No description available.

The use of projective assessments has a long history and tradition within psychological testing. However, there is a relative lack of research using these techniques with people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Asperger Syndrome (AS). People with ASD have common features known as the „triad of impairments‟: (a) impairments in social interaction (b) qualitative impairments in communication and (c) restricted, repetitive or stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests or attitudes. Herbert Phillipson‟s (1955) Object Relations Technique (ORT) is a well-established projective assessment that examines an individual‟s ability to describe object relationships. A review of the literature has revealed no published papers using the ORT with this client group. The ORT is a story-based assessment in which the participants respond to a set of ambiguous pictures displaying one, two, three person, or group situations and one blank plate. The test seeks to show the different ways an individual experiences, or will avoid, the particular object relationships. The expectation is that the participants will display a consistency between the four dimensions assessed and how they conduct and view relationships, and this will be reflected in the stories. Five participants were assessed using the ORT. The results were compared to the normative data supplied by Phillipson (1955). The study found that all the participants had difficulties with meeting the full criteria for the stories. Stories lacked emotional connections and interactions between the characters, with a reliance on basic emotional states. Problems were encountered in story production for the blank plate. When compared to normative data the participants displayed a range of perceptual variations in relation to the figures in the pictures. Further analysis was also conducted using Labov‟s (1972, 1982) structural analysis which revealed difficulties with including all the elements in the stories. Miles and Huberman‟s (1994) thematic analysis was also undertaken. The themes that emerged highlighted that the participants‟ stories reflected their adolescent stage of development, though these are not always clearly articulated. Overall, the study highlighted the difficulties with using the ORT with an ASD population, which affects its practicality and usefulness for assessment purposes. The possible reasons for these difficulties are discussed.

No description available.

Background: Play impairments in autism are intrinsic to its definition but there is continuing debate about whether they are specific to symbolic play or found across all play behaviours. In typically developing children, play development is strongly linked to other aspects of development, to the quality of caregiving behaviour and attachment relationships; however, these associations are less well characterised in autism. Three previous empirical studies have found links between play and attachment quality in autism similar to those in typical development. Additionally, a number of recent studies have investigated patterns of child attachment in autism, finding a range of attachment styles, which argue against primary attachment difficulties in the disorder. Rationale: This study aimed to i) make a detailed study of the early development of play in autism; ii) explore for the first time the role of caregiver play; iii) extend the small literature on the relationship between child play and child attachment. Method: 49 children aged two and five years diagnosed with core autism were group-matched with 45 neurotypical children on gender and non-verbal development. Detailed structured video-coding of both child and caregiver play in a naturalistic setting was made at baseline (T1), after seven months (T2), and after 13 months (T3), using Noldus Observer. Child attachment behaviour was assessed using the Brief Attachment Screening Questionnaire at T1 and T3. Results: Children with autism showed similar patterns of play change over time to controls but at a delayed rate; with more simple exploratory play and reduced advanced functional play at all three timepoints and reduced symbolic play development identified by T3. Group differences were also found in caregiver play. Quality and complexity of child and caregiver play were largely associated. Emergence of more advanced forms of child play in both groups was predicted by level of previous child play; and also level of caregiver play, but only if it was developmentally appropriate. Children with autism showed similar responses to caregiver behaviour as typical children, despite their core social impairments. By contrast, simple play reduced over time in both groups irrespective of the nature of caregiver play. There were group differences in child attachment behaviours at T1 and T3. However, attachment quality showed no relationship to child play development. Conclusions: The play of children with autism was generally delayed compared to controls, with no evidence of a specific delay in symbolic play. In both autism and typical development, emergence of more complex forms of play was predicted by developmentally sensitive caregiver play, consistent with the Vygotskian theory of a 'zone of proximal development'. Developmental reduction in simple play however was independent of caregiver, consistent with Piagetian theory of children as 'lone scientists' in this context. Child attachment and play quality were not specifically related.

