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posted at 03:59 pm on 06-29-2009
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Evaluation of Maxine Aston's Claims
posted at 03:59 pm on 06-29-2009
Evaluation of Maxine Aston's Claims
Claim:
“Based on my academic research I wrote my first book, 'The Other Half of Asperger Syndrome' published in 2001”
Aston, Maxine Retrieved June 29, 2009, from About Maxine Aston Web site: http://www.maxineaston.co.uk/aboutme/
Critique:
1) Maxine Aston is:
Not affiliated with any academic institution
Has never been a faculty member
Has never received IRB approval
Has never received a Grant
Has not published a single research report
Has not been published in any peer-reviewed or research journal
The only two articles she has ever published are
Aston, Maxine (2005).Growing up in an Asperger Family. Counselling Children and Young People, Available at http://www.maxineaston.co.uk/published/Asperger_Family.pdfType of Article: Opinion piece/Case Study
IS THIS JOURNAL SCHOLARLY?
The journal Counselling Children and Young People is based in Great Britain. It is published by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, and has been in existence since 2005. I have looked at the articles available online and at the web page hosting the journal. While some of the articles appear to be based on scholarly research, I do not see any instructions for authors on the web page. This is where you would expect to find out if the articles are peer reviewed. According to Worldcat, the major union catalog for libraries, the journal is not held by any libraries in the United States. It is held by both Oxford and Cambridge universities in the UK. The journal is not listed in Ulrichs web, the largest periodicals directory. This may be because it is relatively new.
So, in this case, while we usually find the answers to this in Worldcat and Ulrichs Web, (both linked at the NU library home page) we will probably have to contact the publisher directly.
2. Aston, M.2003. Asperger’s syndrome in a counselling room. Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal, vol. 14, no. 5, p. 10-12.
http://www.maxineaston.co.uk/published/AS_in_the_Counselling_Room.pdf
IS THIS JOURNAL SCHOLARLY?
According to ebscohost.com and CINAHL:
Publication Type: Periodical
Subjects: Allied Health; Psychology & Psychiatry
Minor Subjects: Autistic Disorder -- Diagnosis;
Description: Provodes a forum for debate & exchange of ideas in the evolving counselling & psychotherapy professions.
Publisher URL:http://www.bacp.co.uk
Peer Reviewed: No
2) Did Bsc (Hons) Psychology degree (1999) from Coventry University, UK qualify Maxine Aston to conduct research for her book 'The Other Half of Asperger Syndrome' was published in 2001?
Curriculum for Bsc (Hons) Psychology degree from Coventry University is available at http://wwwm.coventry.ac.uk/undergraduate/ugstudy/Pages/ugft.aspx?itemID=245#entryrequirements
Curriculum for MSc. Health Psychology from Coventry University is available at http://www.coventry.ac.uk/cu/external/content/1/c4/51/74/v1199719959/user/HealthPsychology%20MSc%20Sep-03.pdfMaxine Aston received her MSc. Health Psychology in 2007.
Coventry University Psychology program has been given only a 2 out of 4 grade in the area of Student Achievement.
Claim:
“C.A.D is a very real condition”
Aston, Maxine Retrieved June 29, 2009, from About Maxine Aston Web site: http://www.maxineaston.co.uk/aboutme/
Concerns:
According to Dr. Tony Attwood “The term “Cassandra Affective Deprivation Disorder” has been coined by Maxine Aston. It is not an official diagnostic category.”
Maxine Aston is the author of Cassandra Affective Deprivation Disorder. She is disseminating her personal views and presenting them as evidence-based findings. However, she has not published a single research report and her research has not been peer reviewed.
