“At a moment,you could collapse”: Raising children with autism in the West Bank

The current qualitative study examined knowledge, attitudes, burdens and coping strategies related to caring for a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the West Bank. Based on a sample of 24 Palestinian parents, the study found that parents struggled with financial stressors, child behavioral and medical challenges, and depression. Few parents were aware of ASDs prior to their children's diagnoses. Furthermore, discrimination and stigma from extended family members and the larger community intensified parents' feelings of shame and experiences of social isolation. While some parents coped by withdrawing from the community or denying the diagnosis, others aimed to increase social interactions and access information. Religious coping was found to be partly adaptive for some of the participants. The study underscored the vital need to increase community awareness of ASDs and increase social support for parents in the West Bank.     

Using a Consultant Workshop Model to Improve Performance Management in Chinese Autism Agencies: A Preliminary Study

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the outcomes of using a consultant workshop model to help implement performance management (PM) methods in selected Chinese autism agencies. A need for improvement of educational services in Chinese autism agencies was identified. However, the theory and methods of organizational behavior management (OBM) in general and PM in particular are still foreign in the Chinese autism community. The primary research question of the current study was whether first-line teacher performance in Chinese autism agencies could be improved by the use of a consultant workshop model to train management staff to implement a PM system. Four autism agencies in different Chinese provinces participated in this study. Results demonstrated that after the implementation of the PM system through a consultant workshop model in the participating agencies, the performance of first-line teachers in these agencies improved in several important areas. The intervention appeared modestly effective. Implications of the outcome data and future directions for practitioners and researchers are discussed.     

Tracing the influence of Fernand Deligny on autism studies

In recent years, I have had a growing interest in the work of Deleuze and Guattari, the influence of Fernand Deligny’s work on their own, and the similarities and differences between their respective philosophies and those within my own writings as an autistic academic and activist. Recently a translation of Deligny’s writing became available. Deligny’s writing, even when translated, is not easy to decipher, and perhaps reflects his ‘rhizome-esque’ philosophy and practice. Yet according to Burk there were three main principals which characterised the work of Deligny: the network as a mode of being (called the ‘Arachnean’); the art of acting and doing from which his methodology of ‘mapping’ attempted to trace; and, lastly, the ‘primordial communism’ of a shared common site of living. In this article, these themes will be explored and contrasted with the theoretical writings of the autistic author Jim Sinclair and those of my own, as well as indicating how they influenced the concepts later devised by Deleuze and Guattari.     

Erratum to: Token Reinforcement of Verbal Responses Controlled by Temporally Removed Verbal Stimuli

In the present study we examined the effects of token reinforcement on the convergent control of immediate and temporally removed verbal stimuli over the verbal behavior of three school-age children with autism who showed specific deficits in intraverbal responding. Throughout the study, participants were systematically introduced to a series of visitors to a university-based autism center, and subsequently probed for information about the visitor they had most recently met. Results show that contingent token reinforcement was effective at establishing control by temporally removed verbal stimuli.     

Recombinative Generalization of Tacts Through Matrix Training with Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Foss (Journal of Experimental Psychology, 76, 450–459, 1968a; Journal of Experimental Psychology, 77, 341–344, 1968b) compared overlap and non-overlap instruction to promote recombinative response generalization using a matrix training procedure. In the present study, we used a similar set of procedures to teach tacting of kitchen items and prepositions (i.e., relational autoclitics) to three females ages 13–20, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. We taught some kitchen items/prepositions as tacts (e.g., “the strainer is to the right of the box”) according to a non-overlap instructional sequence. Subsequently, we taught more combinations in an overlap instructional sequence. Each training procedure was followed by probes of untrained relations. Two participants demonstrated recombinative generalization of untrained combinations following the first non-overlap phase, while the third participant demonstrated some response generalization of untrained relations after a few additional training sequences. All three participants demonstrated generalized tacting of object components while two participants showed generalized tacting of preposition components.     

Theory of mind,perceived intentions and reciprocal behaviour: Evidence from individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Evidence suggests that departures from pure self-interest are due, at least partly, to individuals conditioning their behaviour on the perceived intentions of others. We present a new experiment that refines the study of intention-based other-regarding motives. Using a series of mini-ultimatum games that have been extensively studied in the literature, we compare the behaviour of normally-developing (ND) children to that of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who typically lack the ability to attribute intentions to the observed actions of others. We find that ND children’s rejection behaviour responds systematically to changes in the set of available options, in line with previous findings. ASD children’s rejections are virtually unaffected by the intentions that could be inferred from the games’ strategy space. These differences are mainly driven by ASD children with low mentalising abilities.     

我国自闭症康复机构干预方法及其影响因素研究

干预方法选择及应用状况影响自闭症康复机构的康复教育效果。本研究采用问卷调查法,调查36家康复机构实施的干预方法及干预过程中的辅助教具应用状况。结果发现:康复机构选择率最高的干预方法是感觉统合疗法,其次是已循证的干预方法,包括回合式教学、自然情境干预和视觉辅助等;康复机构不同干预课程的辅助教具应用相对统一,教师教学能力和经费需求影响康复机构选择干预方法的多样性。     

Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing of Vocalizations: A Systematic Replication

The current study replicated an enhanced stimulus-stimulus pairing (SSP) procedure used by Esch et al. (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis 42: 42–225, 2009) for increasing vocalizations in children with autism. The enhanced SSP procedure consisted of pairing target vocalizations with high-preference items, interspersed target and nontarget trials, an observing response, and the presentation of the vocalizations in “motherese” speech. Results showed substantial increases in target vocalizations above baseline levels and above nontarget vocalizations for two of three participants.     

Redefining Critical Autism Studies: a more inclusive interpretation

This article explores the definition of Critical Autism Studies and its inclusion in autistic scholarship. There has been critique of recent non-autistic literature for lacking autistic authorship, leading to doubts about its epistemological integrity due to misrepresentations of autistic culture and the neurodiversity movement. This article utilises the work of Arnold, Milton and O’Dell et al. to introduce an emancipatory definition to ensure the discipline is autistic led. In the process, we discuss the nature of autism studies and what constitutes critical literature. We propose Waltz’s interpretation of Critical Autism Studies as a working definition.     

#Boycottautismspeaks: communicating a counternarrative through cyberactivism and connective action

A growing body of research is examining the role of cyberactivism in facilitating social movements. Yet, few have considered the interplay between cyberactivism and disability advocacy. Through a case study of the #boycottautismspeaks movement, this study finds that cyberactivism may provide platforms for self-advocates to connect through bridging and bonding in unique ways that draw together and give voice to individuals who otherwise may not have means for such dynamic engagement. Drawing on a sample of approximately 10,000 tweets that circulated with the #boycottautismspeaks hashtag, this research applies thematic analysis and the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects to reveal how counternarratives of disability are developed and circulated via cyberactivism. Findings reveal that #boycottautismspeaks contributors communicated to enhance bonding through (a) (dis)identification, (b) collaboration, and (c) creative resistance. In addition, they communicated to facilitate bridging by (a) demonstrating morality, (b) appealing to humanity, and (c) aligning with other causes. The #boycottautismspeaks movement melded the logic of collective and connective action, provided opportunities for both coordinated and self-directed activity, developing a network of networks through various stitching mechanisms, and cultivating an affective public. Implications for cyberactivism research and practice as well as disability advocacy are discussed.