Reweaving the Autistic Tapestry: Autism, Asperger Syndrome and ADHD by Lisa Blakemore-Brown

Author:Lisa Blakemore-Brown
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science, ISBN-13: 9781853027482
ISBN: 9781853027482
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Published: 2001-09-30T21:00:00+00:00

Phillipa, and assessment, there is no doubt that she is a child who presents with a combination of well-recognised features of both attention deficit disorder and Asperger syndrome. The dyspraxia and the semantic pragmatic difficulties are

recognised within these groups, although given that both are spectrum disorders the level of severity varies from quite extreme to mild forms dissipated amongst the normal population. There is an interesting overlap of symptomatology with the

attention deficit disordered and the Asperger syndrome group. These difficulties interfere with a child’s ability to read others’ behaviours, and also to fit in through their own motor and language skills with their same age peers. This group of

children are also far more likely to feel highly anxious and sensitive to lots of noise around them and also with a vast amount of fragmented stimuli, which they cannot understand or make sense of.

It is therefore not surprising that it is precisely during the sessions when circumstances are not structured, i.e. lunchtimes, playtimes, or during lessons where the very specific skills which are so problematic are actually targeted, such as PE, when these children are under the most strain.

Increasingly, despite fine brush strokes of support which have been admirably

applied to Phillipa since she was very young, it is the total environment which is alien to the child. While it is imperative that she learns to function alongside her peers, this cannot be done by dropping her in at the deep end, which is what has occurred. It is not at all uncommon for children such as Phillipa to be given the support but to remain within mainstream classes in large schools, and to seem to cope during the early years and then deteriorate badly as they become increasingly isolated and under pressure.

Phillipa will be isolated not only by her clearly evident social difficulties, and this includes non-verbal skills as well, all of which make up the fabric of social mediational skills, but also by her verbal giftedness, unusual thought processing and styles of play. It has been demonstrated that when Phillipa is placed within smaller groups, with a very clear structure and provision to develop her social interactional skills, many of the odd behaviours and phobic responses actually reduce.

Conclusions and recommendations

Phillipa is a child who presents with Asperger syndrome and an attention deficit disorder, meeting the criteria for both. Sewn within this are clear dyspraxic and semantic-pragmatic problems which have been recognised, and certainly in terms of the motor difficulties Phillipa has received a considerable amount of

support from the health authority. Despite a good start by the local LEA,

the early recognition of her difficulties, and provision of a Statement, Ì

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REWEAVING THE AUTISTIC TAPESTRY

which was admirable, it is unfortunate that she was not considered to have severe enough problems to continue with her Statement of SEN. I am of the opinion that she should not be taught within a mainstream school. The trial has occurred and failed. Whilst Phillipa is still reasonably self-confident, and before she begins to perceive and be concerned

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