1... Gwendelyn is a 9 year old girl with ASD. Her parents were recently discussing her social interaction skills with a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) in order to develop a treatment plan. Her parents note the following:

• She sits on swings alone and does not interact with other peers.
• If a child approaches her on the swing she does not make eye contact with them, rather she avoids any possible social approach or confrontation with this child by moving away.
• She turns her back towards others while on the playground.
• Does not respond to touch from a familiar adult in an accepting way, rather she pulls her hand away and moves away from that adult.
• She bumps into, rather than moving around, another smaller child on the playground.
• She does not seem to understand that a child is hurt (does not offer comfort) but appears to dislike the noise the hurt child is making. She might scream in response to the noise or tell the child to be quiet.

Answer the following questions in response to the above scenario:

1. Approximately what developmental age would you suggest Gwendelyn social development is at, and why?
2. Would you anticipate a strain on the relationship between Gwedelyn and her parents? Defend your answer of why you would or why you would not.
3. What kind of social interaction intervention would you use in Gwendeyn's case to teach her some social interaction skills?

2.. As mentioned in lesson 7, there are many movies, television shows, and novels which feature people with ASD.

1. Provide an example of a piece of media that they you have seen, and identify how a character/person in it made you think about Autism.
2. Outline some of the accurate characteristics and misconceptions seen in the way this character presents themselves.