Lately I have been pondering the importance of working on dynamic communication to enable Pamela to live a fuller life than we had previously imagined. Working on nonverbal communication takes time, but lately we have seen some wonderful things!
A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away (1996 at an autism conference in Westchester, New York), I heard Dr. Eric Courchesne explain his MRI research on the cerebellum, which tends to be over-developed in individuals with autism. He believed that the regions affected were responsible for shifting attention in a timely manner. Most people take less than a second or two to turn their attention one stimulus to another. He found that, even when prompted to redirect their attention, some autistic children remained fixed while others took three to five seconds or longer to make the shift. Imagine the repercussions of that when starting a converstion with a child playing with a toy, or worse a three-way conversation. You know how frustrating it is to go in and out of range of your cell phone!
Like most people, I assumed that shifting attention was a lost cause, and our only hope was compensation. When we first added remediating Pamela's weaknesses to our long-implemented vision of building upon her strengths, I was skeptical. Now, I am convinced that remediation is a sound strategy and here is my evidence for those who cannot make a decision without hard evidence. We filmed this clip in March 2007, decorating Pamela's birthday cake. The most striking thing about it is how little Pamela shifts her attention to me.
For the past three weeks, we have been working on Pamela's ability to summarize to give a gestalt, or big picture sentence (another blog to follow on that whole process). Pamela stunned us with how well she rapidly shifts attention in a variety of interaction patterns, and I have no doubt how far she has come in the past two years!
Hint: if you have aging eyes, you might want to zoom to 200%. I think I shaved off the little vision acuity I have trying to study the raw footage! Here are the patterns I observed:
* Shifts from her picture to my drawing (and vice versa)
* Shifts from her picture to my face (and vice versa)
* Right shift to think (what five year olds do when concentrating)
* Tracks paper down
* Goes from relaxing to looking at my drawing
* Looks at my drawing and shifts to me when I speak, five times in a row (watch for the slight head movement as a tip off)
I gleaned through all of the drawing exercises we did and found more gems, such as Pamela's gestures (receptive and expressive).
She is also making stride in prosody (voice inflection and tone)!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Creative bookcase for urban people
The bookcase CAVE is a special and creative Cave bookcase designed for urban people, for urban life.This shelving unit have a integrated nook for reading. Great idea no?This creative idea is ideal for small places, places of urban life, because the nook for reading will save space used by a chair.The Books can be stored on both sides.The bookcase CAVE can also functions as a partition of a
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Courtship of Mr. Collins
When I explain what we are doing with Pamela, some people do not get the importance of nonverbal communication, viewing it as insignificant, impossible for autistic people, or cheating to get the right answer to instrumental questions. They even snort and roll their eyes, demonstrating the very point I am trying to make!
Most studies point to the fact that adults with autism, even those with college degrees, struggle for quality of life. Why are they having difficulty staying employed and living independently without assistance? Why do those who yearn for friends and marriage have to settle for living alone without friendships? Rising IQs do not change the outcome nor does learning to speak. Even under the best of circumstances, only one-fourth hold paid employment without extra support, held important social relationships, and maintained a high degree of independence in daily life.
Highly structured, repetition-driven programs often focus on instrumental interactions (using people to get something, not simply to share experiences), spoken language, and academics, ignoring the nuances of nearly item under social interaction in the DSM IV criteria:
I am trying to balance between developing static intelligence (facts, procedures, mechanics of language) to help Pamela get through school and dynamic intelligence (experience sharing, flexible thinking, problem-solving) to have a life. When we overemphasize static intelligence, we end up with a talkative, smart person with autism. If you do not believe what happens when you ignore the nuances of relationships, I introduce to you, Reverend William Collins, the respectable, at times ridiculous rector of Hunsford in Kent, nephew and heir of Elizabeth Bennet's father, graduate of one of the Universities, about whom Jane Austen wrote,
Nonverbal Communication
Mr. Collins does not pay attention to the gestures, facial expressions, and noises (a la Lydia's snorts) very well, otherwise he would not have proposed to a woman who despised him (Elizabeth Bennet), ignored a woman who admired him (her sister Mary), and married a woman who only put up with him to avoid becoming a spinster (Charlotte Lucas). His gestures and facial expressions are almost as "unstudied" as the "little elegant compliments" with which he flatters the ladies.
