Autism Spectrum Disorders

Paper Summary:

This paper explains the characteristics of autism and provides a literature review of the subject as well as evidence-based techniques for use with children with autistic spectrum disorders.

Outline:
Introduction
Summary of Literature Reviewed in this Area of Study
Evidence-based Treatment Strategies
Summary and Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) has characteristics of impairment in social interactions and communication, along with restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior." (Stahmer, Collings, and Palinkas, 2005) Additionally stated by Stahmer, Collings, and Palinkas (2005) is: "Autism is an enigmatic disorder of unknown etiology that affects almost all areas of development and is present from birth. Across the country, states are reporting increases in the number of children with this disorder being served each year in the education system, with an average increase of more than 800% since 1992."(2005) Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder characterized by impairment in social interaction and communication." (Cohen and Padolsky, nd) It is related that two movements recently have addressed the "proliferation of multiple treatment methods for children with autism." (Stahmer, Collings, and Palinkas, 2005) The first of these is one that involves "the development of best practice guidelines, which either list common practices used with children with autism or include a critical assessment of available practices." (Stahmer, Collings, and Palinkas, 2005) Executive deficits of Autism are held to be due to "frontal lobe dysfunction resulting in perseveration and the inability to shift attention. Weak central coherence, described as a preference for local detail over global processing, has been attributed to individuals with Autism to explain their superior ability to attend to details. In addition, weak central coherence also predicts the tendency of people with Autism to have deficits in understanding global systems or the relation between the parts and the whole (Baron-Cohen, 2004; as cited in Cohen and Padolsky nd)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Use of Intervention Programs in Community Early Intervention Settings. (2005) http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1350798&rendertype=table&id=T1
• Stahmer, Aubyn C.; Collings, Nicole M. and Palinkas, Lawrence (2005) Early Intervention Practices for Children with Autism: Descriptions From Community Providers. Focus Autism Other Dev. Disabl. 2005; 20(2)
• Ool, Y.P. et al (2008) Effects of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Anxiety for Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders. Singapore Med J. 2008; 49(3): 215.
• Chew, Kristina (2007) Autism in Korea and Seung-Hui Cho - Autism Vox. 27 April 2007. Online available at: http://www.autismvox.com/autism-in-korea-and-seung-hui-cho/

More papers on Autism Spectrum Disorders:

• Analytical Essay # 149129 : "An Overview of Autism Spectrum Disorders"
• Research Paper # 124666 : "Treating Autism Spectrum Disorders"
• Dissertation or Thesis # 105721 : "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)"
• Term Paper # 107150 : "Autism Spectrum Disorders and the WII"

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