Beyond Skill Acquisition;

Transcription

1 Beyond Skill Acquisition; Developing Social and Dynamic Thinking Abilities Presented by Kimberly Isaac-Emery MS

2 What Autism is Bio-psycho-social, chronic disorder A neural collaboration problem Complex information processing difference Frequently has many possible co-occurring conditions

3 What Autism is not Behavior problem Lost in their own world Mental retardation Speech disorder Single etiology or part of the brain

4 What is the difference between the brain and the mind? The brain is the center of the nervous system. The brain is a physical organ, composed of nerve cells and glial cells. The brain coordinates movements and processes sensory input. The mind is not physical. It is consciousness, emotions, memories and concepts. We use the mind to think, feel and respond. The mind is what the brain does. Our experiences, relationships and thoughts influence the development of the brain s neural connectivity. The actual anatomy and physiology of the brain is changed via our experiences, interactions and thinking.

5 Simply put, people with autism have brains that are developing differently than people who do not have autism. Those differences are not clear cut or simple, and may stem from a variety of causes. Bodies and brains are connected. Information comes in through the body and is processed by the brain. If the information coming in is different (sensory processing, filtering of information, hypo or hyper reflexes, gut issues, allergies, etc) the processing will be different. The EXPERIENCE of the Experience Dependent Organ is different.

6 Once we begin to change the input from the body by healing the gut, integrating the reflexes, addressing the allergies, and regulating the sensory system, etc. the brain has opportunity to develop in a more regulated way. What about the mind?

7 Core obstacles for individuals with ASD s Flexible thinking Social referencing Emotional regulation/ Self awareness Episodic / Autobiographical memory Experience sharing communication

8 Teaching Skills and Developing Mental Processes

9 Two Pathways to Obtaining Knowledge Static intelligence is measured by what you know. Dynamic intelligence is measured by what you can do with what you know in the real world. STATIC PROCESSING Discrete processing Performing Absolute problem-solving Static Analysis Rote-Procedural Memory Instrumental Communication Behavioral compliance Sequential Content accumulation DYNAMIC PROCESSING Continuous processing Regulating & Adapting Flexible problem-solving Dynamic Analysis Episodic Memory Experience Sharing Self evaluation & self regulation Simultaneous Flexible & contextual content use

10 Static (Behavior) Dynamic (Mental process) Eye contact Studying response Speech Social scripts / rules (only) Share thoughts, ideas, and feelings Monitoring, adjusting, social referencing

11 Developmentally processes come first They are foundational to using what you learn in productive and dynamic ways.

12 Flexible Thinking Rules based thinking vs. rapid adaptability Black and white vs. gray area thinking Multiple right answers / good enough thinking

13 Social referencing Borrow another s perspective Looking to another to resolve uncertainty Soothed by facial expressions Integrate social, personal, and contextual information

14 Emotional Regulation / Self Awareness How do I impact others emotionally? How do they impact me? Making ongoing adjustments based on context

15 Episodic Memory Episodic memory allows us to move between past, present, and future thinking. Reflection on our past experiences to prepare us for our future experiences. Hindsight / Foresight

16 Experience Sharing Derive enjoyment from the we vs. the activity / item itself Experience sharing communication is what is unique about human communication. It offers the opportunity to share and integrate our feelings, intended actions, memories, predictions, plans, ideas, perspectives, thoughts, and creative productions. It is the product of the desire of human beings to share the highest level of mental functioning with specific partners in a meaningful way.

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20 Cognitive resources become specialized in static areas. There is a weakened ability to solve every day real world problems using our critical and abstract thinking skills.

21 Communication becomes more rote, scripted and instrumental. The child copes with their deficits by avoiding new experiences/challenges, over controlling their environment.

22 Current supporting research Elsabbagh 2014 From birth onwards, parent and child enter into a dyadic relationship of mutual influence that shapes their interaction over time and sets the foundation for future social relationships. Zwaigenbaum 2013 Infants with autism fail to transform social (simple behaviors) into more complex ones. Jones and Klin 2009 blockage of the normative social adaptive trajectories will bias the child to forms of learning that are not grounded in social interaction

23 Critical focal point of treatment The guided participation relationship

24 Guided Participation Parents supporting and promoting developmental growth

25 Guided participation is a natural, biological process for how humans learn from each other and grow from birth. Guided participation is a a term used to describe the relationship between parent and child, that promotes the development of thinking and relating.

26 Guided participation plays a critical role in cognitive, social, and emotional development. Parents become the primary reference point for evaluating and interpreting new and confusing experiences. Parents gradually require the child to take increasing responsibility for co-regulation.

27 Learning occurs through the shared focusing of attention on lessons chosen by the guide. Guides provide opportunities throughout the day via routine, legitimate activities, for the apprentice to make discoveries, and develop mastery. Guides help the child bridge their understanding from a current state to a new way of thinking. Guided carefully evaluate the apprentice s level of competence and present challenges that are just beyond that level.

28 Guides pace their teaching so the child does NOT feel incompetent or unsafe. Guides break down complex processes into understandable pieces. Guides provide apprentices with roles allowing them to perceive themselves as competent coregulators.

29 Creating opportunities for dynamic growth Create simple roles within daily activities. Avoid directing / telling the student what to do. Instead, draw attention to the features that are central to notice and think about. Restore the natural learning process by communication and interacting at a pace and clarity that the student can process. Slow down- allow time for processing. Pause in moments where decision making happens.

30 For a PDF file of reference information and research links, please rdiarizona@yahoo.com