SESSION 7: 3.50-5:00pm (Part A)
Room LK304/305
Thinking about Housing with Executive Functions in Mind
About this session:
Housing with one’s true peers makes sense and is most fulfilling for young adults. What kinds of executive skills need to be in place or compensated for in order for shared housing to succeed? Could it be that a mix of spectrum young people and others with different challenges would make a good mix for shared housing?
Executive function deficits have been in evidence in every person I've known on the autism spectrum. Sometimes these interesting presentations are overshadowed by the more autistic symptoms (poor speech, stimming) but most of the time, especially with those higher on the spectrum, the executive deficits are actually the most challenging part of the person’s life.
I will discuss executive functions in the most pragmatic way, demonstrating how they are needed to accomplish everyday living skills. I will discuss ways to deal with executive deficits. I break them down into separate skills and abilities while always illustrating how they are actually inseparable. I will give examples of how autistic symptoms are sometimes not what they seem to be. For example, is difficulty with social behavior the same in all or most autistic individuals? Or can we see social errors as failures of planning, empathy, or working memory?
For shared housing to work, someone must keep track of deadlines and schedules, or else help is needed. Similarly, time must be managed by each individual and by the group. Are meals made together once a week, daily, never? Who does the grocery shopping? Who cleans? Most importantly, are each resident’s days filled with meaningful activities, carried out without supervision? If not, how much “hired help” is needed to keep the young adults semi-independent?
I think shared housing with some assistance is the wave of the future for spectrum individuals. I hope I can inspire others to see it as I do.
Nancy Perry, PhD, is a psychologist who specialized in Neuropsychology. She moved easily from training in brain injury to the study of executive functions. For 15 years she was the Clinical Director of a residential and comprehensive services program for adults on the autism spectrum. In that role she came to know hundreds of people with autism, Asperger’s, PDD-NOS, and other related diagnoses. She has also trained many staff, developing a counseling model tailored to help people with executive deficits, who could not benefit from traditional insight-oriented counseling or therapy. Nancy also wrote a book entitled Adults on the Autism Spectrum Leave the Nest: Achieving Supported Independence.
Materials:
december_2016_presentation.pptx
Room LK304/305
Thinking about Housing with Executive Functions in Mind
About this session:
Housing with one’s true peers makes sense and is most fulfilling for young adults. What kinds of executive skills need to be in place or compensated for in order for shared housing to succeed? Could it be that a mix of spectrum young people and others with different challenges would make a good mix for shared housing?
Executive function deficits have been in evidence in every person I've known on the autism spectrum. Sometimes these interesting presentations are overshadowed by the more autistic symptoms (poor speech, stimming) but most of the time, especially with those higher on the spectrum, the executive deficits are actually the most challenging part of the person’s life.
I will discuss executive functions in the most pragmatic way, demonstrating how they are needed to accomplish everyday living skills. I will discuss ways to deal with executive deficits. I break them down into separate skills and abilities while always illustrating how they are actually inseparable. I will give examples of how autistic symptoms are sometimes not what they seem to be. For example, is difficulty with social behavior the same in all or most autistic individuals? Or can we see social errors as failures of planning, empathy, or working memory?
For shared housing to work, someone must keep track of deadlines and schedules, or else help is needed. Similarly, time must be managed by each individual and by the group. Are meals made together once a week, daily, never? Who does the grocery shopping? Who cleans? Most importantly, are each resident’s days filled with meaningful activities, carried out without supervision? If not, how much “hired help” is needed to keep the young adults semi-independent?
I think shared housing with some assistance is the wave of the future for spectrum individuals. I hope I can inspire others to see it as I do.
Nancy Perry, PhD, is a psychologist who specialized in Neuropsychology. She moved easily from training in brain injury to the study of executive functions. For 15 years she was the Clinical Director of a residential and comprehensive services program for adults on the autism spectrum. In that role she came to know hundreds of people with autism, Asperger’s, PDD-NOS, and other related diagnoses. She has also trained many staff, developing a counseling model tailored to help people with executive deficits, who could not benefit from traditional insight-oriented counseling or therapy. Nancy also wrote a book entitled Adults on the Autism Spectrum Leave the Nest: Achieving Supported Independence.
Materials:
december_2016_presentation.pptx