Autism and Behaviour

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Autism and Behaviour

• Luke Beardon

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Autism and Behaviour

• Behaviour always makes sense
• Why wouldn't you?
• Challenging behaviour challenges others - not the
  person with autism
• Is it really that bad?

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Possible Causes

• It's fun
• Form of communication
• Frustration
• Lack of control / no perceived alternative
• Lack of global stability
• Sensory

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Autism and Dysphoria

• High levels of anxiety as norm
• Increased anxiety states for specific reasons
• Global levels of high anxiety due to
  environmental factors
• Possible as high as 90 of individuals have a
  recognisable anxiety disorder

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Secondary Psychiatric Disorders

• Not a primary mental illness
• Result of environmental factors
• High level in people with Autism compared to peer
  groups
• Better support should lead to a better prognosis
  and reduction in secondary conditions

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Learning Processes

• Direct learning vs Indirect learning
• Examples of indirect learning / development
• Theory of Mind
• Social skills
• Social cues
• Non verbal communication

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Verbal Communication

• Accurate interpretation
• Metaphor / sarcasm / irony
• Need for accuracy / lack of tautology
• Echolalia / palilalia / delayed echolalia
• Delayed processing
• Expressive vs receptive skills

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Non Verbal Communication

• Prosody
• Facial expression
• Body posture
• Inference
• Contextual information

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Social Skills

• Recognising the unwritten rules
• Assessing situations
• Reacting appropriately to the PNT social
  circumstance
• Adapting social skills to the PNT situation

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Theory of Mind

• Alexithymia
• Mentalising abilities
• Empathy
• Trust
• Appearance of rudeness

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Executive Functioning

• Planning
• Impulse control
• Sequencing
• Scripting

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Central Coherence

• Identifying the pattern or underlying rules
• Attention to detail
• Knowing what is relevant and redundant
• Recognising the 'big picture'

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OBSESSIONS

• Can be socially inappropriate
• Need boundaries around obsessive behaviour
• Must recognise that obsessive behaviours can be
  used as coping mechanisms
• Obsessions may be misinterpreted

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Sensory Differences

• Neuro-physiological differences in filtering
  processes
• Can have major impact on behaviour
• Environmental aspects can influence

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Hypothesis - resistance to change
Individuals with Autism have significantly lower
stability rates in their day to day lives than
the neurotypical
This may lead, in part, to an explanation of
resistance to change
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• Dependent on
• Communication
• Understanding other people
• Social awareness
• Predictability
• Fulfilled expectations
• Shared sensory environment

Stability
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Bullying

• Individuals with Autism are highly vulnerable
• don't 'fit in'
• will not necessarily follow traditional social
  convention (fashion, etc.)
• problems with adhering to social rules within
  society (classroom, playtime, employment, social
  arenas, etc.)
• communication problems
• poor PNT ToM

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Ethics, Morality, and Normalisation
It is essential that individuals with Autism are
treated with respect for their way of thinking
and behaving, and that normal value bases are
not enforced upon them
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Contact

• Dr Luke Beardon
• Senior lecturer in Autism
• The Autism Centre
• Sheffield Hallam University
• L.Beardon_at_shu.ac.uk