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Social interaction and autism
Autism and social interaction
Social interaction and autism
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The number of children who are diagnosed with Autism is increasing. While many specialists may argue the cause for such an increase, the concern for the affect of the communication-based disability is often overlooked. Communication is an important function. For individuals with Autism, the need to communicate may be hindered but not lessened in importance. Therefore, effective means of communication for children with Autism is paramount for increasing their independence and quality of life. Using picture exchange as a form of communication has been researched as a form of communication for individuals with Autism, but it is important to understand the impact such communication systems may have on such a growing population. How can picture …show more content…
Subsequently, the use of picture exchange communication increased the language comprehension of individuals with autism, in multiple settings, with a variety of communicative partners (Ganz, Parker & Benson, 2009; Pries, 2006; Charlop-Christy, Loc Le, & Kellet, 2002). The data collected suggested that children with Autism between the ages of 3 and 16, having limited previous exposure to picture exchange communication, increased their use of similar picture exchange systems to increase communication, (Ganz, Parker & Benson, 2009; Pries, 2006; Charlop-Christy, Le & Kellet, 2002; Ganz & Simpson, 2004; Paden, Kodak, Fisher, Gawley-Bullington & Bouxsein, 2012) but only tended to do so with adults and not their same age and ability level peers (Ganz & Simpson, 2004). This lack of peer exchange could possibly be related to the fact that interactions occurring between individuals with Autism are centered on adults prompting children and students to use the communication aide. When the adults are no longer present, the students are less likely to generalize the use of the picture communication system to communicative partners of the same
Part of the disruption in communication and social interaction that occurs with many individuals who have autism can be better explained by the Theory of Mind and Executive Function Theory. These two theories are very similar in nature in that they both place great emphasis on the executive function of the mind. Executive functions are “cognitive abilities that appear to depend on the prefrontal cortex” of the brain (Pinel, 2014, p. 349). Executive function also encompasses “innovative thinking, lateral thinking, insightful thinking, and assimilating new information to update plans and strategies” (Pinel, 2014, p. 349). This is significant because the executive function of the brain can impact one’s ability to empathize and relate to others, interpret and sustain social interactions, and process new information (Williams et al, 2014). Many times individuals with autism are unable to understand and process what others are feeling. For example, they can recognize sadness or when somebody is crying, but they do not associate with it. It’s not that they don’t feel these emotions themselves, they absolutely do. However, they may have trouble connecting and relating to those feelings when they see somebody else experiencing them. This can result in difficulty in making and sustaining relationships with
Incidental teaching focuses on child-initiated interactions. (Hall, 2013) Incidental teaching is used to increase skills of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. (Hall, 2013) A study done by Hart and Risley (1975) looked at the incidental teaching process used at the preschool age to aide in teaching language. Incidental teaching has been the most frequent strategy that has been used to teach language. When using incidental teaching a child’s request may be verbal or nonverbal. Examples include reaching for an object that is out of one’s reach, requesting food or a toy or calling an adult’s name. There is a series of decisions that an adult can use to respond to the child’s request. These choices include: if the occasion should be used for incidental teaching: if so then a choice regarding the language behavior that is obtained from the child, and then a choice has to be made concerning the cue that will be used to initiate instruction, the cur could be focus of attention by itself, or in addition to the focused attention a verbal cue as well. If the individual does not respond to the cue, then a choice concerning the degree of prompt to be used, the “fullest degree: a request for imitation; medium degree: a request for partial imitation, or minimal degree: a request for the terminal language behavior.” (Hart & Risley, 1975) This study was performed on boys and girls between the ages of four years old to five years old. The baseline procedures ensured that the children had a variety of vocabulary for use in sentences. The sentences that they were taught was “I want x so I can y.” The second step of the procedure was the use of incidental teaching of compound sentences directed to teachers. After thirty-six days of school, the incidental teaching began to occur when the children needed assistance in trying to get different preschool materials.
In Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism By Temple Grandin, the center of novel surrounds Grandin’s life and how autism impacted her career at a very young age. The book includes references to extensive reviews of research pertaining to effects of autism and possible treatment options. Grandin (2006) articulates how the word “autism” still conveys a fixed and dreadful meaning to most people (p.1). Therefore, she was able to embrace her visual ways of thinking, ultimately being an inspiration to others. With insight from her personal experience, readers have a better understanding of what is like working with individuals who have physical impairments. However, this paper will focus on how Grandin’s autistic ability affected her relationships
The topic for today's reading was Behavioral Language Assessment: Part 1 (ABLLS-R). One of the assigned readings, Language Assessment and Development in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders, presented several key findings emerged from a study of early language abilities in a large sample of toddlers with ASD. They found out that although the measures employed in this study to assess emerging language skills in toddlers with ASD involved direct assessment, parent questionnaire and parent interview, there was a very close agreement among these different measures. Also, they found that both receptive and expressive language were much correlated with a range of general and social cognitive variables and motor skills, and that the best concurrent predictors for both receptive and expressive language were gestures use and nonverbal cognitive ability. Children with autism are now being identified at younger ages, and earlier research has consistently found that early language skills in this population are heterogeneous and an important predictor for later outcome. The goal of this study was to systematically investigate language in children with autism and to find early correlates of receptive and expressive language in the population. For this study, 164 children with autism between the ages of 18 and 33 months were evaluated on several cognitive, language and behavioral measures. The findings have important implications for intervention programs targeting this population. The acquisition of spoken language should be viewed from a developmental perspective and interventions should target not only training in sound-meaning relationships, but also the broader set of social cognitive skills that are intimately linked to ...
