MC 2020 Professional Portfolio Academia

Professional Portfolio: Writing Samples
Melissa Crider
B.A. Psychology, 2018
College of Undergraduate Studies
Argosy University
PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO 2
M5A1: Course Project Part II—Practice
ASD: Autism Spectrum Disorder
Melissa Crider
Abnormal Psychology
Argosy University
September 14, 2015

Course Project Part II—Practice
In the American bestseller, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach, we meet
Fletcher. Fletcher does not seem like the other gulls; he has been trying with all of his might to
learn to fly gracefully at any height like the rest of the gulls that Jonathan trains: “Fletcher’s
whipstall at the top was all the worse for this rage and fury at failing […] He fell backward,
tumbled, slammed savagely into an inverted spin, and recovered at last, panting, a hundred feet
below his instructor’s level (Bach, Munson, & Bach, 1970, p. 102).” Fletcher screeched, “You’re
wasting your time with me, Jonathan! I’m too dumb! I’m too stupid! I try and try, but I’ll never
get it (Bach, Munson, & Bach, 1970, p. 102).”
Jonathan encourages at the beach in the evenings, inspiring the gulls. “Each of us is in
truth an idea of the Great Gull, an unlimited idea of freedom, and precision flying is a step
toward expressing our real nature […] Everything that limits us we have to put aside; That’s why
all this high-speed practice, and low-speed, and aerobatics … (Bach, Munson, & Bach, 1970, p.
103).”
Aristotle proclaimed by way of his own thoughtful definition of artist, “We are of the
opinion that, at least, knowledge and understanding appertain to art rather than experience; and
we reckon artists more wise than the experienced, inasmuch as wisdom is the concomitant of all
philosophies rather in proportion to their knowledge […] But this is so because some, indeed, are
aware of the cause and some are not […] For the experienced know that a thing is so, but they do
not know wherefore it is so; but others—and by that I mean the scientific—are acquainted with
the wherefore and the cause (Aristotle, 1991).”
Is the pursuit of knowledge of causation best approached or trusted as an art form or a
science? Is art a science or is science an art form? When it comes down to bolts, the pure
enigma surrounding the fundamental fervent germ forever active in the seed of Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD) begs still for answers with our earnest scores and tomes of research, therapies,
and well-meaning diagnostic procedures. It seems commonsensical that artists and scientists will
do well by society if rolling up their emblematic sleeves in unison in order that a newer more
broadly scoped collaboration might serve to procure firm and fuller answers if perusing the
solemn heart of why and wherefore as the basis of our questions.
In order that deserved ethical pursuit of the intricate task of fitting the current jagged
bulky puzzle pieces of ASD findings coalesces, we must together conjure the birth of a far less
flummoxed map that might crystallize a translucency enabling us to only then refer to our unified
findings of ASD as knowledge. The multifaceted nature of the genesis of ASD and the gaps in
the sole connectivity of our research loom now as if brawny discombobulated boulders, heavily
fated to remain out of connection with each other. This should not be so; while it be still right
and good that we utilize the labs of our known science in order for the continuation of theory, we
must also rise to esteem the proven gifts that genuine practice of interpersonal connection with
ASD folks will surely bring in tandem with our laboratories in order to conscientiously arrive at
a robust deduction of a wholesome cartography in the still uncharted waters of ASD. DSM-5
deducts prematurely; it attempts to reduce the irreducible as of yet. A thing is not reducible until
consensus of such thing is agreed upon as being a thing.
ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder recognizable in infants anywhere from birth to a
year and a half of age. “It afflicts tens of thousands of American children from all
socioeconomic levels and is seemingly on the increase—estimates range between 30 and 60
people in 10,000 […] A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported
that the rate of autism among children is about 1 in 50 […] This reported increase in autism in
recent years is likely due to methodological differences between studies and changes in
diagnostic practice and public and professional awareness in recent years rather than an increase
in prevalence (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2007, p. 528).”
The branch of psychology that is referred to as psychodynamics seems large enough in
scope and breadth to be able to house the many dilemmas inherent in Autistic Spectrum
Disorder/ASD. This is because it deals with the interrelation of the emotional, unconscious, and
conscious mental forces at work which aid in determining one’s personality or motivations in
life.
Autistic children and teens on the spectrum are fascinating human beings who are highly
specialized in certain areas of their brains. This can be seen to the average on-looker as special
talents or knowledge in particular fields or areas. For example, if an ASD child excels naturally
at singing, this is all that he will fixate upon during most of his hours, or if another ASD child
excels in the area of technology, one might find him/her absorbed in hours of seeming play that
otherwise normal folks, or the neuro-typical humans rather, might refer to as work.
Interacting with children/teens on the spectrum is much like dealing with the highly
specialized elite who have earned a Ph.D. versus the more generalized knowledge inherent in
receiving a broader-based B.A. It seems that particular brilliance be at work in these intense and
highly sensitive ASD children and teens, and yet the certain price tag inherent with such
specificity of brilliance is the whole or partial paralysis of their autonomic nervous systems; this
is the stuck skeleton taxing them beneath the wildly colorful and highly specific face of ASD.
Physiology seems pertinent focus in the way of searching remedy or treatment due to the
fact that the brains of those with ASD possess faulty wiring due to the ANS/autonomic nervous
system’s complications. There is a clear correlation between the autonomic nervous system’s
altercations or demise and the behaviors of and in these on the spectrum contenders.
Diagnosing ASD has come down to very specific generalizations—a saddest oxymoron.
“Autism Spectrum Disorder is a new DSM-5 name that reflects a scientific consensus that four
previously separate disorders are actually a single condition with different levels of symptom
severity in two core domains (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, pp.1-2).”
DSM-5 has been updated from DSM-IV-TR with regards to what professionals and we
common folk have grown widely familiar with terming Autism by way of eliminating four
marked subtypes or categories of the disorder: Asperger’s, Autism, Childhood Disintegrative,
and Pervasive Developmental Not Otherwise Specified disorders. “Diagnostic criteria for
intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) emphasize the need for an assessment
of both cognitive capacity (IQ) and adaptive functioning […] Severity is determined by adaptive
functioning rather than IQ score (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).”
ASD characterization is incredibly specific regarding diagnoses: “ASD is characterized
by 1) deficits in social communication and social interaction and 2) restricted repetitive
behaviors, interests, and activities, or RRBs. Because both components are required for diagnosis
of ASD, social communication disorder is diagnosed if no RRBs are present (American
Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 2).”
Among the characteristics that have become the calling cards that broadcast positivity in
having ASD, there exist the common denominators of echolalia, an agreed pathological craving
for routine, a need for sameness, an interpersonal disconnect with regards to typical human eye
contact, a sensitivity to normal noises—and especially to loud or vexing noises, a fixation on
certain repetitive behaviors, and stemming/slapping/vehement shaking of hands or arms, as if…

automatic. These children grow nervous around unpredictable things such as dogs or babies and
they portray a sense of urgency in finding out information that they require in nondescript
moments in sporadic instances within normal conversation.
Glitches abound amidst the professional opinions regarding the new changes to ASD
diagnostics in DSM-5. One work group that critiqued and reported on the changes from DSM-
IV-TR to the newer DSM-5 are not thrilled due to their collective surmising that the new changes
will decrease the diagnosis of ASD given to roughly thirty percent of those who would have
formerly been diagnosed with having Autism. The work group concurs specifically about this
newfound upset:
“We believe the archived data used in a number of these analyses have too many
inherent limitations to assess the criteria proposed for the DSM-5, particularly in
regard to sensitivity and specificity […] Those limitations stem from the study
samples dating to 1994 and the restrictive way data from that sample were
collected and evaluated […] They make any legitimate review and comparison
virtually impossible and do not justify claims that the number of children
diagnosed with ASD under DSM-IV-TR criteria would not qualify for services
under DSM-5 criteria (O'Neal, Connors, & Psychiatry.org, 2014).”
This births the resultant idea that perhaps someone we know today who was formerly
diagnosed with ASD will not meet the criteria anymore. This alone in and of itself marks a new
epoch in the annals of ASD and the conscientiousness of the psychiatric community at large.
This has the capacity to hold serious implications in our society that are beyond calculation in
fathoming at this early half-blind date.

