Autscape

[Tally]

I am here

 

They have computers

 

I am hungry

 

It is nearly time for dinner

[Kathryn]

Enjoy it, Tally!

 

K x

[bid]

Oooh, I would have been there with you, but my DD is going into hospital tomorrow!

 

Very envious!

 

Have a brilliant time <'>

 

Bid

Edited July 29, 2008 by bid

[smiley]

Have a wonderful time hun <'>

[bikemad]

Have a good time.

[pearl]

Have a lovely time

[Tally]

They've got toys and things

I am debating whether to invest �12.50 in a marble run!

 

I have heard an interesting lecture on timing and intertia, and we are going to discuss it some more soon.

[ScienceGeek]

Have fun Tally! I really wanted to be there, but couldn't afford it in the end.

[Flora]

Tally you've got to get yourself a marble run!!!!

 

We've got one of these and you can sit for hours playing with them. My youngest son has had one since he was 4 and it's one of the few toys that he has consistantly played with (he's 11 now!).

 

Flora

[pearl]

JP used to love his marble run mesmerising

[Tally]

I always wanted a marble run as a child, but my mum would never buy me one. She bought my cousin one once, and he was very kind and let me play with it all day long until we had to go home!

 

Maybe next year, SG and Bid!

[Kathryn]

As I said to you Tally, L really wanted to go but the practicalities were too difficult this time around. If you have any notes from the timing and inertia lecture/ discussion I know she'd be really interested.

 

K x

[Tally]

I do have some notes on all the lectures, which I intend to write up when I get home. I'm more than happy to share them.

[Kathryn]

Thanks Tally.

 

Also , if there are any book recommendations on this particular subject, please let me know.

 

K x

[ScienceGeek]

I do have some notes on all the lectures, which I intend to write up when I get home. I'm more than happy to share them.

 

That would be great Tally. I would be quite interested in reading that.

[Flora]

Tally I would love to see your notes on the inertia lecture. Inertia is one of the major difficulties I have. I had a look at the website and note that the lecturer has based her power point on music. Without knowing much about it, that set me thinking already.

 

Flora

[Tally]

Flora, I think that you might have been looking at a different lecture. There was one on Action and Inertia in Music, and this is unfortunately the only one I missed, so I can't tell you anything about that one! The one I did attend was the one by Kalen called "What makes us tick and what makes us stick?" on the Wednesday Morning. She had a model brain that she passed around, and she kept remembering other things to point out on the brain, and asked, "who's got my brain?" She is researching this topic for her MA or PhD (I forget which, but certainly at a HIGH level). The lecture was quite intellectual. There are very few studies on this subject, but they all seem to be revealing the same kinds of results, and the fact that this IS an issue in autism.

[smiley]

I'd like to see the notes too please Tally

[Tally]

You can download bits and bobs from the lectures here: http://www.autscape.org/programme/presentations.html

Sometimes it is just a copy of the PowerPoint slides used, which may not help you much without having heard it in the first place, but there is some useful and interesting stuff there.

 

Here are my notes from the Timing and Inertia lecture:

 

What makes us tick and what makes us stick: Timing and Intertia in ASD ? Kalen

Timing

There are three different types of timing interval:

 

Circadian intervals last around 24 hours. They are controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (in the centre of the brain). They control things like sleep/wake cycles, eating and social rhythms.

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome ? where the circadian rhythms are out of synch, rather like living on a planet which turns slower than Earth! Appears to be more common in autism.

Autistics often have less pronounced rhythms.

Sleep disturbance is thought to be more common in autism, but studies do not seem to confirm this. Perhaps it is just more obvious because of the way we think or behave.

 

Interval timing measures periods of time from seconds to minutes. It is controlled by the pre-frontal cortex (the brain in the forehead area) and the basal ganglia (in the centre of the brain).

It helps with prospective (future) memory, for example, to take the chips out of the oven.

It also helps with episodic memory, putting the memories in time context.

It helps us to understand changes over time, for example, the changing seasons, that it is wet because it rained earlier, and the future consequences of what is happening now.

 

Millisecond timing measures short periods of time, up to 2-3 seconds. It is controlled by the cerebellum (at the back of the brain).

It controls motor co-ordination by making the muscles all move in the right order and at the right moment, for example, throwing a ball and letting go at the right moment.

It controls the speed and order of perception of language.

Studies show that when two sounds are made close together, autistics often miss the second sound.

Social timing ? at 3 months, babies and mothers respond to each other within 1 second. If babies are played by video link a delayed response from their mother, they become distressed. Autistics respond more slowly, but no studies are yet done on autistic babies, as we do not know they are autistic when they are babies.

 

Time and the autistic brain:

There are no known problems with the suprachiasmatic nucleus in autism.

The basal ganglia works differently in autism.

In autism, the cerebellum is smaller and lacks precingi cells, which communicate with the brain outside of the cerebellum and help with orienting attention, shifting attention, and deciding what we should attend to.

 

Clock genes keep circadian rhythms and other timers going.

11 different clock genes have been studied, and most autistic people have differences in two clock genes (not the same two for each person).

 

Timing affects:

Movement

Language

Resistance to change

Social timing

Memory

Task switching

 

Time perception helps give structure to the world and to interact with it effectively.

 

Very fine time does not appear to be affected in autism. Timing differences in autism affect interaction and responses.

 

Inertia

An object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object at rest tends to stay at rest. Inertia is a problem with starting, stopping and changing.

 

NOT inertia:

Lack of motivation

Depression

Fatigue

Procrastination/avoidance

Laziness

All these things can exacerbate inertia.

 

Executive function: the mind's 'boss,' tells the mind what to do, planning, organising, monitoring, inhibition, initiative. Mainly controlled by the pre-frontal cortex.

Persevering with something that is no longer useful is a sign of impaired executive function.

It is common in ADHD to have problems with inhibition, but not in autism.

Lacking initiative = inertia.

 

Attention shifting: autistics are slow at spacial attention shifting (eg. looking in the right direction), often miss cues, and find it easier to do simpler tasks or those which offer immediate rewards.

 

Catatonia is a neurological condition where you get ?stuck,? for example, in the middle of a motion such as pouring.

It is more common in autism, particularly those with a PASSIVE communication style.

It is related to Parkinson's.

Although related to schizophrenia, it can be made worse by antipsychotics.

Could inertia be a mild for of catatonia???

 

Strategies:

Reminders ? if these are overused, they become easy to ignore

Shock, eg. Loud alarm ? use should be limited as it can be distressing

'Do It Now' principle ? if you are likely to forget something, do it now rather than waiting until later

Routines ? can help you go on to the next activity. To add a new task, do it before an automatic one.

Follow the 'flow' of perceptual patterns, eg. Make it easier to walk to the other side of the room than to the computer.

Make things as easy as possible, don't get bogged down in trying to do everything, nut make a start.

[Kathryn]

Thanks for posting this, Tally!

 

K x

[Tally]

Here is a link to another article on Inertia: http://www.autistics.org/library/inertia.html

And this one was written several years ago by the same person who did the lecture I attended: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support...q=kalen+inertia

[Tally]

Here are a couple of photos of the venue:

Giggleswick School

Waterfall

[Kathryn]

Looks lovely! Where is it going to be next year? I've forgotten.

 

K x

[Tally]

There are several possibilities, one of which is Giggleswick School again, but I don't know what the others are.

[gordon]

How many people go along to Autscape?

 

Gordon

[Tally]

I think there were under 60 this year. The organisers are very conscious that it should not become too big.