Teaching complex social skills to children with autism; advances of video modeling

Although there has been a corresponding explosion of literature regarding the treatment of the social deficits in autism, the establishment of more complex social behaviors still remains a challenge. Video modeling appears as one approach to have the potential to successfully address this challenge. Following an introduction to modeling that constitutes the basis of this procedure, the current paper explores those video modeling studies that have targeted the promotion of complex social skills. It is suggested that this approach could be an effective addition to peer-mediated treatment procedures, especially for children with autism who cannot always be in environments where peers are present. Further, the likely success of video modeling seems to be dependent upon the prior elimination of behaviors that interfere with the development of imitation skills

"Making it explicit" makes a difference: Evidence for a dissociation of spontaneous and intentional level 1 perspective taking in high-functioning autism

This research was supported by Volkswagen Foundation grant “Being addressed as you: Conceptual and empirical investigations of a Second-Person approach to other minds” awarded to LS and BT. LS is also supported by the Koeln Fortune Program of the Medical Faculty, University of Cologne. BT was supported by a European Commission Marie Curie Fellowship FP7-PEOPLE-IEF 237502 “Social Brain.” We thank Dana Samson for providing the stimulus material and Julia Proft and Franka Pieplow for data collection. For helpful comments and suggestions we are also grateful to three anonymous reviewers.Peer reviewedPreprin

Lost in Treatment: Finding the Person through Developing a Method and Parallel Drawing

This project implemented a method developed with a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mind, exploring how concepts from neurodiversity, double empathy problem, and phenomenology of living with ASD can be highlighted within the project. Progress was tracked through clinical observations, free-writing, art-based reflections, and consultations. Results highlighted the therapeutic potential of simulating a peer-to-peer, simultaneous art- making process in strengthening a therapeutic alliance grounded in the person-centered principles of non-judgment, empathy, and authenticity. The artwork created during the process acted as client-based documentation of Gestalts, superseding the clinical utility of a purely verbal therapeutic process within the context of working with ASD. Considerations for further research lie within the readers’ self-reflexivity regarding implicit neurotypical biases

Mirroring, Social Learning and Dance Movement Therapy with Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review

The literature review investigated the use of mirroring to help develop emotional understanding through social learning with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The research reviewed was used to further cognize how mirroring could give a child with ASD a better understanding of their own and others’ emotions through social learning. The findings revealed that mirroring could be an affective tool to build social awareness of emotions in children diagnosed with ASD. The mirror neuron system (MNS) is the area of the brain that assesses perception and production of movement creating an overlap. Using the idea of the mirror neuron system, mirroring was a tool created to enhance emotional understanding, which findings revealed to be beneficial for the emotional inconsistencies seen in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Expressive therapies (ET) have implemented affective treatment techniques for children diagnosed with ASD who are in need of social learning skills. They build these social learning skills by mirroring a child’s intention and modeling emotions. Mirroring is a strong focus of dance movement therapists. DMT’s noticed that a child’s movements could connect to their emotions, which are learned throughout development. Future application of this research will benefit the field of Dance Movement Therapy as well as benefit individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The over-pruning hypothesis of autism

This article outlines the over-pruning hypothesis of autism. The hypothesis originates in a neurocomputational model of the regressive sub-type (Thomas, Knowland & Karmiloff-Smith, 2011a,b). Here we develop a more general version of the over-pruning hypothesis to address heterogeneity in the timing of manifestation of ASD, including new computer simulations which can reconcile the different observed developmental trajectories (early onset, late onset, regression) via a single underlying atypical mechanism; and which show how unaffected siblings of individuals with ASD may differ from controls either by inheriting a milder version of the pathological mechanism or by co-inheriting the risk factors without the pathological mechanism. The proposed atypical mechanism involves overly aggressive synaptic pruning in infancy and early childhood, an exaggeration of a normal phase of brain development. We show how the hypothesis generates novel predictions that differ from existing theories, including that (1) the first few months of development in ASD will be indistinguishable from typical, and (2) the earliest atypicalities in ASD will be sensory and motor rather than social. Both predictions gain cautious support from emerging longitudinal studies of infants at risk of ASD. We review evidence consistent with the over-pruning hypothesis, its relation to other current theories (including C. Frith’s under-pruning proposal; C. Frith, 2003, 2004), as well as inconsistent data and current limitations. The hypothesis situates causal accounts of ASD within a framework of protective and risk factors (Newschaffer et al., 2012); clarifies different versions of the broader autism phenotype (i.e., the implication of observed similarities between individuals with autism and their family members); and integrates data from multiple disciplines, including behavioural studies, neuroscience studies, genetics, and intervention studies

COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY FOR ANXIETY IN YOUTH WITH AUTISM: PAVING THE WAY TO EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE

Anxiety is one of the most common and debilitating conditions co-occurring with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as it occurs in up to 84% of individuals and can influence poor psychosocial adjustment, disruptions in individual, familial and school functioning, increased emotional and behavioral problems, self-injurious behavior(s), and an overall reduced quality of life (Meyer, Mundy, Van Hecke, & Durocher, 2006; Nadeau et al., 2011; Farrugia & Hudson, 2006; Kerns et al., 2015). To date, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), an evidence-based treatment for anxiety in neurotypical youth, has seen modest, yet limited, promise in treating anxiety in youth with ASD. With extant research lacking consistency, replication, and focus on the unique barriers impacting treatment in the ASD population, this study examines clinical experiences in conducting CBT for anxiety in these youths in hopes of identifying treatment limitations and modifications in need of future study (Selles & Storch, 2013; Vasa et al., 2014; Chalfant et al., 2007, Wood et al., 2009). Results indicate that the most common treatment barriers in this population include: (a) the severity and associated impairment of the anxiety, (b) the limited interpersonal, cognitive, perspective-taking, and executive functioning skills of the youth themselves, (c) the youth’s cognitive and behavioral rigidity, (d) a dysfunctional home environment, (e) lack of youth motivation for treatment, and (f) the time constraints associated with treating this population

The Potential of Virtual Reality in Social Skills Training for Autism: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Adoption of Virtual Reality in Occupational Therapy Practice

Impairments in social functioning greatly hinder children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from responding appropriately and adapting to various social situations. As a result, individuals with ASD get fewer opportunities for social inclusion, physical well-being, and forming interpersonal relationships. Virtual reality (VR) has been studied extensively in this area, where a large body of evidence shows that VR is a promising tool for social skills training (SST) in individuals with ASD. With the flexibility and projected effectiveness that VR offers, it can provide more opportunities to learn and practice strategies for recognizing daily challenges that involve forming social relationships and associated reasoning. This paper discusses the gap between the effectiveness of VR-based SST and its adoption in occupational therapy (OT) practice. There is a significant dearth of resources for the development of occupational therapists to effectively administer these interventions. Such resources that summarize empirically supported VR interventions to teach social skills to people with autism would be very valuable in training therapists who wish to employ them. Using theory-driven approaches, this paper intends to empower occupational therapists in becoming efficient and confident in using this technology for addressing social skills deficits in people with ASD