Co-morbidity and ASD

Dr. Ozonoff made some very important points in the current video.  She brought up Occam’s razor, which involves using the simplest solution is the most likely.  I think that it was very important that she went over it in the beginning, so the audience could have it in the back of their head throughout the presentation.  Comorbidity occurs when individuals meet criteria for two or more independent diagnoses.  The similarities between Autism Spectrum Disorder and other disorders such as: depression, anxiety, mood disorders, etc.  It was very interesting the similarities between ASD and the other disorders, I thought it was very well explained when Dr. Ozonoff was going through the different diagnosis and also showing videos as examples.  One major difference that I thought was also important was the age of onset of the characteristics and the baseline of the individuals prior to diagnosis.  Most of the characteristics for the other disorders occur later in childhood where individuals are diagnosed with autism prior to the age of 3.  It was also very interesting when she was discussing how a few cases involving children with autism involved their diagnosis being changed or removed.

When conducting an FBA, there are some similarities to the diagnosing comorbidity in individuals with ASD.  Occam’s razor is important to consider as the FBA is in its initial stages.  It is important to take the simplest solution instead of going through the process of an FBA and implementing a plan when there could have been an easier solution.  In the interviewing process, it is important to gather all of the necessary information and getting specific as possible because one or two pieces of information could change a diagnosis or the direction of the FBA.

As with conducting an FBA, I feel that in diagnosing individuals with a disorder should be completed with professionals/behavior analysts that have experience in the field.  By having professionals with experience, they will be able to notice the little differentiations in each case versus a person with little experience missing information and developing or giving the wrong diagnosis to an individual.  The video was very informative and helpful in applying to my career.