Niche Construction for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
(source: Neurodiversity: More than Just a Good Notion | Dr. Armstrong’s Blog)
This will be a post organising the approach that Thomas Armstrong put forward which I have shown in my posts over the past year.
Niche Construction for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders can be put into a number of categories:
Workplaces
Specialisterne and various offshoots (as well as similar companies) around the world
Specialist People Foundation
Customized employment approach of Griffin-Hammis Associates
Organisations which aim to encourage and support the artistic gifts of Autistics (for example Strokes of Genius)
Programs which aim to employ Autistics in agriculture/on farms (for example TIAA-CREF’s Fruits of Employment program, Bittersweet Farms, and Humana GardenWorks)
Workplace-related issues (thorough pre-work assessment, self-sustaining workplaces, expansion into other types of ‘specialist’ jobs for individuals on various points on the Autism Spectrum, utilisation of splinter skills and special interests at work, and disclosure of an Autism diagnosis in the workplace)
Educational/Vocational training institutions and Learning environment
Specialisterne’s special youth education programme (STU)
AspIT (a Denmark-based vocational IT education course for young people with Asperger Syndrome)
nonPareil Institute in Plano, Texas
Exceptional Minds school and studio in Sherman Oaks, California
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Chairs (for example Freedom Concepts’ Chill-Out Chair, Bean bag chairs, and Ball chairs)
Desks (for example the Desktop Desk or Safco’s AlphaBetter Height-Adjustable Desk)
Interactive Whiteboards (for example the SMART Board, Promethean’s ActivBoard, and Hitachi’s Starboards)
Dynamic lighting systems
Integrating education and healthcare into the same system (for example the Lerner School for Autism and Debra Ann November Wing at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital or DDtrac by Developing Minds Software)
Workplace design, Architecture and Interior design
Universal design-based work environment (for example the Walgreens Outreach initiative, effective communication strategies towards Autistics, providing co-workers of Autistics with the right training/tools to help them succeed, applying a tailored management approach to non-Autistics)
‘Neuro-typical environment’ with generalisation in mind vs the sensory sensitive approach ('Agricultural specialisterne': rural employment revolution for those with Autism - #349 by Visionary7903)
GA Architects
[Mackey Mitchell Architects](https://pheromonetalk.com/t/agricultural-specialisterne-rural-employment-revolution-for-those-with-autism/50615/11(https://pheromonetalk.com/t/specialisterne-leveraging-the-unique-skills-of-autistics-at-competitive-market-terms/50245/74) (founder of ‘With a Brush of Love’)
Assistive technologies
The potential of assistive technologies in the workplace
General resources on Autism-focused assistive technologies as well as a study on results in the workplace
iPrompts (an app for caregivers)
Proloquo2Go (a powerful augmentative communication app for the iPhone and iPad)
Cyrano Communicator (an augmentative communication device)
Talk Blocks for Work
Clothing
Deep-pressure therapy compression and weighted vests (for example the Vayu vest, the Snug vest, the Squease vest, and weighted vests)
Clothes designed to minimise irritation
Modifying clothing items in order to make them ‘softer’ (for example by washing them or via the use of Undercover Tape)
Sleep hygiene/environment
Deep-pressure therapy weighted blankets (for example Protac’s Ball Blanket)
Products to stop the negative effects of exposure to blue light in the evenings (for example blue light blocking glasses/lamps or F.lux)
Anti-allergy bedding
Beds with simple, stable, predictable motion
Exercise and movement
David S. Geslak (president of ‘The Exercise Connection’)
Addie Godinho (owner of Addie’s AutismFITT Club (Functionally Integrated Traditional Training))
Eric Chessen (founder of ‘Autism Fitness’)
Suzanne Moore Gray (CEO and founder of Right Fit Sport Fitness Wellness, also developer of the ‘Raise the Bar’ program)
Joanne Lara (founder of ‘Autism Movement Therapy’ and developer of the aut-erobics DVD)
Occupational Therapy vs Physical Therapy
Diet and Supplementation
Gluten Free/Casein Free Diet
L-Carnosine
Essential Fatty Acids (Omega 3) from Fish Oil or Algae
Vitamin B6 and Magnesium
Music
Punit Yaatri’s BrainHeart Music
Niche construction does not mean that one cannot also work on their ‘weaknesses’
Prevention of challenging behaviour by intensive individualised interventions (for example via Positive Behaviour Support or by utilising DDtrac, specialised data collection software)
Managing meltdowns (for example by using the S.C.A.R.E.D. Calming Technique)
Learning self-defence strategies so that the naive can become a little more ‘street smart’
Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) (for example via Dr. Hayoung Lim’s approach - Developmental Speech and Language Training Through Music (DSLM))
Social skills training (for example via Buron’s book which seeks to help adolescents and young adults who have difficulty understanding and maintaining social boundaries or via MyFriendQuest - a computer game that teaches Autistic children to better recognise and respond to emotions from facial expressions, ensuring that context is provided in all such materials)
Working memory training (for example via the Dual-n-back or Cogmed systems)
Training of learning disabilities that can accompany Autism Spectrum Disorders (for example via the approach pioneered by Barbara Arrowsmith Young)
Neurofeedback/Biofeedback (for example HEG, QEEG-/Connectivity-guided, and HRV)
Developmental interventions (for example Relationship Development Intervention (RDI))
Miscellaneous topics/general items relating to treatments
Taking control of one’s own destiny (for example through The Integrated Self-advocacy Curriculum, learned helplessness and attribution retraining, training of Self-regulation)
Summaries of various Autism treatments (for example Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012 by Siri and Lyons)
A mobile journaling program keeping track of interventions (for example AutismTrack)
Relaxation therapies that put the user in a state of great receptivity to new information (allowing other therapies to work better)
Improving long term therapy compliance (for example making Neurofeedback more ‘fun’ via video games and tweaking parenting style to increase a child’s efforts and persistence)
Utilising teaching methods that are designed for the Autistic target group (for example Joanne Lara’s use of Positive Behavior Support (PBS) in Autism Movement Therapy (AMT) and in Eric Chessen’s Autism Fitness sessions, the use of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA))