Abstract
A teaching methodology and curriculum was designed to develop and increase positive self-awareness in students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Joint attention (JA) strategies were first utilized to directly teach students about reflected mirror images, and then subsequently, to indirectly teach students about their reflected image. Not only were Mirror Self Awareness Development (MSAD) JA activities initiated and preferred by students over non MSAD JA activities, they yielded a four step framework with which to measure increases in student self-awareness. While the focus of this study was to increase positive self-awareness in students with ASD, it may contribute to understanding the developmental stages of ‘Self’.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Asendorpf, J., Warkentin, V., & Baudonniere, P. (1996). Self-awareness and other-awareness II: Mirror self-recognition, social contingency awareness, and synchronic imitation. Developmental Psychology, 32, 313–332.
Charman, T. (2003). Why is joint attention a pivotal skill in autism? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 358, 315–324. doi:10.1098/rstb2002.1199.
Cooley, C. H. (1964). Human nature and the social order (Introduction by Philip Rieff, Foreword by George Hebert Mead). New York, NY: Shocken Books, Inc.
Dawson, G., & McKissick, F. C. (1984). Self-Recognition in autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 14(4), 383–394.
Delano, M. (2007). Video modeling interventions for individuals with autism. Remedial and Special Education, 28, 33–42.
D’Entremont, B., Hains, S. M. J., & Muir, D. W. (1997). A demonstration of gaze following in 3- to 6-month-olds. Infant Behavior and Development, 20(4), 569–572.
Diessel, H. (2003). Demonstratives, joint attention and the emergence of grammar. Cognitive Linguistics, 17–4, 463–489. doi:10.1515/COG.2006.015.
Duval, S. & Wicklund, R. (1972). A theory of objective self awareness. New York, NY & London, England: Academic Press, Inc.
Farroni, T., Massaccesi, S., & Francesca, S. (2002). Can the direction of gaze of another person shift the attention of a neonate. Giornole-Italiano-di-Psicologia, 29, 857–864.
Gallup, G. (1970). Chimpanzees: Self-recognition. Science, 167, 86–87.
Gallup, G. (1982). Self-awareness and the emergence of mind in primates. American Journal of Primatology, 2, 237–248.
Hamann, S. B., Ely, T. D., Hoffman, J. M., & Kilts, C. D. (2002). Ecstasy and agony: activation of human amygdala in positive and negative emotion. Psychological Science, 13(2), 135–141.
Harrington, K. (2012). Preventing pronoun reversals. Autism Asperger’s Digest. Retrieved from, http://autismdigest.com/preventing-pronoun-reversals/.
Huskinson, L. (2004). Nietzche and Jung: The whole self in union of opposites. East Sussex: Brunner-Routledge.
Joseph, S. (1997). Presence and absence through the mirror of transference: A model of the transcendent function. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 42, 139–156.
Kasari, C., Freeman, S., & Paparella, T. (2006). Joint attention and symbolic play in young children with autism: A randomized controlled intervention study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(6), 611–620.
Leekam, S., López, B., & Moore, C. (2000). Attention and joint attention in preschool children with autism. Developmental Psychology, 36(2), 261–273.
Lewis, M., Sullivan, M. W., Stanger, C., & Weiss, M. (1989). Self-development and self-conscious emotions. Child Development, 60, 146–156.
Mead, G. H. (1962). Mind, self and society: From the standpoint of a social behaviorist. (Edited with introduction by Charles W. Morris). Chicago, IL and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Mizuno, A., Liu, Y., Williams, D. L., Keller, T. A., Minshew, N. J., & Just, M. A. (2011). The neural basis of deictic shifting in linguistic perspective-talking in high-functioning autism. Brain, 134, 2422–2435.
Morales, M., Mundy, P., & Rojas, J. (1998). Following the direction of gaze and language development in 6-month-olds. Infant Behavior and Development, 21(2), 373–377.
Mosconi, M. W., Cody-Hazlett, H., Poe, M. D., Gerig, G., Gimpel-Smith, R., & Piven, J. (2009). Longitudinal study of amygdala volume and joint attention in 2- to 4-year- old children with autism. Archive of General Psychiatry, 66(5), 509–516.
Mundy, P., Block, J., Delgado, C., Van Pomares, Y., Hecke, A., & Parlade, M. (2007). Individual differences and the development of joint attention in infancy. Child Development, 78(3), 938–954.
Mundy, P., Sigman, M., & Kasari, C. (1994). Joint attention, developmental level, and symptom presentation in young children with autism. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 389–401.
Murray, D., Creaghead, N., Manning-Courtney, P., Shear, P., Bean, J., & Prendeville, J. (2008). The relationship between joint attention and language in children with autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disorders, 23, 5–14.
Owens, R. E. (2008). Language development: An introduction (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Quinsay, B. (2012). What is joint attention and why is it important for children with autism spectrum disorders? CSLOT: Center for speech, language and occupational therapy. Retrieved from, http://cslot.wordpress.com/tag/joint-attention/.
Rochat, P. (2003). Five levels of self-awareness as they unfold early in life. Consciousness and Cognition, 12, 717–731.
Rosenberg, D. & MacMaster, F. (2009). F1000 Prime Recommendation of [Mosconi MW et al. Archives of General Psychiatry 2009, 66(5):509–516]. Faculty of 1000, 09 June 2009; doi:10.3410/f.1161963.622403.f1000.com/prime/1161963#eval622403.
Rossetti, L. (1990). The rossetti infant-toddler language scale. East Moline, IL: LinguiSystems.
Schumann, C. M., Hamstra, J., Goodlin-Jones, B. L., Lotspeich, L. J., Kwon, H., Buonocre, M. H., et al. (2004). The amygdala is enlarged in children but not adolescents with autism; the hippocampus is enlarged at all ages. The Journal of Neuroscience, 24(28), 6392–6401.
Spiker, D., & Ricks, M. (1984). Visual self recognition in autistic children: Developmental relationships. Child Development, 55, 214–225.
Volkmar, F. R., Paul, R., Klin, A., & Cohen, D. J. (Eds.). (2005). Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders, diagnosis, development, neurobiology, and behavior (1st ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Wehmeyer, M., & Shogren, K. (2008). Self determination and learners with autism spectrum disorders. In R. Simpson & B. Smith-Myles (Eds.), Educating children and youth: Strategies for effective practice (2nd ed., pp. 433–476). Austin Texas: Pro Ed Inc.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Duff, C.K., Flattery, J.J. Developing Mirror Self Awareness in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 44, 1027–1038 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1954-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1954-0