Dr. Temple Grandin's Official Autism Website. Mentalhealthfoundation's sounds. What Does Authenticity Look Like? In her post, Bev talks about how, for her, language abilities can change from day to day and how that fluctuation in abilities is often judged by others as dishonesty. Like me, and many others on the spectrum, one of the ways Bev copes with these challenges is using scripted language. Unfortunately, that too is often misconstrued. She describes: "One of the common forms goes like this: First someone asks a question and I can't think how to answer it. Either several possible (equally valid) answers compete to be said and confound my ability to choose, or I can't, at the moment, figure out what the question means. Sometimes, though, the answer comes as easily as I imagine most answers do to most people, that is, almost automatically.
I identify with this more than I can tell. "Of course, things go more easily when the answer is 'fine' rather than 'asafetida.' I recently had a conversation with a co-worker about my disabilities — a partial disclosure. Neurons, Synapses, Action Potentials, and Neurotransmission - The Mind Project. Return to MODULE PAGE Neurons, Synapses, Action Potentials, and Neurotransmission Robert Stufflebeam: Author, Artist & Animator Functions of Neurons The central nervous system [CNS] is composed entirely of two kinds of specialized cells: neurons and glia. Hence, every information processing system in the CNS is composed of neurons and glia; so too are the networks that compose the systems (and the maps). Neurons are the basic information processing structures in the CNS.
While we are considering numbers, it is worth noting that there are as many as 50 times more glia than neurons in our CNS! Because our main interest lies in exploring how information processing occurs in the brain, we are going to ignore glia. Structure of neurons A "typical" neuron has four distinct parts (or regions). Neuronal signaling Conduction To begin conduction, an action potential is generated near the cell body portion of the axon. Neurotransmission Chemical neurotransmission occurs at chemical synapses. Sitemap. Families of Adults Affected By Asperger's Syndrome. Social Skills and Autism - Autism and Social Skills Training. Why Would a Person With Autism Need to See a Social Skills Therapist? One of the most significant problems for people on the autism spectrum is difficulty in social interaction. This difficulty is, of course, made more significant by problems with speech and language.
But autism also seems to create problems with "mind reading" -- that is, with knowing what another person might be thinking. Most people can observe others and guess, through a combination of tone and body language, what's "really" going on. In general, without help and training, autistic people can't. This "mind blindness" can lead even the highest-functioning person on the autism spectrum to make social blunders that cause all kinds of problems.
Without knowing why, a person on the autism spectrum can hurt feelings, ask inappropriate questions, act oddly or generally open themselves up to hostility, teasing, bullying and isolation. What Exactly IS a Social Skills Therapist? Asperger Relationships. There is hope for Asperger relationships. Source Are Asperger relationships difficult to maintain? The social skill and communication issues inherent in Asperger's syndrome can challenge some relationships.
However, there are ways for both the person with Aspergers and loved ones to successfully work through the issues. Common Asperger Relationship Issues A person with Aspergers and his loved ones may find themselves in conflicts that have root in key aspects of the condition. Emotional Response A person with Aspergers has problems understanding another person's emotions. Sometimes a neurotypical person may mistakenly interpret a person with Aspergers' emotional response or lack of response as an inability to feel emotion. Communication and Social Skills Problems Asperger's syndrome causes problems with language, communication and social interaction. Routines and Obsessive Behaviors Routines and obsessive behaviors are aspects of Aspergers that can also challenge relationships. Autistics.org resources by and for persons on the autistic spectrum. Rehabilitation Counseling Organizations. The art of mindreading: Empathy or rational inference?
The ability to infer what another person is thinking is an essential tool for social interaction and is known by neuroscientists as "Theory of Mind" (ToM), but how does the brain actually allow us to do this? We are able to rationally infer what someone knows, thinks, or intends, but we are also able to "slip into their shoes" and infer how they feel, and it seems that the brain processes these different types of information in different ways, as confirmed by a new report in the June 2010 issue of Elsevier's Cortex. Prof. Elke Kalbe and colleagues from the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine at the Research Centre Juelich and the Neurological University Clinic Cologne, Germany, studied a group of male volunteers as they performed a computerized task, which assessed their abilities in both emotional and rational inference.
