Autism Spectrum Disorders

Puppets are special. Disorders and deficiencies to be treated

Autism spectrum

The term autism was introduced by Bleuler in 1911, to refer to someone who was “closed in on himself” and it was the Viennese doctor Leo Kanner (1944) who, studying a group of children with certain characteristics, used the diagnosis of autism. early childhood autism. Around the same time, another Viennese researcher, Hans Asperger, referred to another clinical picture that had similarities to that described by his colleague, but these presented a broad language in relation to the other group. There is also Rett's disorder, where autism is accompanied by a significant degree of mental retardation.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder that causes people to lose sight of what they see, hear, and feel. in behavior.

The DSM-IV defines autism as a profound developmental disorder characterized by:

• Impairments due to communication and social interaction.
• Restrictive, repetitive and stereotyped character patterns, interests and activities.

Some people with autism have normal levels of intelligence, while most people with autism have some degree of intellectual disability, ranging from mild to severe.

It is estimated that approximately up to 50% people with autism do not develop functional language. While for those who do speak, they tend to have unusual qualities and limited communication skills.

All people with autism have difficulty interacting socially and behaviorally, but the degree of extent and difficulty varies. Some individuals may be very reproachful, and others may be extremely active and approach people in a very specific way. They have problems with inattention and resistance to change. They usually respond to atypical sensory stimuli and may exhibit strange behaviors such as clapping, turning, or swaying. They may also show unusual uses of objects and affection for some objects.

Although people with autism show some common characteristics, no 2 individuals are alike. In addition, the pattern and extent of difficulties may vary with development. Common features help us understand the general needs associated with autism, but it is important to combine this information with the knowledge of each student's specific interests, skills, and personality.

The overall accepted prevalence rate for autism is between 4 and 5 in every 10,000 births. However, recent studies estimate a ratio of about 10 per 10,000 or 0.1% of children or more, when a broad spectrum of disorders is included. There is a higher prevalence among boys. The ratio varies depending on the definition, but studies show a male - female ratio of 3: 1 to 4: 1.

The cause or combination of causes of autism is not entirely known. There is growing evidence that autism has a genetic condition, and that there are many different agents involved.

There is also evidence to suggest that there is a higher prevalence among children with autism with mothers with problems during pregnancy, childbirth, or even after birth than among children without autism. Early events or environmental factors can significantly interact with the child's genetic susceptibility.

The brains of individuals with autism appear to have structural and functional differences from other people's brains. Abdominal cranial nerves have been found in the cerebral peduncle.

The diagnosis of autism is made by a doctor or clinical psychologist who specializes in autism. The ideal assessment and diagnosis should ideologically involve an interdisciplinary team that would include a pediatrician or psychiatrist, a psychologist, and a speech therapist. The psychologist usually administers assessments to obtain information about the level of development and behavior, and the speech therapist assesses speech, language, and communication behaviors. A medical evaluation is performed to rule out other possible causes for the symptoms, as many features of autism are also present in other disorders. A medical and developmental history is obtained from interviews with parents. This information is combined with other evidence to provide an overview and to rule out other contributing factors.

The DSM-IV classifies autism as a disorder encompassed within a broad group of profound developmental disorders (PDD). TPD is a term that encompasses disorders that present difficulties in the development of skills of reciprocal social interactions, in communication skills, and the presence of behaviors, interests and stereotyped activities. The conditions classified as TPD in the DSM - IV are:

• Autism
• Childhood Disintegration Disorder
• Asperger's syndrome
• Deep developmental disorder with impossibility to be explained otherwise

All the disorders included in the TPD classification have some features in common, and children with this disorder can benefit from the same instructional strategies. However, there are differences in some areas, such as the number of symptoms, age of onset, and pattern of development.

People with Asperger's Syndrome have a lack of skills in areas of social interaction and stereotyped behavior patterns.

The biggest difference between children with autism and children with Asperger's syndrome is that children with AS do not have a clinically significant delay in early language development or cognitive developmental delays. They typically do not have the same level of difficulty as those with autism in developing age-appropriate skills, adaptive behavior, and curiosity about everything around them.

There are some needs that need to be addressed with the curriculum:

• Change individual situations for social ones
• Influence the context and use any means of language
• Develop autonomy and strategies that allow him to organize
• Develop the cognitive through the improvement of altered processes.

First of all, an assessment of the student's degree of autism must be made as exhaustive as possible, very significant adaptations must be made to the regular curriculum, establishing and taking advantage of natural contexts and sharing methodological criteria for the whole team. teacher.

Knowing the characteristics of the autistic student and their needs, the objectives and contents must be prioritized, in order to make the adaptations of the curriculum:

Communication and language. Offering opportunities to create the need for communication, promote the development of language competence through gestures, signs and symbols, the basis for establishing socially structured codes.