Communicating with those who toil in the field of ASD can come in handy in order to
plug the current working status and human voice aspect into the disorder harmoniously. Mrs.
Ramona Sowa is an Analytic Behavioral Analysis Technician who is currently completing her
B.A. at University of Colorado at the Denver campus as she finalizes her Registered Behavior
Technician certification, majoring in Psychology with a concentration in family counseling.
Due to the known privacy statutes of HIPAA regulations, Ramona conceded that though
she could not offer details regarding specific ASD child clients that she has experienced in her
scope of practice, she would certainly offer answers to my interview questions regarding
behaviors of those with ASD with whom she is or was familiar. She has supervised a summer
club and claims to have worked in-depth with a total of seven children who are diagnosed with
ASD; they range between ages two to fifteen.
Ramona shared something with me that stuck in my mind and has been bouncing around
ever since: “When you have met one person with Autism, you have met one person with Autism
(R. Sowa, Personal communication, August 30, 2015).” This seems counter to the specificity of
measures with regard to diagnostic criteria that lends itself in the new DSM-5. With all of the
findings of the similarities in characteristics with those who have been diagnosed with ASD, it
shocked me that Ramona would offer such contrary personal insight.
In her experience, Ramona claims that ASD differs between those who have it—that it is
difficult to categorize these children/teens, or to rightly presume that they all have the same
similarities. From my research, I disagree, but field practice is apples and theory is oranges. Her
opinion is shared by well-meaning physicians and professionals who say that of all of the
neurodevelopmental disorders found in DSM-5, ASD is “…among the most difficult to

understand and treat […] (and) one of the most severe and puzzling disorders occurring in early
childhood (Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley, 2007, p. 527).”
On the point of DSM-5’s necessary criteria for ASD, one of the items is that one must
show signs of restrictive repetitive behaviors, or RRBs. Ramona had this to share:
“Stemming, as I have observed, usually occurs due to overexcitement […] This
excitement can be due to need to express happy emotion or can originate from
feelings of being overwhelmed, then the kiddo is unable to express this emotion
verbally and the emotion is expressed physically in body movement […] Other
RRB’s are rocking, scripting-repetitive verbalization and even pacing (R. Sowa,
Personal communication, August 30, 2015).”
When I asked Ramona how she would go about treating/providing therapy for a child of
ten years of age who bites, hits, swings at items, and grows enraged by being asked questions,
she said that she could not comment specifically about a specific client, but did offer, “Any child
with behavioral issues should be professionally evaluated at the discretion of the custodial
parents (R. Sowa, Personal communication, August 30, 2015).”
When asked if she believes that ASD children and teens are capable of deep feeling and
of experiencing empathy with others, Ramona enthusiastically responded, “Absolutely! People
with ASD are not void of emotion or the ability to empathize, but rather, the social barrier
surrounding their emotions prevent or decrease their ability to express emotions in the same
socially acceptable ways that neuro-typical people do (R. Sowa, Personal communication,
August 30, 2015).” I concur with this in my personal experience, knowing and trying to relate
rightly to a handful of ASD children/teens.
Finally, I asked Ramona to detail for me some kind of possible semblance of a map of
what it is that signals or prompts these children with ASD to crave an inner balance or a re-
centering of concentration. I touched on lead-filled vests, their heaviness and if this physicality
was somehow relieving. This is how Ramona put it:
“Imagine yourself in a room with all the lights on, a mirror ball spinning, a red
flashing exit sign over the door, many people in the room all talking at the same
time, a radio turned up all the way, elevator music in the background and a
barking dog […] This is what the experience of overstimulation is like in a
kiddo’s brain with Autism […] The need to re-center is the need to ‘tune out’ the
stimulations and quiet the brain in order to be able to focus on one thing at a time
(R. Sowa, Personal communication, August 30, 2015).”
The causal factors regarding ASD are many loose ends that must be carefully braided
together in coming years. Those diagnosed with ASD are known to be short-tempered, easily
upset by strange or seemingly odd occurrences, disturbances, or noises—to which they quickly
become fixated on understanding what it is, why it is occurring and if it could please stop, and
now. Patience, or the reward that it may bring to some, is not seemingly in ASDs’ hard-wiring
or blipping anywhere near their inner biological or genetic radar. Their emotions seem to run
high at such moments of disturbance with little that one can do to calm or rationalize that all is
well.
The fact that this sensitivity characteristic is so prevalent among those with ASD, the
thought beckons: what are the scientific fundaments of such internal registration or relation to
self within these ASD children and teens? What will happen when they are no longer teens and
DSM-5 and the plethora of books on the subject must not specify that ASD be a children’s
disorder? ASD is in a very large way, in its infancy in our society. It has not permeated to its
fullest extent as of yet. When it does, I expect that all eyes will be on helping them.
Likening the genesis and constructional system of emotions that make up a complex
soup, my cousin, Joseph E. LeDoux, the Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science at New
York University in the Center for Neural Science, shares in his newest book Anxious, “I’ve been
promoting the basic idea that conscious feelings are assembled from non-emotional ingredients
for quite some time (2015, p. 227).” Bricolage is a French word used regarding the “idea that
emotions are psychologically constructed states (LeDoux, 2015, p. 227)” wherein a varied array
of fundamental and erratic building blocks are involved, whereas the individual that is
experiencing such is termed as the “bricoleur (LeDoux, 2015, p. 227).” Joe offers:
“It is not often appreciated that there are two distinct classes of physiological
adjustments controlled by the ANS […] The first is an innate physiological
response that anticipates a certain innate behavior […] Thus, when the defense
system detects danger, it initiates both behavioral and physiological responses
that have been wired in by their usefulness […] Metabolic support is needed to
carry out the response to its completion […] Such homeostatic adjustments occur
on the fly rather than by way of innate programming and are regulated by specific
momentary needs of the body […] This helps explain why physiological responses
correlate better with simple innate reactions than with complex learned emotional
behaviors, as the latter can be quite variable from person to person and thus do
not show a reliable pattern across individuals the way responses associated with
innate behaviors do (LeDoux, 2015, p. 58).”

On the subject of any human brain registering pain or pleasure, Joe shares, “I argue that
stimuli that produce conscious feelings of pain and pleasure in humans can involve three separate
neural states: sensory, motivational and conscious (LeDoux, 2015, pp. 143-44).”
The comorbidity of ASD with epilepsy begs to be pursued further in our modern day.
One journal states specific findings in neural connectivity and functional anatomy of the ASD’s
abnormal brain wiring:
“New data suggest abnormally strong activation in parietal cortex during
suppression of distractors, at the same time as integrative regions in prefrontal
and medial temporal cortices are abnormally quiescent […] Non-autistic brothers
of people with autism seem to share the prefrontal and medial temporal
hypoactivation but not the posterior hyperactivation, suggesting that low activity
in integrative brain regions may be an endophenotype reflecting familial patterns
of brain organization that may place individuals at heightened risk for autism
(Society for Neuroscience et al., 2004).”
Heavy metals in the brain can be fatal in some cases and are linked to causal factors in
ASD: “Certain metals, depending on what particular frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum
they are exposed to, such as BASF Carbonyl Iron Powder can actually absorb the microwave
radiation instead of amplifying it […] The basic physics involved in that simple event lends
tremendous insight into what is going on inside the brains, intestines, and all the way down to the
mitochondrial DNA of the EMF sensitive, vulnerable sub-populations such as the unborn,
newborns, infants and school children, and the role these microwave emissions play in Autism
(Imbriano & The Fullerton Informer, 2013).”