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Social Stories utilising either photograph or symbol illustrations to address the target behaviours of children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Multiple single-case experiments were conducted utilising an ABA design with 10 participants, all of whom were boys attending mainstream primary schools within a West Midlands Local Authority. The children ranged in age from 5-11 and all of them had a diagnosis and a primary need in relation to ASD. Personalised Social Stories were composed for each of the participants to address a specific target behaviour that had been identified by the child and members of teaching staff. The stories were written by the researcher alongside a member of staff from the Local Authority's Autism Outreach Service and all adhered to the criteria and guidelines for construction outlined by Carol Gray (2004). The format for each of the stories was identical but for the manipulation of the illustrations. The effectiveness of the intervention was monitored using a variety of measures including a Behaviour Log recording the frequency of the target behaviour across each of the experimental phases; the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997); and a Teacher / Teaching Assistant Questionnaire that had been designed by the researcher and was based on items contained within the Behaviour Intervention Rating Scale (BIBS) (Elliot & Treuting, 1991). The data obtained from these measures was analysed through the visual inspection of graphical data and the calculation of effect sizes. Discussion is provided about the suitability, reliability and validity of each of the measures and the methods of data analysis. Overall the study provides evidence of the utility and effectiveness of Social Stories for addressing the target behaviours of children with a diagnosis of ASD. Furthermore it offers an original contribution to the existing literature by exploring the impact of different forms of illustration on story efficacy.

This thesis investigates autism as it has been understood in the cognitive and social (neuro)sciences, within the United Kingdom, since 1985. Of specific interest is how these sciences discover, construct, and experiment upon individuals who are understood as socially abnormal. Theoretically, the thesis is positioned between Foucauldian History and Philosophy of Science, Medical Sociology, and Science and Technology Studies. Empirically, two key sources of information are relied upon. Firstly, there is an extensive critical reading of the published literature from 1985 to the present. Secondly, twenty qualitative research interviews were conducted with academic researchers, based within the UK, and with core interests in psychology in general and autism in particular. It is firstly argued that the cognitive sciences rely upon a particular, historically novel, construction of the social in order to articulate autism as social disorder. It is then argued that, although autism is frequently reported as heterogeneous and illusory within the laboratory, social disorder appears self-evident when the autistic individual is required to interact with both the researcher and broader society. Following these findings it is argued that the researcher does not observe autism but, rather, that they achieve it. Finally it is argued that the language of autism is itself capable of ushering in novel conceptualisations of social conduct that may apply to all individuals and not just those diagnosed with the condition. Following these empirical findings it is argued that autism is best understood as the consequence of particular socio-historical conditions. It is asked if these socio-historical conditions may include a novel knowledge-power nexus arising in the mid-twentieth century, named here a socio-emotive politics, of which autism is just one consequence.

Child-computer interaction researchers are increasingly recognising the benefits of directly involving children in the design of new technology. This has resulted in the development of several design methods for involving children in the technology design process, using approaches such as Participatory Design (PD). More recently there has been a greater focus on involving children with diverse needs, as technology can often be particularly beneficial within the education of these children. One such group is children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and in recent years there has been a sharp rise in the amount of technology being developed specifically for this population. However, the needs and preferences of this user group can differ from the general child population due to the specific characteristics of ASD, with these differences making it more challenging for adult designers to develop appropriate technologies. This thesis therefore seeks to establish the potential of using PD to involve children with ASD within the technology design process through the development of a new PD method, which aims to support the typical difficulties of children with ASD at the same time as utilising their characteristic strengths. A qualitative approach has been followed in order to understand firstly the ability of children with ASD to undertake typical design tasks; secondly the degree children with ASD are able to participate in the design process; and thirdly the ability of children with ASD to collaborate within a design team. The results reveal that children with ASD can undertake typical design tasks, but some children may require additional support to generate and communicate their design ideas. It is shown that a flexible approach should be taken with regard to the involvement of children with ASD within the technology design process, and the importance of the adaptability of the adult’s role in supporting the children’s participation and collaboration is additionally highlighted. This research has led to the development of a new PD method, IDEAS, which is tailored to the specific needs of children with ASD through the incorporation of flexible structured and supportive features.

