Mili

[Jamies Mommy]

Can you tell me more about Episodic Memories and RDI that you mentioned in the other thread about Johnny? I ask because in that book I'm reading she talks about how Tito could recall facts and figures but not things that had just happened to him such as what he had breakfast. He said it was because the breakfas t left no impression. Portia went on to say that his mind did not remember daily events because he wasn't told to remember it or that it was important.

[milivica]

I had a lot of trouble grasping episodic memory, cause mine sucked so bad when I first started RDI.

First I'll tell you what it's not cause that is what I do (did). It's doesn't have to do with the facts you can remember (not in RDI anyhow). ASD's are as good or bad and long and short term memories as nt's. I dunno about Tito or Doe, maybe they didn't understand the question the way it was worded. Communication can be a LOT like that 'Who's on First' thing when you have autism. Understanding words is just a part of communication. Honestly, if someone asked what I had for breakfast, it'd take me a while to process their intent was THIS morning, unless they said "this morning" then I'd know right off. We tend to communicate like a computer thinks, or something like that. Of course, being able to borrow perspective and read body language is a HUUUUUUUGE help, which, now that I'm finally gaining, omg, feels so much less like each day is a series of ambushes.

Episodic memory is your 'emotional' memory. You recall feelings and emotions you had, feelings and emotions you shared with others, feelings and emotions others had. If you show me a picture of a campfire on a beach with my family, that we had 3 years ago in Michigan, I will say "I remember that, dh lost the f-ing key to our cabin. That is factual, that is not an episodic memory, it is long term though I suppose. If you show Vince the same picture, he will describe it "there is a fire and our dog and my dad and sister and me". That is factual. If you show Carmen the picture, she will say, "We are having a campfire by the lake, Vincent is talking about his penis and dad is trying to ignore him cause he is embarrassed and I'm acting like I don't see the camera". Carmen is the only one demonstrating episodic memory.

I'm not certain, but I would think episodic memory would also be when I smell this certain woody dusty musty smell in an antique shop, and have all these good feelings cause it smells like my grandma's house.

Emotional or Episodic memories, make you want to do things again and again. That's why Carmen likes to play games she rarely wins, it's the emotion sharing that goes on while game playing, not the game itself, or what color piece you get, or who gets to go first, etc...

Johnny was creating episodic memories in the shoppers, a 'good feeling' that they wanted to relive, even if it meant standing in the longer line or things that were illogical, the customers had such great emotional memories tied to Johnny being their bagger, they wanted him again and again. Johnny probably was just trying to be nice, and give the customer a good feeling or make them happy, I doubt he intentionally targeted episodic memory, now cause he had Downs, but cause who thinks "hey I'll target episodic memory!" But that's just what he did!

If Johnny, was suddenly not allowed to do this anymore, but the sayings he wrote were stamped on the bags daily in all the lines, do you think his line would still be as long. Yes! It's not the actual sayings of course. Now, if you took your autistic child, and he loved the sayings, it is likely that your child would choose the line with the sayings weather or not Johnny was there. Because they need work in episodic memory. It's there, asd's have the same brain potential as nt's in every way, just underdeveloped in 5 areas, episodic memory being one of them.

Can you think of examples, where Jamies demonstrates Episodic Memory, versus just factual remembering? Try to, it might help clarify this. At least that helped me, I really had a hard time grasping it at first, weather a memory was Episodic or not. His surf camp might be episodic, anytime he sees a surf board he might flash to those good feelings he experienced there. But, he then might want to do things exactly as they were done at surf camp, so that is that really episodic memories then? It's memories, yes, but was the activity the thing he 'marked' in his mind, or the activity he SHARED with others who worked with him?

[milivica]

OH, I forgot, now that you read all that babbling, the real question is what to do about improving your child's episodic memory. Remember you want their brain to 'mark' what makes them feel good and competent. That has to be guided or else it's likely Jamie will 'mark' the one negative in an otherwise totally positive situation. Know what I mean? So, all asd's (and I would think anyone with a 'low social IQ') share an overwhelming feeling of incompetence.