Iron is the alleged terrorist of all of the metals associated with ASD. It hides out and
can’t be absorbed easily. One meta-study showed specific results regarding ferritin, iron,
hemoglobin, etc.:
“Iron has an important role on cognitive, behavioral, and motor development.
High prevalence of iron deficiency has been reported in autism […] The sample
was composed of 116 children between 3 and 16 years with a diagnosis of autistic
disorder according to DSM-IV criteria […] Serum ferritin, iron, hemoglobin,
hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, and red cell distribution width values were
measured […] We found that 24.1% of subjects had iron deficiency, and 15.5%
had anemia […] There was a significant positive correlation between age and
ferritin and hematological measures […] Results of this study confirmed that iron
deficiency and anemia are common in children with autistic disorder […]
Conclusion: These findings suggest that ferritin levels should be measured in
subjects with autism as a part of routine investigation (European Journal of
Pediatrics, Herguner, Kelesoglu, Tanidir, & Copur, 2012).”
Genetics point to the Fragile X chromosome as plausibly causal of ASD as well. For the
sake of the following, we now know that Federal Law prohibits text that calls disorders mental
retardation, but instead now refers to it as intellectual disability:
“Fragile X syndrome is currently considered the leading inherited cause of
intellectual disability, with a prevalence of 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 8,000
females […] Diagnosis is based on DNA analysis that usually identifies the
number of CGG repeats in the fragile X mental retardation 1 gene at the Xq 27.3
site on the long arm of the X chromosome […] Individuals with the full mutation
have 200 or more repeats, an expansion that typically is associated with
methylation of the promoter region of the gene that results in deficient or reduced
protein expression […] The fragile X mental retardation protein, or FMRP, is
believed to be essential for normal brain development and function and is
expressed throughout the body, as evident in connective tissue abnormalities and
hyperextensive joints in some individuals with the full mutation […] Carriers of
FXS typically have the premutation with CGG repeats in the 55–199 range […]
Although most permutation carriers do not have intellectual disabilities, they may
have more subtle features such as shyness and anxiety, and they may also have
physical features such as premature ovarian failure and the fragile X-associated
tremor/ataxia syndrome […] FXS is distinct from autism in that diagnosis is
based on DNA tests, not behavioral observations, however, some individuals with
FXS also meet diagnostic criteria for autism (Hatton et al., 2006).”
“Particularly implicated in deficits of long-range connectivity and coordination of
cognitive functions is the cerebellum, one of the most common sites of anatomic abnormality in
autism […] MRI morphometry reveals hypoplasia of the cerebellar vermis and hemispheres, and
autopsy studies report reductions in numbers of cerebellar Purkinje cells […] Moreover, recent
genetic and MRI-behavior correlation studies suggest that cerebellar abnormality may play a
more central role in autism than previously thought […] Neurobehavioral studies have shown
associations between cerebellar anatomic abnormality and certain motor, cognitive, and social
deficits (Society for Neuroscience et al., 2004).”

Treatment of those with ASD is broad in scope with a cornucopia of theories hidden like
Easter eggs all over the allegorical yard of the mental health community. Practice and theory are
still being tested and researched in every capacity imaginable.
“Please let people know that I am an intelligent, autistic girl (NBC 11 Alive, WXIA, &
Watson, 2015).” This was the answer that eleven-year-old ASD diagnosed nonverbal, Graciela,
gave to an interviewer as she tapped it out on an alphabet board that she has learned to utilize in
such fashion in order to communicate with people. Graciela had learned RPM: Rapid Prompting
Method. This method of treating ASD children/teens was created and currently practiced by
Mrs. Soma Mukhopadhyay, from India. Soma is a mother whose son, Tito, is a non-verbal ASD.
Now residing and practicing her coined RPM: Rapid Prompting Method in Austin, Texas, Soma
trains ASD children along with their friends and families to learn and incorporate RPM into their
daily living in order to provide successful communications with ASD children and teens.
RPM “involves constant, faced paced questions, prodding and engaging the child, using
the alphabet board (NBC 11 Alive, WXIA, & Watson, 2015).” The results are now wowing the
scientific community at large. Soma’s son, Tito, is now a young adult and highly esteemed
published East Indian-American poet. When young, Tito elucidated through his poetry what it
feels like to have ASD. He wrote a poem entitled The Mind Tree. The title he chose in and of
itself speaks volumes regarding his own stance, as he feels that he is/was a quite capable and
normal mind that is/was somewhat paralyzed or stuck in/as … a tree. Amazingly close to the
truth of the matter as per science, the autonomic nervous system, or ANS, is somewhat sadly
stuck in those with ASD. A wealth of research is currently going on that delves into the
possibility of harmful EMF rays indirectly attacking the ANS. Cultures that are swimming in
electronics better heed this new research and its findings promptly.
Treatment(s) of non-verbal ASDs is wide and varied, but RPM is shining brightly in the
way of proven results in the area of beneficial interpersonal communications:
“RPM is distinct from other methods as it is based upon how the brain works […]
The aim is to bring the student to maximum learning through the open learning
channel and to elicit the best—not simply to test—out of the child to enable
maximum output in that given time […] As a student's cognitive and motor
proficiency increases, the sophistication of a student's response also improves
[…] It uses prompting to initiate a student's independent response, without
physical support […] In addition to teaching letter-chart pointing, RPM also
utilizes stencils and other drawing exercises to lead to independent handwriting
(Mukhopadhyay, HALO, & White Lion, 2015).”
Treatment methods continue to ripple in the enigmatic ASD pond worldwide. The
mental health community has begun to show higher—and much deserved—professional regard
for integrative or alternative medicines. For example, in PTSD sufferers, it has become widely
known that melatonin aids in their symptoms, helping them to sleep without traumatic memories
haunting to wake them. In the same vein, homeopathic medicine’s resurgence in the medical and
mental health communities holds hope for treating those with ASD, though it admits that doing
so proffers challenges in some cases:
“Autism needs a hardcore-Hahnemannian approach […] Valuable symptoms
including reaction to vaccines, family medical history, thermal sensitivities and
sleep postures form a part of the very detailed information that a physician would
need […] The real challenge is to understand what the child is expressing both
verbally—if s/he is articulate—and nonverbally […] It is only through a deep

understanding that a homeopath is able to prescribe effectively […] Two
medicines require a special mention for their effectiveness in the treatment of
Autism: Carcinocin and Secretin, which neutralizes the excess levels of peptides
[…] Homoeopathic medicines in this scale are faster acting and at the same time
gentler […] They are able to hold the “slipping back” of the old symptoms and
can be used for a longer period with frequent repetitions […] Homeopathic
philosophy is a constant reminder that the greatest healing power lies within the
body itself (Sharma, 2007).”
“There is no single treatment for autism […] Treatments can include intensive
skill-building and teaching educational sessions known as applied behavior analysis,
ABA, and many more interactive, child-centered versions of behavior treatments […]
Treatment may also involve special training and support for parents, speech and language
therapy, occupational therapy and/or social skills training (American Psychiatric
Association, 2015).”
During the final portion of my interview, I asked Ramona if she could please
describe what she believed that ASD is not. She replied, “ASD is not mental retardation,
it is not the fault of the parents, and it is not the same for all kiddos (R. Sowa, Personal
communication, August 30, 2015).” This rang in like high noon tower bells in accord
with Seagull’s end . . .
Moments prior to the darling and tenacious Fletcher’s beloved flight mentor,
Jonathan, was to lift his wise wings to depart for the next realm of being, he passed his
bright torch of having taught many great and small gulls on to the still doubtful and
earnest Fletcher, offering a reckoning to encourage his new solo mission in his absence:
“Don’t you think that there might be other flocks, other Fletchers, that
need an instructor more than this one, that’s on its way toward the
light? […] Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you […] All they
show is limitation […] Look with your understanding, find out what you
already know, and you’ll see the way to fly (Bach, Munson, & Bach,
1970, p. 124-25).”
Perhaps as a society with ASD on the rise, we will do well to begin to learn how they
think and learn instead of trying to have them learn how the neuro-typical learn. The ASD
Fletchers of our world have much brilliance and loveliness to offer our earth and her skies.
References
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*Sowa, R. (2015, August 30). Questions for an ASD Professional [E-mail interview]. See:
Appendix: Transcript of Communication.

