What is Autism?
Introduction
Autism is a complex and severe developmental disability that is included under the diagnostic criteria of Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Some students with autism will require only targeted educational support that involves the development of specific skills at certain developmental stages, while others will need intensive educational support throughout their academic journey. Children with autism have variable cognitive abilities. Some children will have more difficulty adapting to their social environment and developing language skills than others. The key is to recognize that autism can result in a varied profile of strengths as well as challenges.
Causes
There is no one, single cause of autism, but there is some consensus that autism probably results from a combination of environmental and genetic factors that impact on the developing brain to produce the autism “signature.” Autism is certainly not caused by a person’s upbringing, social context, or by their parents’ characteristics.
Diagnostic criteria
Autism usually emerges before the 3rd birthday but can be reliability diagnosed in children as young as 2 years.
Diagnosis requires a comprehensive and multi-disciplinary approach that includes information gathered from a number of sources:
- From parents – including family genome and child developmental history
- From professionals (e.g. child psychiatrist-child psychologist teams) – using standardized assessment tools such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-G) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview – Revised (ADI–R). Also parent– and teacher–completed behaviour checklists that document various behaviours (including social interaction, communication, behaviour, and adaptive skills)
- From associate professionals - a thorough cognitive and language assessment using appropriate, standardised tests
- Diagnostic teams will often ask families to complete genetic testing to rule out associated disorders, such as fragile X.
Three Main Areas of Difficulty: The Autism Triad
1) Communication and Language Skills
- delayed and/or unusual patterns of speech
- echolalic speech (immediate repetition of what was said by someone else)
- literal understanding of speech
- stereotyped or repetitive speech
- talking too loud or too softly
- unusual rhythm or intonation of speech
2) Reciprocal Social Interaction
- Social avoidance
- Awkward social skills
- Poor eye contact
- Difficulty forming and maintaining meaningful relationships
- Difficulty reading “social cues”
- Difficulty showing empathy or knowing when others are sick, hurt, or unhappy
3) Restricted/Repetitive Patterns of Behaviour, Interests/Routines
- Over-dependence upon routines or resistance to change
- Repetitive and ritualistic behaviours
- Intense interests to the exclusion of other activities.
- Rigid/repetitive play
- Unusual attention to details (e.g. the wheels on the car) or to specific objects (e.g. strong attraction to video tapes or to the number of key holes in a room)
Other difficulties/challenges may include:
- Impaired intellectual functioning
- Behaviour tantrums or low tolerance for frustration
- Motor impairments
- Difficulties sleeping, toileting (late development of continence) and problems eating (e.g. slow eating, picky eating)
- Hypo or Hyper Sensory Impairment – for example, heightened sensitivity to sound level or to specific sounds, attraction or aversion to specific textures, diminished response to pain
- Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder – see ADHD section
Important strengths in children with autism can include:
- Visual–spatial memory
- Visual–spatial skills (e.g. puzzles)
- Rote memory recall (ability to remember names, dates, facts)
- Non–verbal reasoning skills
- Decoding of text
- Musical abilities (including memory of individual tunes and perfect pitch)
- Other artistic abilities (e.g. drawing, painting)