So, create a COMPETENCY JOURNAL. You can use photos or pictures, anything that your child can look at and feel themselves to be COMPETENT. Remember, not what you think makes them competent, but what makes them feel competent to view. Maybe they did something at school that made them feel proud, you draw it, very basically, show it to them "you did such and such at school today" and if their face 'glows' with pride, it goes in the Competency Journal.

Big question, WHAT MAKES JAMIE FEEL COMPETENT?

Gather those answers, put them in a journal for him. I've suggested it before, as it was suggested to me by the RDI consultant. Any kid that wouldn't enjoy that, so your other kids won't be left out do that for them too.

If my recent memory serves me, I recall the only person around here that might have felt less competent than my son, was me, his mother who didn't know what to do for him. Create one for YOURSELF too.

If you think it's 'work' to do stuff like this, ask yourself how much work it is NOT to gain milestones, like episodic memory. Ya know? It's not about how good the art is, or weather you are a Picasso or draw stick figures like me, or use photos which I also do. If Jamie likes to draw even better but do it together so the Competency Journal itself, becomes a memory of sharing emotion.

It happened a bit accidentally, Vince wanted certain photos in his Competency Journal of he and his pets and a few people, I realized being liked made him feel competent.

We have other things too, a picture of a snake from a magazine - because seeing it reminds him of the time he saved a snake in the pet store that had escaped...all the way home he was all, "If I didn't find him and save him he might have died, I'm a wildlife warrior too just like Steve Irwin".

[Jamies Mommy]

So if you remember which faucet to turn on because previously you had burned your hand when attempting to turn it on would that be an Episodic Memory?

[tgrimes]

I don't mean to derail this here, but I've been reading about buddhism lately and in one book the author was saying something like 'people do things and they are not aware they are doing them, they are on auto pilot, so it is important to get to mindfulness, ...' etc. talking about if you do this you willnot be able to learn from experience. It just struck me how so many of the words in that chapter sounded just like your posts about this, albeit unrelated to that philosophy.
Ever think you were reincarnated maybe?

[milivica]

So if you remember which faucet to turn on because previously you had burned your hand when attempting to turn it on would that be an Episodic Memory?

Ok this is so not my forte, but here goes.

IF you were able to use that memory, to not burn yourself in the same way again, I'd say yes. I'm thinking that the emotion you would recall (pain) would be the episodic memory.

My total exposure to the terminology EM(Episodic Memory), is based on what I've learned in RDI. EM probably would include negative memories, but not in RDI's intention of what the child is supposed to gain. I remember the first thing I asked the consultant, when trying to get what EM was, "So what if I was on the Titanic, my whole family and all my friends died, how could there be any positive in THAT!" and she said, "You could say, 'I survived'".

So using that statement, I suppose burning yourself on a faucet you would want to think or feel or say, "I'm lucky it was only one finger" or "Only the left hand got burnt" or "Good thing the water heater temp wasn't higher" but EM is basically giving your child an emotional memory of 'the glass is half full' for everything. He'd in the future be able to for see getting burnt again if he did things the same way, so, he could alter they way he used the faucet. If someone else was burnt on a faucet, they could share stories. Deficits in EM is one of the 5 deficits (only five, remember!) of autism. EM is related to other abilities of course.

Here is the RDI definition:

EPISODIC MEMORY

What is it?

EM is a representation we form of an event in our lives, strongly anchored by emotional appraisal. It is used to anticipate our future and learn from our past. It connects the emotions we experienced, the facts we remember from the event and our understanding of our involvement in what happened.

We use Episodic Memory for the following :

Resilience: Remembering prior triumph over adversity

Troubleshooting: Reflecting on what went wrong so you can modify things the next time

Problem Solving: Reflecting back on prior similar problems and tasks to determine what has been effective

Previewing: Envisioning a future event or outcome, based upon past experiences to motivate continued effort

Reminiscing: Sharing prior experiences to solidify relationships

Preparing: Rehearsing likely scenarios so that we will be ready, based on past experiences

Determining how to trust someone based on your past experiences with that person and other relationships

Developing general wisdom about the best way to do some project based on a realistic appraisal of past experience

A child is learning to ride their bike. They are excited after their first attempt and they race inside to tell their mum: ‘It was real scary at first but dad was holding the back and I was doing the peddling. Then I had more goes and I got betterer and betterer at it. It was so much fun! I can’t wait to go again tomorrow’

A child is playing on his siblings computer. The sibling comes home and gets annoyed at his personal stuff being used without permission. Next time he wants to use the game the child asks his sibling. If his sibling says no then he makes sure he uses it sneakily – always putting it back before the other child gets home.

