ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The ComFor study has indicated that individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show enhanced visual local processing compared with individuals with ID only. Items of the ComFor with meaningless materials provided the best discrimination between the two samples. These results can be explained by the weak central coherence account. The main focus of the present study is to examine whether enhanced visual perception is also present in low-functioning deaf individuals with and without ASD compared with individuals with ID, and to evaluate the underlying cognitive style in deaf and hearing individuals with ASD. METHOD: Different sorting tasks (selected from the ComFor) were administered from four subsamples: (1) individuals with ID (n = 68); (2) individuals with ID and ASD (n = 72); (3) individuals with ID and deafness (n = 22); and (4) individuals with ID, ASD and deafness (n = 15). Differences in performance on sorting tasks with meaningful and meaningless materials between the four subgroups were analysed. Age and level of functioning were taken into account. RESULTS: Analyses of covariance revealed that results of deaf individuals with ID and ASD are in line with the results of hearing individuals with ID and ASD. Both groups showed enhanced visual perception, especially on meaningless sorting tasks, when compared with hearing individuals with ID, but not compared with deaf individuals with ID. CONCLUSIONS: In ASD either with or without deafness, enhanced visual perception for meaningless information can be understood within the framework of the central coherence theory, whereas in deafness, enhancement in visual perception might be due to a more generally enhanced visual perception as a result of auditory deprivation.
Subject(s)
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/psychology , Deafness/psychology , Discrimination Learning , Intellectual Disability/psychology , Pattern Recognition, Visual , Psychomotor Performance , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Comorbidity , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests/statistics & numerical data , PsychometricsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: To help children with Down syndrome reach optimum levels of adaptive behaviour, caretakers need to know how and to what extent children with Down syndrome acquire adaptive skills. METHOD: The adaptive levels of motor, daily living, communicative and social behavioural skills were determined in a group of 984 Dutch children with Down syndrome, aged between 0 and 12 years, and compared with the adaptive levels of typically developing children using a Dutch version of the Vineland Screener. RESULTS: Children with Down syndrome acquire their adaptive skills at a slower pace and reach their ceiling scores at about the age of 12 years, at a substantially lower level than a reference group of typically developing children. CONCLUSIONS: Down children seem to acquire skills in a similar sequence and according to a similar trajectory. Development of adaptive skills varies greatly between participants with Down syndrome. For that reason, cohort studies on the development of individuals with Down syndrome over a prolonged period of time are needed.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Disability Evaluation , Down Syndrome/psychology , Intellectual Disability/psychology , Social Adjustment , Activities of Daily Living , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Down Syndrome/rehabilitation , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Intellectual Disability/rehabilitation , Male , Psychometrics , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
The concept of autism has been broadened the last few years from 'early infantile autism' to 'an autistic spectrum'. Autism and related contact disorders are grouped together under 'pervasive developmental disorders' or 'autistic spectrum disorders'. The autistic disorder, Asperger's syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), Rett's disorder and the childhood disintegrative disorder all belong to this group. People with an autistic spectrum disorder have severe difficulties in the integration of perceived stimuli into a meaningful entity. More than two-thirds of the people with the autistic disorder (classical autism) are also mentally retarded. Although autism can still only be diagnosed at the behavioural level, there is considerable consensus regarding an underlying organic aetiology. Autism is clearly a multifactorial condition. Autism cannot be cured, but adequate intervention can significantly improve the quality of life of people with this disorder. Diagnosis and intervention are highly interrelated. In the intervention, a distinction is made between family-oriented and child-oriented strategies. Augmentative communication plays a key role in the treatment. People with autism need a lot of structure, clarity and predictability, also when they have become adults.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/physiopathology , Adolescent , Asperger Syndrome/classification , Asperger Syndrome/physiopathology , Asperger Syndrome/therapy , Autistic Disorder/classification , Autistic Disorder/therapy , Behavioral Symptoms , Child , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/classification , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/physiopathology , Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/therapy , Child, Preschool , Communication Disorders/classification , Communication Disorders/physiopathology , Communication Disorders/therapy , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Male , Rett Syndrome/classification , Rett Syndrome/physiopathology , Rett Syndrome/therapy , Social Behavior Disorders/classification , Social Behavior Disorders/physiopathology , Social Behavior Disorders/therapyABSTRACT
