Patricia Wright, PhD, MPH, and Katie Curran, MAAP, introduce Proof Positive – The Autism Well-being Alliance. The speakers describe positive psychology, its impact on well-being, and why it matters for autistic people and their communities. Curran details four skills to help with thinking positively and provides suggestions for practicing and applying them to daily life. The speakers emphasize the lack of focus on positive emotions in autism care and how this plays into isolation and mental health issues. They affirm that individuals “can control [their] own well-being” by employing positive psychology and training their minds to build on the things that go well each day. Wright and Curran outline Proof Positive’s free learning and teaching resources before the Q&A. 

Handouts are online HERE

In this webinar:

1:00 – Proof Positive and the need for positive psychology
5:00 – What is positive psychology
14:00 – PERMA + Snapshot for well-being
18:30 – What Went Well?
27:45 – Jolts of Joy
30:43 – Broaden and Build vs. Fight or Flight
39:44 – Showcase the Good
48:20 – Q &A

Background

Patricia Wright, PhD, MPH, Executive Director at Proof Positive, introduces The Autism Well-Being Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the well-being of autistic people and their families, providers, and communities. By intersecting positive psychology with autism services, Proof Positive spreads the science and skills of happiness (1:00). She notes high rates of underemployment and mental health issues in autistic adults and underscores how difficult it is to find and retain social service providers. Over the last decade, the demand for these roles has increased 41%, and the U.S. healthcare system is experiencing major staff shortages. Although well-being is a relatively new term within autism care vocabulary, Wright underscores its importance and potential for quality of life management (3:00). 

Why Positive Psychology

Katie Curran, MAPP, Chief Well-being Officer at Proof Positive, says that those who practice positive psychology experience increased well-being and life satisfaction, better sleep, stronger relationships, less depression, and more success in school and work (5:00). Positive psychology considers the components of a life full of purpose and what makes life worth living. In other words, Curran continues, it asks, “Who are you at your best, and how do we get more of it?” Over thirty years of research, six elements critical to human thriving have arisen (8:10): 

1. Positive emotions – A sense of inspiration; a wide variety of positive emotions felt most days
2. Engagement – A good sense of what interests you; ability to spend time in flow and follow interests
3. Relationships – Other people matter, and relationships are critical to who we are and how we navigate the good and bad times
4. Mattering – A sense that your life has meaning and purpose; a feeling of connection to something larger than yourself. 
5. Accomplishment – Having a healthy sense of where you are going in the future; you have goals you are pursuing, and you believe you can achieve them
6. Physical health – Sleep, nutrition, and movement are key to maintaining happiness; when we move, our muscles pump food to the brain.

These six aspects of human thriving, referred to as PERMA+, are critical to understanding and empowering people to impact their well-being. 

To explore the research behind these elements, visit Proof Positive’s Science Page. 

Skills for well-being support

Curran asserts that “You can control your well-being” and outlines four practical tools that enhance well-being skills. 

#1 – PERMA+ Snapshot

The PERMA+ Snapshot asks you to stop and reflect on your well-being around once a week (14:00). Proof Positive offers a well-being survey that helps measure well-being and provides suggestions about skills to practice. The speaker emphasizes that no matter where you are on the scales, you are improving your well-being simply by taking time to take this survey because you are telling yourself that you are important and worth spending time and energy on (17:30). She suggests referring back to the PERMA+ survey for snapshots and tracking personal well-being.

#2 – What Went Well?

The goal of this exercise is to train your brain to mindfully notice, remember, and track the good things that happen each day (18:30). The presenter notes that left on their own, our brains default to spotting danger and things that have gone wrong as a means of self-preservation and protection. However, we need to shift our focus and ensure that every day, we intentionally focus on things that have gone well. 

To practice What Went Well, Curran suggests using a journal or gratitude app on your device and setting a time to write down at least three things that went well each day. It’s also helpful to consider what made each good thing special and to share your list with a family member or friend (22:55). The presenter notes that people who do this exercise before bed fall asleep faster and sleep longer but also that anxiety tends to be worse first thing in the morning. Therefore, she continues, it can be good to capture What Went Well before bed and then read the list in the morning (23:40). The speaker provides a few more tips and free teaching resources from the Proof Positive Website. 

#3 – Jolts of Joy

The Jolts of Joy exercise teaches us to intentionally experience higher levels of well-being and bursts of positive emotions across the day (27:45). Curran describes the negativity bias, noting that across 130 languages, six of the seven shared words to describe emotions are negative – again due to survival because fear keeps us alive (30:45). Barbara Frederickson was the first researcher to ask what good our positive emotions are and why we feel hope. She discovered that where negative emotions trigger a fight or flight response, positive emotions trigger the broaden and build response. “Broaden and Build’ refers to how our minds open up for creativity and problem-solving when we feel good. The presenter explains it as the opposite of tunnel vision (related to stress), where our vision expands and we see more of the world around us. Because growth is a critical part of the human experience, positive emotions are just as essential to survival as negative ones (31:50). 

