People in Autism: Hans Asperger

Hans Asperger (February 18, 1906 – October 21, 1980) was an Austrian pediatrician who described in 1944 what he referred to autistic psychopathy as “a lack of empathy, little ability to form friendships, one-sided conversation, intense absorption in a special interest, and clumsy movements.”

Hans Asperger with a child with “autistic psychopathy”

Although he was one of the first to describe the symptoms related to today’s well-know Autism Spectrum Disorder, his work was little known during his lifetime. Perhaps the first acknowledgment of his work was done posthumously by Lorna Wing‘s 1981 article Asperger’s Syndrome: A clinical account and later on he became known in the scientific community due to Uta Frith’s 1991 translation of his work from German to English.

In the paper ‘Autistic psychopathy’ in childhood, Hans Asperger reports several cases of a type of children that he describes as “particularly interesting and highly recognizable”. He ends the paper stating that “autistic people have their place in the organism of the social community. They fulfill their role well, perhaps better than anyone else could, and we are talking of people who as children had the greatest difficulties and caused untold worries to their caregivers”.

Other people in autism: 
– Lorna Wing

Interventions for Autism: Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Interventions based on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) focus on developing ways of communication other than standard forms of communication, such as speech. AAC includes all forms of communication that can be used to express thoughts, ideas, needs, and wants. These forms of communication can be facial expressions, pointing to pictures, or sign language. The interventions aim either at substituting non-existing standard means of communication or at complementing those.

This can help children:
– increase their participation in the classroom
– reduce their anxiety
– support timely and interactive communication
– improve their exchanges with family, educators and peers

AAC interventions based on pictures can be used on boards with attached images or applications for tablets.

Some examples of AAC interventions:

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECCS)
PECCS is used for children who are non-verbal or minimally verbal. This system is generally used with pictures of desired objects (food, toys), important people (parents, educators) and relevant activities (toilet, playground).

Sign language
Communication based on the use of hand shapes. This communication system requires that the family and educators also learn the sign language in order to be able to communicate with the child.

Single meaning pictures
This intervention can be used with children who are non-verbal or minimally verbal. Each word in the vocabulary is represented by a different picture and their meaning must be taught, particularly for words that are not naturally represented by pictures.

Other interventions for Autism: 
– Applied Behavior Analysis
– Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
– Speech-Language Therapy
– Peer-Mediated Instruction
– Sensory Integration Therapy
– SCERTS model
– Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)
– Floortime therapy

People in Autism: Lorna Wing

Lorna Wing (7 October 1928 – 6 June 2014), was a pioneer in autism research. She contributed to the notion of autism as a spectrum disorder and to the identification of the triad of impairments that are now the criteria for the diagnostic of ASD. She also popularized the term Asperger’s Syndrome in her 1981 paper Asperger’s Syndrome: A clinical account.

As the mother of a girl with autism, she was an advocate for the services for people with autism and their families and was one of the founders of the National Autistic Society, a charity in the UK devoted to improve the lives of people with autism.

Other people in autism: 
– Hans Asperger