Brain work

I've been doing a lot of processing these last two weeks. I had two courses to finish up, which meant a lot of squeezing together material and ideas from the last few months and attempting to force out some insight. Then last weekend I attended the Autism MN conference and heard several speakers, did a lot of networking and thought a lot more. I will be job hunting all summer, hoping to be hired on a provisional license next fall. This cannot happen unless a district knows about me and wants to hire me, and cannot find a licensed person for that job. So this will take some work and I probably won't know a thing until September. Or perhaps later.
At the conference I found myself still thinking about the video game addiction problem. I would really like to present on this, maybe even next year. Two of the presentations I attended were focused on what happens (and doesn't happen) once Aspies leave school. Achieving success depends on how you define it, but it is clearly difficult to find employment in this day and age which does not involve at least some interaction with other people. In other words, unless the young adult wants to never leave the safety of the parental home, he will have to have his disability front and center where he must face it and deal with it and probably be anxious, daily. To say this is not simple is to state the obvious, but really, how many NT's would choose to face their most anxiety triggers every day? Not too many. No wonder people on the spectrum would rather play videogames (or whatever they use to relieve stress) all day long. How can school do a better job of preparing them for life? We could hardly do worse. No, that's not fair, really. Most of the kids I work with would like to, and need to, attend some kind of post-secondary educational program, and the school skills we work on absolutely help prepare them for that portion of their lives. But the emphasis, the balance is all out of whack. Every year we get better at balance, but there is far to go.

Another speaker I heard runs a lifelong care facility in California for people on the spectrum. She could have spoken all day but the core of what she was talking was the importance of preparing people to live independently, to not have to face radical change for the first time when their parents pass away. She is a neurobiologist by training, my notes are about what she called executive brain function, the kinds of things people on the spectrum struggle with. Iwant to post my notes with a couple of caveats: 1. These are MY notes, reflecting My understanding of what she spoke about, which may be imperfect. 2. Nobody (I hope) struggles with ALL of these, but they are common threads. OK?

(from Nancy Perry, PhD)
Initiation- the ability to get started
They are “on hold” waiting for cues. Not aware that their ability to direct themselves is impaired compared to others. Families do not recognize the cues they have been giving. What was the last cue?
Planning, Sequencing, Organizing- the brain, NOT the personality, is disorganized.
Problems sequencing the steps to a plan. They can see the goal, or the steps. Picturing the messy room, knows what needs to be done, doesn’t realize that he’s making a list.
Abstract reasoning- as opposed to concrete
Can take in abstractions but cannot initiate. Verbal presentation looks normal, often.
Mental Flexibility and response to novelty
Attention shifting. Some can do it, enough to drive, for example. Most can’t, and driving leads to trouble. Think of a spectrum of rigid to impulsive. They are at the ends of this spectrum.
Attention and Concentration
Attention deficits can seem like brain injuries, can look like personality problems, eg: getting distracted in the middle of a conversation by something unrelated.
Working Memory
Immediate use, storage and retrieval of present. Difficulty sorting information into categories of what you will need soon/later/not at all. Impaired ability to control one’s attention.
Regulation of emotions and emotions and behavior
Runaway anxiety, anger zero to 60 in seconds. Emotional behavior is perhaps the most culture based aspect of behavior. Control of behavior is related to moral judgments and self-monitoring.
Judgment and self monitoring
The pinnacle of human functioning. It is impossible to present as a normal adult if you are unable to self monitor behavior. Moral habits have to be inculcated as children because even when knowing all the “rules” when they want something they will break all the rules to get it.