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<title>My RSS Feed</title><link>http://www.wiaba.com/index.html</link><description>Hot News&#x21;</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2009 Eric Lund</dc:rights><dc:date>2009-12-10T08:01:00-06:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Mon, 1 Jun 2009 12:29:28 -0500</lastBuildDate><item><title>About the Author</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-12-10T08:01:00-06:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/0c42bf5658e5c54e74152a539bb581a7-17.html#unique-entry-id-17</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/0c42bf5658e5c54e74152a539bb581a7-17.html#unique-entry-id-17</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Lund is a Clinical Psychologist who is Board Certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BCBA) and the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP).    He is a licensed Psychologist in the state of Wisconsin and is listed in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. 


...Dr Lund has always emphasized developing broad skills in Clinical Psychology and has worked with diverse populations from children to older adults throughout his career.   Early on in his career he focused on treating Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at Bellin Psychiatric Center. 

...He supervised the Green Bay clinic of the Wisconsin Early Autism Project for eight years before deciding to start his own clinic. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Introduction</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-04T08:01:07-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/d8fa9aed4817d9fcf92b2b4e56791e7d-16.html#unique-entry-id-16</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/d8fa9aed4817d9fcf92b2b4e56791e7d-16.html#unique-entry-id-16</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[We hope that when a child can not learn a program or task that the therapist will be able to look at the child and the task and break the task into smaller or easier tasks so that they can work toward attaining the larger task.


...As motivation is harnessed and the child moves in the direction of being motivated by more objects and activities the focus of therapy moves to building self-initiation and the ability to communicate with non-verbal gestures.  

...The major work of building socially derived perceptions and labeling those perceptions originally will be developed through the three stage process of providing a physical signal to the child, waiting for the appropriate behavior, and reacting to the child in a fun way when the behavior occurs.  ...  Next, as perceptions and the ability to label and integrate labels become more complex, the therapeutic method will continue to rely on the above three step process but will begin to rely more and more on acquisition of knowledge guided by information in the form of rules.


...Building attention, self-control, interest in the physical world and abstract world of thought and language is an ongoing focus, realizing that all of this comes to fruition through the most important aspect of life and therapy, the development of a deep, emotionally engaged relationship with other people.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>References</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:38:20-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/193ac7b67ee317bbd4e7a0528bb1329d-14.html#unique-entry-id-14</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/193ac7b67ee317bbd4e7a0528bb1329d-14.html#unique-entry-id-14</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Cohen, Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Volume 1 (p. 

...Cohen, Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Volume 1 (p. 

...Cohen, Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Volume 1 (p. 

...Cohen, Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Volume 1 (p. 

...Cohen, Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Volume 1 (p. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Implications of Diffuse Neurological Dysfunction</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:08-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/8376387f0b06b015e9e52d57f165c828-13.html#unique-entry-id-13</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/8376387f0b06b015e9e52d57f165c828-13.html#unique-entry-id-13</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Neurological deficits that have been associated with autism include, abnormal cell density and reduced dendritic growth (Raymond, Bauman, & Kemper, 1989), abnormalities of the cerebellum (Courchesne, 1989), differences in sensorimotor, temporal, and Broca&rsquo;s regions (Chiron, et al., 1993), dysfunction in the reticular activating system (Rimland, 1964), abnormalities of the amygdala (Brothers, 1989;1985; Fotheringham, 1991), irregularities of limbic involvement (Boucher, & Warrington, 1976), left and right asymmetry abnormalities (Prior & Bradshaw, 1979), ventricular enlargement (Bigler, 1989a; Hauser, Delong, & Rosman, 1975), abnormalities in thalamic nuclei (Coleman, 1979), cortical atrophy (Bigler, 1989a) and abnormalities of the hippocampus (Minshew & Goldstein, 1993).

...Broca&rsquo;s area receives processed and integrated language information from the primary auditory cortex in the temporal lobe and is involved in the production of and articulation of speech.  

...The neurological explanation for why depression, apathy and lack of responsiveness often co-occur with speech problems is that Broca&rsquo;s area is located in the frontal cortex where these problems often occur (Kaufman, 2001). 

