Week 4 Flashcards
What is ASD?
- ASD is a group of severe, pervasive conditions that begin in infancy or early childhood and affect:
○ Socialization
○ Communication
○ Stereotyped or perseverative behaviors
When was ASD first considered a diagnostic entity, and when was it introduced as an official diagnostic criterion?
Recognized as a distinct diagnostic entity over 80 years ago, but not included in official diagnostic criteria until 1980.
Why is there an increasing prevalence of ASD?
Expanded diagnostic criteria and awareness rather than an actual rise in cases
What is the current estimate of children diagnosed with ASD?
1 in 36 children
Is ASD more common in boys or girls?
Four times more common in boys
True or false: Prevalence of ASD is inconsistent across race and ethnicity?
False
What is another primary reason for the increase in prevalence of ASD?
Recognition of high-functioning autism (By the way, the correct term is now low-support autism, but I don’t think Dave knows that)
Schools face increasing challenges with ASD due to
- More identified students
- Greater emphasis on inclusion in general education classrooms
Major changes regarding autism from DSM-IV to DSM-V
- DSM-IV had 4 separate disorders:
1. Autistic Disorder
2. Rett’s Disorder
3. Asperger’s Disorder
4. Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Specified (PDD-NOS)- DSM-5 (2013) merged these into one category: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Diagnosis now requires:
- Deficits in social communication & social interaction
- Lack of social-emotional reciprocity
- Difficulty in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships
- Restrictive, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities (at least 2 of the following):
- Repetitive motor movements, object use, or speech
- Insistence on sameness, inflexible routines, ritualized behavior
- Highly restricted, fixated interests
§ Sensory abnormalities (hyper/hypo-reactivity to sensory input)
- Deficits in social communication & social interaction
IDEA identifies autism as
A developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction.
True or false: IDEA states autism should be evident before age 3
True
What are other requirements the IDEA states for diagnosis of autism
- Adversely affects educational performance.
- Often involves:
○ Repetitive activities & stereotyped movements
○ Resistance to change in routine
○ Unusual sensory responses
Exclusion: Not due to emotional disturbance
- Often involves:
What are the core symptoms of ASD?
- Social Interaction Deficits
- Communication Impairments
- Restrictive or Repetitive Behaviors
What are examples of Social Interaction Deficits?
- Poor eye contact
- Failure to use gestures for communication
- Inability to develop appropriate peer relationships
- Lack of awareness of others’ emotions
What are examples of Communication Impairments?
- Delayed speech or absence of speech
- Echolalia (repeating words/phrases)
- Pronoun reversal (e.g., “you” instead of “I”)
- Lack of pretend play
What are examples of Restrictive or Repetitive Behaviors?
- Highly narrow interests
- Rigid adherence to routines
- Repetitive motor movements (e.g., hand-flapping, rocking)
What are potential associated features of ASD?
- Sleep disturbances
- Emotional abnormalities:
○ Mood swings
○ Sudden laughter or crying
○ Extreme overreactions
○ Over/under sensitivity to stimuli
- Emotional abnormalities:
True or False: There is a specific cause for ASD?
False
True or False: Vaccines cause autism
False
Causes of autism
- Likely caused by interactions between genetic and environmental factors.
- Brain abnormalities:
- Some areas of the brain overdeveloped while others are underdeveloped.
Where did the fraudulent claim that Vaccines cause autism come from?
Andrew Wakefield’s fraudulent studies (1998, 2002) on the MMR vaccine.
What happened to Wakefield after his claims regarding vaccines and autism
Wakefield was discredited, lost his medical license, and the journal retracted the study.
Goals of ASD assessment in schools?
- Verification – Does the child have ASD?
- Programming – Developing effective interventions.
- Evaluation – Establishing baseline data for progress tracking.
Core domains of ASD assessment
- Social competence
- Communication skills
- Behavioral patterns
- Environmental factors
Other domains to assess regarding ASD
- Motor skills
- Leisure skills
- Vocational skills
- Educational performance
Methods of ASD assessment
- Direct Observation (Most important)
○ Observing child’s social interactions and classroom behavior.
○ CARS (Child Autism Rating Scale) – a behavioral rating scale used for screening, not for diagnosis.- Verbal Reports
○ Parent & teacher interviews provide insights into developmental history.
○ Age of onset is key to diagnosis.
○ Medical history should be reviewed to rule out other conditions. - Cognitive Assessment
○ IQ tests may not be valid for students with ASD, especially those with co-occurring intellectual disabilities.
○ Not required for diagnosis.
- Verbal Reports
True or False: There is no cure for ASD
True
Best evidence-based treatments for ASD
- Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) – Based on operant conditioning, teaches social and communication skills.
2. Early intervention programs – Improve developmental outcomes.
3. Specialized educational support – Structured classroom settings.
4. Speech & language therapy – Helps with communication deficits.
5. Occupational therapy – Helps improve sensory and motor skills.
6. Social skills training – Helps develop peer interactions.