A teenager tells his mate the following story on Monday morning. ‘We were going to go into town but John was the only one with a car and he’s a maniac driver so we decided to catch a cab instead. We waited forever for it to arrive- that’s the last time I leave Jane to organise that! – I was so annoyed by the time it arrived. Anyways, so we ended up at Space and it was awesome – I danced and danced. Next time I'm taking more water though – it was so hot in there’.

How does this affect individuals with ASD?

Individuals with autism have difficulties extracting personal meaning from an experience, based on the emotional content. This can have detrimental effects on learning from prior experiences and connecting the past, to the present to the future. This limits the development of a storehouse of personal memories. This lack of “personal memories,” has a negative impact on the ability to respond flexibly to changes in their world and often creates a self-directed style of learning such as escaping, turning away and avoiding, decreasing the motivation to enter challenges that contain uncertainty or novelty.

Because of their poor Episodic Memory individuals with ASD do not always learn from consequences. The problem may be not the consequence, but that the individual is not forming a memory around the situation.

A child with ASD is asked about his trip to the themepark. He tells his listener what time they got there, how many people came with him and describes a ride in some detail but without any strong emotion.

A teenager with ASD is told that if they don’t get off the computer when they are asked they will be banned from it for a week. They continue to play on it and are banned. While they are angry about being banned, the very next week the same situation happens again. The teenager hasn’t encoded the memory in a way that allows them to use it effectively to predict what will happen and how they will feel about it.

A child with ASD is learning to ride a bike. His dad is helping him. His recall of the event is that the bike was blue and that dad was wearing an All Blacks cap. He remembers falling off and he remembers being able to ride twice without help but the lack of emotion association with his memory means that he is not overly motivated to try again next time.

Grimey, if I'm reincarnated, I must have done something really good in my past life, cause I feel like one of the luckiest women in the world every day. In stark contrast, to how I felt most of my life, so it is that much sweeter to feel this way. What I am, is a 'thinker'. Not meaning cause I'm so intelligent, but because it's just how my brain is, like in the 70's when everyone smoked weed and talked about stuff like pondering the vastness of the universe and so on, I was quite 'nt' during those conversations. I think like a person who is stoned basically, hee hee. But don't tell anyone, shhhh. Let's pretend I was someone really smart or some great humanitarian in my 'past life' instead. I think lots of aspies have my 'thinking' in that, we spend so much of our lives trying to manually disect 'humans' versus ourself, ya know? Well either that or we just sort of give up and isolate. Or a little of both. Depends on the person. This whole 'humans' and 'world' thing has always been a huge mysterious puzzle to me, and I love puzzles. RDI is my first shot ever at solving it...I don't mean the whole puzzle of humans and life and the world, I mean the slice of it I was not able to piece together cause of being on the spectrum. Also, I love all the stuff I read with relation to Buddhism, not that I've read much I don't mean that. I gravitate toward all that 'deep thinking' kind of stuff, also anything that seems to have a respect for life even ants, even mountains and water and stuff that isn't alive by 'mammal' standards, know what I mean? Probably one of the values I most like about MLK, was the sort of Ghandiness of lots of what he said, which, Ghandi was his role model for a lot, so I'm sure he developed a lot of his ethics, used a lot of his philosophies. Ahhhh....RDI and MLK in one post, hope there's no sharp objects around (love ya!)

[peglem]

So, yes, yes...especially this:
Because of their poor Episodic Memory individuals with ASD do not always learn from consequences. The problem may be not the consequence, but that the individual is not forming a memory around the situation.

So what is key in getting them to focus on the emotion instead of the extraneous details? Especially the POSITIVE emotions.

