Disabling Condition Descriptions

Disabilities and RT Paper- Autism
Disabling Condition Description Just a couple decades ago only a few people knew about autism and since its discovery, autism still remains to be a puzzling, interesting, and intensely researched disability. In this paper, I will provide a detailed description of what autism is and describe its characteristics. I will also explain the types of modalities that I would provide individuals with this disabling condition and how I would apply the APIE process with one of these modalities as a Recreational Therapist. I believe in the philosophy that Dr. Temple Grandin once said “ there needs to be a lot more emphasis on what a child can do instead of what he cannot do,” and I plan to show that in my profession.
According to the handbook of autism and anxiety the more commonly co-occurring disorders include Intellectual disability (ID), anxiety (e.g., phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder-OCD, panic disorders), mood (depressive disorders, bipolar disorder), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disruptive behavior disorders (Baron-Cohen, 2014). Individuals living with autism may experience these co-occurring disorders because of the distress that autism may ensue. Although no known single cause for autism has been identified, studies have provided firm evidence that structural abnormalities exist in the brains of people with autism (Bauman & Kemper 1994; Kemper & Bauman 1998). For example, evidence of reduced neuronal cell size and increased cell-packing density in regions of the limbic system known to be critical to emotional and social behavior. Outside the limbic system, abnormalities have also been found in the cerebellum and in various cortical regions (Bailey et al. 1998a). As a Recreational Therapist, it is important to implement focus on the needs and limitations of an individual with autism. The focus of an intervention program should adhere to improving communication, social, behavioral, and daily living skills. Above all, a concentration in developing social skills would be my main focus because the social domain is the hallmark characteristic that are needed for relationships,
Children respond positively to music experiences, potentially increasing engagement for learning. Particularly for children with autism, have demonstrated to enhanced pitch and or melodic perception (LaGasse, 2014). Next, “Applied Behavior Analysis” (ABA) would be a treatment approach that utilizes principles of learning theory to bring about meaningful and positive change in behavior (Cebula, 2011). ABA techniques have been developed for individual with autism to help build a variety of skills (e.g., communication, social skills, self-control, and self-monitoring) and help generalize these skills to other situations (Cebula, 2011). Lastly, the “Joint Attention Symbolic play Engagement Regulation” also known as Jasper is also a treatment approach that combines developmental and behavioral principles. This approach targets the foundations of social communication (joint attention, imitation, play) and uses natural ways to increase the rate and complexity of social communication. The approach incorporates parents and teachers into implementation of intervention to promote generalization across settings and activities and to ensure maintenance over time (Kasari, Paparella, Freeman, & Jahromi,