Can anyone help me with dissertation ideas? (Autism related)

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Hi there,

I'm going into my third year of a BA Early Childhood Studies degree, and for my final year I have to write a 10,000-word dissertation on a topic of my choice. As my 10-year-old brother has recently been diagnosed with autism, I want to focus my dissertation on autism but I don't have an idea as to what I could do yet. Given my degree it obviously has to focus on children.

Does anyone have any ideas on what would I could do and what might be interesting to research? I'm not sure yet how I will get access to children and families of children with autism (apart from my brother) so maybe it will have to be a dry project. I live in the UK by the way.

Thanks for any help in advance.

What interests you most about autism? I suggest you read various topics and find which one catches your fascination, and do something on that topic.

Given that you're focusing on early childhood, you may want to study early diagnosis and/or early intervention as those are big issues for that age group.

One topic I'd be really interested in seeing studied is what impact ABA therapy has on sensory sensitivities, given that ABA trains changes in behaviors motivated by sensory issues (such as avoidance of eye contact) without addressing the underlying sensory sensitivity. If a child who avoids eye contact due to hypersensitivity starts making eye contact, has their sensitivity gone away, or have they just learnt to hide their reaction?

Another topic might be parent-child relationships. Studies show that autistic kids have normal attachment behaviors, despite lower rates of non-attachment social behavior. However, parent accounts often suggest that parents think their autistic children are not attached to them. Do parents tend to underestimate the level of attachment the child would show in the Strange Situation? Does underestimating attachment predict those parents at worst risk of depression and parenting stress? Would teaching parents to recognize their child's attachment behaviors help the parent relate better to the child?

Another intervention study idea - ABA therapy has been extensively studied, but many other treatments, such as Floortime/RDI, have only limited research. One particular question is whether different kinds of kids benefit from different therapies. For example, Elizabeth Newson has described a subtype of kids who react very negatively to direct commands. Are there some children who respond better to Floortime because it doesn't involve giving the child commands?

How about how proposed changes in the DSM-V will affect the services provided to school age children?

As you're in the UK, you might like to post here too.
www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/advice-supp ... upport-502
There are lots of chatty mums on there and you could use the noticeboards to post surveys, etc.

By early childhood, do you mean pre-school?

What about investigating leisure activities? That's something close to my heart, as I've tried so many and found 3 perfect classes. But, I also know parents of ASD kids who've become so embarrassed that they've stopped taking them to any.

I'll have a little think about this and get back to you.

I hope you'll consider doing a study on young girls with ASD. Girls tend to 'fly under the radar,' getting diagnosed at later ages than their male counterparts and, as a result, not getting the appropriate supports through the school system they need and deserve. As any parent of a son with ASD can tell you, it's very hard to get their child the help he needs. For girls, it's often harder, if they even get any help at all.

sorry, I don't have better knowledge about autism.. But hope some one give you better...

One idea could be how some young AS persons are mistreated or bullied by both teachers and other students, because they are often socially naive and/or have challenging behaviors.