Autism Spectrum Disorder
ASD, or autism spectrum disorder, is one of the most severe neurodevelopmental disorders that is diagnosed in children, specifically targeting boys (they are five times more likely to have the disease than girls). It is characterized by a lack of communication skills and deficits in social behaviors and interactions, as well as repetitive and stereotyped movements (Nevid, 2018). Children have a mean age of diagnosis of six years old, however this diagnosis period ranges with each child. As infants, children with autism will seem neurotypical in their behaviors and interactions with the environment, however as they get older and continue to develop, certain signs (such as rejecting affection or wanting to play by themselves) begin to manifest. They do not appreciate change, and will not deviate from a daily set schedule, since their tasks are predictable and safe.
Naturally, many parents fear how their autistic child may learn or behave in a school setting, since their view on the world and how they approach problems vary significantly when compared to neurotypical children their age. One major difference between children with ASD and neurotypicals is their ability to gesture or understand the movements behind it.
Gestures in Learning: Motor Cortex
For learning, gestures are important. In the research article, “Learning math by hand: The neural effects of gesture-based instruction in 8-year-old children” by Elizabeth M. Wakefield et al. there is an emphasis placed on this concept of gesture and its possible function as a vital tool in facilitating learning in neurotypical children. Since gestures are a form of action, it would make sense for the motor systems to be activated in the brain when these actions are produced; when pairing these gestures with information, the actions become representations, guiding the process of learning and memorizing certain material. In many ways, pairing gestures with new information is a form of associative learning, aiding in memory storage and retrieval as well. Through the fMRI studies conducted, it was concluded that gesture does help children in learning, especially with mathematical problem solving, because it engages the motor system. When children learned how to solve math problems through speech and gesture, there was greater activation in various neural regions compared to children that learned to solve problems through speech alone. This is true for neurotypical kids, however would autistic children differ, since their brain structures and neural networks are functionally different?
With the research conducted by Mosconi and Sweeney in their article, “Sensorimotor dysfunction as primary features of autism spectrum disorders”, the main focus of their work was to assess potential deficits that children with ASD may have in their motor cortex or motor association areas of the brain. It was found that due to the disorder, many different regions of the brain that are important in motor control and planning are negatively affected, including the cortico-cerebellar, fronto-striatal, and fronto-parietal pathways (Mosconi & Sweeney, 2015). As mentioned with Wakefield’s study, the act of gesturing becomes paired with information, which leads to learning. However, with these deficits in the motor regions of the brain in ASD individuals, how would they be able to learn through this process? If the motor systems and brain regions involved in motor control are dysfunctional, how is there a possibility to recruit gestures? Through both of these studies, it can be concluded that it is much more difficult for ASD children to recruit learning mechanisms that involve motor skills, such as gestures, due to structural and functional neuronal differences compared to neurotypical children.
Takeaways
With children on the autism spectrum, we know they have brain functional differences that lead to difficulties in their learning capacity. Parents are worried for a good reason, because the traditional methods of instruction, using hand gestures and encouraging students to do the same, might not be as effective for children with ASD. To combat this dissonance in learning ability, if there are enough resources available, educators and members of the school should create an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for their autistic students to tailor the classroom programs to their needs and goals (“Individualized Education Plan (IEP),” 2020). The plan should address all areas that a child may need additional support in, such as specific functional or social skills in the classroom. It is a means for children with ASD to receive a proper education, without the weight of their disorder pulling them back from success.
Works Cited
Individualized Education Plan (IEP). (2020). Autism Society. https://www.autism-society.org/living-with- autism/academic-success/individualized-education-plan-iep/
Mosconi, M. W., Sweeney, J. A. (2015). Sensorimotor dysfunction as primary features of autism spectrum disorders. Science China Life Sciences, 58, 1016-1023. 10.1007/s11427-015-4894-4
Nevid, J. S., Rathus, S. A., Greene, B. (2018). Abnormal psychology in a changing world. Pearson, 10, 138.
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