OK class, here’s your bonus essay: “Compare and contrast the conditions known as Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).” [some answers below and in Part 2]
The image above may remind you of a Venn diagram, usually overlapping circles, showing similarities and differences in two conditions. Maybe it’s too general, but both ASD and AD can overlap in communication issues, along with other cognitive, social and behavioral issues. The former is thought to be a developmental disorder and improvable, while the latter is characterized by neurocognitive decline (DSM-5).
There is no curative drug therapy for either condition, although some AD drugs have been studied in ASD. Many kinds of non-drug therapies have been tested in both ASD and AD (cognitive training, music and art). Can a specific therapy, Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), developed for the young with ASD, help older folks with AD?
We first met RP, not trained as a CNA caregiver but available for companionship, as a substitute. She happens to be ABA certified with several years experience doing home therapy for kids with ASD, but had never worked with an adult before.
RP provided a fresh and different perspective. CareGiving Old Guy had been adapting to little changes for years now, as verbal abilities became non-verbal clues, interpreting communication issues based on known patterns and expectations.
But RP had a different approach. When they first met, RP asked my wife preference questions for everything, and interpreted every utterance as a bona fide answer. Rather than be assertive to get a task done, like mealtime, RP thought that reluctance was enough of a non-verbal clue to stop.
RP was also quite conversational in a way that others had not been. Although music was always playing, RP started reading some favorite books, rather than turn on the TV. Whenever there was a negative or more overtly cross response, she would stop.
Since our need was companionship time, we did not even know about the usual ABA route: having an assessment done by a consulting analyst, who then develops a treatment plan to be fulfilled by an ABA technician or home therapist like RP. So RP has just used her skills as she deemed appropriate. Our experience is casual and anecdotal.
Has this made a difference? Well, over the months, we’ve also made a number of other small changes. But we think that there’s more engagement, more awareness, more vocalization, perhaps more in the way of interpretable responses. And there are more smiles!
(Of course, one cannot discount the relief of just getting the Old Guy outta the house).
Part 2 will have some of RP’s ideas comparing and contrasting her ASD clients and her only experience wth AD.