...Conduction aphasia occurs when Wernicke&rsquo;s area is separated from Broca&rsquo;s area along the arcuate fasciculus and results in good comprehension with the inability to repeat phrases or short sentences (Kaufman, 2001). 

...In both of these areas information is broken down and analyzed by feature detecting cells  These primary areas of sensory/perceptual processing continue to be influenced by reciprocal connections to the thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellum (Kingsley, 2000).   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Self-Soothing Repetitive Behavior</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:10-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/d84f7f54c78839b0420392b44f0cc81a-12.html#unique-entry-id-12</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/d84f7f54c78839b0420392b44f0cc81a-12.html#unique-entry-id-12</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Self-soothing repetitive behaviors are mainly caused by three variables; behaviors aimed at reducing akathisia, behaviors aimed at shutting out sensory stimulation, and behaviors that occur because of motor control issues such as motor planning difficulties and low muscle tone.  

...Our general strategy for dealing with self-soothing repetitive behaviors is to help the child become more productive at self-soothing, to shape the self-soothing behavior to become more socially appropriate and to teach behaviors that are more complex that will be more enjoyable and productive for the child.  ...  For example one young child who pushed a small toy lawn mower for hours out of the day was able by the age of 8 to cut lawns with a real lawnmower and since the age of 10 he had been cutting laws for neighbors and making more money than all of his friends.  

...As we watch the child try alternative behaviors, behaviors that are not as inappropriate do not bring the response cost and hence the behavior is shaped toward a more appropriate behavior.

...If the self-soothing repetitive behavior will increase the social gap between the child and his or her peers or interfere with independent self-sufficient functioning than it is a behavior that we target and develop a plan to move the behavior toward behavior that will help the child be accepted by their peers and/or help them live a more productive self-sufficient life.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Attention Issues</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:13-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/eb92eb81f30a8957904cc2831d71ea27-11.html#unique-entry-id-11</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/eb92eb81f30a8957904cc2831d71ea27-11.html#unique-entry-id-11</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It is common for a child to be able to focus attention on a video game or television show (which provides sensory stimulation) to the point that their attention is not easily redirected away from the activity.  

...If the senses of touch, hearing, or sight, provide interference along the path of attention, attention will be distorted and disrupted through that particular sensory path and it will be more likely that the child will rely on an alternative sensory/perceptual pathway when attending. 

...When this is the case it is more difficult for the child to attend to information that is traveling through the auditory pathway and the child may place up barriers along that pathway further blocking attention along that path as they mainly rely on an alternative route.  

...If the therapist is not aware of the child&rsquo;s state of attentional awareness it is very likely that they are inadvertently increasing inattentive behavior by not focusing on providing desired items only for attentive behaviors.  

...If we have control over desired items we are expanding the child&rsquo;s ability to attend for longer and longer periods of time and also to delay gratification.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Increasing Abstract Language</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:15-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/4ea9798b6ebd757e88947b5d9632cd38-10.html#unique-entry-id-10</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/4ea9798b6ebd757e88947b5d9632cd38-10.html#unique-entry-id-10</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The child moves from an extended request such as &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m really hungry and I can&rsquo;t wait,&rdquo; which is a self referenced request to further their argument to a statement such as &ldquo;But your cookie&rsquo;s are so great that I can&rsquo;t wait that long.&rdquo;  

...The child can be taught to use language in an abstract way through these programs but they will take on personal significance for the child when they can use their ability to abstract from concrete expressive label&rsquo;s to accomplish their goals and get what they want in the world.

...	After a child has been taught to extend their requests into a natural give and take conversation, integrate abstract statements, comments learned through sentence completion and expressive label&rsquo;s within requesting, and can reference their own and others interest and motivation to extend and support a request they are ready for emotional requesting.  

...As the extended requests moves from being a fairly concrete request, to a request supported by arguments which define self and other&rsquo;s interests and demonstrate an understanding of other&rsquo;s motivations, we start looking for the child to use the emotional arguments they have learned within their extended requests.  

