Trastorno de Asperger y trastorno del espectro del autismo: de la clarificación diagnóstica a la intervención en contextos naturales / Asperger disorder and autism spectrum disorder: from clarification to intervention in natural contexts

Desde su aparición en los sistemas clasificatorios oficiales, el diagnóstico del trastorno de Asperger ha sido fuente de numerosas investigaciones para su identificación y diferenciación con otros trastornos del desarrollo (p. ej., trastorno autista). Posteriormente, las investigaciones se centraron en los programas de intervención más eficaces para su recuperación. En el momento actual la investigación y la práctica clínica se centran en los procedimientos de intervención que garanticen la transferencia de resultados, haciendo énfasis en sus capacidades (puntos fuertes), más que en sus debilidades (puntos débiles). En el presente artículo se consideran los efectos beneficiosos de las intervenciones en contextos naturales, desde un enfoque positivo, que partiendo de los síntomas y características clínicas, se centran en los puntos fuertes como medio para superar sus dificultades (AU)

Since its appearance in the official classificatory systems, the diagnosis of Asperger’s Disorder has been the basis of numerous research studies aiming at its identification and differentiation from other development disorders (e.g., autism disorder). In a second stage, research studies were focused on the most effective intervention programmes to improve recovery. At present, both research and clinical practice are focused on intervention procedures that guarantee the transfer of results with an emphasis on their capacities (strong points), more than on their weaknesses (weak points). This article addresses, using a positive approach, the beneficial effects of the interventions in natural contexts which, starting from the symptoms and clinical characteristics, are focused on the strong points as a means to overcome difficulties

Training referential communicative skills to individuals with autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study.

The present study reports the effects of referential communication training in individuals formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were 20 children with ASD (M age = 14.3 yr., SD = 4.2; 6 girls, 14 boys) in the role of speakers and 20 control children, who acted as listeners. They were all enrolled in mainstream compulsory education. Inclusion/exclusion criteria were defined according to the clinical diagnosis of ASD, the presence or absence of additional or associated disability, previous training in referential communication, and any drug treatment. Speakers were randomly assigned to one of two groups (trained vs untrained). Linguistic age, cognitive level and autistic symptoms were analyzed, respectively, with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale (WISC-R or WAIS-III), and the Autistic Behavior Checklist (ABC). Communicative abilities were analyzed through two indexes related to message complexity and self-regulation. The trained group was trained in referential communication tasks (task analysis, role taking, and task evaluation), while the untrained group took part in a communicative game but without any specific communicative training. The results showed that the complexity of emitted messages had improved statistically significantly in the trained group as an effect of training. Ecological referential communication is shown to be an appropriate paradigm for studying the communicative process and its products and could be used to develop and implement a training program focused on those skills in which individuals with ASD are most deficient.