There are 3 main areas of difficulty which people who have autism and these can sometimes know as the “Triad of Impairments”. Social communication is difficult, as severe autism may never to develop any speech whilst those with Asperger syndrome may speak fluently. People who are on the autism spectrum have the ability to use their communication skills that are impaired. These difficulties are processing language and interpreting facial expressions, body language or tone of voice. Understanding figures of speech or metaphors. Struggle to follow long or complicated sentences, and only be able to follow one simple instruction at a time. Social interaction as a person with classic autism may appear withdrawn, aloof or uninterested in the people
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder that affects a person’s social interaction and communication. This disorder is mainly characterized by having difficulty with social interaction, communication, and having restricted behaviors. Difficulty with social interaction means someone will struggle to communicate their feelings/emotions, understand how others feel or think, develop peer relationships, and understand nonverbal behaviors (eye gaze, facial expressions, etc). Difficulty with communication will vary among the individual. Some individuals will develop expressive language, while others will not. The speech of those that do develop expressive language will often be repetitive, rote, and lack meaning. They may struggle with turn taking in conversation and topic maintenance. Those individuals who do not develop expressive language typically do not use other modalities to communicate, like pointing or gestures. The last characteristic of the autistic spectrum disorder is having repetitive behaviors or activities. Typically children on the spectrum will play with their toys in an unusual manner, or may prefer only one toy, movie, or activity. Changes in daily schedule are hard for children on the spectrum to adapt to; usually these children like the same daily schedule. Bass, Duchowny, and Llabre (2009) state, “It is possible that animal-assisted activities provide a multisensory environment that will prove beneficial to children with profound social and communication deficits.”
Knowing other forms of communication is important because it can help to decrease negative behaviors for those who are non-verbal, and to understand their wants and needs. Many Autistic children have trouble with socializing and understanding different facial features, tones of voice, body language. For a non-verbal Autistic child the level of difficulty increases along with the chance of them becoming frustrated. There are many ways for a non-verbal child to be able to communicate, such as PECS boards, writing, different technology on ipads. This paper will provide evidence to answer the question: What are some techniques that are used to help a non-verbal Autistic child communicate?
Development of social skills is very important for children that are diagnosed with autism because of ...
Adamson, L., Bakerman, R., Deckner, D. & Romskey, M.(2008). Joint Engagement and the Emergence of Language in Children with Autism and Down Syndrome.
Society is a recurring occurrence in the lives of autistic people. In the book So, I’m Autistic, by Sarah O’Brien, Sarah provides an incredible in-depth explanation of almost everything an autistic person can face in their lives. The biggest components are social communication, stereotypes, emotional expression, physical and mental disorders, and life changes. One of the biggest factors autistic people have to deal with is social communication. Sarah explains the difference between how autistic people communicate and how non-autistic people communicate.
Luiselli, James K. "Verbal Language and Communication." Teaching and Behavior Support for Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Practitioner's Guide. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.
The use of the picture exchange communication system, as shown by the studies above, can be an extremely effective tool for teaching children with autism social and communicative behaviors. However, PECS is only effective when it is implemented correctly; teachers should be aware of the amount of time that teaching this system will require. The picture exchange communication system is one of many visual support systems that can be implemented to support student learning, both in the special education and general education classroom. Individual student characteristics, as always, should be taken into consideration when choosing a visual support system.
Systems of AAC include both high-tech and low-tech methods. High-tech methods consist of electronic devices such as the Apple iPad or iPod. Low-tech methods consist of non-electronic systems such as a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) or manual signing. Different types of AAC systems give educators the option to choose the best method of AAC for each individual child. When choosing the best method of AAC, educators must consider the severity of autism, the individual characteristics, and capabilities of each child. The type of AAC method or device educators select for the child may depend on the school system and the cost of the device. Multiple research studies have investigated allowing children with autism to choose an AAC system or device (Son, Sigafoos, O’Reilly, & Lancioni, 2006; Van der Meer et al., 2012; Van der Meer et al., 2013). Son et al., (2006) Van der Meer et al., (2012) and Van der Meer et al., (2013) examined if allowing the child with autism to choose an AAC system had a positive outcome on communication. Selecting an AAC system for a child with autism takes time and consideration of each individual child’s abilities.
Whenever the benefits of inclusion are brought up the first component that comes to mind is: social interaction. The benefits of social interaction is the most important component for including children with autism in an inclusion, general education setting (Lynch & Irvine, 2009). The reason this benefit is so high within a general education setting is that interactions occur at a greater frequency. Typical peers that meet cor...
Kamps, D. et.al. (2002). Peer Training to Facilitate Social Interaction for Elementary Students with Autism and Their Peers. Exceptional Children, 68 (2), 173-187.