...The parent says it is time to come in and get ready for bed (obstacle statement) if the child were to say &ldquo;I am angry with Johnny and I need some time to cool down before bed&rdquo; the parent should recognize that this is a higher order argument that integrates emotional themes and allow the child to play a bit longer.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Expanding the Abiltity to Communicate</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:19-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/c5758a14d08954652cd00e1522d536ae-9.html#unique-entry-id-9</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/c5758a14d08954652cd00e1522d536ae-9.html#unique-entry-id-9</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Expressive language can be taught through sentence completion by teaching a child to finish a common phrase where some part of the phrase is missing and expressive labels but after acquiring multiple statements, comments, and information in this format the information has to be made meaningful to the child through requesting.  

...	At the same time that we are focusing on expanding the child&rsquo;s requesting ability we continue with programs to teach language by way of cued responses such as sentence and phrase completion, conversation questions, statement-response, statement-statement, question-statement-question, statement-statement-question, statement multiple questions and W/H questions.  

...Statement &ndash;Response will also involve the therapist saying common general statements and prompting the child to respond such as, the therapist may sneeze and prompt the child to say &ldquo;Bless you&rdquo; or the therapist my say ouch and pretend to get hurt as they prompt the child to say &ldquo;Are you ok?&rdquo;

...The main point with all of these programs is that we are expanding the child&rsquo;s expressive language abilities and giving them opportunities to use the information they have learned in the labels programs.  

...Once the child has multiple statements that can be made to verbal and environmental cues, the child can also be given sentences on note cards mixed up and the therapist can read them to the child saying, &ldquo;Dad doing are morning this you how&rdquo; and then saying &ldquo;that doesn&rsquo;t make any sense can you fix it&rdquo; and have the child rearrange the cards to say, &ldquo;How are you doing this morning dad.&rdquo;  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Learning to Communicate</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:21-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/0c240fd0004a8a5639b2173e476bd0f3-8.html#unique-entry-id-8</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/0c240fd0004a8a5639b2173e476bd0f3-8.html#unique-entry-id-8</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[When teaching expressive labels or commenting the child often does not desire the object they are labeling or commenting on so you can&rsquo;t give them the labeled item to strengthen the verbal response.  

...As a child moves from behavior controlled through solving immediate contingencies to behavior controlled by rules and information provided to them there is a fundamental, almost qualitative difference, in the child&rsquo;s ability to control their own behavior.  

...Most requesting and labeling will still rely on solving immediate contingencies but we will want to be aware of information provided throughout this time and provide information to the child on a limited basis as the child indicates they will benefit from the information.  

...The second focus for the therapist during receptive and expressive labels programs is to carefully expand the verbal requests made by the therapist from the use of a single word such as, &ldquo;match&rdquo; to using multiple words such as, &ldquo;give cup&rdquo; or eventually, &ldquo;where does a farmer work.&rdquo;  

...After we have taught the child 30-40 object labels (e.g. dog, cow, car, house etc.), multiple action labels (e.g. run, sit, walk, climb, hop etc.), subjects or familiar people (e.g. dad, mom, sister etc), and qualifiers (e.g. green, big, small, fast etc.) the child is ready to begin responding to requests that combine what has been learned.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Learning to Respond to People</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:24-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/0b5122314d83cbbf174871a531a1e596-7.html#unique-entry-id-7</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/0b5122314d83cbbf174871a531a1e596-7.html#unique-entry-id-7</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[In the case of &ldquo;come here&rdquo;, after the child is consistently coming over we will call the child when they are not engaged and then go get them by the hand and bring them over.  

...Responding consistently to wait in as many environments, as the therapist is creative enough to come up with, will teach the child that what is learned at the table has practical implications in the real world.  

...As we teach the child receptive instructions many of which were already learned in the non-verbal imitation program we also teach the child a variant of come, wait and stop in teaching a child to stay near.  

...Once the pattern is established, of the child following the therapist and responding to stop the therapist can start to say &ldquo;stay near&rdquo; before the stop request to establish prediction in the child of what will come next.  