Black-and-White Interpretation
Mr. Collins seems incapable of reading between the lines of dissembling remarks. His cousin Elizabeth words herself to sound complimentary but means something otherwise. When he asked for her permission to play cards, she smiled and said, "With all my heart," because she was glad to be rid of him. After he was invited to a ball, she questioned him with a serious tone, "Would your bishop approve?" hoping he would decline. On the occasion of their last visit to his patroness, Elizabeth mockingly said, "A very cruel deprivation. Indeed, I hardly know how I shall bear the loss of Lady Catherine's company," and he bought it, "You feel it keenly!" When he came to lecture the family after Lydia's fall from grace, Elizabeth dissuaded him from staying any longer, "You may fell that it would be unwise for you to stay any longer now. I always feel that a clergyman cannot be too careful, especially one so fortunate as to enjoy the condescension and the patronage of the Lady Catherine de Bourgh" and he credited her for her thoughtfulness!
Narrow Range of Topics
To boost his self-esteem and preserve his job, Mr. Collins discusses one topic and one topic only: his noble patroness the Lady Catherine de Bourgh. He often unwittingly insults his listeners when he lauds her wealth, possessions, and condescension. He practically stalked Mr. Darcy at the Netherfield ball when he found out who Darcy was.
Courtship
Mr. Collins' courtship reveals how instrumental he is in his interactions with women. When he proposed to Elizabeth, he told her his number one reason for marrying was at the recommendation of Lady Catherine! He also believed it important to set the example for his parish and it might make him happy in the process. He felt obligated to marry one of the Bennet girls because he was to inherit their father's property. As an afterthought, he mentioned his violent affections for her, never bothering to read her expressions of dismay. When she refused, he pointed out the benefits of marrying him: not only did he have money, situation, and connections, but she might end up as a spinster if he refused.
Most studies point to the fact that adults with autism, even those with college degrees, struggle for quality of life. Why are they having difficulty staying employed and living independently without assistance? Why do those who yearn for friends and marriage have to settle for living alone without friendships? Rising IQs do not change the outcome nor does learning to speak. Even under the best of circumstances, only one-fourth hold paid employment without extra support, held important social relationships, and maintained a high degree of independence in daily life.
Highly structured, repetition-driven programs often focus on instrumental interactions (using people to get something, not simply to share experiences), spoken language, and academics, ignoring the nuances of nearly item under social interaction in the DSM IV criteria:
- Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction
- Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
- A lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest)
- Lack of social or emotional reciprocity
- Delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such as gesture or mime)
- In individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
- Stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language
- Lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play appropriate to developmental level
I am trying to balance between developing static intelligence (facts, procedures, mechanics of language) to help Pamela get through school and dynamic intelligence (experience sharing, flexible thinking, problem-solving) to have a life. When we overemphasize static intelligence, we end up with a talkative, smart person with autism. If you do not believe what happens when you ignore the nuances of relationships, I introduce to you, Reverend William Collins, the respectable, at times ridiculous rector of Hunsford in Kent, nephew and heir of Elizabeth Bennet's father, graduate of one of the Universities, about whom Jane Austen wrote,MR. COLLINS was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society.Why is Mr. Collins "one of the stupidest man in England"? (Note: I base this character sketch upon the 1996 Pride and Prejudice mini-series, which is ripe with opportunities for studying dynamic intelligence.)
Nonverbal Communication
Mr. Collins does not pay attention to the gestures, facial expressions, and noises (a la Lydia's snorts) very well, otherwise he would not have proposed to a woman who despised him (Elizabeth Bennet), ignored a woman who admired him (her sister Mary), and married a woman who only put up with him to avoid becoming a spinster (Charlotte Lucas). His gestures and facial expressions are almost as "unstudied" as the "little elegant compliments" with which he flatters the ladies.Black-and-White Interpretation
Mr. Collins seems incapable of reading between the lines of dissembling remarks. His cousin Elizabeth words herself to sound complimentary but means something otherwise. When he asked for her permission to play cards, she smiled and said, "With all my heart," because she was glad to be rid of him. After he was invited to a ball, she questioned him with a serious tone, "Would your bishop approve?" hoping he would decline. On the occasion of their last visit to his patroness, Elizabeth mockingly said, "A very cruel deprivation. Indeed, I hardly know how I shall bear the loss of Lady Catherine's company," and he bought it, "You feel it keenly!" When he came to lecture the family after Lydia's fall from grace, Elizabeth dissuaded him from staying any longer, "You may fell that it would be unwise for you to stay any longer now. I always feel that a clergyman cannot be too careful, especially one so fortunate as to enjoy the condescension and the patronage of the Lady Catherine de Bourgh" and he credited her for her thoughtfulness! Narrow Range of Topics
To boost his self-esteem and preserve his job, Mr. Collins discusses one topic and one topic only: his noble patroness the Lady Catherine de Bourgh. He often unwittingly insults his listeners when he lauds her wealth, possessions, and condescension. He practically stalked Mr. Darcy at the Netherfield ball when he found out who Darcy was.Courtship
Mr. Collins' courtship reveals how instrumental he is in his interactions with women. When he proposed to Elizabeth, he told her his number one reason for marrying was at the recommendation of Lady Catherine! He also believed it important to set the example for his parish and it might make him happy in the process. He felt obligated to marry one of the Bennet girls because he was to inherit their father's property. As an afterthought, he mentioned his violent affections for her, never bothering to read her expressions of dismay. When she refused, he pointed out the benefits of marrying him: not only did he have money, situation, and connections, but she might end up as a spinster if he refused.