*Appendix
Interview with Ramona Sowa – Transcript of Communication
Questions for Autism/ASD Therapist/Professional
The Questions:
From Melissa Crider Sent 8-30-2015 – Email Communication
1. How many children/teens do you treat or have you treated who you have diagnosed with
autism or who have been diagnosed and come to you for care?
2. When people say on the spectrum, can you define that in your own words please?
3. What is your opinion on DSM-IV versus the DSM-V clumping all of the spectrum under
the title of Autism Spectrum Disorder instead?
4. Regarding genetics, do you find that the parents of the children/teens you treat had or have
some proclivity for addiction or other ails or disorders? If so, how often? If not, what do you
make of this?
5. Is it possible for an autistic child to possess also components of schizophrenia?
6. Can you please describe a common RRB/restrictive repetitive behavior that your patients
exhibit?
7. How can OCD/Obsessive Compulsive Disorder not be akin to ASD, or is it?
8. How do you treat/provide therapy for a child of ten years of age who bites, hits, swings at
items, and grows enraged by being asked questions? This girl was raised by her father with an
absent mother and the mother has now re-entered her life at this tender age of ten.
9. Do you believe that an ASD child/teen is capable of deep feeling and of sharing empathy
through certain techniques that you coach him/her through?

10. Which parts of the brain are affected by an agitation or feeling of taxation when having to
make decisions?
11. Have you ever utilized lead-filled life jacket vests that provide a sense of weight/security
around the torso/chest of an autistic child/teen?
12. Please describe the map of the brain and signals that make an ASD child/teen crave an inner
balance or a re-centering of concentration?
13. Do you believe that harmful EMF rays and Thimerosal mercury found in common
vaccinations are suspect for causation to a human being contracting ASD?
14. What are three things that you have learned that ASD is not?
The Answers:
From Ramona Sowa on 9-5-2015 – Email Communication
Hi Melissa,
I am an ABA Line Technician; Analytic Behavioral Analysis is the most studied and
successfully documented therapy for autism in the last 30 years. I have been With Consultants
for Children for nearly 1 ½ years. Line technicians follow the treatment program set up by the
BCBA. It is conducted while taking data of the progress along the way. Changes to the program
are made according to the charted data. I have just completed my Associates degree and am
finishing my BA at UCDC, CU Denver. My major is psychology with a concentration in family
counseling. I am currently completing a Registered Behavior Technician certification.
-Ramona Sowa
Due to HIPAA regulations I cannot write about any current or past clients, I will answer
your questions about behaviors I have witnessed and/or worked with.

1. I have personally worked with 7 clients from age 2 to 15 years old during my
employment. During summer club I supervised many kiddos on field trips.
6. RRB’s are common with some kids with Autism, not all. One noticeable habit is ‘hand
flapping’ sometimes called ‘stemming’ that can be upsetting or feel threatening to others
unfamiliar with this habit. Stemming, as I have observed, usually occurs due to
overexcitement. This excitement can be due to need to express happy emotion or can
originate from feelings of being overwhelmed, then the kiddo is unable to express this
emotion verbally and the emotion is expressed physically in body movement. Other RRB’s
are rocking, scripting-repetitive verbalization and even pacing. See documentary Loving
Lampposts found on Autism Speaks website.
7. It is my understanding that OCD-obsessive compulsive disorder is not genetic (ASD is
genetic), but is a personality disorder, which can be managed successfully through cognitive
behavioral therapy.
8. I cannot comment on this question as it involves a specific person. Any child with
behavior issues should be professionally evaluated at the discretion of the custodial parents.
9. Absolutely! People with ASD are not void of emotion or the ability to empathize, rather
the social barrier surrounding their emotions prevent/decrease their ability to express
emotions in the same, socially acceptable ways neuro-typical people do.
11. Weighted vests, blankets and stuffed animals can be useful for some children in some
circumstances when employed by trained adults.
12. Imagine yourself in a room with all the lights on, a mirror ball spinning, a red
flashing exit sign over the door, many people in the room all talking at the same time, a radio
turned up all the way, elevator music in the background and a barking dog. This is what the
experience of overstimulation is like in a kiddo’s brain with Autism. The need to re-center is
the need to ‘tune out’ the stimulations and quiet the brain in order to be able to focus on one
thing at a time.
13. While I do believe in severely limiting exposure to toxins in the environment and
possibly harmful chemicals, studies have found no correlation to Thimerosal and the
incidence of ASD. It is important to know empirical scientific information regarding
‘rumors’. “A 2013 CDC study [PDF - 204 KB] added to the research showing that vaccines
do not cause ASD. The study looked at the number of antigens (substances in vaccines that
cause the body’s immune system to produce disease-fighting antibodies) from vaccines
during the first two years of life. The results showed that the total amount of antigen from
vaccines received was the same between children with ASD and those that did not have
ASD.” http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html
14. What I have learned that ASD is not; many, many things but here are a few:
ASD is not retardation.
ASD is not the fault of the parents.
ASD is not the same for all kiddos.
When you have met one person with Autism, you’ve met one person with Autism.
Work Sample 2 of 4
Personality Theories
M5A1 LASA 2: Analysis of a Personality – Abraham Maslow
M.L. Crider
Argosy University
January 22, 2018

