AUTISMSPECTRUM DISORDER ANEDUCATIONALBROCHUREON
Prepared by (Group MaPSYCH8):
Nathan Saint Aishely Garcia
Hannah Miranda
Angel Rana
AUSTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD)
What is it?
a complex developmental condition involving persistent challenges with social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behavior lifelong condition challenges vary among individuals
PREVALENCE OF ASD
According to the DSM-5-TR:
Non-U.S. countries has approached 1% of the population (0.62% median global prevalence)
Globally, the male:female ratio appears to be 3:1
Other collected data:
About 66% to 75% percent of those with ASD are male
Older mothers are more likely to give birth to a child with ASD
About 1 in 100 children has autism (WHO)
1 in 100 Filipinos are on the autism spectrum (approximately 1.2 ASD is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.
BRIEF HISTORY OF ASD
John Haslam (1809): Described a hyperactive, socially withdrawn child with speech and reading difficulties, resembling ASD traits
Henry Maudsley (1867): Documented a case of childhood insanity with ASD-like symptoms
LeoKanner&KannerSyndrome
Identified autism as a distinct disorder, separate from schizophrenia
Observed social withdrawal, need for sameness, repetitive behaviors, and language difficulties
Suggested a genetic component to autism and noted a male predominance
HansAsperger&AspergerSyndrome
Described "autistic psychopathy" in children with normal intelligence but poor social skills and rigid behavior
Recognized as distinct from Kanner’s autism much later (1990s)
Studies in the 1990s estimated Asperger syndrome prevalence at 36 per 10,000
TYPES OF STRATEGIES
TheodoreHeller&ChildhoodDisintegrativeDisorder
Identified a rare condition where children develop normally before regressing in multiple domains
AndreasRett&RettSyndrome
Documented a neurodevelopmental disorder primarily affecting girls, later linked to MECP2 gene mutations
DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES AND SYMPTOMS
1. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following currently or by history:
DEFICITS IN:
Social-emotional reciprocity: some examples are failure of normal backand-forth conversation, reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect, failure to initiate or respond to social interactions
Nonverbal communicative behaviors: some examples are poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication, abnormalities in eye contact and body language, deficits in the use of gestures, and total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication
Developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships: example is difficulties in imaginative play or making friends
REMEMBER: Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communicative behaviors, and in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships MUST ALL BE PRESENT to diagnose someone with ASD.
Deficits in Social reciprocity for individuals with more severe symptoms of ASD involves the: inability to engage in JOINT ATTENTION (when one person purposefully coordinates his or her focus of attention with another person; 2 people paying attention to the SAME THING)
Deficits in Nonverbal communicative behaviors: inability to engage in JOINT ATTENTION (when one person purposefully coordinates his or her focus of attention with another person; 2 people paying attention to the SAME THING)
Deficits in Social reciprocity for individuals with more severe symptoms of ASD involves the: inability to engage in JOINT ATTENTION (when one person purposefully coordinates his or her focus of attention with another person; 2 people paying attention to the SAME THING)
2. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, manifested by AT LEAST 2 OF THE FOLLOWING, currently:
Stereotyped or repetitive movements (use of objects, speech)
Examples: hand-flapping, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia (repeating of words or phrases), idiosyncratic phrases
Insistence of sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, ritualized patterns (verbal and nonverbal)
Examples: extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, eat the same food or need to take same route
Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus
Examples: strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interest
Hyper-or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment
Examples: apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement
3. Symptoms above must be present in EARLY DEVELOPMENTAL PERIOD
4.
LEVELS OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Level 1: Requiring Support
Social Communication: Without supports in place, deficits in social communication cause noticeable impairments. Difficulty initiating social interactions, and clear examples of atypical or unsuccessful response to social overtures of others
Example: a person who is able to speak in full sentences and engages in communication but whose to-and-fro conversation with others fails, and whose attempts to make friends are odd and typically unsuccessful.
Restricted, Repetitive Behaviors: Inflexibility of behavior causes significant interference with functioning in one or more contexts. Difficulty switching between activities Problems of organization and planning hamper independence.
Social Communication: Marked deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication skills; social impairments apparent even with supports in place; limited initiation of social interactions; and reduced or abnormal responses to social overtures from others.
