Autism perspectives
Has any research been done to investigate the inner voice (internal monologue) in people with Asperger’s Syndrome?
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.
Read more “The inner voice”
Supports and practices for daily living
Copying others is important for development. It provides a way to learn about the physical world, and a context for children to practice and develop their skills for interacting with others. There is evidence to suggest that children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (Autism) imitate less often and less accurately than non-autistic children. While several explanatory theories have been put forward for these findings, the specific reasons for imitation difficulties remain unclear.
Read more “Imitation Difficulties Among Children with a Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Social Motivation or Motor-Execution Problem?”
Supports and practices for daily living
Are Autism Assistance Dogs suitable for children of all ages?
When should an Autism Assistance Dog be introduced to a child with autism?
These questions, coupled with an increase in interest by families in acquiring a dog for their child and Autism researchers attempting to assess the effectiveness of dogs in support of a child and family. However, it is not yet possible to conclusively state that assistance dogs (also called service dogs) are effective companion for an Autistic child, let alone make recommendations as to the desired characteristics and training of dogs or suitable child and family characteristics (e.g., child age, level of functioning, behavioural issues; family type and dynamics). This is because the studies published to date have many limitations.
Read more “Autism assistance dogs”
Supports and practices for daily living
Read more “Diet changes for children”Have any studies have been done on diet change for children with ASD?
Are gluten and casein-free diets helpful as a treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Ask an Autism Researcher
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?
Ask an Autism Researcher
Can a child with autism manage using more than one language?
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?
Read more “Bilingual children”
Health and wellbeing
I have a 6-year-old daughter who has been diagnosed with ASD. I have received many recommendations from other parents regarding the use of melatonin to aid my daughter’s sleep. She is a typical ASD kid, who can be in bed by 8pm after the shower, reading, drink routine, but still active 3 hours later. Any advice you have would be appreciated.
Problems settling to sleep are very common in Autistic children. Each case is individual and needs individual assessment. Some recent research suggests that trouble getting to sleep may be related to anxiety or that children may have trouble stopping thoughts racing round their minds. That is, some Autistic children might be very anxious or simply highly aroused at bedtime.
Read more “Ask a Researcher – Should I use Melatonin to aid my daughter’s sleep?”
SACS
Since beginning research on the early identification of Autism Spectrum Disorders back in 2005 as part of my PhD program, the Social Attention and Communication Study (SACS), I was often asked “What’s the point of identifying children at 2 years of age or younger if there are very few or no services for them?” You see, back in 2005, there wasn’t the Helping Children with Autism Package for families of children on the spectrum (aged 0 – 7), or intervention programs like the Early Start Denver Model – the first intervention model with strong empirical evidence for its effectiveness in Autistic infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. So, at this time, many families had to wait on long waiting lists for early intervention services, as long as 18 months in some cases, to receive a few hours a week of services! It was therefore difficult to convince some people, both in the public and private sectors, of the importance of early detection and subsequent intervention.
Read more “Early identification of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Why it’s important and why we need to have this conversation with parents”
Health and wellbeing
Read more “Fever & behaviour changes”My daughter has just turned 8 and is severely affected by classic autism. She is non-verbal. Recently she had a fever and her behaviour changed dramatically. She wanted to be held, maintained eye contact for lengthy periods and most incredibly – spoke words very clearly! She said her brother’s name and repeatedly said “Mum”. I have to repeat how incredible this is as she is completely non-verbal. Please somebody research this phenomenon!
Educational and vocational engagement
What can be done to help a school refuser?
The situation that you describe sounds very difficult, and we wish we were in a position to provide specific practical advice. Our team at OTARC includes psychologists, speech pathologists, and parents who are familiar with the type of difficulties your son is experiencing. The problem, however, is that in our experience and as I am sure you would agree, there is rarely a simple fix in these situations. To be in a position to offer specific advice in your situation, we would need to learn a lot more about all of the factors that might be at play and also have capacity to help implement any suggestions or recommendations we might make. Our primary role here at the Centre is to conduct research aimed at improving the supports provided to Autistic children, adolescents, and adults, and our clinical work currently focuses on early diagnosis and supports in the early years.
Read more “School refusal”