Practicing jolts of joy can be a solitary or group activity. Carrun suggests listing 10 ways you experience positive emotions, be it cat videos, family photo albums, music, etc. It is good to include a variety of positive emotions in the list. Place your list where it’s easy to see, and then be sure to engage in a minimum of three (3) Jolts of Joy every day (35:45). The presenter underscores the importance of positive emotions, noting that many emotion regulation programs do not include these in the curriculum (39:00). 

#4 – Showcase the Good

Responding to other people’s good news in a way that enhances their joy and enables them to relive the positive experience is a critical differentiator between thriving relationships (39:45). Shelley Gable’s research shows that there are four ways people tend to respond to good news and that three of the styles are detrimental to relationships where only one boosts them. The four response styles are outlined below using the example of responding to a child who got a 90% on their math test (39:45):

1. Passive – Quiet, understated support.
   1. “Hey, look! I got a 90% on my math test!”
   2. “Great Job.”
2. Passive Destructive – You ignore the information altogether or “change the channel.”
   1. “Hey, look! I got a 90% on my math test!”
   2. “Do you have your cleats? It’s almost time for soccer.” or “Oh, where is your sister? She got a 100% on her history test.”
3. Active Destructive – Someone brings good news, and you squish it – a literal joy killer.
   1. “Hey, look! I got a 90% on my math test!”
   2. “A 90%? I thought we studied so hard! What did you get wrong?”
4. Active Constructive – Authentically engaged and asking questions
   1. “Hey, look! I got a 90% on my math test!”
   2. “Wow! Great job! We studied so hard for that! What did your teacher say? How do you feel?”

Curran highlights that when we Showcase the Good, both parties experience increases in trust, belonging, and intimacy. How we celebrate the good together is at the center of positive relationships. To practice Showcasing the Good, the speaker suggests sharing good news, leaning in when someone else shares their good news, asking questions to help that person relive their experience, and utilizing your own strengths to show interest (what are you curious about? Let that guide your questions and observations) (46:00). 

Proof Positive provides free learning and teaching resources for parents, school teachers, and professionals to help intersect positive psychology with autism care strategies. Each skill has an associated resource bundle that you can use to boost positive thinking and well-being. Curran and Wright thank the attendees before opening the Q&A (48:20). 

Originally posted September 24, 2024

Megan MacDonald, Ph.D., and Megan McClelland, Ph.D., discuss emerging research on the relationship between motor skill development and executive function in autism. They define motor skills and executive function, discuss their long-term impact on health and academic success, and consider their co-development during childhood and adolescence. The speakers highlight the importance of EF and motor skills in daily life, underscoring their malleability and potential for learning and building new skills. MacDonald and McClelland consider the effect of cultural contexts on skill development before the Q&A session. 

Handouts are online HERE

In this webinar: 

2:45 – Presentation overview
3:20 – Executive function
6:25 – Motor Skills
9:20 – Motor skills and autism
13:30 – Motor skill development
19:00 – Executive function and motor skills
22:20 – Cultural contexts
28:13 – Conclusions
30:20 – Q&A

Executive function

McClelland defines executive function (EF) as cognitive processes/skills like attention, working memory, and inhibitory control that lay the foundation for self-regulation (3:20). She explains that EF skills have emerged as a key indicator for a variety of short and long-term behaviors, including social competence in children and academic success throughout adolescents and early adulthood (4:55). She notes a recent publication that found that children with strong attention/persistence at age four had nearly 50% greater odds of completing university by age 25, underscoring long-term health, educational, and employment outcomes associated with EF (6:10). 

• Self-regulation in childhood as a predictor of future outcomes: A meta-analytic review. (Robson et al., 2020)
• Predictors of early growth in academic achievement: the head-toes-knees-shoulders task (McClelland et al., 2013)

Motor skills

MacDonald discusses gross motor skills, highlighting their importance for everyday activities like walking, running, lifting, and throwing. Both EF and motor skills are foundational for learning and early development, and children begin to have a core set of motor skills between seven and eleven years old (6:25). The speaker relates motor skills to a mountain of motor development, where each level builds on top of the last (8:15). Fine motor skills involve coordinating perceptions with motor movements (visuomotor integration), allowing us to control handwriting, buttoning shirts, drawing, and coloring in the lines. Visuomotor integration has also been linked to children’s academic success (8:25). 

