A Parents Guide to Vision In Autistic Spectrum Disorders

By Ian Jordan

The visual world of autism Is often very different to that most people expect. They have difficulties with facial and expression recognition and In this book we detail how we stop the problem in seconds. They have problems with sensory timing and we explain how modifying visual timing and mapping can have so many effects that can change lives - in seconds!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781326144234

Book preview

A Parents Guide to Vision In Autistic Spectrum Disorders

A Parent’s Guide to Vision in Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Ian Jordan

Copyright © 2014, Ian Jordan

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-326-14423-4

Acknowledgements

This book was made possible by my wife, Beatrice, who not only has an extraordinary knowledge of vision in autism, but can achieve results with complex and difficult visual presentations which often astound me. She edited and made changes to the texts that have made extremely complex concepts readable for a parent. Many others have contributed, often more than they realise, thank you. I would like to thank the staff at Jordans in Ayr, Jenny Lynch, Janice Watson, Gillian MacClean, Margaret McCaw, Sally Ann Olivier, In addition Sue Stephenson, Win Wood, Paul Shattock, Paul Whitely, John Anderson, Graham Street, Carol Rutherford, Shona Linton, Mike Gilsennan, Robert Longhurst, Mike Charles, Sarah Brown and probably a thousand others.

The best teachers of all are the children themselves – I’ve learnt a lot from you – thank you

Introduction

It is assumed by many professionals and families that people on the autistic spectrum have similar vision to those who are not on the spectrum. This could not be further from the truth. This booklet is aimed principally at the parents of children on the spectrum, those on the spectrum themselves and professionals who want some basic knowledge of the problems which are faced.

Most people believe that other people perceive the world in a similar way to the way they themselves see it. Some may require spectacles to correct refractive errors but, in essence, what they see and how their bodies react to the visual input are very much the same for all individuals. But what if this assumption is incorrect? What if just about everything the child on spectrum sees can be fundamentally different from that of the general population? It would make the standard eye examination and standard interventions unsafe (although they may be suitable in some cases) and the training of the optical professional inadequate. It is obvious to me (and I suspect most parents and those with knowledge of the sensory processing problems that are so obvious in ASD) that the current optical model requires a fundamental rethink with regard to children (and adults) on the spectrum.

Research into vision and visual processing in ASD is poor. This is due to the way in which ASD is approached in respect to the current optical paradigm, and this, I believe is inappropriate. The diagnosis of autism is based on behaviours observed by a range of professionals and reported difficulties with communications. It does not look for the causes of these difficulties and when there are potentially numerous conditions which can cause symptoms it makes the diagnosis itself somewhat strange. It certainly means that research becomes immediately unreliable as it is quite possible that the research has been conducted on a number of conditions rather than the intended one. It also means interventions based on research may be completely inappropriate. It means that professionals must be trained to an adequate level in recognition of