Lecture 4 (Theme 3) Flashcards
(13 cards)
Who were Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger? When was ‘autism’ first used?
- Leo Kanner was the first to see autism symptoms as a disorder. You could have either low or high IQ.
- Hans Asperger described similar symptoms as Asperger’s. But they had normal or high intelligence.
- Autism was first used by Bleuler as a symptom of Schizophrenia, meaning something like ‘in yourself.’
What are the two domains of symptoms of Autism in the DSM-V? Do the symptoms have to be there at early development?
A. Deficits in social communication and interaction
B. Restricted, repetitive behavior and interests. (RRBI)
- The symptoms need to be there in early life, but they could be masked until later, so you can also be diagnosed without it.
What are the 3 severity levels of support needed in ASD?
- requires support
- Requires substantial support
- Requires very substantial support.
What is regression in autism?
- The child develops normally at first, but at a certain age they start losing skills, like language and speaking.
What are possible explanations that girls are less likely to have autism? genes, symptoms, compensation, clinician bias.
- genetic: males are genetically more likely to have autism
- Symptoms show in girls less obviously or differently in girls compared to boys.
- Girls compensate for their symptoms by camouflaging it.
- Clinician bias means that clinicians are biased against diagnosing girls, especially if they camouflage their symptoms.
What are the social subtypes of autism
- Aloof: disconnected from the rest of the world and in a world of their own. Usually non-verbal
- Passive: introverted, but can talk and have a conversation
- Odd: more extraverted and social. Maybe even too much.
What are two methods that are used to diagnose autism?
- observation: ADOS (autism diagnostic observation skill) where you interact with the child and use toys. You observe how to react and play.
- Parent interview: ADI-R (autism diagnostic interview) or parent-based questionnaires.
What is treatment of autism focused on? What does medication do and what is ABA?
- You don’t try to cure autism (which is impossible) but you help them cope with autism if they have problems and try to make the environment more autism-friendly.
- Medication can reduce co-occuring problems like anxiety.
- ABA, which is very intensive therapy, has been stopped mostly because it is immoral. But there is debate if it is good or bad because it can’t cure autism but can help extreme cases.
What is the neurodiversity perspective?
- There is no ‘right’ way of interacting with the world and everybody does it differently.
What are G x E and rGE in autism?
- G x E: If you have the biological risk of autism, the environment can increase the risk or the reduce the risk by the amount of social interaction.
- rGE: if you have autistic tendencies, you will likely not expose yourself to social interactions very often.
What is the difference in brain growth, chemistry (synapse firing), anatomy( amount of neurons) brain activity in autism
- brain growth: too much growth in early development
- chemistry: brain synapses might be more likely or less likely to stop/start firing
- Anatomy: less neurons in limbic system and cerebellum.
- Brain activity: atypical brain activity in things like looking at faces or taking perspective.
What are central coherence, executive functions, emotional competence and theory of mind in autism?
- central coherence: ability to see the connection between stimuli (ability to see the whole instead of the parts). Reduced in autism.
- executive functioning: these are functions that regulate goal directed behavior.
- emotional competence: the ability to recognise and deal with emotions.
- theory of mind: knowing that other people have their own minds and mental states. perspective taking
What are 4 criteria for Autism Diagnosis?
- Impairment in socio-emotional reciprocity. So taking turns in interactions.
- Impairment in nonverbal communication. like body language
- Impairment in developing and maintaining relationships
- At least two types of repetitive behaviors and/or fixated interests.
