What is the definition of ‘developmental disorders’?
A group of conditions with onset in the developmental period
What conditions come under Autism Spectrum Disorders?
What are the characteristics of ASD?
What disorder is it if no RRBs are present?
Social communication disorder
When do autistic symptoms appear?
What behaviours might someone with autism typically produce?
What is Asperger’s syndrome (AS)?
Language delay = not using single words by 2 y/o and/or phrase speech by 3 y/o
Is Asperger’s syndrome more common in males or females?
More common in males
When do symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome appear?
Symptoms usually aren’t recognised before 3 y/o
What symptoms did Wing (1981) associate with Asperger’s syndrome?
What are Baron-Cohen’s theories of autism?
- Empathising/systemising theory
What is the Empathising/systemising theory?
States that sufferers of autism have…
What does it mean if a person has a weak central coherence?
- they are less susceptible to illusions that typically-developed people can see
What does it mean if a person has executive dysfunction?
- can’t control/plan certain behaviours that typically-developed people can
How do genetics influence autism?
The strongest evidence for autism come from twin and behavioural genetic family studies
High concordance rates between MZ twins and lower between DZ twins suggests that there is a strong genetic influence
What concordance rates between MZ and DZ twins have researchers found for autism?
Bailey et al. (1995) – MZ = 60% vs. DZ = 0%
Steffenberg et al. (2006) – MZ = 91% vs. DZ = 0%
Rosenberg et al. (2009) – MZ = 86% vs. DZ = 31%
Explain the autism continuum.
Autism and Asperger’s syndrome lie on a continuum of social-communication disability, with AS as the bridge between autism and normality
What is the prevalence of autism in the population, according to Baird et al. (2006)?
Baird et al. (2006) - 100/10,000
Is autism more common in males or females?
More males have Asperger’s/high-functioning autism
For moderate autism, what is the male:female ratio?
Fombonne (1999) - 4:1 overall, but varies depending on the presence/absence of ID
For severe autism, what is the male:female ratio?
50:50
For mild autism, what is the male:female ratio?
10:1
What could be the causes of the increase in the prevalence of autism in recent years?
Which scales/questionnaires/interviews/tests can we use to measure autism?