Questions:
The four stages of research are:
Identify (e.g. the proportion of partners of AS individuals who exhibit CADD symptoms)
Describe (e.g. describe the demographics of the couples, co-morbidities of partner’s exhibiting CADD symptoms)
Explain (e.g. there is a statistically significant relationship between two variables such as AS individual’s empathic quotient (independent variable) and their partners CADD symptoms (dependent variable))
Predict and Control (to show causation e.g. a variable causes CADD)
A qualitative study must be done to Identify and Describe a phenomenon. An “experience of non- Asperger’s individuals in a relationship with someone with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS)” is alleged, and yet no qualitative studies have been published to Identify or describe this phenomenon. Therefore, there is no evidence in the literature that this phenomenon exists. The variables (CADD symptoms, having an AS partner, being emotionally deprived) have not been identified. There is no evidence of an association or correlation between the variables. And yet Maxine Aston alleges causation between a) CADD Symptoms and b) having an Asperger‘s partner/being emotionally deprived, “My research strongly indicates that CADD can develop as a consequence of being in an intimate relationship with an adult with Asperger syndrome or a disorder that produces a low emotional/empathic quotient or Alexithymia.” (Thompson, http://www.maxineaston.co.uk/cassandra/Affective%20Deprivation.PDF) This goes against basic scientific research principles.
Threats to Validity
Selectivity of Sample: Maxine Aston’s uses a convenience sample of clients who come to her office. Therefore, the data that she collects cannot be generalized to the population of AS adults or AS couples. Maxine Aston has not published the inclusion and exclusion criteria for her subjects.
Testing: the study design has not been published. Is Maxine Aston using a Pre-test and Post-test deign? Is the data that she collects influenced by interviewing the subjects.
Data Collection Instrument
Maxine Aston uses focused interview design. The interviewer is the instrument of data collection. In a research study, the instrument has to be tested for validity and reliability. Who are the interviewers collecting data from Maxine Aston’s clients? Is she asking the clients the same questions? Are the questions open ended or are they leading questions? It is standard to control for interviewer’s bias by having the interviewer record his or hers feelings toward the subjects interviewed. When different interviewers ask the same subject the same questions, are the answers constant , in other words, what is the level of reliability of the instrument. Validity measures how accuretly the instrument assesses the phenomenon that the researcher wants to measure. What is the evidence that the data collection instrument used by Maxine Aston accurately measures the variables that she wants to study. In other words, Maxine Aston’s claimed research findings may be simply measures of the prevailing bias in her research design.
In a qualitative study, the interviewer transcribes the answers that subjects give, and uses computer software to identify Concepts and Common Themes in the findings. Maxine Aston has not said that she records her data. The data is stored in her mind and she uses her brain to find themes in the data.
Maxine Aston uses a theoretical framework that has not been generated by qualitative research studies, it is a product of Maxine Aston and her colleague’s personal opinion.
Given the fact that the research methods, data results, and study design have not been published or peer reviewed, and the numerous threats to validity (researcher bias, lack of controls in the study design, flaws in data collection and data analysis), Maxine Aston’s claims do not measure up to standards of evidence based practice.
Given that Maxine Aston has not obtained IRB approval and has never mentioned obtaining informed consent from her clients to be subjects of her research, Maxin Aston is likely to be in violation of British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy Code of Ethics (http://www.bacp.co.uk/ethical_framework/.)
Claims:
Unfortunately, Maxine Aston’s earlier development of the concept was
misconstrued by AS/autism advocates to mean that AS-individuals caused individual psychiatric disorders in loved ones. (Thompson, http://www.maxineaston.co.uk/cassandra/Affective%20Deprivation.PDF)
Concerns:
Maxine Aston book of personal opinion, has been cited as if it is a legitimate research publication. The false claim has been disseminated in a professional legal journal.
"However, the chronic stress of living with a spouse with AS can cause the Cassandra Phenomenon or Cassandra Affective Disorder (Attwood, 2004; Rodman, 2003; Singer, 2003; Aston, 2004), which is characterized by a loss of self, the development of panic disorder, anxiety, depression, and even emotional breakdown. It has also been documented to lead to poor immunological status (Aston, 2003) in nonautistic family members. "
(Family Court Review, Volume 43 Issue 4, Pages 582 - 595, Published Online: 5 Oct 2005
http://www.sondur.com/j.1744-1617.2005.00057.x.pdf
No published research study has identified poor immunological status in non-autistic family members.
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