...In going from real objects and body parts to shapes the child goes from being able to rely on many characteristics of the object to cue them for the label to only being able to respond to one characteristic to have the correct response.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Learning to Understand Language</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:26-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/a03f390200b3f43cf49e2db374013c1d-6.html#unique-entry-id-6</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/a03f390200b3f43cf49e2db374013c1d-6.html#unique-entry-id-6</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I don&rsquo;t believe that the child will benefit much from contagion that is done as you follow the child around and are not face to face or if a child is engaged in something other than the person doing the contagion exercise.  

...As contagion becomes an affective interaction conveying emotional tone, the therapist can experiment and match the tones to facial expressions to give the child an understanding of coordination between vocal tones and facial expressions.  

...After teaching 20-30 non-verbal imitations this program moves nicely into a verbal responsiveness program (receptive instructions) by going back over all of the learned non-verbal imitations and changing the cue (do this) to the request (touch your nose).  

...We next move to the child copying our block design one at a time as we place blocks, and eventually the child can copy a block structure that has been built before the child begins their structure.  

...You will know that you have been successful building a quality relationship with the child if the child is happy and smiling throughout most of the session, the child looks to you for fun, the child&rsquo;s eyes are bright with anticipation of what you might be able to do for them next, the child is pushing you to interact, and the child is trying new strategies when old strategies aren&rsquo;t working to activate you.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Introducing learning Experiences</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:31-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/26a5ef55c7d32e58a0d33e17c702b298-5.html#unique-entry-id-5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/26a5ef55c7d32e58a0d33e17c702b298-5.html#unique-entry-id-5</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[We want the child to become very confident in his/her own ability to recognize when contingencies are present in the environment and very productive at problem solving a solution to the contingency presented.  

...In the above described case example J.D. was wandering around aimlessly until he was presented problems to solve and then consequently was able to recognize and skillfully manipulate the contingencies to get what he/she wanted.  

...After I gave B.C. a few Gummy Bears for following me back and forth across the room I stopped and patted a chair at the table and waited for him to sit down.  

...Learning that contingencies are present in the environment and all that has to be done is try what has been most successful in the past and if that doesn&rsquo;t work try something else that has been successful.  

...I may be trying to shape away the behavior of flapping the stick but he is playing with his ability to control me and he is learning to understand the world at the same time.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Learning to Understand the World</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:29-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/70f99ac54464635c63e845e25d8fbd3a-4.html#unique-entry-id-4</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/70f99ac54464635c63e845e25d8fbd3a-4.html#unique-entry-id-4</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[A child who has low muscle tone which causes difficulty moving, problems vocalizing leading to difficulty making different sounds, or problems with sensory processing leading to a decreased ability to sense bodily sensations can result in a disruption of the process of being able to convey needs and get needs satisfied.    For example, a child who feels vague discomfort and does not differentiate whether it is related to hunger or a wet diaper cannot sense what the problem is himself; therefore, he will not be able to convey the problem to others in a differentiated fashion.  

...Since he/she is having difficulty with this area, we need to be able to recognize adaptive behavior (behavior that will lead the child closer to attaining their goal) and move the child closer to their goal when the behavior occurs.

...For example, if the child is not capable of reaching for the object, glancing at the parent, or pulling the parent, we may reward a step toward the parent after the child glances at the desired item.  

...Facial gestures, body movements, tone of voice and a variety of other behaviors emitted by the caregiver will be associated with environmental events that are experienced by the child as positive and negative.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Teaching A child to Enjoy the World</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:34-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/bf851443ee08d6b8576483a6bc92fb03-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/bf851443ee08d6b8576483a6bc92fb03-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[As we gain an understanding of the child&rsquo;s sensory issues and sensitivities, as well as strategies to soothe and calm the child, we gain information about how environmental factors can be paired with new experiences to reduce discomfort in new situations.  

...If it is a natural human process to need to be exposed to things to begin to enjoy them, why do families of children with autism gravitate away from the strategy of exposing the child to new situations?  

...As the child learns to overcome their sensitivity to music, and other challenges, he or she learns to enjoy and tolerate more human experiences, and these experiences can also be used in the future to desensitize the child to other stimuli.

