My cousin Scott is autistic. It took several years for him to get diagnosed, due to conflicting doctors and parents who had a hard time dealing with the diagnosis. At the time, we did not know much about this disorder. Why children are affected and what treatments are available? To date, there are still debates in the medical field. Although the argument that vaccinations play a role has been discredited, there are still many unanswered questions.
The Autism Canada Foundation defines autism as, “a complex neurobiological condition... It impacts normal brain development leaving most individuals with communication problems, difficulty with typical social interactions and a tendency to repeat specific patterns of behaviour” (www.autismcanada.org). Scott would be considered a high functioning autistic child. He is able to speak, but will not speak to you directly unless prompted. As well, he will never make eye contact with you or look directly at you. Considering forty percent of children afflicted with autism cannot speak (www.provincialautismcentre.ca), we are extremely grateful for the communication we are able to maintain with him.
Scott continues to be in my thoughts as I read Tomasello’s book. I feel this book is helping me better understand why Scott is unable to do some of the everyday things we take for granted. Why he would prefer to sit by himself and line up my grandmother’s dolls in rows instead of playing games with the rest of the kids at family functions?
Tomasello states that at nine months of age, human infants begin to see others as intentional agents. As a result, they are able to learn from others about their cultural heritage and take advantage of the cognitive skills and knowledge of these conspecifics. Autistic children are not able to comprehend that the people around them have intentional relations similar to their own. They do not understand that these conspecifics have similar goals and could learn from them how to obtain these goals. Autistic children live in their own world and some may never allow anyone else to enter that world.
Autistic children have problems with a variety of joint attentional skills which normally begin developing as an early age. Tomasello states that they include imitative learning, engaging in symbolic play and learning and using linguistic symbols in communicatively appropriate ways. Imitative learning, according to Tomasello, involves learning from and identifying with adults and their goal-oriented actions. Understandably, if a child is not able to comprehend and identify with the actions of the conspecifics around them, they will never be able to communicate effectively that they understand them. If a child cannot make eye contact, how will they ever understand the ability to follow someone’s gaze in search of an object or to make eye contact in order to catch someone’s attention?
Tomasello also believes that, “the difficulties of children with autism in understanding other persons as intentional agents leads to deficits in their symbolic skills...” (p.133). As humans, we should be able to utilize our cognitive abilities to look at a situation from various perspectives which will help increase our vocabulary. According to Tomasello, children with autism are unable to see the world through anyone else’s perspectives. They will always approach a situation the same way. It is this lack of perception that will limit an autistic child’s language capability and provides some insights into why many autistic children cannot speak. A rose may only ever be a flower in Scott’s world and never a symbol of love and affection.
Along with Tomasello, I also agree that social and physical environments do play a role in the development of cognitive abilities as a child grows, whether they are affected with an issue such as autism or not. Once again, images of Scott as a child flood my thoughts. If he had been diagnosed earlier and had the advantage of special programs and tutors would he be more functional today? Could he be more self sufficient and communicate more effectively in this “normal” world? Was/Is there an issue with his home environment that contributed to his diagnosis? Is there an unknown environmental issue with his living situation? Is there technology available that may help him communicate more effectively? Tomasello mentions that sign language has been an effective tool assisting autistic children communicate. Could it work in this instance? What kind of educational programs are available for autistic children and adults?
Unfortunately, we may never know the answers to these questions. Scott’s family do not have the financial means to seek out these answers. As well, they have never been willing to take financial help or research alternatives. As a family member and someone who does not deal with this disorder every day, I must respect their decisions.
Scott recently turned sixteen. He does go to school, but is in a special program and is never in a normal classroom environment. He is obsessed with video games and NASCAR and is able to quote any major statistic on any professional NASCAR driver and the car they drive when asked. At family functions, he prefers to sit alone with his laptop or DS playing video games. He continues to be in his own world and does not make any attempt to socialize with others. It is my hope that in the future, answers will be discovered and funding will be in place so educational programs will be available to assist those dealing with autism live as “normal” a life as possible. We must look to examples of those who are overcoming this disorder such as Temple Grandin who are able to lead productive and fulfilling lives.
