Neurodevelopmental Disorders-Autism Spectrum Disorder

Question 1

Autism Spectrum Disorder-Criteria A

Answer 1

Persistent deficits in social communication & social interaction across multiple contexts as manifest by the following:
1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity. Example: abnormal social approach, normal back & forth, reduced sharing of emotions, interests, etc or failure to initiate or respond to social interaction
2. Deficits in nonverbal communication used for social interaction. Example: abnormalities in eye contact or body language or deficits in understanding body language or gestures, lack of facial expressions & nonverbal communications
3. Deficits in developing, maintaining and understanding relationships. Example: Difficulties adjusting behavior tin various contexts, sharing imaginative play or in making friends or absence or interest in peers
Specify current severity:
Severity is based on social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior

Question 2

Autism Spectrum Disorder-Criteria B

Answer 2

Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history:
1.Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects or speech
2.Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns verbal or nonverbal behavior
3. Highly restricted, fixated interest that are abnormal in intensity & focus
4. Hyper or hyperreactivity to sensory input in unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment
Specify current severity:
Severity is based on social communication impairments & restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior

Question 3

Autism Spectrum Disorder-Criteria C

Answer 3

Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities or may be masked by learned strategies in later life)

Question 4

Autism Spectrum Disorder-Criteria D

Answer 4

Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of current functioning

Question 5

Autism Spectrum Disorder-Criteria E

Answer 5

Disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability or global developmental delay. intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder frequently co-occur for a comorbid diagnosis social communication should be below that expected for general developmental level

Question 6

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Level 1-Requiring Support

Answer 6

Social Communication: difficulty initiating social interactions. May appear to have decreased interest in social interactions. Example: Able to speak in full sentences but to and from conversations w/ others fail and attempts to make friends may be unsuccessful
Restricted, repetitive behaviors: Inflexibility causes significant interference w/ functioning in one or more context, difficulty switching activities.

Question 7

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Level 2-Requiring Substantial Support

Answer 7

Social Communication: Deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication, social impairments even w/ support, limited initiation of social interactions & abnormal responses to social overtures. Example: Speaks w/ simple sentences, interactions is limited to narrow, special interests and odd nonverbal communication
Restricted, repetitive behaviors: Inflexibility, difficulty coping w/ change, restricted/repetitive behaviors appear frequently enough to be obvious & interfere w/ daily functioning. Distress & difficulty change focus or action

Question 8

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Level 3-Very Substantial Support

Answer 8

Social Communication: Severe deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communications cause severe impairments in functioning, very limited initiation of social interactions & minimal response to social overtures. Example: few words of intelligible speech who rarely initiates interactions & when they do they make unusual approaches to meet needs only & responds to only very direct social approaches
Restricted, repetitive behaviors: inflexibility of behavior, extreme difficulty coping w/ change or other restricted/repetitive behaviors interfere w/ functioning in all spheres. Great distress/difficulty changing focus or action