the other and to walk independently, getting into and out of bed
https://www.kindlycare.com/activities-of-daily-living
PBL debrief Lecture
What is Aspergers?
Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger’s, is a developmental disorder characterised by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.[5]
As a milder autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it differs from other ASDs by relatively normal language and intelligence.[9] Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and unusual use of language are common.[10][11]
Signs usually begin before two years of age and typically last for a person’s entire life.[5]
Ref: Wikipedia
What are stereotypies?
Stereotypies are repetitive movements or sounds.
Stereotypies may include simple movements such as body rocking, head nodding, finger tapping, or more complex movements such as arm and hand flapping, waving or pacing.
Stereotypies form a normal part of development (especially between the ages of two and five), though for some children they persist into adolescence. Stereotypies are often present on their own but may also be seen with other medical conditions to do with brain development such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Dyspraxia and Tourette syndrome. Some brain conditions that present with a range of problems can also have stereotypies as one feature of the whole presentation e.g. childhood stroke which is a very uncommon condition seen by Paediatric Neurologists. Blind children can also engage in stereotypies.
Stereotypies do not cause any damage to the brain, but it is not yet known exactly what causes stereotypies or why some children perform these movements/sounds and others do not. It is thought that stereotypes may reflect
1) Learned patterns of behaviour
2) Some children’s way of soothing or stimulating themselves
3) The brain maturing at different rates
4) Stereotypies may be genetic ie run in families. The genes for Stereotypies although not identified yet but likely affect the structure and chemistry of the brain, resulting in these movements.
It appears likely that stereotypies in children may be caused due to a combination of these factors.
https://www.evelinalondon.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/your-childs-stereotypies.pdf
What is Autism?
Defined by the American Psychiatric Association in DSM 5 as persistent impairments in social communication, and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests or activities (APA, 2013)
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Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 59 children in the United States today.
We know that there is not one autism but many subtypes, most influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Because autism is a spectrum disorder, each person with autism has a distinct set of strengths and challenges. The ways in which people with autism learn, think and problem-solve can range from highly skilled to severely challenged. Some people with ASD may require significant support in their daily lives, while others may need less support and, in some cases, live entirely independently.
Several factors may influence the development of autism, and it is often accompanied by sensory sensitivities and medical issues such as gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, seizures or sleep disorders, as well as mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression and attention issues.
Indicators of autism usually appear by age 2 or 3. Some associated development delays can appear even earlier, and often, it can be diagnosed as early as 18 months. Research shows that early intervention leads to positive outcomes later in life for people with autism.
- In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association merged four distinct autism diagnoses into one umbrella diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). They included autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome.
https: //www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism
What are some general signs and symptoms of a person with ASD?
Hard to understand how people feel Anxious at unfamiliar social environments Takes longer to understand information Repetitive Not responding to name Social environments are difficult
What is the triad of impairments?
Social interaction
Social communication
Rigidity of thinking and difficulties with social imagination
In the triad of impairments, what comes under social imagination?
Deficits in flexible thinking regarding interests, routines, perspectives and rules
- insistence on sameness
- difficulty with unwritten rules, broken rules
- agitated by changes in routine
- cannot generalise info
- has special interests
- takes everything literally
In the triad of impairments for ASD, what symptoms come under social interactions?
Deficits in understanding how to behave and interact with other people
- Difficulty reading other people, recognising emotions or expressing their own
- May appear insensitive, lonely or behave ‘strangely’ or socially inappropriate
- Repetitive behaviour and routines are comforting
- Highly focused interests
- Over sensitive or under sensitive
In ASD and the triad of impairments, what symptoms come under impairment in social communication?
Deficits in ability to communicate effectively with other people
- Difficulty interpretations non-/verbal language
- May have limited verbal communication skills
- asks repetitive questions
- cannot read between the lines of what people mean
- talks about own interests regardless of the listener’s response
- makes factual comments inappropriate to the context
- absence of desire to communicate
- communicates for own needs rather than social engagement
What are some additional symptoms that patient with ASD might have that are not included in the triad of impairments?
Sensory difficulties, mental health difficulties and physical difficulties
- cannot bear loud noises
- maybe hyper or hypo sensitive to touch, clothes or pressure
- mood disturbances e.g. anxiety, aggression or depression
- motor difficulties e.g. walking on tip toes, clumsiness
- attention difficulties e.g. easily distractable
- has desire to have friends and relationships but struggles to initiate and maintain these
Who came up with the triad of impairments in what year?
1970s
Lorna Wing and Judith Gould
What are some causes for autism?
Autism is generally linked to differences in brain structure and function
Autism tends to be more prevalent if a family member has it (parents or siblings)
Autism tends to occur more frequently than expected among individuals who have certain medical conditions including: (genetics)
- Fragile X syndrome
- Tuberous Sclerosis
- Congential Rubella Syndrome
- Untreated PKU
Environmental factors can include:
- Problems during pregnancy
- Infections
- Metabolic imbalances, exposures to chemicals
There is not one cause of autism, it is generally unknown and it is usually a range of factors and multi factorial
What disorders come under the ASD umbrella?
- Autistic disorder (what we generally think of when we think of autism)
- Asperger’s syndrome (normal to high IQ, but same social problems and limited scope of interests as autistic children)
- Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) - (atypical autism, where people have some autistic behaviours but don’t fit into the other categories)
- Childhood disintegrative disorder (develop normally for the first 2 years and then lose some or most of their communication and social skills. Very rare and debated between mental health professionals)
Even within these 4 disorders, there are a spectrum of symptoms
What is a comorbidity?
Presence of one or more additional conditions cooccurring with a primary condition
What are comorbidities with autism?
- Epilepsy
- GI tract disorders
- OCD
- ADHD
- Sleep disturbances
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Fragile X syndrome
- Tuberous sclerosis
- Congenital Rubella Syndrome
- Untreated phenylketonuria (PKU)