References
Tomasello, M. (1999). The cultural origins of human cognition. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Autism Canada Foundation www.autismcanada.org
Lindsay: I found your blog on autism really interesting. I am glad that you were able to make some connections in understanding the disorder from Michael Tomasello's research on early learning deficits. I never really thought about Tomasello's theory of language acquisition in terms of deficits until reading your blog. It makes perfect sense that children with autism do not communicate with others because they do not see other people as intentional agents. As young children, they do not imitate or engage in play. They do not understand that they can collaborate with others to reach specific goals and therefore communication is not really a necessity. Therefore, it makes sense that many autistic children do not speak. Furthermore, autistic children do not identify with any other perspectives and therefore when they approach various tasks, they always use the same method. This approach makes perfect sense as they are not able to learn and collaborate with others to learn different perspectives.
ReplyDeleteI certainly appreciate your perspective on this topic as I learned a lot from what you have written.
Thank you! Ginger
Hi Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing a personal story to provide foundation for your investigation on the topic of children as intentional agents. I did note several references by Tomasello in the text related to how children with Autism show differences in their communicative abilities. As you read on in his account of a child's progression from understanding themselves as an intentional agent to more advanced understanding as a mental agent as they age, it is saddening to think that children with autism will not hold the capacity to experience this change in cognition to allow them to more actively participate in the world. I would think not knowing how children with Autism feel inside would be especially difficult for those around them. Maybe they are happy in their own world and are not aware that the world around them operates differently than they do? I did find Tomasselo's description of the behaviour's of children with Autism helpful in explaining normal cognitive development versus development impaired by a neurobiological condition. I also found your personal account of witnessing Autism and the comparison to normal cognitive development helpful as well. I am sure it is not an easy thing to talk about as an analysis because it is so close to you.
Dana
Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing you experience with Autism and your cousin Scott. I have never experienced someone close to me being autistic; your story helped me understand the many layers in which Autism effects development.
It’s interesting; Tomasello argues that the unique trait humans possess is the understanding of others as intentional beings like oneself. Further, empathy (being able to put oneself in the “cognitive shoes” of another) is exclusive to humans. It is empathy that allows me to feel for Scott and his family; to conceive of how difficult it must have been to deal with the diagnosis. When I think of how I actually came to be able to put myself in the “cognitive shoes” of others and feel empathy, it was through interaction, imitation, instruction, and collaboration. Yet, as you discussed, Autistic children are not able to understand other people have intentional relations alike their own, which explains why developmental processes are vastly distinctive.
Like Dana, I found your personal experience helpful in not only understanding Autism , but also in my comprehension of just how much I have learned and developed as a result of my social interaction.
Thanks Lindsay!
Tressa
It is very nice, Lindsay, to see how you are concerned about your cousin, Scott, who is autistic. And I was very interested to read your post because I am experiencing something similar myself with a close family member. My youngest brother has Down Syndrome, so, in may regards, I feel the same concern about my brother as you do about your cousin, even though their conditions are different. Over the years, I have come to understand that my brother needs a different kind of learning environment than the rest of us in our family. Just as Tomasello points out, the different learning stages are just guidelines, and each person learns in his or her own special way. Children and young adults with special needs are no different in that respect. They all need a specific kind of learning tailored to their comprehension level. I think it’s wonderful that we can take advantage of having readings and discussions in our class that will help us (or other people) to have a better understanding of how to communicate with children with special needs. So, from a very personal perspective, I really enjoyed your post, Lindsay.
ReplyDeleteAmerh
Hello Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteWe really do not know what others deal with in their lives until we walk in their shoes, or at least give recognition to the issues individuals and families deal with on a daily basis. I had no idea who Temple Grandin was until I watch an interview with her on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46ycu3JFRrA
How interesting it is to study how we learn, the things that inhibit our interactions, communications, and our ability to gain knowledge.
Thank you for sharing.
Heather