Analysis of a Personality – Abraham Maslow
a. Maslow’s Major Life Events
Abraham Maslow was born to Jewish Russian parents in Brooklyn, New York. There
are a few major life events and circumstances that I feel may have influenced his personality
development. His parents were uneducated immigrants and he grew up poor. It is said that he
was never close to either parent. His father was mostly absent and made a living prepping
barrels. Maslow had a complete animosity toward his own mother. He literally hated her to
the very core of himself and refused to attend her funeral. He was highly judgmental of her,
claiming that she was dirty, didn’t care about anyone but herself, and didn’t extend love to
Maslow. Sometimes hatred and profound love are not opposite ends of a rainbow, but are
equal in power and passion with a different mood cast upon one side more than the other.
Though he had spent years in therapy trying to get over his mother, in 1969, a year before
he died, page 958 of Maslow’s diary entry stated deep-seated hate and rage toward her: “What I
had reacted against and totally hated and rejected was not only her physical appearance, but also
her values and world view, her stinginess, her total selfishness, her lack of love for anyone else
in the world, even her own husband and children … her assumption that anyone was wrong who
disagreed with her […] The whole thrust of my life-philosophy and all my research and
theorizing also has its roots in a hatred for and revulsion against everything she stood for” (Feist,
2012, p. 252).
It seems Maslow’s mom could have been a narcissistic personality from the sound of this
journaled bit. The children of narcissists have no oxygen in the room left for their own
breathing, metaphorically, but perhaps quite literally at times. The children of narcissistic
parents can spend years going through the wrong relationships that mimic the parent that
caused the wound in order to get over certain aspects, as the body would with an allergy.
Maslow started out in law fighting for the good for others before turning to
psychology when he moved to Wisconsin after getting married. This isn’t surprising if
he is indeed the child of a narcissist. The whole idea of fighting for those who need to be
heard—albeit in a court of law in that profession, would tie in quite seamlessly to his
being the child of a narcissistic parent, always fighting internally to be seen, heard,
appreciated, and understood. The children of narcissistic parenting are also sometimes
overachievers with an inferiority complex to get over.
b. Maslow’s Cultural Influences
There are a few cultural influences that had an influence on Maslow’s
personality development. Maslow was the first-born of seven kids to his poor
immigrant parents in 1908. Times were unimaginably different then in almost every
way. As a driven first-born, he first enrolled in the City College of New York to study
law in an attempt to show his parents he could make something of himself. He
married his first cousin, Bertha, against his parents’ dictates and wishes.
It seems that this rebellious marriage to his cousin catapulted his move to
Wisconsin where he studied psychology and began studying monkeys and their
attachment behavior at the university there. From 1930-1934 Maslow earned his BA,
MA, and PhD all in psychology from this university and then returned to Brooklyn
where he began to rub shoulders in academia with other philosophers and theorists of
that day. Horney, Adler, and Fromm, among others, became his cultural melting pot
of cohorts during such time period. Their perspectives bore on Maslow’s perspective,
no doubt. He also became interested in studying human sexuality after returning to Brooklyn
and being surrounded by like minds.
It seems pertinent that his hierarchy of needs and self-actualization passions that found
their way into his work are essentially rooted in the belief of his that we all have instincts that
must be met and in a certain order in order to survive. Culturally, being of immi grant-descent
and in the middle of 1930s Brooklyn again after his intense studies in Wisconsin, it seems he
was led by cohorts such as E.L. Thorndike of Columbia University, Kurt Goldstein, and
Gestalt and Freudian psychologists in the way of possibly helping to mold and cement his
personality and his path in work in psychology.
“Maslow found that people move toward self-actualization in a certain order and that
they cannot progress to the next level in this hierarchy until they have met the requirements of
the lower levels. Humanism is a philosophical approach which emphasizes the personal worth of
an individual and the centrality of human values” (Argosy, 2017).
c. Maslow from Freud’s Psychoanalytic Perspective
Much could be said regarding Maslow for some of Freud’s basic points in his
psychoanalytic perspective. The ego, repression, and the Oedipus Complex come to mind.
Displacement due to aggravated anxiety could point to why Maslow rebelled and married his
cousin, Bertha due to his hatred for his mother and the rebellion being a displacement in order
to express that energy of victory over her and her opinions about what he should or shouldn’t
do in his life.
Sublimation could have protected Maslow from his hidden anxieties about his mother.
“Sublimation is the repression of the genital aim of Eros by substituting a cultural or social aim.
The sublimated aim is expressed most obviously in creative cultural accomplishments such as
art, music, and literature, but more subtly, it is part of all human relationships and all
social pursuits” (Feist, 2012, p. 41).
The Male Oedipus Complex idea could get tricky with regards to analyzing
Maslow. We might wish to know at which age he decided that he hated his mother
before we dig into this stream of thought. His father was mostly absent, i.e. emotionally
and physically, from what we know, so it is a stretch to believe that before the phallic
stage, that Maslow as an infant formed a close identification with his father or not.
It grows more complicated then for us to know that the next step as per Freud
would be that he desires his mother then sexually—or his wanting to coexist with or have
his mom. Freud basically says that when a boy finally realizes that identifying with his
dad and having his mom to himself are not reconcilable, that the boy then would choose
his mother over his dad because Freud said that this is the more powerful feeling and that
the more powerful feeling will win out. “He desires to do away with his father and
possess his mother in a sexual relationship. This condition of rivalry toward the father
and incestuous feelings toward the mother is known as the simple male Oedipus
complex” (Feist, 2012, p. 44).
The id, ego, and superego were Freud’s first concerns. “The ego, or I, is the only
region of the mind in contact with reality. It grows out of the id during infancy and
becomes a person's sole source of communication with the external world. It is governed
by the reality principle, which it tries to substitute for the pleasure principle of the id”
(Feist, 2012, pp. 29-30). Freud’s psychoanalytic striving might get into the superego in
Maslow’s case. It could be said that repression—the act of a mature superego in its
process of attempting to control aggression and sex—could be at work if we peer into

Maslow’s hatred for his mother and look for repression clues in his relationship with his cousin,
aka his wife.
Perhaps Maslow was a misogynist as a result of loathing his mother so completely.
Perhaps the superego tried to control this sad fact via repression by displacing his rage onto the
taboo treason of marrying a cousin. “The most basic defense mechanism, because it is involved
in each of the others, is repression. Whenever the ego is threatened by undesirable id impulses, it
protects itself by repressing those impulses; that is, it forces threatening feelings into the
unconscious” (Feist, 2012, p. 38). Perhaps love hurt for Maslow and so he attracted someone
that would keep hurting his psyche in some way. “The superego is not concerned with the
happiness of the ego. It strives blindly and unrealistically toward perfection. It is unrealistic in
the sense that it does not take into consideration the difficulties or impossibilities faced by the
ego in carrying out its orders” (Feist, 2012, pp. 30-33).
Freud might have said that Maslow experiences neurotic anxiety, which originates from
the id and its cravings. Never having met Maslow myself, I cannot be sure, but the evidence
about neurotic anxiety seems to stem from an elder or “some other authority figure because they
previously experienced unconscious feelings of destruction against one or both parents” (Feist,
2012, p. 38). “Only the ego can produce or feel anxiety, but the id, superego, and external world
each are involved in one of three kinds of anxiety—neurotic, moral, and realistic. The ego's
dependence on the id results in neurotic anxiety; its dependence on the superego produces moral
anxiety; and its dependence on the outer world leads to realistic anxiety” (Feist, 2012, p. 38).
The psychoanalytic perspective might ask a few of the above ideas.