The hot water thing is such a good example for Allie. She jumps in the bathtub, but only turns on the hot water, then jumps out when its too uncomfortable (but before serious burns!). For years we've been working on getting her to turn on the cold as well. Probably just this last week she's experimented with it- but then she turns on only cold and has the same problem with discomfort. But, hey, I think its great that she's finally at least trying the cold water now.

[milivica]

So what is key in getting them to focus on the emotion instead of the extraneous details? Especially the POSITIVE emotions.

This is not a step by step kind of thing, well actually it IS if I were a trained consultant in RDI. But my answer is, strengthen the M/A relationship, then BE the role model for EM. That's the part that sucked at first, I had to learn to retrain myself to really latch onto the positive, and, make sure Vince could be aware that's what I was doing by demonstrating it in front of him. I did that by my actions, and by sort of thinking out loud. Best of all for me, one of my friends is like this naturally, if you took a crap on her head she'd find something positive about it somehow. Her kid, is the happiest child I've ever met, despite more physical problems than I could list due to his Spina Bifida. I'm convinced, that is due to her being the joyful person she wanted her son to be.

So, as for the hot water, Vince was the same - even as a baby, honest he could have kept his hand under hot water as it blistered, he could stand hotter water than me, water I jerked my hand out of it was so hot. So first, turn down your water heater to as low as you can stand...we took luke warm showers for years, but at least I didn't have to worry about Vincent burning himself. Second, do you think if you video taped yourself getting burned by hot water, and showed her an example, it would help? Without a solid M/A relationship going, I can't say that's really RDI, but, I remember as a child and a teen and into my late 30's, thinking that if someone would just tell me how to feel, I'd do it. That's how it used to work for me. I realized it first in high school. Some bully girl was yelling at me, I was on my toes echoing her in her face. I heard someone say to me, "If someone was yelling at me like that I'd be pissed" and I stopped yelling and said, "You mean I'm supposed to be angry?" and then, best of all, for the first and only time as a teen...I got ANGRY. Once angry, I was able to know exactly what to say and do, I had no fear what so ever of getting my butt kicked by her or her friend (cause I had no clue about social stuff) so probably I was like the canary with raging hormones that warted off two cats.

But anyhow, did any of that give you any ideas?

I wouldn't know squat about EM without having learned about it specifically in relation to autism. I found having this friend, plus and RDI consultant, plus Paxil, was what helped me!!! Take away any one of those three, I'm pretty much a raging lunatic. With all three though now I'm a cheerful lunatic! See how much better!

[milivica]

Here are the deficits common to all persons on the spectrum. They certainly can also be deficits to nt's but not to such an extent, you call them autistic.

Understanding the Core Deficits of Autism

1. EXPERIENCE SHARING:

What is it?

Experience Sharing (ES) is the essence of human communication. The goal of ES is to share with another person

* emotional reactions (Looking to another person when something funny happens to share their reaction. Catching another persons eye to share a sigh or a giggle at something that has just happened)
* intended actions (‘After work I'm going to go to the movies)
* changes and variations (‘Last year it didn’t snow half as much as this year’)
* memories (‘Yesterday I went to the park – it was so much fun’)
* plans (Next year I’d like to go to Mexico)
* ideas (‘Perhaps you should try the blue one next’)
* perspectives (I like the blue one)
* thoughts (I wonder if grandma will be there)
* predictions (I bet Johnny grabs two pieces of cake)

ES is a combination of words (like the examples of sentences above), the way they are said (prosody), looking at and reacting to others body language, facial expressions, gestures etc. It requires us to coordinate and constantly monitor our actions with others and make on-going adjustments within the interaction.

