Autism
· Routine
·
Sensitive
to stimuli
·
Autism
is on a spectrum (ASD)- Aspergers
·
Difficulty
with social skills/relationships
·
‘Obsessions;
·
Difficulty
reading emotions
·
Difficulty
with communication
·
Difficult
understanding other views (Decentring)
What is autism?
Autism is a communication disorder,
characterised by three main areas of difficulty- Lorna Wing (1981)
Triad of impairments
- Social Interaction (e.g. poor attachments)
- Communication (e.g. delayed language)
- Imagination (e.g. lack of pretend play)
Characteristics of
Autism
·
Difficulty
mixing with others, e.g. other children
·
Little
to no eye contact
·
Not
responsive
·
Likes
routine and set orders
·
Unusual
play habits, e.g. lining up objects, stacking blocks
·
Inappropriate
emotional response
·
Insensitivity
to pain
o
Not
all Autistics have their impairments to the same levels, e.g. ASD shows
different parts of the spectrum.
o
Some
Autistics even have considerable abilities in one/two areas, usually in drawing
or maths.
o
Other
Autistics are ‘very high functioning’ and they may not have any ‘islets of
ability/savantism’ but they have a normal IQ. This however is rare!
o
¾
of all Autistic people are male
o
90%
of people with Aspergers are male. This suggests it is a male condition.
Causes of Autism
Extreme male brain
(biological)
This is when
the brain becomes ‘extreme’ versions of males, e.g. corpus callosum. High
testosterone in the womb is said to be caused in Autistic girls due to this.
This explains difficulty in language as mean are thought to have lower ability
through lateralisation.
Abilities:
-
Men
have superior spatial awareness and maths
-
Women
are better at emotions and apathy
Brains:
-
Men
are more lateralised than women
Baron Cohen (2005)
Cohen suggests that the brain
structure of an autistic person is an exaggeration of the normal male brain
structure. He argues that there are similarities between the brain structure of
an autistic person and the brain structure from a normal man.
Systemizers: The drive to analyze/construct systems; trying to identify
rules which govern a system leading to predictability. Rules can be detected by
searching for patterns and regularities.
Empathizers: The ability to perceive emotion/mental states in others and
respond appropriately
Women= Empathisers
Men= Systemisers
Autistics= Extreme Systemisers
A genetic basis for
Autism
Research using twins has found a
concordance rate of 60-90% for autism in MZ twins but in DZ twins 5% was found.
Evaluation
û The environment could cause
systemising/empathising behaviour due to gender development. Gender is socially
constructed.
û If excessive testosterone in the womb
occurs in autistic girls then psychical appearances e.g. excess body and hair
and muscle build would be seen- HOWEVER this is not the case.
Theory of mind
(cognitive/non biological)
The theory
of mind develops between the ages of 1-4 years normally. Autistic children are
said to have an impaired theory of mind, this explaining language development
(no need to talk if everyone knows the answer to everything) and causes
difficulty in ‘decentring’ (seeing others views and emotions).
Sally and Ann Dolls
Experiment- Wimmer and Pemer (1983)
This experiment set out to test and
proves the difference between the thinking between the autistic children,
normal children and then children with Down syndrome.
Procedure
1. Sally puts a marble into a basket and
leaves the room
2. Ann who’s still in the room moves the
marble from the basket into the box
3. Sally comes back into the room and
asks the child where the marble is
The autistic child
doesn’t understand that sally doesn’t know the marble has moved from the basket
into the box!
Results
·
Clinically
normal = 85%
·
Down
syndrome = 86%
·
Autistic
= 20%
Evaluation
û The theory of mind can be said to be
a symptom- not a cause
COMPARISONS
·
Both
theories explain autism by examining the lack of social skills- HOWEVER EMB looks at how the
brain develops prenatally whereas T.O.M. explains a lack of decentring ability
·
Increased
testosterone is responsible for EMB, whereas the T.O.M. concerns developmental
deficit
·
Both
theories are supported by experimental research assessing social skills and
perceptual/cognitive ability