Over Stimulation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Research Proposal Example

Over Stimulation in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disoder May Lead to Self-Injurious Behavior Introduction and Background of the study There are various types of disorders that human beings experience in their day to day lives. Several scholars have argued that any kind of disorder is harmful to the victim either physically or psychologically. Mental related disorders are among the most sensitive disorder types since the either cause psychological or physical harm to the person or people the person relates with. The autism spectrum disorder is among the most sensitive type of disorder that human beings can experience (Baron, M. G. (2006). Essentially, the term autism spectrum disorder is used to refer to a range of conditions categorized as the neurodevelopmental disorders that affect the normal functionality of human beings. Autism spectrum disorders are characterized by a number of features which include communication challenges, repetitive strange behaviors, and sensory problems among others. Children are usually the most severely affected population group by the autism spectrum disorder. The parents should always keep a close eye on children suffering from autism spectrum disorder in order to avoid or control self-injury that the children might cause to themselves. Autism spectrum disorder is known to stimulate self-injurious behavior to the victim and results of the injuries can be severe. The victims might cause themselves permanent or serious temporary injuries that might be costly to treat. In this regard, there is a need to carry out research on the impacts of over stimulation in children diagnosed with this disorder has on their self-injurious behavior. Statement of the research problem There is a need to fathom how over stimulation in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder may result in self-injurious behavior. In addition, there is also a necessity to identify the factors that evoke self-injurious behaviors in children suffering from autism spectrum disorder. The identification of such issues will aid in establishing mitigation strategies and control measures. Objectives of the study General objective To identify the contribution of over stimulation to self-injurious behaviors to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder Specific objectives include; To establish the various stimulation approaches employed to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. To assess opinions raised by various children suffering from autism spectrum disorder To investigate the relationship between over stimulation and the increase in self-injurious behaviors among the children. Statement of the purpose of the study The tenacity of this research is to find out sufficient support evidence relating to the statement that over stimulation in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder contributes to the rise in self-injurious behavior. Significant of the study This study will aid in the identification of areas that require improvement in order to reduce the cases of self-injurious behaviors among the children suffering from the autism spectrum disorder. In addition, the study will facilitate the establishment of structures that will provide children with a conducive environment for development. Hypothesis Null hypothesis Over stimulation in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder lead to self-injurious behavior. Alternative hypothesis Over stimulation in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder does not lead to self-injurious behavior. The research problem and the hypothesis relate in that they aim at finding answers to the subject matter outlined in the study. Research questions The research will be aiding to find answers to various questions such as; What are some of the stimulation pressures imposed on children with autism spectacular disorder? How does over stimulation relate with self-injurious behavior among the children? Which approaches contribute to over stimulation and how they can be avoided? Literature review Apparently, autism spectrum disorder takes a gradual process to develop from the infection to maturity stage. Several researchers have identified that the disorder develops in stages, and the victim might not realize. In fact, the initial stages of development are had to identify since no huge changes are experienced or seen in the potential patient (Hastings, & Rojahn, 2013). Parents and the adults in the community usually adopt stimulation approaches to handle children with autism spectrum disorder. Stimulation approach is considered to be a good mechanism for helping autism spectrum disorder patients. The approach involves controlling children activities in order to minimize the instance which might cause physical harm to them. However, use of uncontrolled stimulation might result in self-injurious behavior among the children. When children are under stimulation, they usually feel deserted and lonely. The loneliness and the feeling of being deserted might bring a lot of troubles to the children suffering from the disorder. Actually, when children are emotionally lonely, the might engage in dangerous activates which might cause physical or psychological harm to them. For instance, various cases have been reported where children suffering from autism spectrum disorder injure themselves on the skin through cutting or stabbing with sharp objects. Self-injurious behavior is most common in children with developmental challenges, especially those suffering from a certain form of mental despair. In this regard, over stimulation is likely to invoke self-hatred thereby leading to devastating outcome (Rojahn, Schroeder & Hoch, 2007). It is quite obvious that people with developmental problems usually neglected by other members of the community. For this reason, infliction of any kind of force or restriction to doing some activities might contribute to self-injurious behavior. Research has shown that, self-injurious behavior is used as a tool command attention or divert hard feelings about something. In essence, any provocation is likely to result in disastrous situations that are sometimes hard to manage or control. Over stimulation might lead to reduced self-esteem of the children suffering from the disorder. Various scholars in the human psychology discipline argue that a fall of self-esteem is the mother of most evils among children. Insufficient or lack of self-esteem will prompt the patient suffering from autism spectrum disorder to harm themselves due lack hope and friendly living environment (Amaral, Geschwind & Dawson, 2011). Research methodology This study will employ both qualitative and quantitative analysis in order to obtain comprehensive information. The qualitative analysis will be employed to gather information on issues that cannot be assigned numeric figures in the research process. Some variables that might not be quantified or assigned numeric figures include people’s perception, personality types, and behavioral characteristics among others. The quantitative analysis will be employed to study items or variables that can be assigned numeric figures such as age, number of new infections, and the number of males or females affected. The study will utilize a variety of source of information, both primary and secondary. The primary methods to be utilized include administering questionnaires, conducting interviews, surveying and observing. The benefit of using primary data is that they provide reliable information, and they are more accurate that the secondary sources, however, use of primary data collection methods is expensive. The secondary sources to be utilized include reading from past research, analyzing previously collected data and use of psychology related books. The secondary sources are less costly and less time consuming compared to the primary sources. However, the secondary data might be may be inaccurate since the data collected might be outdated. However, both the primary and the secondary sources should be used in order to get reliable information on the subject matter. Recommendations and Conclusion The impact of over stimulation on self-injurious behavior to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder should be established in order to devise effective prevention mechanisms. The research should use both the primary and secondary data in order to obtain comprehensive information regarding the subject matters. Over stimulation should be avoided to minimize the acceleration of self-injurious behavior among the children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. In summary, adequate research should be done on the appropriate approach to adopt when dealing with people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Both the government and private institution should join hands minimizing the rise of self-injurious behavior. References: Amaral, D., Geschwind, D., & Dawson, G. (2011). Autism Spectrum Disorders. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. Baron, M. G. (2006). Stress and coping in autism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hastings, R. P., & Rojahn, J. (2013). Challenging behavior. Waltham, MA: Elsevier Science & Technology. Rojahn, J., Schroeder, S. R., & Hoch, T. A. (2007). Self-injurious behavior in intellectual disabilities. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Read More