An example of ES in everyday life…

“A teenage son walks into the kitchen where his mother is preparing tea. ‘I hope that’s pizza. I looove pizza’ he says cheekily. Mum looks up and gives an exaggerated sigh but she is smiling at the same time. Johnny smiles back at her and raises his eyebrows hopefully. ‘Not a chance, sunshine. It’s something different for a change - hedgehog and broccoli pie’ mum says in a serious voice. Johnny’s expression instantly changes to a look of concern and he looks intently at her. She laughs, and he joins her, laughing too. ‘Actually its vegetable surprise’ she tells him. ‘Oh gross, I bet the only surprise is that it’s revolting’ Johnny replies, laughing loudly at his own joke. He catches mums cross face and very quickly stops laughing ‘Well I think you should at least add some bacon to it’, he mumbles. ‘I’ll consider it’ mum replies ‘now go finish your homework and leave me in peace”.

ES requires us to be able to reference others. Referencing is looking to another person and being able to borrow their perspective.

A woman is at the supermarket and hears an unusual noise. She is worried and instantly looks to (references) others around her. One catches her eye and shrugs with a smile, ‘saying’ without words ‘‘I heard that too. Strange, but I'm not concerned’. Others just continue on with their shop. Because the woman can reference other people in this way she no longer feels worried – if others aren’t concerned then there is no need for her to be either. The woman feels reassured and continues on her way.

A child trips and falls. She instantly looks to her mum. Mum looks horrified and jumps up. The child bursts into tears. The child has referenced mums face, seen a worried look, and assumed she must be hurt.

Referencing others’ also allows us to co-regulate our actions with others. To co-regulate is to alter your behaviour on a moment by moment basis, based on the feedback you receive from others.

A child is talking to his mother. Mum starts sneezing so the child pauses, resuming his conversation when he knows mum is able to pay attention again.

A teenager is telling his dad about a new computer game. The boy describes it as being ‘fierce’. Seeing the confused look on his dads face he explains what ‘fierce’ means in the world of teenagers before continuing on

A mother and son are walking to the shops together. Mum slows her pace as she looks at something. The child, even though he is not holding mums hand, automatically slows down as well and continues to walk at her pace.

How does a lack of Experience Sharing affect people with ASD?

Individuals with ASD, regardless of their age, IQ or language ability, often tend not to Experience Share. It is the ability to ES that connects us to others. We seek out and enjoy the company of others for no reason other than that we like being with them. There are other consequences that go with an inability to Experience Share:

Because individuals with ASD are not able to reference effectively (borrow your perspective) they must continually make decisions all by themselves. They have no other information to rely on like we do. Therefore new, unpredictable or changing situations (known as dynamic situations) can be very scary for people with ASD. They tend to be avoided at all costs. If such situations must be entered people with ASD are often very anxious. So a consequence of not having the ability to ES is that people with ASD tend to avoid dynamic systems.

The same goes for conversations – sharing experiences in conversations with others invites unpredictable or new information. Therefore people with ASD tend to use conversations to get their needs met or to state information rather than to truly share experiences

2. APPRAISAL

What is it?

Appraisal is the way that we assess a situation and decide the best way to respond based on the information available to us at the time and our own personal needs and goals. We decide what information about the situation is relevant to us at the time.

Appraisal is subjective – there is no absolute ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ solution. Children learn appraisal skills from referencing and experience sharing with their parents.

A visitor is leaving a property. She always walks across a grass track to get to her car. Today she notices that the track is very muddy. Knowing that she is wearing her good boots and that she is heading to an important appointment the woman walks the long way around, avoiding the mud but taking longer to get to her car and going a different way from usual. Several weeks later she is faced with the same situation – the track she usually takes is muddy again. This time she is wearing her old trainers and has nowhere important to be. She decides to run through the mud. She has appraised the situation differently each time due to different circumstances and therefore made different choices.

A child has left all their homework until the last moment. They have a report due in two weeks, some math problems they got given today due tomorrow and an English essay they have had for weeks which is also due tomorrow. The child remembers that last time he hadn’t done his Math homework the teacher gave him a detention whereas the English teacher just told him to bring it next time. Despite having had the English homework for longer the child appraises the situation and decides it would be in their best interests to do the math. The child’s memories of past experiences (the different teachers reactions) have helped him decide how best to deal with this current situation.