Example: a person who speaks simple sentences, whose interaction is limited to narrow special interests, and how has markedly odd nonverbal communication.
Restricted, Repetitive Behaviors: Inflexibility of behavior, difficulty coping with change, or other restricted/repetitive behaviors appear frequently enough to be obvious to the casual observer and interfere with functioning in a variety of contexts Distress and/or difficulty changing focus or action.
Level 2: Requiring Substantial Support
Level 3: Requiring very Substantial Support
Social Communication: Severe deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication skills cause severe impairments in functioning, very limited initiation of social interactions, and minimal response to social overtures from others.
Example: a person with few words of intelligible speech who rarely initiates interaction and, when he or she does, makes unusual approaches to meet needs only and responds to only very direct social approaches
Restricted, Repetitive Behaviors: Inflexibility of behavior, extreme difficulty coping with change, or other restricted/repetitive behaviors markedly interfere with functioning in all spheres. Great distress/difficulty changing focus or action.
REMEMBER: Autism Spectrum Disorder is a spectrum and heterogenous Its severity and symptoms vary per individual To accommodate the range of difficulties in the two core symptoms DSM-5 specifies its 3 levels of severity. However, the assigning appropriate level of support needed is somewhat problematic, especially when someone with ASD does not show extreme ends of these categories.
RISK FACTORS AND CAUSES
REMEMBER: ASD is a complex condition that does not appear to have a single cause. Several biological contributions may combine with psychosocial influences It is helpful to examine the past
BIOLOGICAL
Genetic Mechanisms
Families that have one child with ASD have a 20% chance of having another child with the same disorder
Brain chemical Oxytocin: have a role in how we bond with others and in our social memory
Transcription-related errors: errors in the creation of RNA molecules from strands of DNA
Neural Mechanisms
Decreased neurons in amygdala
Fusiform face area (processing faces): Atypical reaction of individuals with ASD to faces
SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
Early assumption: parenting
Parental
Low
(a medication being used to control seizures)
LET’S DO CROSSWORDS!
ASD is a and its symptoms and severity vary per individual
Some examples of this symptom is strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects.
is most of the time the early symptom of ASD.
GENERAL PRACTICES
In the early years, autism was believed to be the effects of poor parenting. This idea was pioneered by Bruno Bettelheim who theorized that mothers who were cold and detached from their children or refrigerator mothers as Bettelheim termed them, caused their child’s autism; thus, he introduced the intervention of separating the child from their parents, which he coined as “parentectomy.”
Behavioral Approach
Parentectomy
Early behavioral interventions for ASD were led by Charles Ferster and O. Ivar Lovaas. Their aim was to teach children to imitate verbal speech. The intervention began with reinforcing a child for every sound they make. Afterwards, discrimination training was done to teach the child to make a sound only after the therapist’s request. Once the child is able to respond only after the therapist’s request, the child is then only reinforced if they were able to create a sound similar to the requested sound, which is the act of shaping.
Naturalistic Teaching Strategy
The intervention begins with changing the child’s environment to allow them to form interests. Afterwards, target behaviors and strategies that would prompt such behaviors are identified. The main goal of this intervention is to reinforce a child for every desired behavior in order to encourage them to do it more often.
TYPES OF STRATEGIES
Incidental Teaching - allowing the child to initiate interactions
Pivotal Response Trainingfocused on improving pivotal areas such as motivation and response to cues
Early Intensive Behavior Intervention (EIBI)
This is usually implemented between the age of 2 to 5 years old. The EIBI uses the discrete trial training approach, which is done by breaking down a skill into smaller steps that a child can do then reinforcing them after every step accomplished.
EXAMPLE
When a child reaches for an object, hold their hand and wait for them to initiate a dialogue. If they do not respond, use prompts such as: “What do you want?”, “What is the color of the object?”, or “What is this?”
Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)
This is usually for children under the age of 5. This is done by integrating play activities into learning opportunities.
GENERAL PRACTICES
Social Skills Training (SST)
SST is commonly for children. It aims to improve their ability for social interaction with a focus on understanding social cues, practicing communication skills and forming friendships. SST allows children to interpret expressions and body language, manage emotions, and learn how to resolve conflicts, usually done through role-playing, social stories, interactive group exercises and peer modeling.