d. Maslow from Two Other Perspectives
Neoanalytic Perspective – Adler
This perspective birthed individual psychology by Adler in response to Freud’s
psychoanalytical view. It is in its essence optimistic in that a focus of humankind being
one is in view and as per Adler is responsible for the idea of individual psychology. This
view might say of Maslow that he was “striving for superiority or success” (Feist, 2012,
p. 70) instead of Freud’s pointing the finger at sex and aggression being his shining
rudder.
The neoanalytic perspective and people such as Adler pointed to our being
motivated by the influence of social situations, the external forces, and how we compare
ourselves to the external as being culprit to the formation of our personalities more so
than sex and aggression. So, the ego, not the id, would be more responsible for Maslow’s
behavior and his present and future as per this perspective. Maslow would hold the
reigns more over the shaping and formation of his own personality and life.
This perspective also would say that Maslow has the power to be responsible for
who he is where as Freud’s perspective might say that he has no power or choice in the
matter of shaping his own personality, his own life. In addition, this perspective would
give much focus to Maslow’s hopes for his future affecting his personality directly versus
Freud’s hyper-focus on only past experiences shaping our personalities, our destinies. In
this perspective, the sky was the limit for Maslow if he could dream it, he could do it!
This perspective makes us look at ourselves and Maslow as if we are awake, alert,
competent people who can be in charge of our personalities by the way we perceive
ourselves in the present. Freud emphasized the unconscious as being boss over us.
“Adler believed that psychologically healthy people are usually aware of what they are doing and
why they are doing it” (Feist, 2012, p. 70).
In essence, the neoanalytic perspective rebelled against the Freudian psychoanalytic
perspective in that they “disagreed about the central drives that acted as the core of human
motivation. Freud believed we were driven by desires of pleasure or sex while Adler voted that
we must take the environment into account when considering what drives us, what drove
Maslow.
Lastly, this perspective gives much credo to the ego striving for superiority and in
Maslow’s case, all of his degrees and accomplishments might suggest that if indeed he had an
inferiority complex, his striving for success, power, or superiority might have been born from
such, but that he has ultimate say or choice over his personality. The beauty of this perspective
is a yearning that Adler believed we all have. He believed we all are striving to satiate an inner
urge to build friendships/be social, experience intimacy/love and marriage, and that we deeply
wish to contribute to society/occupation. “According to Adler, individuals who do not learn to
develop meaningful friendships built on trust and honesty would be continually handicapped as
they progress through life and may then experience a lifelong pattern of unsatisfying or
unhealthy relationships” (Feist, 2012, p. 70).
Social Learning Perspective – Rotter
This perspective places emphasis on cognitive factors being in full focus with regards to
Maslow’s personality formation. It would try to place more importance on situations external in
our lives for predicting our behaviors. It might say of Maslow that his over-achieving was a
result of external factors like his parents being poor uneducated immigrants in the United States
catapulting his drive to therefore succeed. It would place more emphasis on these external
factors of Maslow’s life than on the focus of merely himself and his ideas of himself.
“Rotter developed a formula for predicting future behaviors based on the knowledge of
one’s behavior potential, expectancy, reinforcement value, and psychological situation”
(Argosy, 2017).
This social learning perspective would expect that Maslow would act depending
upon what he believed might or could occur with each choice he made. It is optimistic in
the way that it assumes that Maslow would go for the behavior that might produce the
best outcome. For example, perhaps it would try to unravel why Maslow chose that it be
better to attend the University of Wisconsin instead of to stay in his hometown of
Brooklyn to achieve all of his degrees in psychology.
This perspective would say that he expected the best outcome in Wisconsin
instead of in Brooklyn. It would also ask if getting his degrees was worth the risk of
relocating with his wife to another state. This perspective would help us to understand
the individual and his choices in this way. “The psychological situation is the subjective
determination made by the person about the given situations” (Argosy, 2017). Rotter
believed that we are driven by a deep desire to get the best or most positive results while
avoiding being punished, avoiding negativity.
Like the neoanalytic perspective, this social learning perspective would agree that
Maslow’s personality was more a direct result of his environs. “He claimed that at the
heart of a person’s behavior was not the actual reinforcement of the behavior, but rather
the person’s perception of that reinforcement and the amount of control they have over
achieving the reinforcement, something which he termed locus of control” (Argosy,
2017).
So, this perspective would focus on asking if Maslow felt or held a true inner belief about
himself that he felt in control of the situations in his direct environment; then, it would ask how it
affects Maslow’s personality, his ideas, his volition in life. This seems ego-based as it asks the
subject what it/he thinks of his own life and his own circumstances. It almost seems as if a level
of pride or confidence temperature were being taken with the subject—in this case, Maslow.
“People with strong internal loci of control believe that they are responsible for the outcomes in
their lives […] Whereas people with strong external loci of control believe that the outcomes in
their life are controlled by others, chance, or fate” (Argosy, 2017).
e. Evaluation on 3 Above Perspectives’ Effectiveness Regarding Maslow
As a result of taking this course in personality theories, I have begun to believe that no
single theory can comprehensively stand on its own in the way of being able to fully
encompass the fundaments of one’s personality formation. This may be an unpopular
opinion, I am unsure if others feel this way. Regarding the three perspectives remarked upon
above and how they might or might not be effective with regards to understanding Maslow’s
personality, firstly, I look to Freud and psychoanalysis.
Though the psychoanalytic perspective is still hailed by some and refuted harshly by
others, I must say that I believe that on one hand, trying to explore the id, the unconscious
nature of Maslow might lead us to much in the way of answers about Maslow’s personality,
but on the other hand, the unconscious still remains to be a huge and ambiguous abyss; how
can we ever know if we’ve truly hit upon rock, if we have truly arrived at the bottom of one’s
ocean in this perspective? Much could be overlooked and much could be misrepresented with
Freud’s perspective. There is no straight line demarcating the origins of our sex drive and
pleasure inclinations and then connecting such a line to specific behaviors and the
understanding of those behaviors.
The neoanalytic perspective perhaps holds a bit of promise, though the
parameters are roomy and curious as well. Our being motivated by striving for
superiority and by the influence of social situations, the external forces, and how we
compare ourselves to the external as being culprit to the formation of our personalities
more so than sex and aggression seems to hold water in my mind.
I believe that much can be gleaned into Maslow’s life if we are to utilize this
perspective and truly take note of what went on around Maslow—the cultural influences,
the fact that he married his cousin and what that means in a sense of morals or customs in
our society. I believe also that with regards to Maslow, this perspective perhaps rightly
points us in a surer direction than does Freud’s perspective into the inside of Maslow if
we look at how he strove for superiority in his field of psychology.
The building block kind of way that the social learning perspective gives us in
relation to events that occur in one’s life and how that directs us toward new paths due to
reward and positive outcomes may give a glimmer of ideas into Maslow’s personality,
but not as much as the neoanalytic view might. I believe, however, that due to Maslow’s
pure hatred for his mother, that this perspective that focuses on the external forces in our
lives might not allow us to truly know Maslow from the inside, as Freud’s might try to
do. This perspective might allow us to ironically see Maslow’s volitions, his motivations
from the outside as well, instead of from a more personal view as would Freud’s
perspective.
References
Argosy University Online. (2017). Personality Theories. Module
5. Rotter’s View. Retrieved from http://www.myeclassonline.com
Feist, J., Feist, G., Roberts, T. (2012). Theories of Personality, 8th Edition [VitalSource
Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/1260050815
Work Sample 3 of 4
Cognitive Psychology
M5A1 LASA 2: Generating a Policy Proposal
M.L. Crider
Argosy University
June 19, 2017

