There Is a Fine Line…
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10/10/2017 There is a fine line… Bianca Hynes, M.A., Eszter Kiss, M.A., LPC WV Autism Training Center, Marshall University LEARNING OBJECTIVES Participants who attend this presentation will be able to: Identify how social communicational deficits affect the ability of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder to form and maintain healthy relationships. (Through case study presentations) Learn how to best assess and differentiate between situations that involve behaviors defined as stalking or sexual harassment, and behaviors unique to individuals with ASD due to the challenges in the area of social communication and social interaction. Create an individualized plan to address cases involving inappropriate behaviors in relationships. Common myth and misconception “Individuals living with ASD are not interested in romantic relationships…” How do you feel about Romantic Relationships? Are romantic relationships something you have desired or picture for yourself? 1 10/10/2017 What we know about ASD and romantic relationships… Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder desire and seek relationships. Social communicational deficits often affect and pose challenges to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder to form and maintain healthy relationships. Due to social ineptness, caused by social communication and social interaction deficits, individuals with ASD may engage in inappropriate or intrusive dating behavior as an attempt to initiate interpersonal relationships, which can lead to serious consequences (Stoke & Newton,2004). The rules of dating… how do you know them? We learn about dating and gain our knowledge and skills about social and romantic relationships from engaging with, and observing peers, friends, as well as from different sources of media. Due to core deficits of ASD, such as impairment in communication and social reciprocity, which leads to difficulty with socialization and development of meaningful social relationships; individuals with ASD often have less access to peers and friends as a source of learning to acquire social and romantic skills and knowledge. Stalking, and Social and Romantic Functioning Among Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder by Stokes, Newton and Kaur, 2007 Challenges due to Unrealistic expectations Information learned from media can often be misinterpreted and/or misused, that lead to frustration, anger, and inappropriate behaviors. College = sex Media Influences (animal house) Understanding concepts such as “Friends with benefits” Ability to judge (“Bad”) advice from peers Goals vs. understanding limitations Age vs. Developmental Age (why am I not ready) Why is this not happening for me? 2 10/10/2017 There is a fine line… “In society, there is a blurry distinction between what constitutes acceptable and inappropriate relationship behaviors. To initiate a relationship, it is not unusual for a person to ask the target of their interest out on a date, telephone them, send them letters, wait for them outside work, or make other attempts to initiate social contact. There is a subtle distinction between these appropriate and inappropriate forms of these behaviors. Persistent unwanted attention via any of these behaviors is typically utilized to distinguish between harassment and appropriate courting (Ravensberg & Miller, 2003). Stalking involves repeated or persistent unwanted attempts to communicate with or associate with another (Mullen, Pathe´ , Purcell, & Stuart, 1999). The fine line between these two is not often clearly drawn. Most particularly, it may be unclear to a person who has experienced considerable social rejection and exclusion over their whole life, learning that associations with others are only available with persistence. Confusion, or lack of awareness, of what is and is not regarded as appropriate courtship behavior, together with the desire for intimate relationships, limited socialization, and inadequate overall social and sexual functioning, may likely lead to what is considered as stalking.” As cited in Stokes & Newton, 2004. What is stalking? Stalking is illegal in all 50 United States (California was the first state to make stalking illegal in 1990) but each state defines stalking differently (Snow 1998). Stalking is defined as a continuum of behavior that can range from harassment to threatening behavior to assault and homicide (Snow 1998). It is often a fine line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior (e.g., sending flowers to someone at work may be interpreted differently by the receiver depending upon their own intentions and their assessment of the context). There are three main elements of a stalking crime (Proctor 2003). These are (1) harassment involving repetitive, annoying and disturbing behavior directed towards a person that has no positive or legitimate reason other than to harm the person, (2) a credible threat toward a person that causes the person to become fearful of their safety or causes emotional distress, and (3) a course of conduct involving a series of acts over time towards a person that causes emotional stress and/or concern with safety. (Understanding Stalking Behaviors by Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Recommended Prevention Strategies for School Settings by Post, Haymes, Storey, Loughrey and Campbell, 2012) Lack of skills and social communication and interaction deficits are NOT stalking Social skill deficits can present challenges with, but not limited to: Understanding appropriate relationship timelines Understanding the nature of relationships (professional vs personal) Unrealistic expectations Understanding and displaying courtship behaviors - Flirting vs. Friendship Theory of mind, specifically understanding other’s intentions and perspectives Relying on assumptions Appropriately expressing and processing emotions Age vs. Developmental age Hidden rules and expectations of relationships Hidden rules and expectations of the use of technology Concept confusion Literal/Concrete thought process 3 10/10/2017 Consequences of these behaviors… As stated earlier “confusion, or lack of awareness, of what is and is not regarded as appropriate courtship behavior, together with the desire for intimate relationships, limited socialization, and inadequate overall social and sexual functioning” can often lead to serious consequences such as (Stoke & Newton,2004): Legal Issues (probation, jail time, permanent record, sex offender list) Problems with Judicial Affairs Damaged Reputation Damage/change of Self-esteem and self-concept Negative Impact on Future relationships View of society and the world, creates a false concept (globalization, “all girls are the same” “relationships will never work out for me”) JUDICIARY VIEWS ON CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND INTENTION OF OFFENDERS WITH HIGH-FUNCTIONING AUTISM (COLLEEN M. BERRYESSA, 2014) As previous literature has reported (Freckelton and List, 2009; Freckelton, 2013), judges are limited in their ability to effectively and properly understand the disorders, their symptoms, and how to factor this information into their decisions in order to ensure they are fair and just. “…although each diagnosed offender and his actions should be assessed individually, the majority of individuals with hfASDs that exhibit criminal behaviour are thought to do so because of the characteristics of their disorders (Murrie et al., 2002; Barry-Walsh and Mullen, 2004; Howlin, 2004; Haskins and Silva, 2006; Attwood, 2006; Kristiansson and Sorman, 2008; Browning and Caulfield, 2011), which presents a complex set of issues for judges when handling diagnosed offenders.” “Regarding the sentencing of an offender with an hfASD diagnosis, one respondent with hfASD case experience stated, “I think it’s [hfASD disorder] an important factor. I mean if somebody is […] in front of me and we’re trying to figure out how they should be punished for something that they did, the question […] has to start with why did they do it? If they’re predisposed to doing it then, you know, that’s a problem” While we are by no means state that no one with a diagnosis of ASD have true criminal intent, we believe that they are often misunderstood, and/or mistreateddue toa lackof awareness and understanding what isASD and how it effectstheirbehavior. Consequences of these behaviors… Case study 1 Background Accepted into the College Program in the The judged ruled to drop all charges but Spring of 2011 after attempting to attend placed the client on probation for 10 years independently in Fall, 2010. During that first and asked that he be placed on the sexual semester attended the program’s skill building offenders list. group Due to the final decision of the judge he was While home in the Winter of 2010, was accused of a crime that resulted from his social unable to return to Marshall in the Fall 2011. communication-related challenges; was Returned to Marshall University in Spring of placed in jail for a short period of time. 2012 Returned for the Spring 2011 semester but was unsuccessful in all of his courses due to the Began counseling with a WV ATC intern due stress and anxiety of his on going court case. to high levels of anxiety about his charges back at home. 4 10/10/2017 Case study 1: Needs assessment Strengths that will help the client thrive: What needs to be in place for the client to thrive? • Friendliness and a genuine want to be • Overcome extreme level of anxiety about past experiences involved on campus and with peers following him to college • Loves to listen to and