ARTICLE REVIEW - Parent Perceptions of the Anticipated Needs and Expectations for Support for their College-Bound Students with Asperger’s

Scientific research is critical to obtaining objective and verifiable evidence that can be used for decision making and improving methods of practice, but is often inaccessible to individuals who don’t live in the world of academia. Research is often inaccessible for two reasons:

1. Most people don’t have access to the huge online databases of e-journals that are available to university members and research centers
2. Like lawyers and lawyerese, researchers are trained to think and write in a way that that can seem like a foreign language to an outsider

The focus of this article, (and future article reviews on this blog) is to break down relevant research into understandable components. Following is a summary and critique of an article recently published in the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, followed by a brief explanation of how this research might translate to real-life.

Article Summary

Background:

The authors of this article, Morrison, Sansosti, and Hadley, open with a description of Asperger’s disorder and the challenges individuals with this disorder face when transitioning from high school to college. Primarily, the available supports are very different:
Read the rest of this entry »

Autism Seen As Asset, Not Liability, In Some Jobs

“A New Movement Helps Hone Unique Traits of Disorder into Valuable Skills”

A previous AHEADD blog article discussed Left is Right, a consulting company based in Sweden that exclusively hires individuals with Asperger’s Disorder. Left is Right requires employees who have an ability to complete meticulous and repetitive work; individuals with Asperger’s fit the bill.

Left is Right was seemingly unique… until now. According to a recent MSNBC article, “A quiet movement is growing around the globe to help transform the unique attributes of high-functioning autistic adults into sought-after job skills.” The article profiles Ron Brix, a computer systems developer who credits his Asperger’s for his success. Brix is now on the board of the non-profit organization Aspiritech, whose slogan is: “Software Testing Leveraging the Power of Asperger’s Syndrome.”

AHEADD has always focused on the strengths of individuals with autism spectrum disorders, and is excited that others are also embracing the talents of these unique individuals.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Social Skills Groups for Adults with Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is primarily a social disorder. Lack of social skills is often the symptom that causes the most problems and the symptom that is the most difficult to treat. This article will provide a brief overview of what social skills are before moving into a more in-depth review of an intervention aimed at improving social skills: social skills groups. Both the theory behind group counseling and the scientific literature addressing the efficacy of social skills groups will be examined.

Social Skills

Social skills come naturally to neuro-typical individuals. Skills like deciding how close to stand to someone during a conversation, or identifying anger or irritation in another person, are essentially reflexive in someone without ASD. However, despite a desire to get along and fit in, individuals with high functioning autism and Asperger’s are bewildered by the constant onslaught of social cues and necessary responses. Generally social skills involve both expressive and receptive skills, including:

• Eye contact
• Facial expressions
• Body language
• Knowing and following the unspoken rules of relationships
• Theory of mind (understanding that others have thoughts and feelings different from your own)

Because there are innumerable social rules and regulations that change depending on personal and environmental factors, improving social skills, (also known as psychosocial rehabilitation), is not easy.
Read the rest of this entry »

Adults with High-Functioning Autism and Online Communication

Email, instant messaging, and social networking sites (like Facebook) are common tools used by college students both with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders. These forms of computer-mediated communication, or CMC, would appear to complement some of the characteristics of autism nicely. For example, CMC:

• Removes the need for eye contact
• Reduces pressure to respond quickly
• Is fairly structured and predictable

By removing verbal intonation and nonverbal cues – occasional emoticon notwithstanding – CMC “levels the playing field” for interpretation (or misinterpretation). However, it also removes some forms of feedback and is subject to emerging social norms, such as how quickly to reply to an email from a new acquaintance.
Read the rest of this entry »

Left is Right

The brain is divided into two hemispheres. It is generally believed that each side of the brain is responsible for a specific type of thinking, and, like being right- or left-handed, most of us have at least a slight preference for one side or the other. Below is a quick comparison of right and left brain functions.

(For a quick quiz to determine if you are right or left-brained, try the turning dancer test.)

Unsurprisingly, individuals with Asperger’s are often left-brain dominant. Consequently, while these individuals often have the drive and intelligence to be competitively employed, they have difficulty locating employers who are tolerant of their limitations and able to capitalize on their strengths.

Enter Left is Right, a consulting company based in Sweden. Left is Right offers a variety of services, including:

• Converting
• Digitalizing
• Archiving
• Information processing
• Detail inspection
• Control/compare
• Testing
• Proof reading
• Language control
• Translation programming

These are all jobs that require an ability to perform meticulous and repetitive work while maintaining a high level of quality. Who is likely to have these skills and abilities? Well, someone who is very left-brained, for one.

In fact, all 20 of Left is Right’s consultants have Asperger’s. (They also employ two coaches – who make sure the communication works – and one seller.) Left is Right is not afraid to advertise the special strengths of their team. According to their website:

Many companies today work with products that require competence at a high technical level. Those companies need a precise and deep competence…. They [persons with Asperger’s] are not often generalists, but specialists and often within areas of mathematics and logic. Within their areas of expertise they can solve problems considerably faster than a person without Asperger syndrome.