Dad, in a rush, drops a sugar bowl as he is clearing the table. He gets annoyed with himself because cleaning it up will make him later than he already is, and mutters naughty words to himself as he cleans it up. Later in the week dad is enjoying the company of his friends who have come round. Again he drops the sugar bowl. Sugar spills all over the floor and his friends burst out laughing. Dad joins them – laughing at his own clumsiness. His son, who can borrow his Dads perspective, learns different ways of looking at the same experience.

How does an inability to appraise situations effectively affect individuals with ASD?

A limited ability to appraise situations means that people with ASD often have very inflexible ‘rules’ about how things are done. They perceive situations as being the same based on a particular detail without considering the ‘big picture’. Individuals with ASD have difficulties understanding that any single setting contains the potential to be organised in multiple different ways, depending on ones current needs and goals. Thus individuals with ASD become “locked” into a single way of obtaining meaning from specific settings, leading to very rigid and inflexible responses.

An individual with ASD always does his math homework first, followed by his English. Tonight he cant find his calculator. Rather than put aside the math and at least get the English homework done the child spends the evening continuing to look for his calculator.

A teenager with ASD usually goes to McDonalds with his mum on a Friday. This particular Friday mum has an appointment that cant be changed. She offers to take him on Saturday instead but he is annoyed with her for not keeping their regular appointment even though the end result will be the same (he will still get his McDonalds that week)

A child with ASD considers it to be wrong to swear. He makes a point of telling off anybody who breaks this ‘rule’. This means that he will often interrupt people who are talking to him to tell them off. He tells his friends they are being ‘naughty’ even though they tease him for being a ‘goody-good’. He tells his father off every time he says ‘damn’ even though his father is now annoyed by this behaviour and has asked him repeatedly not to. He is at an awards ceremony for his sister and the MC uses the word ‘bugger’ in his speech. The child stands up and tells the MC that swearing is wrong.

[milivica]

3. SELF AWARENESS

What is it?

Self awareness is having a sense of personal identity and an understanding how your emotions and actions impact you and others. It is the ability to engage in effective self-evaluation and analysis. It requires you to constantly monitor your actions and use self-regulation strategies to achieve greater emotional awareness and control. There are three areas of self awareness

1. Identity – is the sense of yourself that you carry around and that differentiates you from others. It is how you perceive your worth and value. It is understanding how you are unique but also different from other people.

2. Self evaluation – is analysing your actions, decisions and beliefs and making appraisals of them. When you learn to reference yourself and decide on your own preferences and reactions you are self evaluating.

3. Self regulation – whenever you decide to adjust your attention, behaviour or emotions.

A fashion conscious teenager (part of her identity) decides that she is overweight (self evaluation). She decides to limit her intake of fast food (self regulation)

A woman is in a café with her young child (her identity is related to being a good mother). The child screams as another child has taken her toy. Mum has had a bad day and her first reaction is to yell at the other child and grab the toy off her. However, knowing that she is in a busy café and not wanting to be seen as a bad mother (self evaluation) the mother keeps her emotions level and in a gentle voice tries to resolve the situation between the two young children (self regulation).

A young child is in the store with her mother. She wants some lollies but mum has said no. A year ago the child would have thrown herself to the floor and had a tantrum. Now the child is older she is better able to self regulate. She instead crosses her arms and stamps her feet to show her disagreement. She knows this is a more socially appropriate way of behaving even though she is still mad.

A businessman whose identity is related to being successful decides his self confidence is putting other people off (self evaluation). He decides to make an effort to talk less about his great achievements (self regulation).

An adolescent who identifies with the Greenpeace philosophies has a personal belief that the killing of animals is wrong in any circumstances (self evaluation). She decides to no longer eat meat (self regulation)

How does this affect individuals with ASD?

Individuals with autism have difficulties understanding how their actions impact others, that we all see the world through our own subjective analysis. In order to maintain interactions with others, you have to learn to regulate yourself, which requires an ability to monitor yourself, your actions and an awareness of how it is impacting others around you.

Poor self awareness results in individuals with ASD having a poor ability to reflect back on prior experiences and learn from them. It also often means individuals with ASD have a poor ability to think about the future and predict how things will turn out.