Early forms of play involving the exploration of objects is repetitive and limited in scope in children with autism, consistent with a weak drive towards central coherence. The importance is stressed of early manipulative and relational play for the development of meaningful perceptual representations and the subsequent development of functional and symbolic play. It is argued that intervention designed to promote these early forms of play is therefore of critical importance. A 'toy-play' intervention programme is described that was initially used in a research setting with 24 children with autism, using outcome measures and a 1 year follow-up assessment. The original intervention was successful. However, improvements in play were not maintained unless children continued to receive play support. A 'play stimulation' programme building on the toy-play programme is therefore now carried out with children in small groups after completion of the one-to-one toy-play programme.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/psychology , Early Intervention, Educational/methods , Play and Playthings , Child , Child Development , Humans , Models, Psychological , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
This study uses the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom ratings of professional care workers to estimate the prevalence of ADHD symptoms among children in day treatment centres (N = 162) and residential treatment centres (N = 195) in Holland. Although further research is needed, the study supports the suggestion that such ratings can add to reliable diagnostic outcomes when assessing the behavioural symptoms of ADHD in children in the centres. It is estimated that nearly a fifth of the children in such centres exhibit the symptoms of ADHD in the judgement of professional care workers. Model testing using confirmatory factor analysis favours a dimensional behavioural model that comprises all the three constitutional symptom dimensions of ADHD (inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity) instead of the two-factor model as used in the DSM-IV (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity). However, the differences of fit between both models were only small and the hyperactivity and impulsivity factors were highly correlated. This suggests that, in practice, a two-factor model can also be appropriate. The issue of whether a two-factor or a three-factor model is more appropriate thus remains unsolved in this study.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/diagnosis , Personality Assessment/statistics & numerical data , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/standards , Adolescent , Ambulatory Care , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/epidemiology , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Chi-Square Distribution , Child , Child, Preschool , Factor Analysis, Statistical , Female , Humans , Male , Netherlands/epidemiology , Prevalence , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/statistics & numerical data , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results , Residential TreatmentABSTRACT
People with intellectual disability often exhibit severe behavioural problems. Treatment of these problems is frequently very difficult. In The Netherlands, parents, institutes, schools and others can request the services of an independent advisory team with a pool of professionals who have experience with individuals who exhibit challenging behaviour. In this article the methods of the team will be described using a 24-year-old man as an example. The process took almost 7 years. Finally, this man, who had been living full time in one room in total isolation from the rest of the world, fulfilled his heart's desire--visiting the UK by Hovercraft.
Subject(s)
Intellectual Disability/psychology , Mental Disorders/etiology , Mental Disorders/therapy , Adult , Autistic Disorder/complications , Behavior Therapy , Humans , Intellectual Disability/complications , Male , Videotape RecordingABSTRACT
In this study the factorial validity and the reliability of DSM-IV related ADHD symptom ratings made by care professionals working in residential treatment centres were determined in a sample of 412 residential youngsters. Three concurrent models of the ADHD disorder were investigated, a one-factor model comprising all 18 symptoms, a two-factor model with the Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity symptoms, respectively, combined and a three-factor model comprising Inattention, Hyperactivity, and Impulsivity symptoms, respectively. An analysis of the covariance structure shows acceptable fits for both the two- and the three-factor models, slightly favouring the three-factor model. The internal consistencies, the test-retest reliabilities, and the inter-rater reliabilities turned out to be good to excellent for all scales based on each of the three concurrent models.
