Our last two articles discussed the medical and educational criteria for the diagnosis of autism or a related disorder. Although these criteria remain the basis of a diagnosis or an educational eligibility of autism,  there is more current research that has expanded our understanding of the obstacles faced by individuals with autism because of this neuro-biological disorder. Summarizing that research allows the obstacles to be characterized in five core areas that ultimately result in a failure to develop dynamic thinking or real world problem solving skills.

 

The five core areas impacted by autism:

Experience Sharing - Comparing and contrasting our subjective experiences as we share our  feelings, plans, predictions and thoughts. Human communication requires that integrating multiple information channels.  The way that we share about our past, present and future is unique to human communication.
Dynamic Analysis- The way we analyze a situation, setting, or interaction and determine what has most personal meaning at the time.  Determining relative meaning and value of information. 
Self Awareness - Developing an internal mental "space" to consider, reflect, preview, prepare, hypothesize, and dream.  The ability to move fluidly between your internal and external worlds in order to plan, reflect, and inhibit your actions.  
Episodic Memory- An active memory where you are able to extract important emotional representations from your experience. Our memories define our sense of self and are needed to guide our future experiences and decisions.  
Creative Problem Solving - The ability to adapt solutions and generate new strategies. Creative problem-solving includes developing multiple, equally good strategies for an imperfect world, including "good enough thinking", improvisation, and work-arounds.

Our world demands knowledge that is more sophisticated than mere memorization of facts and details. It demands that individuals can process a continuous flow of information to make moment by moment calculations and decisions in order to interact meaningfully with their current environment and individuals in that setting. These five core deficits of autism prevent individuals with ASD from developing that ability to interact successfully with our very dynamic world. So it can be said that autism is a failure to develop dynamic intelligence.

 

There is great news though! As a parent or educator you can learn to guide children with autism to develop the abilities needed for dynamic thinking.

 

Be sure to check back for our next installment in this series. Dr. Lisa Cheyette will discuss one of the most reliable and valid  instruments used  in diagnosing autism - the ADOS and ADIR.