Autism
- Created by: swiggins08
- Created on: 25-11-13 13:51
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- Autism
- Autism Facts
- Developmental disorder
- affects individuals ability to interact and communicate with other
- Diagnosis
- between 18 months and 4 years old
- Symptoms
- Low levels of imaginative thinking
- Lower than average language abilities
- Problems with communicating and building social relationships
- Preference for order and organisation
- A resistance to change
- Spectrum disorder
- Developmental disorder
- Sex genes, hormones and autism
- Genetics link
- Tends to run in families
- 3/4 people with autism are male
- 3/4 people with autism are male
- Differences arrive because of presence of testosterone in uterus while foetus develops
- At 8 weeks gestation the testes or ovaries have formed and begin to release sex hormones
- Testosterone causes the male brain to develop
- Oestrogen causes a female brain to develop
- More testorsterone = more 'male' brain = autism?
- exaggeration of a normal male brain
- At 8 weeks gestation the testes or ovaries have formed and begin to release sex hormones
- Baron-Cohen at al.
- exaggeration of a normal male brain
- Genetics link
- Exaggerated male brain
- Baron-Cohen at al.
- Structure
- Females: smaller than a male brain
- Male: Larger than a female brain
- Autistic: Brain even larger than that of a male
- Spatial Tasks
- Females: worse at spatial tasks than males
- Autistic: Even better at spatial tasks
- Males: Better at spatial tasks than females
- Language
- Females: develop language quickly
- Males: develop language slower than females
- Autistic: develop language even slower than males
- Baron-Cohen at al.
- Gender differences
- Females
- Some testosterone produced by adrenal glands
- possibility female brain can be affected by this
- explain why some females affected by autism
- Some testosterone produced by adrenal glands
- Baron-Cohen
- Boys
- systematisers (understanding rules and constructing systems)
- preferred mechanical movement (eg a ball mounted on a stick)
- Girl
- empathisers (predicting and responding to others' emotional need)
- preferred natural movement (eg movement on researchers face)
- used one day old babies. It is unlikely that their preferences reflected a learned behaviour
- Boys
- Females
- Evaluation of 'Extreme Male Brain'
- For
- Against
- This theory of maleness as a mild form of autism
- This uses biology to explain a very culturally specific idea of geeky masculinity
- This uses biology to legitimize the delegation of all familial and relationship responsibilities to women
- This theory of maleness as a mild form of autism
- Autism Facts
- Symptoms
- Low levels of imaginative thinking
- Lower than average language abilities
- Problems with communicating and building social relationships
- Preference for order and organisation
- A resistance to change
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