In RDI it’s very important not to elicit a certain behavior from the child but rather provide opportunities for learning. One way to do this is through a type of learning called Observational learning or Modeling that occurs through observing and imitating others. Modeling occurs when one person performs a behavior while others pay attention and learn from it. It is a very active process that has an important neurological impact on the child’s brain. As a matter of fact, it is through observation that the mirror neuron system gets activated
Mirror
Neurons
Mirror neurons (MN) are special neurons in the brain
that fire both when we are performing a certain action but also when we observe
another person perform the action. The neuroactivity is the same whether it’s
the individual performing the action or someone else. This system is thought to
enable us to experience and understand how an individual feels and thinks.
Without mirror neurons, we would likely be blind to the actions, intentions and
emotions of other people. Researchers theorize that mirror neurons may play an important
role in imitation, empathy , social and language development.
Mirror
Neurons and ASD
New studies have identified abnormal/deficiency mirror
activity in the brains of children with autism that could explain the symptoms
of the disorder. The "Broken Mirror Hypothesis" claims that
individuals with ASD have impairments to their mirror neuron system (Press,
Richardson & Bird, 2010) and suggests
that the dysfunction of the mirror neuron system is a primary cause of the poor
social skills in individuals with Autism (Marsh & Hamilton, 2011).
Why
the activation of MN in children with ASD is so difficult?
The theory of neurological underconnectivity could
explain the deficiency of mirror activity in children with autism. Because of
weak communication between the different brain centers, the child with autism
has difficulty rapidly processing multiple information simultaneously and attending
and paying attention to what we do or say can be very challenging. Reduced
neuron activity weakens the ability to experience immediately and effortlessly
what other people are experiencing, thus making social interactions
particularly difficult for children with autism.
The activation of mirror neurons and the impact on learning, despite its automatic nature in typical children, is actually a very complex process which includes many steps:
- Child visually observes (sensory processing)
- Child observes a motor action (motor planning processing)
- Through the integration of sensory perception and motor action, the child applies meaning to the action (activation of MN), by understanding the intention of the one who acts and by anticipating the possible goal of action. (This happens in a very fast, automatic and unconscious way).
- The child retains the experience in his memory (retention process)
- This process gets more and more complex and develops in more sophisticated social skills (eg.:empathy).
Helping
the activation of MN in children with autism
If the child does not observe, he is not engaged with
us in what we are doing or saying, activation of the mirror neuron system cannot
take place. It’s the joint focus of attention that stimulates new patterns of
neural firing.
These are some tips that can help children with autism to better process the shared experience we provide and might facilitate the activation of the mirror neuron system:
- In order for the child to be engaged you need to provide interesting and meaningful experiences.
- Create a dynamic pattern that the child can recognize and focus on
- Increase and amplify the use of non verbal communication channels such as gestures, facial expressions, body language, and vocal prosody.
- Slow down your movements and communication, so the child can process what you are doing or saying.
- Provide pauses in critical moments of the interaction, so the child have time to process your intentions, anticipate your actions and have an emotional response.
- Build anticipation to elicit the curiosity of the child.
- Use repetition. For neurological changes to occur there must be considerable repetition. However, repetition will include gradually small variations within its structure to promote neural plasticity.
Simona
Onnis is an RDI certified consultant based in Athens, Greece. She has a
background in special education and she is also a proud mum of a child on the
autistic spectrum. After seeing the positive changes the RDI program
brought about in her family, she became an RDI consultant in 2012. With
passion she shares her knowledge and supports families with children in the
autistic spectrum through the RDI program.