Where in the brain is autism?
•At least four biological variants ofautism?
–Early brainstem/cerebellar associated withsevere secondary problems
–Midtrimester bitemporal lobe damage
–Uni- or bilateral frontotemporal dysfunction inhigh-functioning cases
–Multi-damage autism
Patricia Rakovic MA CCC/SLP
Where in the brain is autism?
•Frontotemporal brain dysfunctionsuggested by
–Autopsy studies
–Functional imaging studies
–Neuropsychological studies
–Combined neuropsychological-neuroimagingstudies
–Clinical picture
Where in the brain is autism?
•Neuropsychological studies show
–Metarepresentation problems
–Central coherence problems
–Non-verbal learning disability in AS
–Verbal learning disability in AD
–Executive function deficits
–Procedural (complex) learning deficits
–Superior fact learning
–Aberrant reading of facial expression
Where in the brain is autism?
•Likely that several functional neuralloops are implicated and that all impingeon neurocognitive/social cognitivefunctions that are crucially (but possiblynot specifically) impaired in autism
–(Gillberg 1999, Gillberg & Coleman 2000)
Biological Implications
•Limbic System
•Memory
•Learning
•Emotion
•Behavior
Patricia Rakovic MA CCC/SLP
Patricia Rakovic MA CCC/SLP
BiologicalImplications
Cerebellum involves
Modulating Sensory Input
The Coordination of Muscles
The Maintenance of Balance
Communication Characteristics inChildren with ASD
•Echolalic
•Disorganized processing of information
•Atypical interactions
•Spontaneous vs. elicited imitation
• Limited use of non verbal behavior
–Gestures
–Eye-gaze
–Point
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The Role of Language Development inASD
••Communication deficits are a primarycharacteristic of ASD (APA, 1994)
••Until recently, 50% of children with ASD did notdevelop spoken language (Tager-Flusberg et al.,2005)
•–Do not use gestures or other forms ofcommunication to compensate
••Achievement of spoken language by age 6, alongwith IQ, is the strongest predictor of goodoutcome (e.g., Howlin, 2005).
Oral Motor Problems
•Some children with ASDhave such significant oralmotor problems that verballanguage is extremelydelayed
•Their oral motor problemsare further complicated bytheir sensitivity to touch
Patricia Rakovic MA CCC/SLP
Patricia Rakovic MA CCC/SLP
Sensitivity
Children with As mayhave sensitivities to
–Auditory stimulus
–Tactile stimulus
–Olfactory stimulus
–Visual stimulus
–Taste stimulus
Communication Problems
• A child may mostly repeatwhat he hears (echolalia).
•Others develop advancedspeech, but have problemsthat effect their ability toexpress feelings or ideas, or inknowing the right way or timeto say things.
Patricia Rakovic MA CCC/SLP
Patricia Rakovic MA CCC/SLP
Thinking in pictures
People with AutismSpectrum Disorderthink in pictures
Patricia Rakovic MA CCC/SLP
One Channel Processing
Children with ASDmay process onechannel at a time
It is often difficult forthem to look at youand listen to you at thesame time
Difficulty Reading Social Cues
•The actions of others areconfusing to these childrenand they may withdrawfrom social interactions.
• Many have difficulty withinteractive play.
Patricia Rakovic MA CCC/SLP
Difficulty Reading Social Cues
•Children with ASD havedifficulty picking upnonverbal cues
•Yale studies point to thefact that they are notlooking at some of thecues that need to beprocessed
Patricia Rakovic MA CCC/SLP