Coauthor Prof. What Everybody Ought to Know About Aspergers and Marriage. Couple in love, by pedrosimoes on Flickr Creative Commons Young love. It's so beautiful, so wonderful, it takes your breath away. Like any other romantic couple, two adults who are in love in an Asperger's relationship are on cloud nine when they first meet. Reality sinks in once the emotional high wears off, and if there are not some tools for navigating the journey, Aspie-NT couples may find themselves at-risk. There are many successful Aspie-Aspie marriages and Aspie-NT marriages.
For every successful Aspie-NT committed relationship, there are many others who are struggling, teetering, and on the brink of failing. I am borrowing the ideas for this article from Solutions for Adults with Asperger Syndrome (2005), and specifically to psychologist Dr. Building Understanding Between AS and NT Worlds Here are some autism spectrum facts about individuals with Aspergers that it's important for NT partners to understand: Steps to Help Make An AS-NT Relationship Work Here's a quote from the site:
The peril of positive thinking - why positive messages hurt people with low self-esteem : Not Exactly Rocket Science. When the going gets tough, thousands of people try to boost their failing self-esteem by repeating positive statements to themselves. Encouraged by magazine columnists, self-help books and talk-show hosts, people prepare for challenges by chanting positive mantras like “I am a strong, powerful person,” and, “Nothing can stop me from achieving my dreams.” This approach has been championed at least as far back as Norman Vincent Peale’s infamous book The Power of Positive Thinking, published in 1952. But a new study suggests that despite its popularity, this particular brand of self-help may backfire badly.
Ironically, it seems to be people with low self-esteem, who are most likely to rely on such statements, who are most likely to feel worse because of them. Joanne Wood from the University of Waterloo found that people with low self-esteem who repeated “I’m a lovable person” to themselves felt worse than people who did neither. Afterwards, they completed a battery of questionnaires. The Top 10 Psychology Studies of 2010. The end of 2010 fast approaches, and I'm thrilled to have been asked by the editors of Psychology Today to write about the Top 10 psychology studies of the year. I've focused on studies that I personally feel stand out, not only as examples of great science, but even more importantly, as examples of how the science of psychology can improve our lives. Each study has a clear "take home" message, offering the reader an insight or a simple strategy they can use to reach their goals , strengthen their relationships, make better decisions, or become happier.
If you extract the wisdom from these ten studies and apply them in your own life, 2011 just might be a very good year. 1) How to Break Bad Habits If you are trying to stop smoking , swearing, or chewing your nails, you have probably tried the strategy of distracting yourself - taking your mind off whatever it is you are trying not to do - to break the habit. J. 2) How to Make Everything Seem Easier J. 3) How To Manage Your Time Better M. J. THE BRAIN FROM TOP TO BOTTOM. A presynaptic neuron has several specialized structures that distinguish it from a postsynaptic neuron. The terminal button of the presynaptic neuron’s axon contains mitochondria as well as microtubules that transport the neurotransmitters from the cell body (where they are produced) to the tip of the axon.
(click on 2. Axonal Transport) This terminal button also contains spherical vesicles filled with neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are secreted into the synaptic gap by a process called exocytosis, in which the vesicles’ membranes fuse with that of the presynaptic button. The synaptic gap that the neurotransmitters have to cross is very narrow–on the order of 0.02 micron. Across the gap, the neurotransmitters bind to membrane receptors: large proteins anchored in the cell membrane of the post-synaptic neuron. Neuroscience Research Index.
Microarray Data :: Allen Brain Atlas: Human Brain. BRAIN NEUROTRANSMITTERS. Medical.