Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka om personer inom autismspektrumet gestaltas på olika stereotypa sätt i svensk media, samt om det finns någon tydlig skillnad i public services och kvällspress sätt att representera personer inom autismspektrumet. Uppsatsen syftar även till att undersöka i vilken utsträckning personer med diagnoserna autism och aspergers själva får uttala sig i nyhetssammanhang i ämnen som rör autismspektrumet. Genom en kvantitativ innehållsanalys har vi studerat 200 artiklar från åren 2015, 2016 och 2017 från massmedierna Expressen, Aftonbladet, SVT samt SR.   Studien utgår från två teoretiska ramverk. Dels kulturteoretikern Stuart Halls representationsteori som förklarar hur språk och kulturella “överenskommelser” ger mening till personer, händelser och objekt, vilket resulterar i hur vi ser vår omvärld. Dels medieforskaren Karin Ljuslinders beskrivning av olika stereotypa roller som media ofta tillskriver personer med funktionsvariationer, vilket bidrar till allmänna föreställningar om hur dessa individer är som människor.   Resultaten visar att ungefär 50% av personer inom autismspektrumet gestaltas som “offer” i svensk media. I över 50% får andra källor, än personer inom autismspektrumet själva, komma till tals, det rör exempelvis myndigheter och organisationer. Kvällspress tenderar att använda sig av den stereotypa rollen “hjälten” i sportsammanhang i högre utsträckning än public service, i övrigt är skillnaden mellan de två inte särskilt utmärkande.   Slutsatsen från studien är att personer inom autismspektrumet själva får uttala sig i 28% av fallen. Offerrollen är den vanligaste gestaltningen av dessa personer, och syns ofta i negativt vinklade nyheter. Negativt vinklade nyheter lockar till läsning, varför dessa nyheter premieras i nyhetsvärderingen. Att “hjälterollen” är vanligare i kvällspress kan bero på att kvällspress har ett kommersiellt drivande syfte och värderar elitpersoner och “nöjesnyheter” högre än vad public service gör.

Abstract The primary aim of the current study was to examine social anxiety symptoms in high-functioning children and adolescents, ages eight to 17 years old with autism (HFA) or Asperger syndrome (AS). The second aim was to study emotion recognition skills in children and adolescents with HFA/AS. In addition, two internationally used social anxiety questionnaires (The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children and; The Social Anxiety Scale for Children -revised) were translated into Finnish, and psychometric analyses were performed in order assess the research and clinical utility of these measures as novel tools for the study of child social anxiety in Finland. Results suggest that adolescents, in particular, with HFA/AS experience a greater number of social anxiety symptoms and have increased rates of clinically relevant social anxiety disorder (SAD) than do their control counterparts. Parents reported higher levels of anxiety symptoms in their children with HFA/AS regardless of the child’s age; however, individuals with HFA/AS self-reported anxiety symptoms increased later in their development (i.e., adolescence). In addition, overall facial emotion recognition increased with age in the HFA/AS group. Despite this, the HFA/AS group did not reach the higher ability level attained by the typically developing adolescents regardless of age. Specifically, when the facial emotion expressed a combination of both surprise and fear, participants with HFA/AS labelled the facial expression as “fear” statistically significantly more often than did controls. Moreover, control participants interpreted faces which blended sadness and neutral emotions as neutral more often than HFA/AS participants. Results suggest that social anxiety is clinically important to assess in children and adolescents with HFA/AS. Clinical interventions which enhance emotion recognition skills and reduce social anxiety symptoms in individuals with HFA/AS may be warranted. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksen päätarkoituksena oli selvittää sosiaalista ahdistuneisuutta 8–17-vuotiailla hyvätasoisilla lapsilla ja nuorilla, joilla on autismi (HFA) tai Aspergerin oireyhtymä (AS). Tutkimuksen toinen tarkoitus oli selvittää, miten HFA- ja AS-lapset ja nuoret kykenevät tunnistamaan tunteita kasvonilmeistä. Tutkimus arvioi myös kahden kansainvälisesti tunnetun, sosiaalista ahdistuneisuutta mittaavan kyselylomakkeen (The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children ja The Social Anxiety Scale for Children -revised) toimivuutta suomalaisessa väestössä. Tavoitteena oli antaa uusia työvälineitä suomalaiselle lastenpsykiatrialle tutkimus- ja kliiniseen työhön. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat HFA- ja AS-nuorten kokevan muita nuoria useammin sosiaalista ahdistuneisuutta. Vanhemmat havaitsevat HFA- ja AS-lastensa sosiaalisen ahdistuneisuuden oireet lapsen iästä riippumatta, kun lapset itse kertoivat oireistaan vasta nuoruusiässä. Tutkimus osoitti myös, että HFA:ta tai AS:ää sairastavien kyky tunnistaa tunteita paranee iän myötä. Se ei kuitenkaan saavuta tavalliseen tapaan kehittyvien lasten taitotasoa nuoruusikään mennessä. HFA- ja AS-lapset ja nuoret tulkitsevat ikätovereitaan useammin kasvojen ilmeen peloksi silloin, kun kasvojenilme on sekoitus pelko-yllättyneisyyttä. Tavalliseen tapaan kehittyneet lapset ja nuoret tulkitsevat kasvojenilmeen useammin neutraaliksi kuin HFA tai AS diagnoosin saaneet, jos kasvojenilme on sekoitus surullinen-neutraalia. Tutkimustulosten perusteella tulee HFA:ta tai AS:ää sairastavia lapsia ja nuoria hoidettaessa ottaa huomioon sosiaalinen ahdistuneisuus. Heille tulisi nykyistä useammin tarjota tilaisuus myös kuntouttaa kykyä tunnistaa toisten ihmisten tunteita.