Emotion
Most cognitive psychology journals have stated that the emotion component in human cognition is difficult to understand due to the difficulty level of understanding a person's emotion / behaviour / characteristic. These aspects were all interrelated. This also lead to the understanding that a person will mostly never able to change their attitude / behaviour. I have forgotten which journal that I read, stating that the maximum tolerance level will not exceed 10 years. For example, if a person tell you they have changed their attitude in order to get married with you, please do not trust entirely since covering up his attitude will normally not exceed 10 years.
Okay, back to something really funny to me. In fact, my research involved looking at cognitive factors (related to emotion) of human when doing conducting different activities, such as playing games. It is a very interesting topic. My brother has recently send me a video that was closely related to human emotion and behaviour, which I think is extremely humorous while watching. Therefore, I have decided to post it here to share with all of you. This is also a relatively old video, so people who have watch this video may just ignore watching it again :)
Caption: German guy when playing maple story (an online-game)
Lol! However, do not think this is just a video since the changes of human behaviour may cause all these at some critical moment. For instance, the maple story game is so important for the German guy and hence, the stress factors possess him (disconnection, banned of account etc.) will usually cause significant changes to his emotion, and may lead to frustration and whilst throwing his keyboard :) Consequently, human can be a very dangerous species at certain time.
Okay, back to something really funny to me. In fact, my research involved looking at cognitive factors (related to emotion) of human when doing conducting different activities, such as playing games. It is a very interesting topic. My brother has recently send me a video that was closely related to human emotion and behaviour, which I think is extremely humorous while watching. Therefore, I have decided to post it here to share with all of you. This is also a relatively old video, so people who have watch this video may just ignore watching it again :)
Caption: German guy when playing maple story (an online-game)
Lol! However, do not think this is just a video since the changes of human behaviour may cause all these at some critical moment. For instance, the maple story game is so important for the German guy and hence, the stress factors possess him (disconnection, banned of account etc.) will usually cause significant changes to his emotion, and may lead to frustration and whilst throwing his keyboard :) Consequently, human can be a very dangerous species at certain time.
New discovery of organ transplants
This is absolutely a new discovery, using a hybrid heart to solve transplant crisis. (many people died from transplanting to a new organ, and this latest discovery has solve such problem).
Caption: a video on the heart transplant
This synopsis of this beautiful research is to transplant a temporarily organ as a replacement in different living beings. First, they replaced the heart of a dead rat to another rat and the tissues from one rat to another rat's stem cells. The experts from University of Minnesota in Minneapolic is trying to achieve a much larger scale of such transplantation processes not only in the hearts, but in other important organs such as livers starting from different animals such as pigs and try replacing them into human bodies.
Caption: pig heart seeded with human cells to create a human-compatible organs, and also a heart before the decellularisation process
Caption: a decellularised pig heart
These experts who tried working out in a team first tried implanting the reclothed hearts into the abdomens of rats. They found out that the rat survived temporarily whilst the rat's body was not rejecting the temporarily implanted heart :O Isn't this an extremely important discovery if this approach could be applied to the transplantation in human organs since many human sacrifices during the process of transplanting.
Caption: a stripped down pig heart to solve transplant shortage
The next step is to see if the transplants could replace an existing heart and keep the rat alive and healthy. So what they did was to repeat the experiment, and perhaps enhancing the experiment in different styles. They keep the rat alive with pig hearts and liver. According to the experts, this could be easier since pig organs are initially larger and easier to handle than tiny rat hearts.
