Knowledge Tree
autistic children
Also known as: autistic child
Facts (27)
Sources
Autistic Self-Advocacy and the Neurodiversity Movement - Frontiers frontiersin.org Apr 11, 2021 14 facts
perspectiveIntervention strategies for autistic children should prioritize supporting the child's ability to exert choice and control in their life as they develop, while avoiding techniques that cause emotional harm.
claimProviding predictable access to preferred activities for autistic children can decrease negative emotional expressions and create opportunities for expertise and social bonding, as supported by Mottron (2017), Grove et al. (2018), and Wood (2019).
claimMany intervention programs attempt to teach "normative behavior" without referencing empirical evidence for what "normative behavior" looks like, thereby teaching autistic children to behave in ways that do not actually resemble autistic or non-autistic children, according to Bottema-Beutel et al. (2018).
perspectiveSome parents of autistic children with substantial intellectual, language, and behavioral challenges have argued that autistic adults without these challenges cannot speak to their children's experience, and that their children require interventions to achieve a reasonable quality of life, as cited by Dekker (2017) and Fletcher-Watson (2018).
perspectiveNeurotypical parents may miss essential aspects of understanding from their autistic child's perspective, despite having the child's best interests at heart.
claimThe Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy (Pickles et al., 2016; Green et al., 2018) is an intervention that builds effective communication between an autistic child and others by coaching caregivers and education professionals to "speak the child's language."
claimInterventions supporting communication are justified for autistic children to achieve autonomy, provided they are undertaken ethically and with respect for the individual.
claimBefore the 1990s, therapy for autistic children was commonly viewed as a method to reach the child within an 'autistic shell' and draw them out to achieve a normal or near-normal state, as cited in works by Park (1972), Kaufman (1976), and Maurice (1998).
perspectiveSome parents of autistic children with substantial intellectual, language, and behavioral challenges argued that autistic adults without these challenges could not speak to their children's experience, and that their children required interventions to achieve a reasonable quality of life.
claimInterventions informed by neurodiversity aim to improve the "goodness of fit" between an autistic child and their physical or socio-emotional environment by addressing extrinsic factors that contribute to disadvantage and negative experiences, as noted by Lai and Szatmari (2019).
claimSome intervention programs for autistic children still purport an explicit or implicit curative or normative agenda, as noted by Mottron (2017).
claimIntervention targets for autistic children should not be assumed to be identical to those for neurotypical children, as autistic priorities may differ from neurotypical priorities according to research by Buckle (2013), Milton (2014), and Iemmi et al. (2017).
claimNeumeier and Brown (2020) argue that autism intervention research should reframe effectiveness to focus on outcomes important to the long-term well-being and autonomy of autistic children, as well as the preferences and priorities of autistic people.
claimNeurodiversity-informed intervention opposes attempts to "cure" or "normalize" autistic children.
Neurodiversity in Practice: a Conceptual Model of Autistic Strengths ... link.springer.com Jul 25, 2023 12 facts
claimA brief intervention delivered to autistic children at day camps used preferred interests to support engagement and resulted in large intervention effects on social skills and engagement.
procedureThe inclusion criteria for the literature review were: (1) the target population was autistic children or adolescents defined as ages 0–19, (2) the study focused on strength-based psychosocial interventions, and (3) the study was published in English up until June 30th, 2023.
claimTo advance strength-based psychosocial interventions for autistic children and adolescents, further research is required to examine intervention design, implementation strategies, and the mechanisms of change that explain intervention effects.
measurementIn one study, 50% of parents reported that their autistic children had more than four comorbid problems.
claimCaregivers who receive an autism diagnosis for their child from providers who exhibit higher positivity and confidence report more positive affect regarding their children, improved caregiver-child relationship quality, and the ability to positively influence how autistic children view themselves, according to research by Brookman-Frazee & Koegel (2004), Brown et al. (2021), and Urbanowicz et al. (2019).
claimAutistic children and adolescents experience higher levels of loneliness and poorer friendship quality compared to typically developing peers, a finding supported by Bauminger & Kasarious studies including Bauminger & Kasari (2000), Chang et al. (2019), Lasgaard et al. (2010), and Locke et al. (2010).
claimA neurodiversity framework centers intervention focus on inclusion, needed accommodations, and supports tailored to each autistic child by combining the recognition of differences in functional behaviors and strengths.
claimPsychosocial interventions for autistic children and adolescents could leverage humor and kindness as strategies to promote positive affect, communication, and social skills.
claimStrength-based interventions for autistic children and adolescents have increasingly employed peer-mediation implementation designs over the past two decades, as cited by Chang & Locke (2016).
claimCommon strengths of autistic children identified in literature include excellent memory skills, attention to detail, motivation to recognize patterns, visual learning, analytical proficiency, creative thinking, sensory acuity, a strong sense of justice/fairness, and hyper-systemizing.
measurementA brief intervention delivered to autistic children at day camps that utilized preferred interests to support engagement resulted in large intervention effects on social skills and engagement.
claimA neurodiversity framework centers intervention focus on inclusion, needed accommodations, and supports tailored to each autistic child by combining recognition of differences in functional behaviors and strengths.
A Survey of Incorporating Psychological Theories in LLMs - arXiv arxiv.org 1 fact
referenceSimon Baron-Cohen, Alan M. Leslie, and Uta Frith published a study in 1985 investigating whether autistic children possess a 'theory of mind'.