Abstract The main objective of the present follow-up study was to investigate auditory processing by using auditory event related potentials (ERPs), and language development to determine whether a correlation exists between auditory ERPs and language development. Auditory processing was investigated in very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm children and matched controls at mean ages of 4 and 6 years to determine whether there are differences in ERPs between VLBW preterm children and controls. Language development was measured at the mean ages of 2, 4 and 6 years to investigate the developmental course of language learning and to determine whether a relationship exists between ERPs, especially mismatch negativity (MMN), and language development. Auditory ERPs were also measured in children with AS (mean age 9;1 years) and matched controls to assess whether differences can be found between these two groups of children. Language development in children with AS was not investigated for this study. VLBW preterm children exhibited difficulties in the auditory processing at the level of obligatory ERPs, MMN, late MMN (lMMN) and behavioural tests. Both language comprehension and production were deficient in the preterm group compared to their controls. Lexical development was the most prominent phenomenon differentiating preterm children from their controls. MMN and lMMN amplitudes were attenuated most in children with naming difficulty at the ages of 4 and 6 years. Weak or totally missing MMN at the age of 4 years was mainly found in children with naming difficulties. Children with AS also displayed abnormalities in auditory processing, as indexed by delayed MMN latency. MMN was most delayed in the right hemisphere and specifically for tones. In conclusion: VLBW preterm children and children with AS exhibited difficulties in auditory processing. MMN correlated well with language development in preterm children. Therefore, auditory ERPs, especially MMN, should be used in combination with language measures to identify the children at a risk for deficient auditory processing and language delays.

