PSYC 355 Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Echolalia, Intellectual Disability, Neurodiversity
8 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Autism
•Leo Kanner (1943) coined term
–greek autos
= self
>>complete self-absorption and emotional solitude
–observed 3 behavior abnormalities (triad of impairments)
>>social
>>language
>>repetitive behaviors
•today→ autism spectrum disorders
•current prevalence (according to CDC):
–1 in 59 (2018)
–1 in 68 (2016)
–more prevalent in boys
•diagnosis→ DSM-V
–persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts
>>social or emotional reciprocity impaired
∆abnormal social approach
∆lack of normal back-and-forth
∆reduced of sharing of interests, emotions, or affect
∆failure to initiate or respond to social interactions
>>difficulties with nonverbal communicative behaviors
∆poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication
∆abnormal eye contact
∆deficits in understanding and use of gestures
∆lack of facial expressions
>>relationships are atypical (developing, maintaining, and understanding)
∆difficulty adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts
∆difficulty making friends and imaginative play
∆lack of interest in peers
–restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior
>>stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech
∆ex: lining up toys, echolalia (repeating words you just heard), idiosyncratic
phrases
>>insistence on sameness and/or routines
∆ex: extreme distress at small changes, difficulty with transitions, rigid thinking,
same food everyday
>>highly restricted, fixated interests with intense focus
∆ex: trains, musicians, telephones, cars
>>hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input
∆ex: sound sensitivity, tactile hyposensitivity, hand flapping, string waving
–symptoms must be present early
–symptoms cause significant impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of
functioning