We can extrapolate a large amount of information about what a person thinks or believes, purely by observing their behaviour. There are separate systems in the brain that decode what action is being performed and why that action is performed. Independently, these systems are reasonably well understood but the way in which they interact is still an open question. In this thesis I investigate how we come to understand others actions, particularly if they are unusual or irrational. Irrational actions provide a special test case for examining this question because full comprehension requires an understanding of what an agent is trying to achieve as well as an understanding of why they are performing the action in an unusual way. I examine this question in a series of experiments with typically developing and autistic participants. First, I demonstrate that dissociable brain networks are engaged during irrational action observation using fMRI. I then use eye tracking to examine the cognitive processes that these neural networks reflect in both typical and autistic adults. I report typical cognitive processing of irrational actions in individuals with autism, despite previous reports of atypical neural activity during the same task. Finally, I aimed to examine the social response to irrational actions in typical and autistic children using an overimitation paradigm. I demonstrate that overimitation in typically developing children is socially driven and dependent upon rationality comprehension. However, my data also indicate that children with autism are immune to this drive. I conclude this thesis with a new model of rationality comprehension which links brain, cognition and behaviour. I also propose that individuals with ASC have the cognitive ability to understand irrational actions but may have difficulty with social modulation of their behaviour.

This study presents an evaluation of the FRIENDS for Life program (Barrett, 2010) with an autism spectrum (AS) population. FRIENDS for Life is an intervention program underpinned by the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with a primary aim of reducing participant anxiety levels (Barrett, 2010). Existing research suggests it is an effective intervention in reducing participant anxiety levels (Briesch, Hagermoser Sanetti and Briesch, 2010) and it has been recognised by the World Health Organisation (2004) as the only evidence based program effective in reducing anxiety as a universal and targeted intervention. In recent years an evidence base for the application of CBT with children with AS has emerged, though primarily this research has been conducted in a clinical setting. Therefore this study aims to contribute to both evidence bases through implementing the FRIENDS for Life program within a new population as well as contributing to the broader evidence base evaluating the effectiveness of CBT with children with AS. The study adopted a post positivist epistemology and used a single case experimental design (SCED) to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing the anxiety of four participants, aged nine to eleven, accessing special school provision. Anxiety was measured during a baseline, intervention and follow up phase using two weekly measures: the Paediatric Index of Emotional Distress (PI-ED;O'Connor et al, 2010); a short pupil questionnaire, and a weekly observation of participant behaviour. These measures were also triangulated with pre and post measures of anxiety using the Spence Child Anxiety Scale, child (Spence, 1997) and parent (Spence, 1999) version, and the School Anxiety Scale- Teacher Form (Lyneham, Street, Abbott and Rapee, 2008). Outcomes from the SCED showed that for all four pupils there was a significant decrease in anxiety from baseline to follow up on at least one weekly measure of anxiety, indicating a delayed effect on anxiety. The parent, child and teacher report triangulation measures suggested there was no significant change in anxiety post intervention. When considering outcomes, several key limitations to the study's design and implementation were taken into account including threats to construct validity and missing data in the intervention phase for two participants. The study concludes with support for the positive impact on participant anxiety as a result of the FRIENDS for Life intervention and recommendations are made for further investigation of the use of CBT interventions in schools with an AS population.

The aim of this research was to investigate the incorporation of a 'structured approach' to teaching children with autism, with precision teaching assessment methods. The rationale for the research focused on the limited evidence base regarding educational approaches for children with autism (Jones, 2002), and the growing need to provide appropriate educational provision for this group (Ali & Frederickson, 2006). One of the more widely used approaches in the UK is 'Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children' (TEACCH) (Tutt, Powell, & Thornton, 2006), with a derivative of this, called a 'structured approach', in place in the local context of the research. The use of fluency building approaches in education, such as precision teaching, has been proposed as potentially beneficial for children with autism due to their dysfluencies and difficulties generalising skills (Weiss, 2001), however there is limited research for this population. The 'structured approach' within the local context did not incorporate fluency building procedures, and therefore the research sought to investigate whether a precision teaching framework could augment a 'structured approach' for children with autism. A pragmatic, mixed methods approach was utilised in this research. It employed a series of three case studies, each incorporating multiple A-B single case experimental designs (SCED), in order to explore the impact of the precision teaching intervention on the pupils' learning, affect, and behaviour. A focus group provided additional information regarding the implementation of the precision teaching intervention. The SCED measures were analysed through graphical visual inspection and the focus group data was thematically analysed. The research found that precision teaching positively augmented a structured approach for the focus children, which was particularly apparent when it was implemented consistently. Improvements were identified in the pupils' learning, affect, and behaviour. The implications of this research are discussed and opportunities for further research highlighted.