The nature of sleep difficulties in Autistic adults
Emma Baker, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, OTARC Alumni, on the types and causes of sleep problems in Autistic adults
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The inner voice
Has any research been done to investigate the inner voice (internal monologue) in people with Asperger’s Syndrome?
Answer:
There has been quite a bit of research on inner speech with a brief summary of findings provided below, including links to some of the research publications.
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Using an eye tracker in Autism Research
A key question for science to explore in the twenty-first century concerns the mechanisms that underlie social behaviour. How do we understand other people’s thoughts, beliefs and intentions? To what extent can our mental states and feelings be shared with other people? And how do we incorporate other people’s thoughts, feelings and beliefs into our mental world?
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What is DAMP?
Could you please let me know where DAMP and Aspergers crossover, and where to find more info on DAMP?
Answer:
DAMP stands for Deficits in Attention, Motor Control and Perception. Put simply, it is a combination of features of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). ADHD is characterised by attention deficits, inappropriate overactivity, and problems with impulsiveness, while DCD is characterised by persistent motor control problems in absence of clear intellectual disability or cerebral palsy and other major neurological disabilities.
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Autistic children ‘hearing voices’
Read more “Autistic children ‘hearing voices’”A client with a child with autism reports that her son says that when he kicks and hits it is the voices in his brain telling him to do so. Is the hearing voices connected to autism?
Bilingual children
Can a child with autism manage using more than one language?
Answer:
At OTARC, we are very interested in exactly this question: Can Autistic children learn more than one language? If so, what can we reasonably expect for how well they will develop each language? If not, what is the best advice we can give to families where English is not the home language, or to families who use both English and another language (e.g., mum prefers to speak one language and dad prefers another)? And what is the impact on bilingual parents of attempting to use their non-native language when interacting with their Autistic child?
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Autism in Girls
Studies at OTARC and elsewhere have shown that infants and toddlers show early signs of Autism, which can be observed from the first year of life. These are first characterized by a lack of attention to social stimuli, and usually progress into clearer Autism symptoms throughout toddlerhood and the preschool years (Clifford & Dissanayake, 2008). Similarly, studies investigating the early development of restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) in Autistic children have highlighted that certain RRBs are present in toddlerhood, with others becoming more evident over time (Leekam et al., 2011). These early signs are now used for the early identification of Autism in infants and toddlers.
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