Week 4 - ASD

Question 1

What are the 2 types of ASD diagnostic criteria?

Answer 1

1. Social-communication impairments

2. Restricted repetitive behaviours

Question 2

Social-communication impairments details

Answer 2

• Social-emotional reciprocity: backwards & forwards conversations (one sided in children with ASD)
• Problems developing, maintaining & understanding relationships
• Challenges with non-verbal communication (gestures, eye contact & facial expressions)

Question 3

Restricted repetitive behaviours details

Answer 3

• Insistence on sameness & routine
• Stereotyped movements, speech or use of objects (hand flapping, repeating words, lining objects up)
• Sensory hyper- or hypo-reactivity or sensory interests
• Highly restricted fixated interests (obsessed with trains or dinosaurs)

Question 4

Casual factors of ASD

Answer 4

• Genetics: highly hereditary

- Suspected environmental factors (advanced parental age, preterm birth or low birth weight)

Question 5

Established cognitive theories to explain the processing style of people with ASD

Answer 5

1. Theory of Mind
2. Weak central coherence
3. Executive function

Emerging theory: Predictive coding theory

Question 6

Theory of mind concept

Answer 6

Children on the spectrum failed the false belief tests
e.g. Smarties box experiment
(unable to perceive that people have beliefs different to their own)

Question 7

Weak central coherence

Answer 7

• Focus on the local details rather than the global aspects of an object of interest
• Weak central coherence is characteristic of autism
  e. g students on the spectrum may be very good at rote learning, however, may miss the point of some lessons. They may also obsess about the details and fail to complete tasks

Question 8

Executive functioning

Answer 8

• Are essential when a change of plan occurs, when a routine behaviour no longer suffices or when an individual needs to keep several tasks going at the same time
  e. g. juggling exams and assignments

Question 9

Predictive coding

Answer 9

• Brains continually make predictions about what will come next based on current sensory input, and past experiences
• People on the spectrum may:
• have difficulty processing input that is different from what they expected

Question 10

A 2 year old child has been referred to you for assessment with a query of a diagnosis of ASD. As part
of your information gathering what particular information will you need to look for/focus on
gathering that may help clarify whether or not a diagnosis of ASD is appropriate?

Answer 10

● Behavioral observation in variety of environments
● Nature of communication – verbal and non-verbal language, communication attempts, regression
● Nature of social skills – eye contact, awareness of others, joint attention, shared enjoyment, initiation, coping with
changes in routine, social norms, relating to others
● Nature of behaviour – repetitive interests, transition between tasks, stereotyped behaviours, sensory modulation,
behavioral routines, cognitive flexibility, abstract concepts, skill generalisation
● Assessment of play - observe their independence, communication, social skills, attention, stereotypical
behaviour, eye contact etc.
● Gross and fine motor skills

Question 11

The three key strategies used to improve occupational performance across contexts for
children with ASD?

Answer 11

● Facilitate child’s ability to follow family routine or create functional routine
● Develop strategies to function within context of sensory processing challenges
● Develop skills for social participation, including self-regulation, social and prosocial skills

● Also - advocacy

Question 12

ASD patient difficulties

Answer 12

• Motor coordination
• Sensory challenges
• Filtering challenges

Question 13

Motor Coordination difficulties in ASD patients

Answer 13

• Difficulties in ball skills & fine motor dexterity

- Handwriting challenges

Question 14

Sensory challenges in ASD patients

Answer 14

Under-reactivity or over-reactivity

Question 15

Filtering challenges in ASD patients

Answer 15

• Often don’t notice others speaking to them

- Filtering noice perception

Question 16

ASD in adulthood challenges

Answer 16

• Lower rates of ASD patients with bachelor degrees/participation in work
• Mental health issues (increase in complexity in social interactions, bullying)