PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A M Donnellan

Publications and source records attributed to A M Donnellan.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

A group therapy program for individuals identified as autistic who are without speech and use facilitated communication.

The first author directed a group-therapy program of 20 sessions for clients without speech, diagnosed with autism who communicate using facilitated communication. An average of five clients and their facilitators, the leader, and an assistant leader comprised the group. The themes that emerged and the group-development process observed paralleled regular verbal groups in many respects. The success of the project challenges accepted views of person labeled autistic as intractably and inevitably isolated and unreachable.

Adolescent↗

Gaze behavior: a new look at an old problem.

This article reviews the research and clinical literature that has investigated the topography and functions of eye-to-face gaze in normal children and adults. These data and data from a recent pilot study are then compared to the criteria typically used in eye-contact training programs with autistic children. This comparison reveals some educationally relevant discrepancies between the normative data and the training criteria. The need to base educational interventions for autistic individuals on normative standards is discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Adolescent↗