Caring for Autistic Individuals
Annotated Bibliography
Caring for Autistic Individuals
Johnson, B. P., Papadopoulos, N., Fielding, J., Tonge, B., Phillips, J. G., & Rinehart, N. J.
(2013). A quantitative comparison of handwriting in children with high-functioning
autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum
Disorders, 7(12), 1638-1646.
This article focused on establishing the difference in handwriting between children
suffering from attention deficit hyper- reactivity disorder (ADHD) and those with high-
functioning autism (HFA) to establish the effects of this disorders in academic welfare of the
children. The author achieved this by having children duplicate words cat and dog repeatedly
paying attention to space, size errors and speed. The study involved 49 participants all boys
between ages of 7 and 14 years who had to complete the handwriting performance test (HPT).
The base of this study is to illustrate how HFA and ADHD affect children in their academics
limiting their expression through writing. The findings of this task indicate the existence of
writing impairments in these children, and therefore there need tailored writing therapies. As it
has been found in other studies, ADHD and HFA significantly affects the writing speed of the
individuals. However, it has been found that other factors contribute to the lower writing speed.
The study is limited in that the sample size was small.
CARING FOR AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS
The findings are applicable for caregivers especially teachers who care for autistic
children. As such, the teachers can be able to apply different teaching methods with these
children. Since the article explains the differences in factors that contribute to slow handwriting
in children with ADHD and HFA, teachers are enlightened on how to how children with
different disorders differently.
Kreider, C. M., Bendixen, R. M., Mann, W. C., Young, M. E., & McCarty, C. (2015). Mixed-
method exploration of social network links to participation. OTJR: occupation,
participation and health, 1539449215578650.
This article discusses the importance of Social Networks (SNs), and how this network
affects the participation of youths especial those with Attention Deficit Hyper- Reactivity
Disorder (ADHD), Learning Disorder (LD), and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The
participants were interviewed individually, and the author performed personal link investigation
to determine their level of participation. The method used was a combination of both qualitative
and quantitative analysis blended in a mixed method design. This exercise was based on
assessing the relationship between SN and participation and how these disorders affect the
participation of youths. The findings of this study point out the communication impairments in
individuals with these disorders. This, therefore, indicates the need to encourage the youths to
participate more in social interactions to enhance their social skills. This reading has focused on
the role of peers, family members and other acquaintances that comprise the SNs of these
individuals in promoting their participation. The study is limited in that it lacked online
participations. In addition, the sample was small, and only a few participants have complex
cognitive disorders.
CARING FOR AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS
It is, however, beneficial to parents, friends and other family members interacting with
youth with any of the disorders. Therefore, it is important for family members and friends to
encourage the participation of these youths in different social activities. The study indicates that
some of these individuals do not make much sense during the conversations; however, friends
and relatives should not shun or discourage them. What they need is encouragement and be
treated like normal persons in case of such incidents.
Heyvaert, M., Saenen, L., Campbell, J. M., Maes, B., & Onghena, P. (2014). Efficacy of
behavioral interventions for reducing problem behavior in persons with autism: An
updated quantitative synthesis of single-subject research. Research in developmental
disabilities, 35(10), 2463-2476.
In this paper, the writer evaluates essence of behavioral interventions in eradicating the
problem behavior in individuals diagnosed with autism. To come up with relevant information,
the author conducted searches from journals, bibliographies, and databases. The analysis was
then done to align the various sources of original studies. The method applied was a quantitative
blend of mono subject studies comprising of 213 sources representing 358 individuals with
autism. This study is based on the numerous problems that originate from autism and how their
impacts can be reduced. The results indicate that behavioral interventions are effective in
reduction of these problems; however, some are better than others are. This study has managed
to cover most of the details concerning different behavioral interventions and how they can be
employed to cater for problems resulting from autism. As such, it is a good piece for caregivers
of individuals with challenging behaviors because of autism.
CARING FOR AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS
The different behavioral interventions that are described by the author of this article can
be applied by parents and caregivers to handle different challenging behaviors portrayed by
individuals with these disorders. This article provides crucial information for these caregivers
because some of the challenging behaviors can have detrimental effects to these individuals their
siblings or the caregivers. For instance self-injury behaviors can be managed through stories
talks or combined therapy that has been proved efficient.
Hebron, J., Humphrey, N., & Oldfield, J. (2015). Vulnerability to bullying of children with
autism spectrum conditions in mainstream education: a multi‐informant qualitative
exploration. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 15(3), 185-193.