Background: Social cognitive deficits are considered to be central to the interpersonal problems experienced by individuals with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome, but existing research evidence regarding mentalising ability and emotion recognition ability is difficult to interpret and inconclusive. Higher levels of mental health problems are experienced in Asperger Syndrome than in the general population, including depression, general anxiety and anxiety-related disorders. Clinical accounts have described symptoms of psychosis in individuals with autism spectrum disorders, including Asperger syndrome, and a number of research studies have reported elevated levels of delusional beliefs in this population. Investigations of social cognition in psychosis have highlighted a number of impairments in abilities such as mentalising and emotion recognition, as well as data-gathering and attribution biases that may be related to delusional beliefs. Similarly, a number of factors, including theory of mind difficulties, self-consciousness and anxiety, have been associated with delusional beliefs in individuals with Asperger syndrome, but there is a lack of agreement in the existing research. A preliminary model of delusional beliefs in Asperger syndrome has previously been proposed, which needs to be tested further and potentially refined. The current study aimed to further investigate social cognitive mechanisms in individuals with Asperger syndrome and to explore potential links with the development of paranoia. Method: Participants with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome were recruited through a number of voluntary organisations and completed screening measures, the Autism Spectrum Quotient and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, to ensure their suitability for the study. Participants in the control group were recruited through the university and local community resources and were matched group-wise with the Asperger syndrome group for age, sex and IQ scores. The study compared the Asperger syndrome group (N=30) with the control group (N= 30) with regard to their performance on four experimental tasks and their responses on a number of self-report questionnaires that were delivered as an online survey. The experimental tasks included two theory of mind measures, one designed to assess mental state decoding ability (The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test) and one designed to assess mental state reasoning ability (the Hinting Task). The recognition of emotions was evaluated through the Facial Expression Recognition Task. The Beads Task was administered to assess data-gathering style and specifically to test for Jumping to Conclusions biases. The self-report questionnaires were employed to measure levels of depression, general anxiety, social anxiety, self-consciousness and paranoid thoughts. Results: The Asperger syndrome group performed less well than the control group on tasks measuring mental state decoding ability, mental state reasoning ability and the recognition of emotion in facial expressions. Additionally, those with Asperger syndrome tended to make decisions on the basis of less evidence and half of the group demonstrated a Jumping to Conclusions bias. Higher levels of depression, general anxiety, social anxiety and paranoid thoughts were reported in the AS group and levels of depression and general anxiety were found to be associated with levels of paranoid thoughts. Discussion: The results are considered in relation to previous research and revisions are proposed for the existing model of delusional beliefs in Asperger syndrome. A critical analysis of the current study is presented, implications for clinical practice are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.

This thesis focuses on adults with Asperger syndrome, more specifically on parenthood. As these people, just like everyone else, have a right to have children and become parents, this thesis deals with how people with Asperger syndrome themselves view this issue. The theoretical part first presents a description of Asperger syndrome, how it manifests and the process of diagnosis. Then the period of adolescence and adulthood is described. Finally, the thesis deals with the issue of supporting people with Asperger syndrome. The research part states the objective of the thesis which is to find out what parenthood and family means to people with Asperger's, and whether in the Czech Republic there is any form of support offered to these people regarding parenthood and raising children. The qualitative research method was selected for this thesis and the specific method of questioning, or more specifically, interviewing. The interviews were conducted remotely per the request of the respondents. Subsequently, the thesis presents a characteristic of the sample group which comprised adults with Asperger syndrome, then the process of data processing during which each statement was given a code which was then assigned to a specific category. The final part of the thesis presents the results. It has been...

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Title: Relationship of a child with Asperger syndrome and his family to school Author: Tereza Měšťáková Department: Psychology Supervisor: PhDr. Veronika Pavlas Martanová, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This diploma thesis deals with the relationship of a child with Asperger's syndrome and his family to school. The work aims to map the nature of these relationships and factors that may affect this relationship in specific children with AS and their parents. The theoretical part of the work is divided into two main sections. The first chapter focuses on Asperger Syndrome and its specifics, which are manifested in the school environment, on the relationships of children with this syndrome to classmates and teachers. The second part deals with the relationship between family and school. Attention is paid to the dilemmas of this relationship, the possibilities of its development and the relationship of the family with a problematic child to school The empirical part of the thesis presents qualitative research, which was carried out by the method of semi-structured interviews with five second-graders with Asperger Syndrome educated in ordinary primary schools and their parents. Acquired data was analyzed and interpreted. The results of this research are presented at the end of the text. KEYWORDS Asperger Syndrome, pupil,...