Motor skills in autism

The presenter briefly reviews key autistic characteristics and prevalence rates, highlighting the role of gross motor skills in social and physical development during childhood (9:20). She cites references to motor skill deficits dating back to the first descriptions of autism. MacDonald explains that early delays in motor development milestones (i.e., walking and crawling) are common in autistic children and that parents/caregivers may start noticing delays between fourteen and twenty-four months (10:50). Motor skills used by school-aged children are different and center around social interactions and sports (12:48). 

• Developing together: The role of executive function and motor skills in children’s early academic lives. (McClelland & Cameron, 2019)
• Fine motor skills and early comprehension of the world: two new school readiness indicators (Grissmer et al., 2010)
• Fine Motor Skills and Executive Function Both Contribute to Kindergarten Achievement (Cameron et al., 2012)

Motor skill development

MacDonald outlines one of her publications on gross motor development across the first three years of life in autistic children (13:30). Gross motor skill development for autistic children showed consistent delays at each check-up, with children being nearly one year behind expected development targets by age three (14:15). Similarly findings for fine motor skill development in autistic children was slightly more than one year behind expected development by age three (15:15). Another study on school-aged children found that kids between ten and twelve years old were chronologically about half their age in terms of motor skill development (16:05). Therefore, the speaker asserts that gross and fine motor skill development in autism is delayed in autism from early life at least through childhood. 

Despite these delays, the speaker remains hopeful and iterates to viewers that motor skills are incredibly malleable and can be taught and improved with time (17:15). McClelland cites accumulating research suggesting that EF skills are a vital buffer/protective factor for children experiencing early risk factors. She reiterates that EF and motor skills are highly malleable and that we can do a lot to improve these aspects of development in autistic children (18:00). 

• Motor skills of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (Lloyd et al., 2013)
• Fundamental Movement Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorders (Staples & Reid, 2010)
• School Readiness and Self-Regulation: A Developmental Psychobiological Approach (Blair & Raver, 2015)
• Relations between early family risk, children’s behavioral regulation, and academic achievement (Sektnan et al., 2010)
• Developing together: The role of executive function and motor skills in children’s early academic lives. (McClelland & Cameron, 2019)

Executive function and motor skills

McClelland discusses contemporary evidence suggesting the co-development of EF and motor skills in young children. She explains that some brain regions are involved in both EF and motor skill development, and certain EF traits (e.g., memory and inhibitory control) are related to fine motor skills (19:00). McDonald notes that, until very recently, motor skills and EF were studied independently. She highlights contemporary collaborative research and its importance in understanding autism (20:50). 

• Behavioral self-regulation and executive function both predict visuomotor skills and early academic achievement (Becker et al., 2014)
• Visuomotor integration and inhibitory control compensate for each other in school readiness (Cameron et al., 2015)
• Exercise improves executive function and achievement and alters brain activation in overweight children: A randomized, controlled trial (Davis et al., 2010)
• Prefrontal cortex development and development of cognitive functions (Diamond, 2000)
• Relations of Preschoolers’ Visual-Motor and Object Manipulation Skills With Executive Function and Social Behavior (MacDonald et al., 2016)

Cultural contexts

McDonald states that fine motor skills are associated with cognitive flexibility but that much of the research is based in the U.S. or other Western countries (22:20). A recent study found that Chinese children exhibit better fine motor skill performance while U.S. students have better object control skills (23:00). Similarly, gross motor skills of pre-schoolers in China were significantly lower than pre-schoolers in the U.S. Such findings, the speaker asserts, suggest that different cultures emphasize different skill sets in early life (fine vs gross) (24:15). 

The speaker outlines a recent survey study on EF and motor skills in autistic children from Taiwan and the U.S. (24:45). She outlines data collection and analysis methods, including regressions and covariates (26:10). Results show that motor skills are associated with EF across countries. Further, the relationship between EF and motor skills is culturally comparable, with significant and positive correlations of magnitude in both countries. She asserts that this preliminary evidence suggests the relationship between EF and motor skills is not specific to region or culture (27:15). 

• Association between motor skills and executive function of children with autism spectrum disorder in Taiwan and the United States (Sung et al., 2024)

Conclusions

McClellan reviews the presentation, highlighting that EF and motor skills contribute to healthy development and academic success for children from diverse backgrounds. She reiterates the malleability of these skills and their importance for daily activities. The speaker considers how improvements in EF may impact motor skills and vice versa (28:13). She gives thanks and acknowledgments before the Q&A, where the presenters discuss the impact of COVID on EF, intervention options, monitoring EF supports in daily life, the importance of routine and planning, and much more (30:20). 

Originally published on May 7, 2024