A teenager with ASD has a poor sense of identity. She puts on whatever clothes she finds first when she is dressing, paying no regard to whether they match or look good. Her peers have now begun dressing in a way that shows their personal identity. The ‘sporty’ kids are wearing athletic gear, the ‘cool’ kids are concerned about the labels of their clothes. The teenager with ASD is still choosing clothes based on ease of finding them.

A young man with ASD is at the library. He is anxious about where he is going next and is talking very loudly about this, unaware that others are looking.

A young person with ASD is fascinated by the All Blacks. He will talk about the All Blacks to everyone he meets, regardless of their reaction to his stories. He does not notice that other people are often not interested and even when people tell him he often doesn’t change his behaviour.

A young child with ASD walks into school and sees that the teacher has moved the desks around. She begins screaming and yelling. The child does not have the ability to self regulate her behaviour and deal with the uncertainty of the situation in a more productive manner.

4. EPISODIC MEMORY (posted above in post #6)


5. Creative Thinking

What is it?

Creative Thinking is the ability to integrate information from different sources and situations and formulate “good enough” and best-fit solutions to real-life problems. This takes the ability to shift gears and think in shades of gray, not black and white thinking. It is the ability to formulate new strategies when prior strategies do not work and to improvise when exact resources are not available.

The passenger seat in a cheap car keeps sliding forward. The owner discovers that a coat hanger can be cut and pushed into the side of the chair. This solves the problem until he can afford to get it fixed properly.

A recipe calls for a little sugar but the cook discovers there is none. Knowing that something sweet will be ‘good enough’ she adds a tablespoon of golden syrup instead.

A teenager has five exams in a week. Knowing she doesn’t have enough time to study as much as she would like for all of them she concentrates on learning the information she knows will be worth high marks in order to ensure she will pass. She spends some time studying all five subjects instead of concentrating her energy on just one.

How does this affect individuals with ASD?

Individuals with ASD have difficulties accepting changes and making adjustments based on changing information. They often think in a black and white, linear type fashion and not in shades of gray. In their mind, there is only one way to solve a problem. This impairs their ability to shift gears and mind sets, to make course corrections when the desired outcome has to be modified and to understand when the adjustment is “good enough” to reach their intended goal. This can result in a loss of motivation for exploration and discovery, where environments and people that are always changing are avoided at all costs.

When the child with ASD cannot turn off the bathroom tap they yell for their mum to help them. One day mum is not home. The child refuses to let anyone else help them and instead spends a long time trying to turn off the tap themselves.

Every time the poster falls off the wall of the teenager with ASD he puts it up again using sellotape. He does not try different methods of attaching the poster. One day when there is no sellotape he gets anxious about how he is going to reattach the poster.

A bully is troubling a young man with ASD. He ‘solves’ this problem by spending his lunch times hiding in the back of the library. Another young man being bullied gets into fights with anyone who teases him, even though he then gets in serious trouble with both the school and his parents. Neither young man tries alternatives to solving the problem.

Exercise

For each of the five core deficits discussed briefly describe

a. an example of your ability to use that skill

b. an example of how you see these deficits affecting Child

An example might be…

2. Appraisal

a. I have a morning routine that I like to stick to. However, some mornings I wake up late and on those days I know it is more important that I get to where I need to be than complete every step in the routine. On those mornings I miss out the things I deem to be less important. If there is a breakfast drink in the fridge I will take that and skip a sit down breakfast at home. If I am meeting friends I will spend less time on choosing what to wear. If it is an important meeting I will worry more about how I look and save time in other areas.

b. Child has a morning routine that he likes to stick to. Even on mornings he wakes up late he still needs to go through every step in the routine process, even if it makes him late to important things. If he cant complete a step in the process he gets very anxious


SO THAT'S ABOUT IT. WHEN YOU DEVELOP THOSE 5 CORE DEFICITS TO AGE LEVEL, NO MORE AUTISM. THAT'S ALL AUTISM IS, AND EVERY SINGLE THING THAT PUZZLES YOU ABOUT IT, OR HURTS YOUR CHILD CAUSE THEY HAVE AUTISM, IS DUE TO THESE 5 DEFICITS. NOTHING MORE.