Learning Goal: I’m working on a education & teaching discussion question and need the explanation and answer to help me learn.
Autism Spectrum
Discuss some of the etiological myths for autism and some of the ineffective popular treatments. How is autism generally diagnosed? Why do you think Autism Spectrum Disorder seems to be particularly likely for trendy treatment techniques? Are there medications prescribed for this disorder, and what are the effects?
Response Guidelines
Respond to one other as if you were consulted to offer resources for the family.
Respond to this post:
Erin Mooney
u09d01
The cause and treatment of Austism Specturm Disorder has had a roller coaster history. The mainstream media has muddled the information realm of etiology and interventions. This confusing information includes empirically supported treatments, ineffective treatments, and potenitally harmful treaments (Parritz & Troy, 2017). Through parent interview, checklists, rating scales and observations, mental health practictioners must look at each individual child when diagnosing and understand one assessment for one child may not prove successful at producing information for the next.
Once receiving a diagnosis, parents find themselves struggling to decipher effective support for their children and sometimes find themselves utilizing what is popular but not necessarily truly effective. Trendy techniques become more popular with such misleading information and parents find themselves looking for anything to help their child find success. Pharmacological efforts such as oxytocin-based treatments have been effecitve in targeting the social deficiencies associated with the disorder. However, deciding on using such a addictive and potentially dangerous drug makes the treament risky. Psychological treatments have had the most success utilizing social and behavioral as early as possible to help intervene in behaviors and provide support to parents through development. These often involve high commitments of time and must be implemented in a rigorous structure and routine to prove effective. In addition, it can be helpful to more severe cases to incorporate an aide to assist in the school environment.
References
Parritz, R. H., & Troy, M. F. (2017). Disorders of Childhood: Development and Psychopathology
(3rd ed.). Cengage Learning US.
