Transcript May be accompanied by Learning Difficulties May be in the absence

ASD
(Autistic Spectrum
Disorders)
Youth Justice Project 2010/2011
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Social Functioning
Language and
Communication
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Triad of Impairments
social
imagination
social
communication
social interaction
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What is ASD?
• The autistic spectrum (Wing & Gould,1979) contains
children and adults with a wide range of intellectual
ability and autistic impairments.
Severe impairments
Moderate impairments
May be accompanied by Learning
Difficulties
Mild impairments
May be in the absence of Learning
Difficulties
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Prevalence
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2-10 cases per 1,000
growing at a rate of 10-17 percent per year
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Autism spectrum disorders more common in males than females (4:1 ratio).
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Usually identified before 30 months
No racial or socioeconomic differences
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There are over half a million people in the UK with autism - around 1 in 100
people. (NAS estimate)
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Asperger syndrome
Asperger Syndrome (AS)
– a subgroup within the autistic spectrum
– share the features of autism but
without the associated learning
difficulties (normal or even above
average IQ)
– Starts developing language at a typical
age
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Social Imagination
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Social Communication
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Social Interaction
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Language and Communication
• May speak clearly and use long sentences
BUT
May be difficulties with:
• Using and understanding body language
• Understanding jokes, sarcasm, idioms
• Two way conversation
• Words with more than one meaning
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Other related characteristics:
Love of routines
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Sensory Sensitivity
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Special Interests
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ASD and Learning Difficulties
Attention, Concentration
Planning and regulating
Attention Deficit
Disorder
Words, sounds,
Memory and
sequencing
Dyslexia
SLCN
Dyspraxia
Spatial Awareness
Motor-skills and
co-ordination
Autistic
Spectrum
Disorders
Interpretation in context
Social significance
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Cambridge AS Checklist
• I find social situations confusing
• I find it hard to make small talk
• I tend to turn any conversation back onto myself or my
own
• topic of interest
• I am good at picking up details and facts
• I find it hard to work out what other people are thinking
and feeling
• I can focus on certain things for very long periods
• People often say I was rude even when this was
unintentional
• I have unusually strong, narrow interests
• I do certain things in a very inflexible, repetitive way
• I have always had difficulty making friends
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Theories of ASD
• Theory of Mind
• Weak central coherence
• Extreme male brain theory
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Famous people with Autistic traits
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Keanu Reeves
Beethoven
Jane Austen
Woody Allen
Bob Dylan
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Useful contacts
• The National Autistic Society
www.autism.org.uk
• Dyspraxia Foundation
www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk
• ADHD
www.addis.co.uk, www.autism.org.uk
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