AHEADD views Left is Right as a model for successful employment, and shares in their passion for awareness and recognition of the strengths and abilities of individuals on the autisms spectrum.

To learn more about Left is Right, and view a clever company slide show, click here.

Diagnosing Autism in Adults

When today’s adults were children, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) awareness was nearly nonexistent. One doctor noted that before 1980, “most general practitioners and pediatricians went through their entire careers without ever seeing a case. If mentioned at all in medical school, it was relegated to part of a lecture on ‘rare but interesting’ psychiatric disorders” (Jepson, 2007, p. 24). It is possible that cases of ASD were either missed entirely (especially possible for high-functioning individuals) or misdiagnosed, (possibly as anxiety, depression, oppositional defiant disorder, or schizophrenia).

With autism awareness on the rise, the signs and symptoms of the disorder are much better known. An adult might wonder if perhaps the social difficulties they faced weren’t a result of Asperger’s, or if their restricted and repetitive interests weren’t misinterpreted as obsessive-compulsive disorder? However, diagnosing an ASD in adults is difficult. And what would be the point of an adult being officially diagnosed with an ASD? This article will address these issues, along with how an ASD evaluation for an adult might be done.

Why Seek Out a Diagnosis?

A primary reason adults might consider pursuing an investigation of whether or not they have an ASD is to have access to appropriate treatment and supports.
Read the rest of this entry »

Movie Review - Adam

Anyone who is close to someone with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s will not blink an eye at Adam’s (played by Hugh Dancy) peculiar habits. His pantry and freezer are packed with one specific brand of cereal and frozen dinner – his entire diet. He is brilliant at his electronics engineering job, but is oblivious to social overtures by his coworkers and boss. However, this movie is not about Adam’s routines or his social skills (though they both play an undeniably important role.) Adam is a dramatic comedy that honestly portrays the highs and lows of a romantic relationship in which one of the partners happens to have Asperger’s.

The strength of this movie, and why people who know Asperger’s will appreciate it, is that it remains heartfelt and realistic to the end. Adam slowly grows and evolves, but he is doesn’t miraculously learn to not have Asperger’s. Adam will always have trouble with eye contact and anxiety, but the story remains focused on what he does learn and the things he can do. While the happy ending might not be the one you expect, it’s there.

Adam was released July 29th, 2009 to limited theaters. To read more reviews, and watch a trailer, click here.

Autism as an Academic Paradigm

Underlying the philosophy of AHEADD, and a running theme of this blog, is the conviction that while individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have some specific skills deficits, it is critically important to not overlook their abilities and strengths.
Tyler Cowen, economics professor at George Mason University and author, recently published an article titled “Autism as an Academic Paradigm” in The Chronicle Review. Cowen discussed autism and higher education, specifically the misunderstandings, stereotypes, and bias language that so often infiltrate popular thought. Following is an excerpt:

Autism is often described as a disease or a plague, but when it comes to the American college or university, autism is often a competitive advantage rather than a problem to be solved. One reason American academe is so strong is because it mobilizes the strengths and talents of people on the autistic spectrum so effectively. In spite of some of the harmful rhetoric, the on-the-ground reality is that autistics have been very good for colleges, and colleges have been very good for autistics.

To read the rest of Tyler Cowen’s article, click here.

Using Popular Computer Games to Teach Social Skills

Video games are a hugely popular source of entertainment for children, teenagers, and adults alike. As technology improves, the complexity of computer games has increased exponentially. Remember Atari Games like Asteroids, where the only objective was to keep your ship in space by shooting at various sized rocks? Now some games are nearly as complex as real life, and in fact, virtual environments aim to mimic real life situations. Capitalizing on this, new computer software programs have been developed to address the core feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD): social skills deficits. These games include:

• Mind Reading: The Interactive Guide to Emotions
• Fun with Feelings
• Face Say

However, there are other games – commercially available, developed for fun and entertainment, not as a therapeutic tool – that mimic reality and require lots of sophisticated social skills to be successful. The question arises: might popular virtual reality games be a ready-made method of teaching social skills to individuals with ASD?

Why Computer Games?

Many individuals with ASD enjoy playing computer games. They typically excel in technological areas, both because they have strengths in mathematics and computing and because they are often more comfortable with computers than people. Individuals with ASD are often highly visual, and may respond better to actually seeing social situations played out as opposed to simply talking about them.

Read the rest of this entry »

Employment Supports for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

In a previous article, several obstacles to employment faced by persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) were discussed in detail. In this article, the next step – the methods of reducing or eliminating obstacles – will be described. It is likely that a person with ASD is going to need support in using these strategies and securing these accommodations. Ideally, job matching and individualized autism supports would come from a vocational counselor who is trained in assisting individuals with disabilities to find financially gainful and personally meaningful employment.

Job Matching

Like everyone, individuals with ASD thrive in jobs when their personal strengths and preferences match the requirements of the job. There are some characteristics of a job that make it more likely to be a good fit for an individual with ASD:

Read the rest of this entry »