Christiane Bach

Home Institution
Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Department of Psychology

Host Institution(s)
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
Seaver & New York Autism Center of Excellence

E-Mail: smilania@yahoo.com

Research Topic
see Abstract
Personal Reactions to the U.S. Experience
New York is a city of extremes. After living here for quite a while now, I am still discovering something new every day. I am sure that even after living here for 10 years you still haven't seen it all. For example, the Metropolitan Museum alone is a place worth a thousand visits. You may even just go there to hang out and relax after work. My favourite places are probably the Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge, from which you have a beautiful view on downtown Manhattan. The hospital where I work is right at Central Park, and from its roof you also have a wonderful view (I even got rid of my fear of heights for that). My free time is non-existent anymore, but at the same time I have never been happier before.
"It is an ugly city, a dirty city. Its climate is a scandal. Its politics are used to frighten children. Its traffic is madness. Its competition is murderous. But there is one thing about it - once you have lived in New York and it has become your home, no other place is good enough." - John Steinbeck
Greatest Difficulties Encountered
When you got into the BMEP after the interview in Hannover, you probably think "Yeah I made it." … but you have no idea. This is just the beginning!!! Finding the ideal hospital for your needs; making friends with the people at the US embassy in Berlin, in order to get your visa REALLY fast; deciding which shoes you leave back home; looking for an apartment in NYC; working for 2 mentors who each provide you with enough work for a full time job; figuring out what "dating someone" actually means. Your to-do-list may seem endless, but it is all worth it. Poor Dr. Stolte had to listen to me crying on the phone when things did not seem to work out at all, but in the end everything went just fine.
Do not forget: "What doesn't kill us just makes us stronger!".
Most humorous incident
Apart from my research project, I am doing a lot of clinical work at the autism center there, especially doing Social Skills Groups for our high functioning young autistic patients, where we teach them to deal with their emotions, how to make friends, etc. It is always fun. No matter how stressed and over-worked you are, those kids always make you laugh. They are so great!!!
I have to admit I always try to be on time, but I hardly ever make it. The funny thing is that even when I am late, everyone else is always much later. It seems like NYC has its own special time zone. Also my search for a room in NYC was at times very funny. Everyone recommended "craigslist" to me, so I gave this service on the internet a try. Indeed they have some very nice offerings on this side. Here are just a few examples: "if you are willing to walk around naked in the apartment we share then the rent will be reduced", "no rent if you prepare breakfast, lunch & dinner for me, oh and my the way my weight is 300 pounds and you would have to buy the groceries" (sounds like a full time job to me ;-) ) or how about "hope you do not mind that you have to share a bed with me (male,48 years old), oh and please no boyfriend".
But do not worry. You can also find really nice offerings.
Helpful Hints for Future Students
If you end up in NYC, you definitely want to live at the International House. It is the home for around 700 students from all over the world. Thousands of activities are offered, also there is a gym and a cafeteria in the house and most important… we have our own pub downstairs (with great drink specials).
If you want to visit the MoMA go on a Friday afternoon where you do not have to pay the $20 entrance fee. Not only the paintings, photographs and sculptures are great, but also just the building is worth a visit … an absolutely fantastic place.
ENJOY YOUR STAY, IT MAY BE THE BEST

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Abstract on Research Topic
Impairment of the working memory in high-functioning autism and Asperger's patients

Author:
Christiane Bach

Institution:
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry

Purpose:
Individuals with autism often have different patterns of cognitive strengths and weaknesses. Standard IQ tests are composed of subtests that look at these different components, for instance, the difference between verbal and non-verbal intelligence. Our study will look at these patterns in these subtests in order to see if individuals with autism fall into different sub-groups based on patterns we may detect in these subtests. For instance, we hypothesize that the working memory of patients with high-functioning autism is more impaired than that of other autistic patients or patients with Asperger's Syndrome. By using the data from 6 studies previously conducted at the Seaver Center and concentrating on the subjects' IQ test scores (on the WAIS-III/WISC-IV) we will be able to test this hypothesis.

Another way in which individuals on the autism spectrum may be broken down in sub-groups has to do with the process of early language acqusition. Individuals with autism show a delay in early speech, while those with Asperger Syndrome do not. Anectdotal reports indicate that while not delayed, this process may still be different from that of normally developing children. Our second thesis is that the first words of patients with Asperger's Syndrome are very often words that they don't hear very frequently, while normally developing children's first words are usually high-frequency words. We have collected parent interviews about early language, and looking at those interviews may help us test this hypothesis.

Materials and Methods:
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-VI: Wechsler, 2003) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale -III (WAIS-III: Wechsler, 1997) which are standardized measures of intellectual functioning were used in this study and all the subtests were administered. For the differential diagnosis we looked at the Autism Diagnostic Interviews-Revised (ADI: Lord,C. et al, 1994). The ADI-R is a research diagnostic tool that provides a comprehensive picture of symptoms relevant to making differential diagnosis within the DSM-IV category of Pervasive Developmental Disorders. The ADI is an approximately two-hour, semi-structured parent interview. The diagnostic algorithm is based on historical data, typically regarding a child's functioning during the fourth and fifth years of life. All the data will be evaluated through statistical analyses using SPSS 12. ANOVAs will be done to test the group differences.

Results:
in progress

Literature:
Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Couteur, A.L.(1994). Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: a revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders; 24: 659-685.
Macintosh, K.E. & Dissanayake (2004). Annotation: The similarities and differences between autistic disorder and Asperger's disorder: a review of the empirical evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45;3:421-434.
Manijiviona, J.,& Prior, M.(1999). Neuropsychological profiles of children with Asperger's syndrome and autism. Autism; 3: 327-356.
Ozonoff, S., Rogers, S.J., & Pennington, B.F.(1991). Asperger's syndrome: evidence of an empirical distinction from high-functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry; 32: 1107-1122.
Rinehart, N.J., Bradshaw, J.L.,Brereton, A.V.,& Tonge, B.J. (2002). A clinical and neurobehavioural review of high-functioning autism and Asperger's disorder. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry; 36:762-770.
Wechsler, D. (2003). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (4th ed.). San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation. Wechsler, D. (1997). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.