COMMUNICATION ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION FOR BILINGUAL LATINOS WITH ASPERGER SYNDROME (AS) Nicolás Linares-Orama, Ph. D. FILIUS Research Institute

Transcription

1 COMMUNICATION ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION FOR BILINGUAL LATINOS WITH ASPERGER SYNDROME (AS) Nicolás Linares-Orama, Ph. D. FILIUS Research Institute University of Puerto Rico

2 PURPOSE IN THIS PRESENTATION Present information on bilingualism and biculturalism in these persons, how to characterize their bilingual communication skills using qualitative and quantitative measures, and what intervention strategies to implement for this sub-group of ASDs.

3 OBJECTIVES 1. Identify the elements of bilingualism and communication of AS 2. Specify the contents and procedures for assessment of the communication of Latino bilinguals with AS, and engage in practice on using them 3. Explain communication intervention strategies for this population

4 1. Elements of Bilingualism and Communication of AS Extraordinary increase of Latino children and youth in our caseloads Latino situation in the USA and PR Variety of family and community settings Diverse immigrants and Puerto Ricans Different degrees of bilingualism and diverse sociocultural ways of behaving Unbalanced and balanced bilingualism Spanish preference

5 Latino health service disparities No previous diagnostic or intervention services Speech-language pathologists confront very demanding assessment and diagnosis situations Latino children overrepresented in special education and corrections

6 Lack of training with these populations Insufficient normative data on this group Dearth of applicable clinical testing instruments Limitations in speech-language pathologist comprehension of bilingual persons and their social rules Relying on clinical judgments of communication adequacy that could be biased

7 2. Communication assessment of Latino Bilinguals with AS Dramatic rise of ASD brings complications 1 autistic child in 155 births (estimated 100,000 to be Latinos) DSM-IV-R criteria are behavioral and rely on judgments What we say, how we say it, and for what purposes we say it depend on many aspects

8 ASD diagnosed through clinical observations and interviews in communication, socialization, and interests Need valid normal developmental information for suspected ASD Latino children Need to improve assessment in bilinguals (E & S) with ASD

9 DSM-IV, AS criteria (see WORD: Asperger Diagnostic Criteria) AS communication traits: Tests and Observations Lexical Syntactic Morphological PRAGMATIC!!!!!!! CONVERSATIONAL!!!!!!! Let s watch a video of a 20-year-old bilingual (E & S) male with AS

10 What To Observe In The Video (Based on Gillberg et al, 2001) Appreciation of social cues Social and emotional behavior Interests Expressive language Prosody Voice characteristics Use of gestures Facial expression Gaze

11 3. Communication Intervention for Latino Bilinguals with AS Intervention pertinent for the individual within the community, and considering client idiosyncrasies Include appropriate socio-pragmatic components in diverse communities Improve articulation of Spanish and English phonemes, Use of relevant lexical and morphosyntactic constructions for both languages Assist in better use of gestures and signs for both cultures.

12 REFERENCES Cederlund, M., Hagberg, B., Billstedt, E., Gillberg, C. & Gillberg, C. (2008). Asperger Syndrome and autism: A comparative longitudinal follow-up study more than 5 years after original diagnosis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2007). The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders. Atlanta, Georgia. Colle, L., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., & van der Lely, H. (2008). Narrative discourse in adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, Ghaziuddin, M. & Gerstein, L. (1996). Pedantic speaking style differentiates Asperger syndrome from high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, Gillberg, C., Gillberg, I., Rastam, M. & Wentz, E. (2001). The Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Interview: A preliminary study of a new structured clinical interview. Autism, 5,

13 MUCHAS THANK YOU!