We live in a day and age when machines save us and machines kill us. Merely two years
ago, Erie Insurance did a survey of their covered drivers and found that people do all sorts of
hazardous things while driving “including brushing teeth and changing clothes
(StoptheTextsStoptheWrecks.org, 2017)”. Some drivers apply mascara in the rear-view mirror,
edit business proposals via email, and play smartphone games while behind the wheel.
Have we created a Frankenstein? On one hand, if one is in a car crash, a cell phone
proves handy to be able to call for help. Conversely, cell phones are rapidly contributing to
America’s annual death count with the rate of car crashes due to the distractibility factor that cell
phones inflict. “In the United States, crashes involving distracted drivers result in nearly 3,300
fatalities and 400,000 injuries annually; of the fatal crashes involving distracted drivers, 12% are
attributed to cell phone use at the time of crash (Eluru & Yasmin, 2016, p. 280).”
If we truly yearn for application of current cell phone bans while driving, then a blanket
policy that enforces cell phone and vehicle companies to utilize strict technology in unison which
makes all phone apps--except navigational map apps and the dialing of 911/emergency--literally
inactive, unable to operate at the cell phone or automobile’s sensing of motion via Bluetooth. I
propose this policy technology be coined, Disable All. There is plenty else to be distracted by
when driving and we must take cell phone use out of the death and injury toll equation in so
much as it is possible. This kind of technology, though some may bark at the notion of it
restricting their freedom, every man, woman, and child deserve to experience true freedom of
safety while in transit on our roadways alongside every other driver in America.
Something is not working with status quo phone/text bans due to death numbers not
adding up as inversely proportional to recent bans. “A Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI)
analysis released in October 2014 found that although state bans on hand-held phone use by
drivers have lowered phone use behind the wheel, they have not produced a similar drop in
crashes (III, 2016).”
“Drivers in their 20s account for 33 percent of the distracted drivers that were using cell
phones in fatal crashes (StoptheTextsStoptheWrecks.org, 2017)”. “The use of all cellphones by
novice drivers is restricted in 38 states and the District of Columbia; text messaging is banned for
all drivers in 47 states and the District of Columbia (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Highway Loss Data Institute, 2017).” With the credibly tallied recent reported fatalities and
severe injuries annually in our country, why is the rise of bans gravely proportional to a rise in
cell phone-distracted driving incidents? Enforcement for status quo bans is not possible in a
ubiquitous sense due to too many variables by humans and not enough tracking by machines.
Distracted driving is being referred to as, “a dangerous epidemic on America’s roadways
(StoptheTextsStoptheWrecks.org, 2017).” Based on assessments from just two years ago, “there
were 3,477 people killed and an estimated additional 391,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes
involving distracted drivers (StoptheTextsStoptheWrecks.org, 2017).” Other definitions aim at
further specificity: “NHTSA defines distraction as a specific type of inattention from the driving
task to focus on some other activity; distracting tasks can affect drivers in different ways and can
be grouped into three categories: visually distracting, manually distracting and cognitively
distracting—all these types of distractions can increase crash risk (National Conference of State
Legislatures, Essex, & Shinkle, 2017).”
“In Photo A below, we see that 14 states currently provide hand-held bans and in Photo B
below, we note that only 3 states do not provide texting bans. “Ten percent of fatal crashes, 15
percent of injury crashes, and 14 percent of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes in
2015 were reported as distraction-affected crashes (StoptheTextsStoptheWrecks.org, 2017).”
Additionally, youth car crashes tally up to roughly one third of distracted drivers.
Photo A: (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute, 2017)
Photo B: (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute, 2017)
Analysis and Comparison of Current Research on Cognitive Effects
of Phone Use, Intoxication, Age, Gender, and Other Factors While Driving:
Two fatal threats with respect to distractibility persist that make cell phones and driving
like oil and water. “First, drivers must take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel to
manipulate the devices when dialing, texting and surfing the Web. Second, people can become
so absorbed in their conversations and other uses that their ability to concentrate on the act of
driving is severely impaired (III, 2016).” “All of the laws allow emergency calls, most allow
hand-held dialing, and some allow talking when stopped in traffic, at controlled intersections, or
on the side of the road (McCartt, Kidd, & Teoh, 2014).”
In 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported, “Cell
phones were reported as a distraction for 13 percent of all distracted drivers in fatal crashes (III,
2016).” The best scare for last: “3 states restrict school bus drivers from texting (Teigen &
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2016).” Only 3 of all of the United States restricts
school bus drivers from texting?
Age and gender are factors: “According to a 2016 State Farm survey, teens who reported
using their smartphone while driving were much more likely to report being involved in a crash
while driving, and exhibiting other dangerous driving behaviors including speeding, failing to
wear a seatbelt, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
(StoptheTextsStoptheWrecks.org, 2017).” Our teens are openly admitting distractibility
regarding their use of phones while driving. In addition, statistics show that women and the
elderly are more prone to distractibility. “Women are more likely to cross a line at an
intersection whether they are on a phone call or not when compared to men and that younger
drivers are less likely to cross the intersection line if taking an incoming call than older drivers
(Eluru & Yasmin, 2016, p. 280).”
Credible in-depth studies from recent years form a loud chorus, belting highest notes in
unison of the danger of cell phone use in general while driving. One study regarding accident
analysis and prevention posits, “Response time for drivers is slowed down to life-threatening
degree while using cell phones and operating a vehicle (Eluru & Yasmin, 2016, p. 280)”.
Another study takes note of shared attention and driver distraction when comparing and
contrasting a driver talking to other passengers versus talking on the phone. “The number of
driving errors was highest in the cell phone condition; in passenger conversations, more
references were made to traffic, and the production rate of the driver and the complexity of
speech of both interlocutors dropped in response to an increase in the demand of the traffic
(Drews, Pasupathi, & Strayer, 2008).”
At the Department of Experimental Psychology in Dusseldorf, Germany, researchers took
up a study that focused upon actual ringtones of cell phones acting as auditory distraction and the
effects when correlative to memory. Ringtones are precisely meant to be distracting. Hello?
“Attentional orienting and working memory (Röer, Bell, & Buchner, 2014, p. 35)” were topics of
focus. The researchers proved the focus--versus distraction—capability, coupled with the
consequences relating to driving and delay with regards to cell phone ringtones on short-term
memory and on working memory, relates to different specified cognitive tasks, such as driving.
“Three naturalistic studies estimated the risk associated with texting, producing widely
divergent estimates of risk; in a study of drivers who frequently used their phones while driving,
the risk of a crash, near-crash, or crash-relevant conflict was about two times higher when
drivers were texting compared with just driving or driving without using a phone (McCartt,
Kidd, & Teoh, 2014).” The ode just keeps getting longer with regards to stark cold evidence.
All of the studies seem to comport that the danger of cell phones in vehicles seem to be
best likened to holding a campfire in one’s very own vehicle. In yet another hot study,
researchers “provide support for a mere presence effect of a cell phone in reducing attentional
capacity and performance, but only when the task was more attentionally and cognitively
demanding (Thornton, Faires, Robbins, & Rollins, 2014, p. 483).” Driving is.
Recommendations for Public Policy: “Disable All”
Many a well-meaning police officer simply may not see a person on a cell phone when
driving or texting under the seat, so the question becomes, how are we to ubiquitously enforce
such current and future bans on cell phone uses? What if a police officer is parked on the side of
an intersection checking his own phone’s email or taking a call from a dispatcher and misses a
zooming car that just pushed through a red light while the driver was texting in plain view?
There exists a missing link, a chink in the car/cell armor, with our country’s status quo
cell/text bans with proportionally-rising fatalities and severity of injuries sustained in crashes that
involve the distractibility of cell phone use. We require more prevalent awareness, more money
spent on media/advertising that can incentivize the fear of driving while using one’s cell phone
in almost any capacity other than using a map to successfully navigate to destinations.
We need a new policy that digs deeper than relying on drivers not using their phones!
We must begin to account for the fact that we humans are riddled folk; we must concede that we
are highly susceptible to temptation of all kinds and when temptation exists to multi-task in this
swirling technological day and age—even when our sole lives are at stake behind the wheels of
our own cars, laws must be put in place that remove the human reliance/enforcement factor out
of it completely. We must put our Tech-Frankensteins to work … if we wish to live.
If we truly yearn for successful application, vis-à-vis enforcement, of current cell phone
bans while driving, then a blanket policy that enforces cell phone and vehicle companies to
utilize strict technology in unison which makes all phone apps except navigational map apps and
the dialing of 911/emergency literally inactive--unable to operate at the cell phone or
automobile’s sensing of motion, say over 5 mph—since a typical human cannot walk or run this
fast without being in a moving object. This would present conflicts if travel/motion when on a
train, subway, or airplane, when most people use that time to work on their phones, but there
already exist safety settings for airplane use within cell phones and we can trust this can become
hybrid with regards to Disable All legal feature with regards to trains, subways, and taxis.
Technology must further befriend the serious responsibility of precluding deaths and also
join to create settings that detect if a person is behind the wheel of a vehicle driving or not.
Google maps already utilizes detection technology that enables a cell phone app to detect when
one has successfully arrived at a destination, so surely there is promise for detection of a driver
or passenger that would work in tandem with the proximity of motion detection of moving
vehicles. There must exist a way that science can lend itself to safer roadways in America.
Recommendations for Future Research
The teen population needs further research, intervention by communities, and training
programs to affect their sense of imminent danger when it comes to using phones when driving.
In a study, it was found that teens are open-minded to learning. “Teens were willing to reduce
the morbid riskiness of using cell phones when driving if a safer idea was found (McDonald &
Sommers, 2015, p. 53).” The study’s premise proved that we must reframe teens’ ideas of using
cell phones while driving being like risking death. Teens do not grasp the actual gravity of it
being a death threat without our investing our communities’ money in programs and further
research in incentivized education with regards to them being roughly a third of distractibility
crashes annually in our country.
Further research must also be done with regards to constitutional rights of everyone’s
freedom—not just the individual’s freedom to use a phone while driving—and how further
legislature could stand for the freedom of all on the open roads, not just the individual.
Operating a vehicle is, after all, rarely a sport that we do by our lonesome; there are typically
other drivers out there in a hurry sharing the pavement with us.
Special research focus might also be placed upon studies that involve new-age taxi
services and their drivers, such as Uber, BluCar, and Lyft. Perhaps the Disable All policy/feature
presented herein should be tested with aforementioned taxi companies before it is made for the
public so that assessments regarding foolhardiness, errors, and crashes can be made as a step one
regarding the implementation of my Disable All policy that works in conjunction with cell
phones, a person’s physical body and its proximity to a steering wheel or acceleration pedal, and
the vehicle’s navigational and phone dialing/texting current technologies. Basically, if the foot is
on the accelerator, Disable All kicks into gear; if the foot is on the brake, it is in remission.
Lastly, we must provide further research and necessary incentivized financial investments
to connect cell phone and automobile companies in their advances in technology and enforce
then that they must marry the two technologies in tandem with moving legislative policies in our
states that state that by law cell phone companies and automobile companies with their Bluetooth
capabilities for navigational and phone/text capabilities must legally comply with incorporation
of the disable feature of absolutely all phone apps except maps/navigation and the phone’s ability
to ring 911/emergency.
The Disable All policy should at minimum include: 1. Disable all apps but navigational
maps and 911 calls, 2. Enable monitoring of speed being able to immediately turn the disable
feature on if the vehicle is moving over 5 mph, and 3. The cell phone and automobile’s
awareness of the presence of driver and phone in proximity to one another must be active.
In conclusion, with the plethora of credible researchers, sources, and technologies being
utilized and born today, someone is dying this very second due to distracted driving that involved
cell phone use in some way. When our accurate studies are finding, “a fourfold increase in crash
risk associated with phone conversations; the increased risk was similar for hands-free and hand-
held phone use (McCartt, Kidd, & Teoh, 2014)”, then it is up to us to urgently implement
policies and firm simple laws that are able to be enforced, tracked, and that work inversely
proportional to death tolls in our country. We must, in all irony, begin to rely on machines with
regards to this policy idea, not humans, for our very lives on our roadways.
References
Drews, F. A., Pasupathi, M., & Strayer, D. L. (2008). Passenger and cell phone conversations in
simulated driving. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 14(4), 392-400.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.edmc.edu/10.1037/a0013119. Retrieved on June 2, 2017
from http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/614492876?pq-
origsite=summon&http://search.proquest.com/psycarticles
Eluru, N., & Yasmin, S. (2016). Disentangling the influence of cell phone usage in the
dilemma zone: An econometric approach, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 96,
2016, Pages 280-289, ISSN 0001-4575, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2015.11.036.
Retrieved on June 2, 2017 from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457515301512
III - Insurance Information Institute. (2016, June). Distracted driving. Retrieved June 17, 2017,
from http://www.iii.org/issue-update/distracted-driving
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute. (2017, June). Distracted
driving: Cellphones and texting. Retrieved June 16, 2017, from
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/cellphonelaws/maptextingbans?topicName=Distracte
d+driving#map
McCartt, A. T., Kidd, D. G., & Teoh, E. R. (2014, March). Driver cellphone and texting bans in
the United States: Evidence of effectiveness. Retrieved June 17, 2017, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4001674/
McDonald, C. C., & Sommers, M. S. (2015). Teen Drivers' Perceptions of Inattention and Cell
Phone Use While Driving. Traffic Injury Prevention, 16(2), S52-S58.
doi:10.1080/15389588.2015.1062886. Retrieved on June 2, 2017 from

