Adele Jane Speech Pathologist Perth

If you are trying to manage children with difficult behaviours, please check out the next workshop we are holding. Not open to the general public as we only have so much room at our clinic, but you are welcome to attend. If you are not in Perth then zoom may be an option.

"Autism: A kaleidoscope of minds, where differences bloom as strengths, and understanding paints a world of respect and admiration."

This quote highlights the essence of autism as a diverse array of minds, comparable to a kaleidoscope. It emphasises that the differences exhibited by autistic individuals should be recognised as strengths, rather than limitations. By fostering understanding and acceptance, we can create a world where respect and admiration for the unique perspectives and abilities of autistic people flourish.

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People sometimes comment that we are all “on the spectrum somewhere”. Autism Spectrum Disorder acknowledges that people can demonstrate recognised “traits” to a greater or lesser degree.

This post takes a look at how people with ASD in particular find it difficult to develop executive function skills and how this can, for some individuals, make life difficult.

Being inflexible - liking things to stay the same, not being able to change, not liking to shift focus quickly, difficulty learning from experience. People with ASD can be highly inflexible

Working memory – being able to hold on to lots of information, identifying and presenting the main idea. People with ASD can appear to be single minded, and may prefer to do tasks one at a time. They may have difficulty with not being able to “see the wood for the trees” – in otherwise they can see the parts but not necessarily the whole in what they perceive or how they understand.

Emotional regulation – over-reacting or under-reacting, reading body language and tone of voice and the subtle nonverbal cues. Regulating emotions requires thinking skills to be integrated with emotional reactions and this can be difficult for people with poor executive functions. Emotional reciprocity often needs to be practised, to help maintain relationships and friendships.

Initiating – getting started and knowing what to do next. This can include starting conversation. Maintaining conversation can be difficult, keeping a topic going and changing topics fluently. It can be harder to understand that conversation is expected to be of a general nature rather than specific.

Generalising – being able to apply what you learn in one situation to another situation. So often in life, when we come up against a new experience, we need to apply what has been learned in other situations or apply learning to novel information.

Abstract thinking – being able to take a nonliteral approach to language, understanding why jokes are funny, using your imagination. When people take things literally, misunderstandings occur.

No surprise but here are numbers to support it - children with more than one of these conditions are at high risk for school refusal and poor educational outcomes. If one of the co-conditions is anxiety the results are even more pronounced. Girls are less likely to have co-conditions - but the outcomes can be more severe. This is why we need to manage ALL the underlying issues such as executive dysfunction - and not just treat at surface level and hope for the best.

Multiple neurodevelopmental conditions may lead to worse educational outcomes Scottish children with multiple neurodevelopmental conditions experience greater school absenteeism and exclusion, poorer exam attainment and increased unemployment, according to a study.

World Autism Day today. Interesting book list for children, not only those on the spectrum but also for young children with anxiety or sensory difficulties or poor emotional regulation.

Recommended Reading For Children with Autism - For Reading Addicts These books are Recommended Reading For Children with Autism and are designed to aid children with autism in understanding and coping with their condition

At our practice we assess and manage swallowing disorders. We have extensive hospital experience in our background. A referral from your general practitioner can give you five sessions where you can receive a Medicare rebate. Speech Pathology Australia is currently providing these info pages because our is Swallowing Awareness Week!

Signs and Symptoms of Dysphagia. Thanks Speech Pathology Australia for another great resource.