Learning and Cognition in Autism

This volume, like the other eight in the Current Issues in Autism series, grew from our annual TEACCH conference. The book is not, however, simply a compilation of conference proceedings. Instead, selected con ference participants whose work has already achieved national and inter national recognition were asked to develop chapters around their pre sentations. Other recognized experts in areas relevant to the conference theme were also asked to contribute chapters. Although we were not able to include all of the workers who have contributed to the theme, this volume represents our best effort to pull together for our readers the most current knowledge and state of the art practices. Although aspects of cognition, learning, and behavioral motivation have been touched on for relevance to autism in other books in this series, the growing integration of behavioral and cognitive theories has greatly enriched our educational interventions on behalf of autism. While this volume does not include all the fascinating facets of this recent integration, we believe that it offers useful information to teachers, parents, and re searchers on some of the progress produced by their interaction.

Inhalt
I: Introduction and General Issues.- 1 Introduction to Learning and Cognition in Autism.- 2 Cognitive Functioning in Autism: An Overview.- 3 Verbal and Nonverbal Cognitive Processes.- 4 Relationship Between Autism and Learning Disabilities.- II: Thinking and Learning.- 5 Motivating Communication in Children with Autism.- 6 The Assessment and Interpretation of Intellectual Abilities in People with Autism.- 7 A Fresh Look at Categorization Abilities in Persons with Autism.- 8 How People with Autism Think.- III: Social Cognition.- 9 Social and Cognitive Understanding in High-Functioning Children with Autism.- 10 Theory of Mind in Autism.- 11 Executive Functions in Autism.- 12 Facilitating Social Inclusion: Examples from Peer Intervention Programs.- IV: Education and Treatment.- 13 Structured Teaching in the Teacch System.- 14 Cognitive Education of Young Children with Autism: An Application of Bright Start.- 15 Educational Strategies in Autism.- 16 Educational Approaches in Preschool: Behavior Techniques in a Public School Setting.