...Remember that the child has no experience with you, and the child will need your presence to be predictive of positive interactions and enjoyment before you will be experienced as an enjoyable part of the child&rsquo;s environment.  

...When providing treatment to a new child, we like the major interactions to be around the establishment of environmental acceptance, helping the child to self-regulate through finding comfort in the environment and interactions, and creating as many positive and comfortable feelings as possible through emotional engagement.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Developmental Issues</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:36-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/9be7512ea09ed28d6b2b67460bbe6742-2.html#unique-entry-id-2</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/9be7512ea09ed28d6b2b67460bbe6742-2.html#unique-entry-id-2</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Therapy involves systematically building these perceptions of the world to be consistent with the perceptions of the larger society, hence supporting object constancy, teaching the child to label discrete perceptions, and finally, teaching a child to understand how those discrete perceptions relate to one another and what social meaning is attached to each.

...From our behavioral perspective it is a given that the neurology of the brain creates an information processing system which reflects the external world and one of the main functions of the nervous system is the systematic organization of the information that is taken in.  

...If the occipital cortex is not completely organized to take in and integrate visual information from the eyes direct eye contact and directly looking at objects may provide less information to a child with autism than averting the eyes.  

...At this age it becomes clear that learning by consequence is occurring and the child not only can predict events that will occur from previous events but also can start to control those events through their own actions.

...By the end of the second year a typically developing child is starting to use language symbolically, can start to solve problems without physical trial and error means, can classify two classes of objects at the same time, and is demonstrating mature object permanence (Rosenblith & Sims-Knight, 1985).]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Review of Behavioral Principles</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:39-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/d65cfd818530a66b6773aadd2bbf9aff-1.html#unique-entry-id-1</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/d65cfd818530a66b6773aadd2bbf9aff-1.html#unique-entry-id-1</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Because the cue did not accurately predicting the result you learn that the result will not occur to the magnitude you want when that cue is available and the cue does not take on the stimulus qualities of the predicted event. 

...Events in the world that do not ordinarily cause behavioral reflexes, emotional and physiological responses can start to cause these effects if they are predictive of an event in the world that automatically causes the reaction. 


...Learning by consequences (operant conditioning) allows a child not only to be able to predict what is going to happen from an event they experience but also to control what is going to happen through altering their own behavior.  

...When trying to decide what will motivate a child to learn the therapist should always keep in mind the Premack Principle which states that behavior occurring at a high frequency can be used to increase the rate of behavior that occurs at a low frequency.  

...If we are going to teach a child to come when you call the child&rsquo;s name the child must have mastered earlier developmental tasks such as the ability to understand and differentiate words, knowledge of contingencies presented in the environment and the ability to stand and to walk.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>State of Current Knowledge Related to Autism</title><dc:creator>elund@wiautism.com</dc:creator><category>Autism</category><dc:date>2009-06-01T14:43:44-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/4e992fda659f3389c48315836b7b351e-0.html#unique-entry-id-0</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.wiaba.com/ABA/autisminformation_files/4e992fda659f3389c48315836b7b351e-0.html#unique-entry-id-0</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[When associated conditions such as Aspergers Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) are included the number is estimated to be about 27.5 people on the spectrum for every 10,000 people (Bauman & Kemper, 2005). ...  Genetic studies related to autism have suggested there is a huge disparity between the co-occurrence of autism in twins with identical genes (monozygotic) and twins whose genes are no more identical than non-twin siblings (dyzygotic).  

...Research on deficits in executive function related to the function of the prefrontal cortex has most consistently supported the idea that mental flexibility including shifting attention and changing mental sets is compromised in people with high functioning autism. 

...These difficulties could directly lead to problems perceiving faces, human language, and social situations and lead a child to focus attention on information that is less complex such as mechanical sound and physical objects.


Lovaas (1987) found that preschool age children with autism who received intensive behavioral treatment of approximately 40 hours of therapy a week for two years resulted in 47% of the children achieving normal intellectual and educational functioning as compared to only 2% of children with autism who received less intensive therapy.  ]]></content:encoded></item></channel>
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