Autism by Torres, Elizabeth B.; Whyatt, Caroline;

Short description:

This is the first book to present the movement approach to autism in a comprehensive way, integrating scientific methods and results with the experience of affected people, ways to improve their experiences, and the societal integration of autism.

Long description:

Autism: The Movement Sensing Perspective is the result of a collaborative effort by parents, therapists, clinicians, and researchers from all disciplines in science including physics, engineering, and applied mathematics. This book poses questions regarding the current conceptualization and approach to the study of autism, providing an alternative unifying data-driven framework grounded in physiological factors.

This book reaches beyond subjective descriptions of autistic phenomena and embraces a new era of objective measurements, analyses, and statistical inferences. The authors harness activities from the nervous systems across the brain and body (often in tandem), and introduce a platform for the comprehensive personalized phenotyping of individuals with autism. The impact of this approach is discussed to advance the development of tailored treatments options, enhance the ability to longitudinally track symptomatology, and to fundamentally empower affected individuals and their families. This book encompasses a new era for autism research and treatments, and our continuous effort to collectively empower and embrace the autistic community.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, impaired verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior. Parents usually notice signs in the first two years of their child's life. These signs often develop gradually, though some children with autism reach their developmental milestones at a normal pace and then regress. The diagnostic criteria require that symptoms become apparent in early childhood, typically before age three. Collaborative compiled and co-edited by Elizabeth B. Torres (Psychology Department, Rutgers University) and Caroline Whyatt (Psychology Department, Rutgers University), "Autism: The Movement Sensing Perspective" is comprised of twenty-seven informative articles by experts in the field that collectively present the movement approach to autism in a comprehensive way, integrating scientific methods and results with the experience of affected people, ways to improve their experiences, and the societal integration of autism. "Autism: The Movement Sensing Perspective" will assist readers in understanding how people with autism think differently, based on how they move and are moved differently, and how, on the basis of this novel understanding, a better fit is possible between people with autism and their often non-autistic context. A seminal volume of simply outstanding scholarship, "Autism: The Movement Sensing Perspective" is unreservedly recommended as a critically important and core addition to professional and academic library Autism collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of psychology students, academia, and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in the subject that "Autism: The Movement Sensing Perspective" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $95.96).

Source: Midwest Book Review November 2017

Table of Contents:

Foreword SECTION I The Big Question: Why Study Movement? Chapter 1 Why Study Movement Variability in Autism? Chapter 2 The Autism Phenotype: Physiology versus Psychology? Chapter 3 Can Cognitive Theories Help to Understand Motor Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder? Concluding Remarks to Section I: Top-Down versus Bottom-Up Approaches to Connect Cognition and Somatic Motor Sensations SECTION II Basic Research: Movement as a Social Model Chapter 4 Dissecting a Social Encounter from Three Different Perspectives Chapter 5 More Than Meets the Eye: Redefining the Role of Sensory-Motor Control on Social Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorders Chapter 6 Action Evaluation and Discrimination as Indexes of Imitation Fidelity in Autism Chapter 7 ADOS: The Physiology Approach to Assess Social Skills and Communication in Autism Spectrum Disorder Chapter 8 On the Brainstem Origin of Autism: Disruption to Movements of the Primary Self Chapter 9 The Gap between Intention and Action: Altered Connectivity and GABA-mediated Synchrony in Autism SECTION III Let’s Get the Math Right to Improve Diagnosis, Research, and Treatment Outcomes Preface to Section III: First Things First–Let Us Get the Math Right Chapter 10 Non-Gaussian Statistical Distributions Arising in Large-Scale Personalized Data Sets from Biophysical Rhythms of the Nervous Systems Chapter 11 Excess Success for a Study on Visual Search and Autism: Motivation to Change How Scientists Analyze Data Chapter 12 Contemporary Problems with Methods in Basic Brain Science Impede Progress in ASD Research and Treatments Chapter 13 Inherent Noise Hidden in Nervous Systems’ Rhythms Leads to New Strategies for Detection and Treatments for Core Motor Sensing Traits in ASD Chapter 14 Micromovements: The s-Spikes as a Way to “Zoom In” the Motor Trajectories of Natural Goal-Directed Behaviors SECTION IV The Therapeutic Model: Movement as a Perceptto Awaken the Mind Preface to Section IV Chapter 15 Rhythm and Movement for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Neurodevelopmental Perspective Chapter 16 Use of Video Technology to Support Persons Affected with Sensory-Movement Differences and Diversity Chapter 17 Argentinian Ambulatory Integral Model to Treat Autism Spectrum Disorders Chapter 18 Autism Sports and Educational Model for Inclusion (ASEMI) Chapter 19 Reframing Autism Spectrum Disorder for Teachers: An Interdisciplinary Task SECTION V Autism, the Untold Story from the Perspectives of Parents and Self-advocates Preface Section V Chapter 20 Seeing Movement: Implications of the Movement Sensing Perspective for Parents Chapter 21 Shiloh: The Outstanding Outlier Chapter 22 Ada Mae: Our Magical Fairy Chapter 23 It’s a Girl’s Life Chapter 24 Treat the Whole, Not the Parts Chapter 25 Anthony’s Story: Finding Normal Chapter 26 Autism: A Bullying Perspective Chapter 27 Turning the Tables: Autism Shows the Social Deficit of Our Society