Limitations of current thinking about ASD

With all of the various schools of thougt about what causes autism there is a firm consensus that teens and young adults with high functioning autism are struggling to become independent in terms of work and relationships.

So the question is: with so much time and effort and money devoted to early intervention, why is it teens and young adults look so impaired? The answer: because early intervention does not address the core deficits of autism and because early intervention actually has many unintended negative consequences. 

I recently participated in and in-service at UCLA. The in-service was for all 10 University of California representatives of the office of student disabilities. I prepared a lecture that argued that the dominant intervention strategies and the broader culture of autism treatment actually works against the development of independent young adults with autism.

I prepared six categories related to either intervention or to the current use of technology and listed under each the negative consequences.

mainstreaming/the myth of modeling

chronic isolation

chronic marginalization

absence of intimacy

absence of group support

technology

fantasy

isolation

pleasure

addiction

applied behavioral analysis

rote memorization of behavioral protocols

rote memorization of rules

search for correct/right responses

focus on compliance rather than mindfulness

focus on shaping behavior rather than influencing attention

static communication

focus on quantity of speech versus quality of communication

instrumental focus

use of scripts and social stories

rote questions

rote answers

early intervention

limited window of intervention

intervention focused on related and comorbidity disorders

belief that autism consists of language delays, sensory integration dysfunction, and behavior regulation dysfunction

limited focus on parent training

absence of conceptualization of quality of life

functioning defined by IQ, language, and behavior regulation

static intelligence

focus on rote memorization of facts

linear problem-solving

following methods/rules

schedule following

deductive reasoning

non-contextual thinking

ahistorical thinking

binary logicperfectionistic standards

< Back to view all blogs