This paper lays focus on how autism results in bullying of affected children in schools,
and how this bullying affects them as well as how it should be handled. The author conducted
interviews with five children with autism aged between 5-13 years, their parents as well as
teachers. The method put into practice by the author is a cross-sectional qualitative analysis with
semi-structured interviews for data gathering. The base of this study is the rampant cases of
bullying of children with autism raising a lot of concern. The study concluded that bullying in
schools is a serious problem for children with autism hence affecting their peer relationships.
This creates the need for school staff to create a strong protective role for these children. As
such, teachers should build a good relationship with these children to encourage communication
and hence reduce the bullying risk. The limitation of this study is that the size of the sample is
very small. However, the author has managed to cover principal areas such as the role of parents,
teachers, and the entire school in the reduction of the bullying risk.
CARING FOR AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS
This study helps the caregivers on the signs to look out for to detect bullying and the
actions to take in case of an incident. It also explains the role of teachers and parents in
containing bullying. The article also describes how teachers can discourage bullying through
punishment of the culprits. It also explains how children who have undergone bullying can be
mentored to recover their self-confidence and hence social participations.
Daley, T. C., Weisner, T., & Singhal, N. (2014). Adults with autism in India: A mixed-method
approach to make meaning of daily routines. Social Science & Medicine, 116, 142-149.
In this book, the author focuses assessment of daily activities for grown-ups with autism
in India. The data was collected from 32 participants by verbal interviewing as well as engaging
them in a series of tasks outside their homes. Questioners were also given to the parents of the
participant to fill. Mixed method was used to acquire the information. The basis of this study was
the need to evaluate how and where adults with autism performed their daily activities. The
results show that majority of the adults are let out in the public at least occasionally. Although
the parents reported challenges from abnormal behaviors, it was conclusive that these individuals
are not hidden. Like with other studies, this one used a small number of participants and the
study time was limited.
This article has been successful in determining how parents and other family members
can deal with adults diagnosed with autism without restricting them. In addition, this reading
describes the importance of letting these individuals free when performing their daily activities.
Parents are therefore provided with different guidelines on how they can encourage these
individuals to perform their chores and interact with the outside world without supervising them
all the time.
CARING FOR AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS
Artiste, F. M. (2014). Characteristics of Successful Classroom Behavior Therapists of
Individuals with Autism: A Qualitative Case Study (Doctoral dissertation, University of
Akron).
The author of this reading had an aim of bringing out the attributes that classroom
therapist should have for successful caregiving for individuals with autism in a class setting. The
author selected and interviewed teachers from different schools. One of the methods used by the
author is behavior based interviewing of individuals to obtain meaningful information and
qualitative design to analyze the information. The reading is based on the rising cases of children
diagnosed with autism creating the need for special care in classrooms as well as interventions to
cater for their behavioral problems. The findings of this study indicate that for quality
intervention, teachers require dedication, teamwork with other teachers and mastery of other
teaching methods. The major limitation of this study is that it had inadequate number of
participants as well as study time. The author has also failed to describe the nature of questions
asked from the participants
Despite these limitations, teachers and therapists in their preparations for teaching can
apply the article to attain the different attributes that teachers need to have. For instance to
handle some behaviors like screaming of the individuals can be handled through a song asking
the individual to answer some questions. The article also described how the classroom therapists
can attain the different attributes they need to handle their students with autism.
CARING FOR AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS
Basics of the synthesis
After analysis of these readings, different modes of handling individuals with autism
have been put forward to assist caregivers such as parents; teachers, siblings and therapist
provide effective care. Different measures have been established to care for these individuals at
different ages. For instance, the first article enlightens oh how to establish the difference between
a child with autism and one with attention deficit hyper reactivity disorder through errors in their
handwriting. On the other hand, the second article discusses how social networks contribute to
social participations for youths with autism and learning disorder. Although the topics of
discussion are different the basis is the same; how to differentiate autism from similar illnesses
using different parameters. The third article talks about existence of bullying for children with
autism and how it can be handled. As such, the ultimate goal of the writer is to establish the
challenges that children with autism face. Although all the readings cover different subjects, all
are have an ultimate objective in providing efficient care for people with autism whether
children, youth, or adults. The readings also educate on the effects of autism in academics, daily
routines as well as social lives of the affected individuals. More so, the roles of different
shareholders in caring for this individuals are outlined.