Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Flashcards
Autism Spectrum Disorder Overview
Developmental disability caused by differences in the brain
1/36 children
Often have trouble with social communication, interaction and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests
lifelong disorder, symptom presentation changes throughout life
Early diagnosis is ideal
ASD begins before age 3 (developmental)
Aspergers is not longer an official diagnosis because diagnostic process was not detailed enough- combine everything into ASD
DSM V: Diagnostic criteria
Impairment in social communication
Repetitive/restricted behaviors
Symptoms must be present from early childhood and does not develop later. Must also impact functional day-to-day life
Difficult to diagnose infants because symptoms are subtle: but the core symptom of inability to learn from social interactions will limit learning opportunity and widen gapping, making autism more apparent with age
Impairment in social communication
- Impairment in social-emotional reciprocity
- Impairment in social non-verbal communication
- Difficulty developing relationships
ALL 3 REQUIRED FOR ASD DIAGNOSIS
Restricted/repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities
- Repetitive movements and speech (echolalia)
- Inflexible adherence to routines, extreme distress to change
- Highly restricted or fixated interests
- Unusual sensory interests/response (hypo/hypersensitivity)
ATLEAST 2 FOR ASD DIAGNOSIS
People first lanuage
Child with autism
Person before disability
Shows that disorder is not all there is to one’s identity
Families of children with autism usually prefer people-first language
Caveat: ASK!
Identity first language
Autistic person
Cannot separate the disorder from the person
Currently, Autism and Deaf community uses identity first language
Generally more preferred by autistic adults
Caveat: ASK!
Variability in ASD
Levels of support
Continuum of verbal skills (speech, alternative, none)
Range of intellectual abilities
Communication development differences in ASD
Differences in learning meaning of words
-Challenge in learning that everything has a name and that they can have multiple labels or meanings
-Makes incorrect associations or interprets words literally
Differences in use of language
-Repeating words and sentences (echolalia)
-Difficulty with metaphorical language and repetitive questions and sentence forms
Differences in levels of understanding
-Hyperlexia: Decoding abilities far beyond level of comprehension
-Some language understood in very high level when related to interests
Differences in early interactions and communication
-Difficulty with interest in caregiver/adults
Echolalia Types
- Immediate echolalia: Directly after
- Delayed echolalia: Sometime later, usually from a show or a movie
- Mitigated echolalia: echoing with slight changes
Early Intervention
KEY to improving outcome for children with autism
BUT:
Average age of diagnosis 4-6 years, which is beyond EI services
Need better screening methods
Since ASD can reliably be diagnosed by age 2 by a professional
Characteristics of effective Intervention
ASAP
Active engagement in intensive instructional programming
Repeated, planned teaching opportunities
Amounts of individualized and peer attention
Inclusion of family
Ongoing progress monitoring