Caption: a re-celled rat's heart
Afterall, the experts in indicated their ultimate goal is to decellularise human, not animal, organs for transplantation. Using animal is just a part of their testing before trying on human. If only animal organs such as pig's heart could be used temporarily as a replacement heart in the process of heart transplantation for human, then the success of this discovery will produce significant changes to the medical field in the history.
Caption: a video on the heart transplant
This synopsis of this beautiful research is to transplant a temporarily organ as a replacement in different living beings. First, they replaced the heart of a dead rat to another rat and the tissues from one rat to another rat's stem cells. The experts from University of Minnesota in Minneapolic is trying to achieve a much larger scale of such transplantation processes not only in the hearts, but in other important organs such as livers starting from different animals such as pigs and try replacing them into human bodies.
Caption: pig heart seeded with human cells to create a human-compatible organs, and also a heart before the decellularisation process
Caption: a decellularised pig heart
These experts who tried working out in a team first tried implanting the reclothed hearts into the abdomens of rats. They found out that the rat survived temporarily whilst the rat's body was not rejecting the temporarily implanted heart :O Isn't this an extremely important discovery if this approach could be applied to the transplantation in human organs since many human sacrifices during the process of transplanting.
Caption: a stripped down pig heart to solve transplant shortage
The next step is to see if the transplants could replace an existing heart and keep the rat alive and healthy. So what they did was to repeat the experiment, and perhaps enhancing the experiment in different styles. They keep the rat alive with pig hearts and liver. According to the experts, this could be easier since pig organs are initially larger and easier to handle than tiny rat hearts.
Caption: a re-celled rat's heart
Afterall, the experts in indicated their ultimate goal is to decellularise human, not animal, organs for transplantation. Using animal is just a part of their testing before trying on human. If only animal organs such as pig's heart could be used temporarily as a replacement heart in the process of heart transplantation for human, then the success of this discovery will produce significant changes to the medical field in the history.
Protecting from Cancer
I have been complaining to my mom for nearly a decade that I have genetically inherit her DNA due to the amount of white coloured hair I have. You will not believe how annoying to have massive amount of white colour hair before age 30. Somehow, it is not always a disadvantage to have white coloured hair growed all over your hair, lol.
Caption: grey hair
I have been reading new scientist, and found something really interesting there. Some researcher suggest that the production of grey hair within us may protect us from the cancer disease! I was thinking, grey hair or white? I am not sure with that since they have not specify in detail but I am assuming it to be white hair. I am also not making anyone or myself happy, but this was proven by experts in the Harvard medical school in the US.
Caption: hair turning white in colour
In brief, there are cells which we called it as pigments that produces hair colour. The number of cell production depends on something known as stem cells. Hair turned grey in colour when number of stem cells in hair follicles declines. This has led to fewer melanocytes (also known as the skin cell that produces the pigment called melanin), as it meant there were fewer stem cells capable of increasing the number of melanocyte.
Caption: grey mouse
As an evidence, the researchers in the Tokyo medical school conducted some minor experiments. They exposed mice to the radiation and chemical that would harm the DNA or perhaps damaging stem cells and / or transforming them into melanocytes permanently. The mice went grey. Then they relate the same concept to older adults since the reproduction of DNA will damage as we age. Afterall, maybe I should feel proud for having less black hair colour, should I? Lol.
Caption: grey hair
I have been reading new scientist, and found something really interesting there. Some researcher suggest that the production of grey hair within us may protect us from the cancer disease! I was thinking, grey hair or white? I am not sure with that since they have not specify in detail but I am assuming it to be white hair. I am also not making anyone or myself happy, but this was proven by experts in the Harvard medical school in the US.
Caption: hair turning white in colour
In brief, there are cells which we called it as pigments that produces hair colour. The number of cell production depends on something known as stem cells. Hair turned grey in colour when number of stem cells in hair follicles declines. This has led to fewer melanocytes (also known as the skin cell that produces the pigment called melanin), as it meant there were fewer stem cells capable of increasing the number of melanocyte.
Caption: grey mouse
As an evidence, the researchers in the Tokyo medical school conducted some minor experiments. They exposed mice to the radiation and chemical that would harm the DNA or perhaps damaging stem cells and / or transforming them into melanocytes permanently. The mice went grey. Then they relate the same concept to older adults since the reproduction of DNA will damage as we age. Afterall, maybe I should feel proud for having less black hair colour, should I? Lol.
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