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Assessment and Treatment of Problem Behavior for Adults with ASDs
As individuals with autism age out of the educational system, families are faced with a number of challenges. Maladaptive behavior, in particular, can be a significant stressor for families of adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While estimates of the prevalence of problem behavior vary...
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Behavior as Desire for Control in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Occasionally we all need a gentle reminder that autism is not an abstraction floating around in the ether. Autism is real precisely because people experience it, and separate cases of autism spectrum disorders differ so markedly because their subjects are unique individuals with different...
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Bitten by the Truth
Three years ago, at 4 am in the morning, my life began to unravel when my daughter sank her teeth into the fleshy part of my inner thigh. “Mommy, please help me!” she begged as she fell to her knees and grabbed my legs. Then she clamped down hard and held on tight like a pit-bull. I screamed,...
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Common Mealtime Concerns in Individuals with ASD
Feeding problems in children with ASD may include selective eating or “picky eaters,” rapid eating (child takes numerous bites within a short period of time), inappropriate mealtime behaviors (e.g., tantrums), and inadequate intake/food consumption. These behaviors can lead to numerous health...
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The Effect of Preceding or Antecedent Physiological and Environmental Factors on Challenging Behavior
Challenging behaviors (e.g., aggression, self-injury, and disruption) are prevalent among individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Hartley, Sikora, & McCoy, 2008). These behaviors are a common referral concern for treatment because they can cause injury, interfere with...
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Tell Me About the Last Time You Were Embarrassed
In 1985, Simon Baron-Cohen published his now-famous study of emotional perspective-taking among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder1. In it, he and his coauthors found that children on the Autism Spectrum were unable to impute beliefs to puppets in pretend play. They saw this a failure of...
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Remember the Kayak
Carrie Cariello and her husband, Joe, live in New Hampshire. The have five children; four boys and one girl. Their second son, Jack, has autism. (No, their daughter, Rose, is not the youngest. The youngest is Henry, a child born nine months after the urologist canceled Joe’s...
