KIN 4512 Autism

autism

-1 in 36 children

-diagnosed more in boys than girls

-primarily diagnosed in childhood

-present across the lifespan

causes of autism

-heritability- 74-93%: combination of large number of genetic variants

-younger sibling of a child diagnosed with autism has a 20% chance of being diagnosed

vaccines

________ DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM

-neither do SSRIs

social communication and interaction of autism

-deficits in social or emotional reciprocity

-deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors (gestures/expression)
-deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships across multiple contexts

restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors or interests of autism

-stereotyped motor behaviors (hand flapping/rocking)

-insistence on sameness/routine

-restricted interests abnormal in intensity or focus

-hyper or hypo reactivity to sensory input or unusal sensory interest

childhood schizophrenia

DSM-1 (1952) and DSM 2 (1968)

-autism was considered _____

autistic disorder

DSM 3 (1980) and DSM 3R (1987)

-became infantile autism and then ______

expanded

DSM 4 (1994) and DSM 4R (2000)

-______ to autistic disorder, asperger’s disorder, pervasive developmental disorder, rhett’s disorder, and childhood disintegrative disorder

DSM 5 and DSM 5-TR

-all categories became autism spectrum disorder

-autism diagnostic criteria did not allow for cooccurring diagnoses for motor difficulties

standardized assessments

-caregiver reports of motor skills

-survey instruments

• ages and stages questionnaire

• vineland adaptive behavior scales

• developmental coordination disorder questionnaire

fine motor

-grasping a cube, putting a coin in a box, threading beads on a string

-standardized assessment

• peabody development motor skills

• movement assessment battery for children

• test of gross motor development

gross motor

-crawling, standing on 1 foot, walking in a line, hopping

-how long, how many steps/hops

standardized assessments

• peabody developmental motor scales

• movement assessment battery for children

• test of gross motor development

lower

autistic children’s overall motor skills are ______ than peers

• lower fine motor and gross motor skills scores

• lower strength scores

• lower bilateral coordination

slower, shorter

autistic children show _____ steps when walking compared to neurotypical children

increase; increase

the difference btwn autistic children’s motor skills and their neurotypical peers ______ as their age ______

postural stability

________ requires vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive input

reweight

when one input is unreliable or unavailable, we ______ them

inefficient

______ reweighting can cause instability or falls

increases

ability to engage in reweighting ______ with age

sensory integration and balance

clinical test of _____ and _____

-neurotypical children’s sway plot had less sway than autistic children

larger

autistic individuals have ______ sway (less stability) compared to neurotypical

-across lifespan

-across sensory conditions heightened postural sway

closed

largest sway differences found in eyes _____ conditions

mediolateral

autistic individuals exhibit higher percentages of ______ sway compared to neurotypical individuals

-potentially higher risk for falls

daily living skills

________ are predicted by motor skills and age controlling for IQ and autism symptom scores

views

Autistic adults’ _____ on motor difficulties

-users who affiliate with the autistic community on twitter

• self advocate discussions generally tagged w/ #askingautistics, #actuallyautistic, #autchat

-interviews w autistic adults

• one on one interviews or focus groups

common autistic motor problems

-manual dexterity

-lower extremity movements

-oral motor skills

manual dexterity

-typing messages can be difficult because my fingers wont press the right button

lower extremity movements

-walking into things all the time

oral motor skills

-having trouble eating, choking, bit lips while eating

motor intervetion in autism

-50-90% have significant motor difficulties

-48% receive OT

-19% receive PT

-1% receive a motor disorder diagnosis

motor skills

______ outcomes

-directly practiced skills have been shown to improve (throwing skills after practicing throwing)
-indirectly practiced skills do not tend to improve (balance skils following aquatice intervention

physical fitness

_________ outcomes

-aerobic exercise, sport, and resistance training interventions found improvements in

• body comp, cardiopulmonary performance, muscular strength, flexibility

limited

_______ increases in Physical activity variables

-some studies indicate increase in # of steps, but dont show increases in MVPA