Tara Flanagan

Deconstructing executive deficits among persons with autism: Implications for cognitive neuroscience

Individuals with autism demonstrate impairments on measures of executive function (EF) relative to typically developing comparison participants. EF is comprised of several processes including inhibition, working memory and set shifting that develop throughout the lifespan. Impairments in EF may appear early in development and persist, or may represent a more transient delay which resolves with time. Given the unevenness of the cognitive profile of persons with autism, understanding the development of EF poses methodological challenges. These issues include those related to matching measures and the choice of comparison participants to which the performance of persons with autism will be compared. In the current review, we attempt to break down the processes of inhibition, working memory and set shifting among persons with autism. We propose to do this within a developmental perspective that highlights how matching measures and comparison participants can affect the interpretation of research findings.

On Mosaics and Melting Pots: Conceptual Considerations of Comparison and Matching Strategies

Conceptual and pragmatic issues relevant to the study of persons with autism are addressed within the context of comparison groups and matching strategies. We argue that no choice of comparison group or matching strategy is perfect, but rather needs to be determined by specific research objectives and theoretical questions. Thus, strategies can differ between studies in which the goal is to delineate developmental profiles and those in which the focus is the study of a specific aspect of functioning. We promote the notion of a “mosaic,” rather than a “melting pot,” approach to science in which researchers communicate conservative and precise interpretations of empirical findings.

Social Perspective-Taking Skills in Maltreated Children and Adolescents

The primary goal of this study was to assess the ability of maltreated school-age children and adolescents to understand the thoughts, feelings, and points of view of others. Level of egocentrism and social perspective-taking coordination were assessed in a group of 49 maltreated and 49 demographically matched nonmaltreated children. Twenty-six elementary and 23 high school students in each group were individually interviewed and their responses to hypothetical interpersonal situations coded for egocentricity and level of perspective-taking ability. The findings revealed that maltreated children and adolescents were more egocentric and delayed in their social perspective-taking development than their nonmaltreated peers and that they reported lower levels of global self-worth. However, differences within the group of maltreated children and adolescents emerged with regard to negotiating novel relationships, as those with fewer internalizing or externalizing symptoms exhibited better skills in this area than their peers who displayed more symptoms.

Reduced ratings of physical and relational aggression for youths with a strong cultural identity: Evidence from the Naskapi people

PURPOSE Minority youth in general, and Aboriginal youth in particular, are at increased statistical risk for being perpetrators or victims of aggression. METHODS We examined the potential protective aspect of cultural identity in relation to peer ratings of physical and relational aggression and factors typically associated with each among almost the entire cohort of Naskapi youths from Kawawachikamach, Québec. RESULTS Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that a strong identity with their own Native culture predicted less perceived physical and social aggression by their peers. CONCLUSION These findings are discussed in the context of the role of a positive affiliation with ancestral culture for the diminishment of adolescent aggression and for general adaptive development and well-being.

Differences in Visual Orienting between Persons with Down or Fragile X Syndrome.

The voluntary and reflexive orienting abilities of persons with Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome, at average MA levels of approximately 4 and 7 years, were compared with an RT task. Reflexive orienting abilities appeared to develop in accordance with MA for the participants with Down syndrome but not for those with fragile X syndrome. However, both groups showed delayed voluntary orienting. The group differences in reflexive orienting at the low MA level reinforce the practice of separating etiologies and highlight the contribution of rudimentary attentional processes in the study of individuals with mental retardation.

Voluntary Orienting Among Children and Adolescents With Down Syndrome and MA-Matched Typically Developing Children

A forced-choice reaction-time (RT) task was used to examine voluntary visual orienting among children and adolescents with trisomy 21 Down syndrome and typically developing children matched at an MA of approximately 5.6 years, an age when the development of orienting abilities reaches optimal adult-like efficiency. Both groups displayed faster reaction times (RTs) when the target location was cued correctly than when cued incorrectly under both short and long SOA conditions, indicating intact orienting among children with Down syndrome. This finding is further evidence that the efficiency of many of the primary components of attention among persons with Down syndrome is consistent with their developmental level.

The 2010 Chilean National Disability Law Self-Determination in a Collectivistic Society

The overarching goal of the Ley Nacional de Discapacidad (LND; National Disability Law [NDL]) enacted by Chile in 2010 is to facilitate “positive effects on Quality of Life (QOL) for individuals with disabilities” through the promotion of personal relationships, personal development, social inclusion, rights, and self-determination. Of the components linked to QOL in the 2010 law, self-determination may impose the most complex challenge to implement in Chilean society. Self-determination can be viewed as a social value, an individual skill set, or a personal outcome. Self-determination is discussed in relation to Chile’s collectivistic society, its history of disability rights, and to Person-Centered Planning, an approach that may enable Chile to fulfill the mandate of its NDL while balancing collectivistic and individualistic values.

A Point of Departure in the Comparison of Social and Nonsocial Visual Orienting Among Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Endogenous visual orienting among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and among typically developing (TD) children was examined using a Posner‐type task that was modified to include social and nonsocial cues and targets to test hypotheses regarding information (social or nonsocial) and cue processing (long or short stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs)). The findings suggest intact endogenous orienting to face and mixed face targets using hand and arrow cues among children with ASDs who were matched to typically developing children (TDC) on the basis of nonverbal mental age (MA) at approximately 8.5 years. The findings from this study challenge the notions of a social orienting impairment and of mechanical social orienting as the children with ASDs in this study demonstrated strong orienting effects in all conditions and social sensitivity in the long stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) condition. Autism Res 2015, 8: 575–582.

Easing the transition for queer student teachers from program to field: implications for teacher education.

Tensions exist between what some queer student teachers experience in the university setting, their lives in schools during field placements, and upon graduation. We describe a series of workshops designed for queer student teachers and their allies that were conducted prior to field placement. Participants revealed high degrees of satisfaction with the program and increased feelings of personal and professional self-efficacy. Participants reported high levels of experienced homophobia in their academic programs; as such, the workshops were a valuable “safe space.” These workshops appear to fill a significant gap for queer students and their allies in teacher preparation programs.