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Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder (DS-ASD)… al., 2015 ). However, it is important to know that: Like autistic people, people with Down syndrome have a range of skills and vary in achieving developmental milestones The common characteristics of autism may appear differently in people who …   When autism occurs in someone with Down syndrome, the characteristics of autism (social and behavioral challenges, communication difficulties and restricted interests) may be observed in addition to the symptoms of Down syndrome … than their peers with Down syndrome Provide access to strategies, interventions and therapies aimed at improving interactions and decreasing behavioral challenges Help access needed educational and community services and social supports …
ASD levels of severity… In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) released the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the handbook used to diagnose of mental disorders, including autism. The … from the APA. Severity levels for autism spectrum disorder Level 3 autism: “Requiring very substantial support”   Social communication Severe deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication skills cause severe impairments in functioning, very limited initiation of social interactions, and minimal response to social overtures from others. For example, a person with few words of intelligible …
Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT)… Response Treatment? Pivotal Response Treatment, or PRT, is a behavioral treatment for autism. This therapy is play-based and initiated by the child. PRT is based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Goals of this approach include: Development of communication and language skills Increasing positive social behaviors Relief from disruptive self-stimulatory behaviors The … behavior and learning. Pivotal areas include: Motivation Response to multiple cues Self-management Initiation of social interactions Motivation strategies are an important part of the PRT approach. These emphasize natural reinforcement. For …
WHO Caregiver Skills Training shows promising results in Italy… A new study published this October in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders offers evidence that the World Health Organization (WHO) Caregiver Skills Training (CST) program … The lack of consistent engagement with a communicative partner reduces autistic children’s ability to develop needed communication skills, emotional regulation and daily living skills .   Overall, the analysis of the CST program showed … months after the final session of the CST program found that the training resulted in several improvements to parent-child interactions. Parents significantly improved their ability to support interactions with their children by “scaffolding” (or …
Floortime… children with autism. The intervention is called Floortime because the parent gets down on the floor with the child to play and interact with the child at their level. Floortime is an alternative to ABA and is sometimes used in combination with ABA therapies. The goal is for adults to help children expand their “circles of communication.” They meet the child at their developmental level and build on their strengths. Therapists and parents engage … Emotional ideas Emotional thinking Therapists teach parents how to direct their children into more and more complex interactions. This process, called “opening and closing circles of communication,” is central to the Floortime approach. …
Autism symptoms… What are the symptoms of autism? The two core autism symptoms are: Challenges with social communication and interaction skills  and Restricted and repetitive behaviors While autism spectrum disorder (ASD) looks different from … autism may have difficulty with social interaction and communication skills,  particularly in these three areas: Social interactions Starting and taking turns in conversations Sharing interests or emotions Understanding what others are thinking …
Improving autism therapies by exploring the roots of social avoidance… a  2012-13 Autism Speaks Dennis Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellow. Today, Dr. Stavropoulos is a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist at the University of California-Riverside. Her recently published research findings grew out of her … behavior, and we base these approaches on different ideas about why people who have autism tend to struggle with social interactions. My Weatherstone fellowship project launched my research into two seemingly different ideas about why many … braking outside too high pitched. Along these lines, perhaps we should rethink the current practice of working on social communication and sensory issues separately. For example, a child with autism may work on social skills with a behavioral …
My child is nonverbal. Anything new that might help him communicate better?… The answer below comes from speech-language pathologists Cynthia Green, Kameron Beaulieu, and Jill Dolata of the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN). Their ATN work at the Oregon Health & Science … and Rehabilitation Center involves individualized parent training using a 24-week program that improves children’s social communication skills.  My child is nonverbal. Anything new that might help him communicate better?   Today, parents and … when they prefer to play by themselves, engage in self-stimulating behaviors or have difficulty sustaining interactions. Autism nonverbal communication programs There are several programs designed to initiate positive interactions
Autism Speaks announces new grant opportunity for autistic scientists… Scientists . Through this fellowship program, we hope to increase autistic representation in the field of autism research and empower a greater number of autistic scientists to pursue long-lasting research careers.  The Predoctoral Fellowship … in low resource settings  Pre-clinical studies aimed at reducing the most disabling challenges associated with autism  Interactions with service systems that can inform systematic policy changes  Research that benefits intersectional … Studies that focus on individuals who experience autism with intellectual disability, who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), or those for whom communication solutions are unavailable  Letters of Intent are due on or before …
Q&A: Parent video training for autism study… evaluating iBASIS , an early intervention program that uses video feedback to show parents how to foster social development and communication in babies at high risk for autism. Each parent receives six to twelve in-home feedback sessions with a … research, funded in part by Autism Speaks , aims to reduce the severity of early autism symptoms and improve parent-baby interactions. The researchers call their program iBASIS for “Intervention in the British Autism Study of Infant Siblings.” …