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=2
7ccef42-3187-489a-b403-58b76830ad3a%40sessionmgr4008&hid=4109
National Conference of State Legislatures, Essex, A., & Shinkle, D. (2017, April 4).
Transportation: Traffic safety trends state legislative action 2016. Retrieved June 12,
2017, from http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation.aspx
Röer, J., Bell, R., & Buchner, A. (2014). Please silence your cell phone: Your ringtone captures
other people's attention. Noise & Health, 16(68), 34-9.
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StoptheTextsStoptheWrecks.org. (2017). Driving facts. Retrieved June 15, 2017, from
http://stoptextsstopwrecks.org/tagged/facts
Teigen, A., & Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (2016, March 10). Cellular phone use and
texting while driving laws. Retrieved June 14, 2017, from
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driving-laws.aspx
Thornton, B., Faires, A., Robbins, M., & Rollins, E. (2014). The mere presence of a cell phone
may be distracting: Implications for attention and task performance. Social Psychology,
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B.A. Psychology, 2018

College of Undergraduate Studies

M5A1: Course Project Part II—Practice

ASD: Autism Spectrum Disorder

September 14, 2015

Course Project Part II—Practice

In the American bestseller, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach, we meet

get it (Bach, Munson, & Bach, 1970, p. 102).”

the wherefore and the cause (Aristotle, 1991).”

Is the pursuit of knowledge of causation best approached or trusted as an art form or a

solemn heart of why and wherefore as the basis of our questions.

consensus of such thing is agreed upon as being a thing.

ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder recognizable in infants anywhere from birth to a

socioeconomic levels and is seemingly on the increase—estimates range between 30 and 60

in prevalence (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2007, p. 528).”

The branch of psychology that is referred to as psychodynamics seems large enough in

severity in two core domains (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, pp.1-2).”

marked subtypes or categories of the disorder: Asperger’s, Autism, Childhood Disintegrative,

functioning rather than IQ score (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).”

ASD characterization is incredibly specific regarding diagnoses: “ASD is characterized

by 1) deficits in social communication and social interaction and 2) restricted repetitive

of ASD, social communication disorder is diagnosed if no RRBs are present (American

Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 2).”

contact, a sensitivity to normal noises—and especially to loud or vexing noises, a fixation on

certain repetitive behaviors, and stemming/slapping/vehement shaking of hands or arms, as if…

moments in sporadic instances within normal conversation.

under DSM-5 criteria (O'Neal, Connors, & Psychiatry.org, 2014).”

fathoming at this early half-blind date.

Technician certification, majoring in Psychology with a concentration in family counseling.

ASD; they range between ages two to fifteen.

shocked me that Ramona would offer such contrary personal insight.

neurodevelopmental disorders found in DSM-5, ASD is “…among the most difficult to

childhood (Butcher, Mineka, & Hooley, 2007, p. 527).”

“Stemming, as I have observed, usually occurs due to overexcitement […] This

Personal communication, August 30, 2015).”

parents (R. Sowa, Personal communication, August 30, 2015).”

of experiencing empathy with others, Ramona enthusiastically responded, “Absolutely! People

rightly to a handful of ASD children/teens.

was somehow relieving. This is how Ramona put it:

barking dog […] This is what the experience of overstimulation is like in a

(R. Sowa, Personal communication, August 30, 2015).”

adjustments controlled by the ANS […] The first is an innate physiological

system detects danger, it initiates both behavioral and physiological responses

innate behaviors do (LeDoux, 2015, p. 58).”

abnormal brain wiring:

“New data suggest abnormally strong activation in parietal cortex during

suppression of distractors, at the same time as integrative regions in prefrontal

in integrative brain regions may be an endophenotype reflecting familial patterns

(Society for Neuroscience et al., 2004).”

(Imbriano & The Fullerton Informer, 2013).”

“Iron has an important role on cognitive, behavioral, and motor development.

disorder according to DSM-IV criteria […] Serum ferritin, iron, hemoglobin,

Conclusion: These findings suggest that ferritin levels should be measured in

subjects with autism as a part of routine investigation (European Journal of

Pediatrics, Herguner, Kelesoglu, Tanidir, & Copur, 2012).”

retardation, but instead now refers to it as intellectual disability:

“Fragile X syndrome is currently considered the leading inherited cause of