Social Communication Disorder is marked by difficulties with pragmatics—aka practical everyday use—or the social use of language and communication. Therefore, SCD is concerned with an individual’s use of verbal and nonverbal social communication in everyday life.

The condition is of particular interest to individuals with Aspergers or HFA.

In the DSM-V, it specifically states that individuals who have marked deficits in social communication but whose symptoms do not otherwise meet the criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should be evaluated for social (pragmatic) communication disorder.

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While the word “punish” often conjures up bad thoughts for parents and professionals, punishment and reinforcement are key when looking at behavior change through ABA. Punishment in ABA decreases the chances that a particular behavior will occur again, as opposed to reinforcement which increases the likelihood of behavior.

punishment

Let’s look at the behavior analytic definitions of punishment specifically:

Positive Punisher

  • Positive punishers may occur naturally in one’s environment. A child pets a strange dog and gets bit on the finger causing pain. After this occurs, the child does not pet strange dogs. That is considered a positive punisher because the bite/pain (presented stimulus) decreased petting strange dogs (outcome).
  • A parent can use positive punishment as well: siblings are fighting; mom yells “stop it right now!” and the kid’s reaction is to end the fighting. Mom provides the stimulus of yelling, which decreases future occurrence of fighting.

Negative Punisher

  • A negative punisher would be when the removal of a toy ends the fighting between two children. This removal decreases chance of it happening in future.
  • “Time out” is also considered a negative punishment. When used correctly, it removes all reinforcement from the immediate environment resulting in a decrease in future occurrence of the punished behavior.

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Interdisciplinary Autism Assessments at ACN

For individuals on the autism spectrum, a diagnosis from a medical professional is necessary in order to qualify for medical services. One main difference in the assessment is in how the child is evaluated and whether the evaluation is done by an individual or a team.

Interdisciplinary Autism Assessments at ACN

At ACN, we conduct interdisciplinary autism assessments where a number of specialists participate in the evaluation and all of them are present at the same time from start to end.

The team consists of a developmental pediatrician or psychologist, a behavior analyst, a speech-language pathologist, and an occupational therapist. We believe that a comprehensive evaluation gives parents a clearer sense of the skills and deficits in their child and a clearer direction for seeking therapies.

The following is an illustration of the pathway to a diagnosis at ACN:Continue Reading

As parents, you have expectations of improving your children’s behavior. Behavior analysts, on the other hand, need to make sure improvements in behavior occur within the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) guidelines.

These seven guidelines are called the defining characteristics of ABA:

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Spectrum, Autism, Aspergers

Autism is described as occurring on a spectrum because the symptoms can vary from a complete lack of communication with others to difficulty understanding others’ feelings. This range of symptoms is why the  diagnostic term is referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Spectrum, Autism, Aspergers

Aspergers Syndrome, sometimes also called High-Functioning Autism, falls under the category of Autism Spectrum Disorder. (And yes, this remains the case, no matter what you may have heard about the newly-published DSM-V. But, the DSM-V is the subject of another blog). Aspergers Syndrome is viewed as being on the “mild” end of the spectrum because its symptoms differ in degree and severity from other forms of autism.Continue Reading

If you live in Bexar or Comal county in Texas, and have a child with a developmental disability, this is a must read from Alfred Chavira, the Director of Health and Wellness Programs for the Any Baby Can organization.

Introducing “Any Body Can” health and wellness program, offering the entire family a fitness/nutrition program too good to pass up! If you do not live in the south-central Texas region, inquire about similar programs in your area. Here are the details, along with downloadable flyers containing more information.

Any Body Can

Any Body Can is a 3 month exercise and nutrition program designed specifically for people with unique learning abilities. We strive to promote nutrition education, physical fitness, & inclusion of individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities through the offerings of recreational fitness, fitness exploration, nutrition education, and family involvement.Continue Reading

The latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-V), published by American Psychiatric Association, was released in May 2013. As you probably already know, the DSM-V significantly revised the diagnostic category under which Aspergers and autistic disorder previously fell in the DSM-IV-TR.

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Specifically, in the DSM-IV-TR, Pervasive Developmental Disorders was the diagnostic category that included five disorders: autistic disorder, Rett’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, Aspergers disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. Each of the five disorders had their own specific criteria used to make a diagnosis.Continue Reading

The Autistic Mind is different in both function and anatomy.

Understanding the function of the Autistic Brain may help you understand, or explain, the different behaviors exhibited by someone with Aspergers Syndrome. In this edition of Top of The Spectrum News doctors reveal studies proving the importance of therapy, explaining that the autistic brain is different in both function and anatomy from a neuro-typical brain. In other words. . . it’s not bad behavior; Aspies are coming from a place of neurological difference. This is a great video clip to show to friends or family members who do not understand your Asperger childs ‘differences’.

The above is an excerpt from the documentary “Coping to Excelling: Solutions for School-Age Children Diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism or Aspergers Syndrome”

Medical Overview of HF Autism or Asperger Syndrome