Books
Summary
Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism are detected earlier and more
accurately today than ever before. Children and teens with these disorders often
stand out for their precocious intelligence and language abilities—yet profound
social difficulties can limit every aspect of their lives. This hopeful, compassionate
guide shows parents how to work with their children's unique impairments and
capabilities to help them learn to engage more fully with the world and live
as self-sufficiently as possible. From leading experts in the field, the book
is packed with practical ideas for helping children relate more comfortably
to peers, learn the rules of appropriate behavior, and participate more fully
in school and family life. It also explains what scientists currently know about
autistic spectrum disorders and how they are diagnosed and treated. Real-life
success stories, problem-solving ideas, and matter-of-fact advice on everything
from educational placements to career planning make this an indispensable reference
that families will turn to again and again.
Contents
Preface
I. Understanding Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism
1. What Are Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism?
2. The Diagnostic Process
3. Causes of Autism Spectrum Disorders
4. Treatments for Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism
II. Living with Asperger Syndrome
and High-Functioning Autism
5. Channeling Your Child's Strengths: A Guiding Principle
6. Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism at Home
7. Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism at School
8. The Social World of Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning
Autism
9. Looking Ahead: Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism in Late Adolescence
and Adulthood · Resources
Autism: Nature, Diagnosis and Treatment
Dawson, G. (Editor) (1989).
Autism: Nature, Diagnosis and Treatment, New York: Guilford Press.
(English, left; Japanese, right)
Brain Development and Experience
HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND THE DEVELOPING BRAIN
Edited by Geraldine Dawson and Kurt W. Fischer
“We have long lacked an integrated account of the neural mechanisms underlying behavioral development, even though there has been rapid, but separate progress in both developmental psychology and neuroscience. Now Dawson and Fischer have provided a much needed synthesis in their HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND THE DEVELOPING BRAIN; the emerging interdiscipline of developmental neuropsychology finally has a text! This book is a wonderful addition to the Decade of the Brain, one which takes development, brain, and behavior each as seriously as they need to be taken, and forges genuinely new links among them. Developmental psychologists, child clinicians, and develop mental neuroscientists will all find much of value in this volume.”
—Bruce Pennington, University of Denver
“A lovely volume that fills a void... .This book will provide the reader with an excellent overview of research on electrophysiology of brain development and behavior. It also includes some very good reviews of basic brain development and will serve as a very good supplemental text in a graduate course. This volume will be extremely valuable to a very broad audience, especially for researchers who want an overview of the area, as well as for professionals working within the field.’
—Megan Gunnar, Institute of Child Development
Over the past few decades, innovative, non-invasive techniques for studying the activity of the brain have provided new insights into brain-behavior relations. Now, develop mental scientists are using these techniques with young infants and children to shed light on the neural underpinnings of the developmental process. This highly enlightened text brings together a group of world-renowned scientists who believe, and demonstrate, that understanding brain-behavior relations from a developmental standpoint will yield fresh and unique insights into human nature.
This volume is distinguished by its breadth of topics, which include the development of memory, cognition, and emotions, and individual differences in these domains. This is one of a limited number of texts that provide a voice for a growing new generation of developmentalists interested in the brain.
The editors divide the book into four sections. Section one provides a historical review and broad theoretical framework for considering brain-behavior relations from a develop mental perspective. The role of electrophysiology (EEG) in developmental research is also examined. Chapters in section two focus on developmental changes in the brain, as indexed by changes in synaptic connections, glucose metabolism, and EEC power and coherence. Using changes in neural activity as indicators of important developmental transitions, a biological perspective on human psychological development is offered.
Section three addresses concepts of developing brain behavior relations. Neural correlates of developmental processes pertaining to memory, emotional expression and emotion regulation, spatial representation, and language are discussed. Finally, section four examines brain activity as a predictor of individual differences in behavior. Authors explore the use of electrophysiological measures in early infancy to explain individual differences in temperament, affective style, language, and attentional abilities.
While accessible to those with little background in the neurosciences, this book adequately portrays the complexity and depth of brain-behavior relations in development. An important resource for investigators in the fields of developmental psychology, neuropsychology, behavioral neuroscience, clinical psychology, and education, it also serves as a textbook for graduate students, especially advanced students of human psychological development.
ContentsI.
THEORY AND METHOD.
1. Dynamic
Development of Coordination of Components in Brain and Behavior: A Framework
for Theory and Research, Fischer & Rose.
2. Developmental
Psychology and Brain Development: A Historical Perspective, Segalowitz.
3. The Role of
Quantified Electroencephalography in Psychological Research, Duffy.
II.
THE DEVELOPING BRAIN.
4. Synaptogenesis
in Human Cerebral Cortex, Huttenlocher.
5. Development
of Regional Brain Glucose Metabolism in Relation to Behavior and Plasticity,
Chungani.
6. Development
of the Corticolimbic System, Benes.
7. Development
of Evoked Electrical Brain Activity In Infancy, Thomas & Crow.
8. Cyclic Cortical
Reorganization: Origins of Human Cognitive Development, Thatcher.
III.
DEVELOPING BRAIN-BEHAVIOR RELATIONS.
9.
Neural Correlates of Recognition Memory in the First Postnatal Year, Nelson.
10. Brain Development
over the First Year of Life: Relations between Electroencephalographic Frequency
and Coherence and Cognitive and Affective Behaviors, Be// & Fox.
11. Development
of Emotional Expression and Emotion Regulation in Infancy: Contributions of
the Frontal Lobe, Dawson.
12. Toward Understanding
Commonalities in the Development of Object Search, Detour Navigation, Categorization,
and Speech Perception, Diamond, Werker, & Lalonde.
13. Variability
in Cerebral Organization during Primary Language Acquisition, Mills, Coffey,
& Neville.
14. Cognitive Psychophysiology:
A Window to Cognitive Development and Brain Maturation, van der Molen &
Molenaar.
IV.
BRAIN ACTIVITY AS A PREDICTOR OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN BEHAVIOR.
15. Short-Term and Long-Term
Developmental Outcomes: The Use of Behavioral and Electrophysiological Measures
in Early Infancy as Predictors, Molfese & Molfese.
16. Temperament, Affective
Style, and Frontal Lobe Asymmetry, Davidson.
17. Neonatal Electroencephalographic
Organization and Attention in Early Adolescence, Parmelee, Sigman, Garbanati,
Cohen, Beckwith, & Asarnow.
18. Dawson, G. and Fischer,
K. (1994). Human Behavior and the Developing Brain. New York: Guilford.