Medical Approaches
In recent years, studies have also aimed to reduce ASD symptoms through improving brain function. These techniques include biofeedback and neuromodulation.
Biofeedback
It aims to teach individuals to control involuntary physiological processes such as heart rate and muscle tension. This is done by providing individuals with real time feedback regarding their physiological state, reminding them to regulate it.
Neuromodulation
It includes two types: transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation. Both stimulates neural activity in the brain, modulating cortical excitability and neural plasticity in areas affected by ASD
Assistive Technology
Interactive learning tools and games can be used to boost social and communication skills and cognitive functioning, such as the picture exchange communication system (PECS). An example of this technology is the app called Commboards, which uses the picture exchange communication system to allow individuals with ASD to communicate.
Pharmacological Approach
At present, there is no single biological or pharmacological treatment for ASD. However, major tranquilizers and serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs are found to be most effective in reducing symptoms such as agitation. Although, these are temporary interventions.
LOCAL LAWS AND ACTS
Magna Carta for Disabled Persons (RA 7277)
This is a law ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities, including persons with ASD. Under this law, rights include the ff: equal opportunities for education, health services and employment discounts on medical and dental services, and other essentials penalizes any form of discrimination and abuse towards PWDs
Inclusive Education Act (RA 11650)
This ensures children with disabilities, including children with ASD are part of the regular education system.
Autism Cooperation, Accountability, Research, Education and Support Act of 2022
This strengthens support for individuals with ASD. Although not yet enacted, the act includes creating a program for the early screening and detection of ASD, and promoting research on identifying evidencebased practices for interventions in treating ASD.
SOME TIPS
Be patient with individuals with ASD. Give them time to process information and respond according to their pace. Do not treat adults with ASD like a child.
Provide specific responses instead of vague ones. For example, instead of saying “Good job!”, say “I liked that you cleaned up and put aside your toys after playing with them.”
Offer options or choices in your questions. For example, instead of saying “What do you want to do?”, ask “Would you rather walk to class or ride an Ikot?”
REFERENCES
Association, A. P. (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Be patient with individuals with ASD. Give them time to process information and respond according to their pace.
Do not treat adults with ASD like a child.
Provide specific responses instead of vague ones. For example, instead of saying “Good job!”, say “I liked that you cleaned up and put aside your toys after playing with them.”
Offer options or choices in your questions. For example, instead of saying “What do you want to do?”, ask “Would you rather walk to class or ride an Ikot?”
Barlow, D. H., & Durand, V. M. (2013). Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach (7th ed.). CENGAGE Learning Custom Publishing.
Carlson, N. R. & Birkett, M. A. (2017). Physiology of behavior (Twelfth Edition) Boston: Pearson.
Data and statistics on autism spectrum disorder. (2024, May 16). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). https://www.cdc.gov/autism/data-research/index.html
Deisinger, J. A. (2011). Chapter 10 History of autism spectrum disorders. In Advances in special education (pp. 237–267). https://doi.org/10.1108/s0270-4013(2011)0000021013
From awareness to action. (n.d.). http://www.autismsocietyphilippines.org/p/autism-islifelong-developmental.html
Milestones Autism Resources. (n.d.). Interacting with autistic people. https://www.milestones.org/get-started/for-community-at-large/interacting-with-autisticpeople
National Autistic Society. (n.d.). The history of autism. https://www.autism.org.uk/adviceand-guidance/what-is-autism/the-history-of-autism
Pinel, J.P.J. & Barnes, S.J. (2021). Introduction to biopsychology (11th Edition) New York: Pearson.
Qin, L., Wang, H., Ning, W., Cui, M., & Wang, Q. (2024). New advances in the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. European Journal of Medical Research, 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40001-024-01916-2
Situation of Children Philippines. (2022, March). Republic act no. 11650: Instituting a policy of inclusion and services for learners with disabilities in support of inclusive education act. https://situationofchildren.org/latest-evidence/all-reports/publication/republic-act-no11650-instituting-policy-inclusionand#:~:text=of%20the%20Philippines-,Republic%20Act%20No
What is autism spectrum disorder? (n.d.). https://www.psychiatry.org/patientsfamilies/autism/what-is-autism-spectrum-disorder