This work aims to analyze and describe how the inclusion of pupils with Asperger's syndrome takes place in a regular school and to verify the success of inclusion in practice through qualitative research. The theoretical part deals mainly with the possibilities of inclusion and its benefits in the school system, manifestations, and disorders associated with Asperger's syndrome, but also by defining basic concepts such as autism spectrum disorder, Asperger's syndrome, integration, and inclusion. Furthermore, the diagnosis of this spectrum of disorders according to the world criteria ICD 10 and DSM5 and ICD 11, which will come into force in the Czech Republic in 2022. The theoretical part also discusses the methods of approach and the position of teaching assistant. The empirical part of the thesis contains two case studies and evaluation of the success of the inclusion of pupils in mainstream schools based on qualitative research, in which I apply the knowledge from the theoretical part. The methods that were used for data collection and analysis include observation, interview, and expert documents. The research showed interesting results when most of the information and knowledge from the theoretical part was confirmed KEYWORDS Inclusion, Asperger's syndrome, elementary school, first grade, method...

Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are some of the hallmark features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptomatology. There is a knowledge gap on RRBs in adults with ASD because most of the research has focused on children and adolescents. The few studies conducted on adults with ASD have included conflicting results and variable information, especially regarding the developmental trajectories of RRBs. Therefore, this study was designed to address the lived experiences of RRBs in midlife adults with Asperger syndrome. This study was guided by the conceptual frameworks of Dunn's model of sensory processing, the 2-factor model of RRBs, and phenomenological theory. A phenomenological approach was used to conduct semistructured interviews in which 15 adults with Asperger syndrome sampled worldwide described their experiences. Participants also wrote narrative accounts. The data were analyzed through interpretative phenomenological analysis. Eight basic themes emerged from the data analysis regarding the importance of RRBs to adults with Asperger syndrome: (a) anxiety, (b) calming effect, (c) intense focus, (d) routines and rituals, (e) sensory sensitivity, (f) misinterpretation by others, (g) physical stereotypies, and (h) special interests. Findings associated with these themes showed that RRBs are used by adults with Asperger syndrome as a coping mechanism for dealing with anxiety. Treatment should focus on the elimination of the anxiety rather than the RRBs, which are just a symptom of the anxiety. The implications for positive social change include the emergence of new knowledge to promote an improvement in diagnosis, treatment, advocacy, and supportive services, thereby decreasing inequalities that exist for adults with ASD.

Objective. The purpose of the study was to determine if there were significant relationships between dysfunction in sensory modulation, affective disorders, and adaptive behaviors in children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 17. There were four main hypotheses: (a) there will be a positive relationship between sensory defensiveness and anxiety, (b) there will be a positive relationship between sensory hyposensitivity and depression, (c) there will be a negative relationship between the levels of anxiety and depression and overall adaptive behaviors, and (d) there will be a negative relationship between levels of hyper and hyposensitivity and overall adaptive behavioral functioning. Method. Parents of 46 children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 17 diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome based on the DSM-IV-TM criteria completed the (a) Sensory Profile for children ages 6 to 10 or the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile for adolescents ages 11 to 17; (b) the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System: Parent Version; (c) Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale Adapted Parent's Version; and (d) the Children's Depression Inventory Adapted Parent's Version. Descriptive statistics and the Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation calculations were used for data analysis. Results. There were statistically significant positive correlations between anxiety and sensory defensiveness (r = .270, p = .035) in the total group and depression and sensory hyposensitivity in only the older group (r = .461, p =.024). There was an inverse significant relationship between depression and the total adaptive behaviors score (r = −.256, p = .043) and specific inverse relationships with the adaptive behaviors of functional academics, leisure and social skills. The relationship between anxiety and adaptive behaviors was not significant (r = −.121, p = .212) although there was a significant inverse relationship between sensory defensiveness and adaptive behaviors (r = −.254, p = .044). The relationship between hyposensitivity and adaptive behaviors approached significance (r = −.214, p = .077). Conclusion. The data supports relationships between anxiety and sensory defensiveness in all age ranges and the relationship between depression and hyposensitivity in older children. A temporal relationship between anxiety and depression may explain the developmental nature of the results. Depression and sensory defensiveness demonstrated significant inverse relationships with overall adaptive behavior functioning. Occupational therapy evaluations and interventions need to address these relationships when treating children with Asperger Syndrome.