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WHAT IS AUTISM?
Autism is a neurological disorder that usually becomes apparent before a
child reaches the age of three. In a person with autism, the brain’s
normal development is compromised in the areas of social interaction,
communication, and cognitive development. An individual with autism
typically has difficulty with communication, in social situations, and with
the ability to learn.
As a developmental disability, autism is characterized by repetitive
behaviors and deficits in social and language skills. Autism is described
as a spectrum disorder, which means that its symptoms vary from individual
to individual both in terms of severity and variety of behavioral traits.
Some of the behaviors displayed in people with autism may include:
Delay or lack or loss of speech
Lack of eye contact
Lack of response to other people
Treating others as if they were inanimate objects
Repetitive behaviors such as spinning, flapping hands
Balancing in precarious places
Walking on tiptoe
Extreme dislike of certain noises or textures
Extremely passive or extremely active behaviors
Dislike of being touched
Over sensitivity or under sensitivity to pain or sound
Failure to demonstrate typical signs of affection
No fear of danger
Restrictive range of interests
Extreme dislike of certain foods
Aggressive behavior
Lack of interest in toys
Desire to keep objects in rigid patterns
Desire to follow certain patterns of behavior
Self injurious behavior
Areas of advanced skill (i.e. in art, music, arithmetic, calendar, or
memory)
The American Psychiatric Association, in its 1994 DSM-IV, gives the
following checklist of criteria for autistic disorder:
A. A
total of six (or more) items from (1), (2), and (3), with at least two from
(1), and one each from (2) and (3):
1) qualitative
impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:
a. marked
impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye
gaze, facial expression, body posture, and gestures to regulate social
interaction
b. failure
to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
c. a
lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements
with other people, (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing our
objects of interest to other people)
d. lack
of social or emotional reciprocity ( note: in the description, it gives the
following as examples: not actively participating in simple social play or
games, preferring solitary activities, or involving others in activities
only as tools or “mechanical” aids)
2) qualitative
impairments in communication as manifested by at least one of the
following:
a. delay
in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied
by an attempt to compensate through alternative modes of communication such
as gesture or mime)
b. in
individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to
initiate or sustain a conversation with others
c. stereotyped
and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language
d. lack
of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative play
appropriate to developmental level
3) restricted
repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities,
as manifested by at least two of the following:
a. encompassing
preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of
interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
b. apparently
inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
c. stereotyped
and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g. hand or finger flapping or twisting,
or complex whole body movements)
d. persistent
preoccupation with parts of objects
B. Delays
or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset
prior to age 3 years: (1) social interaction, (2) language as used in
social communication, (3) symbolic or imaginative play
C. The
disturbance is not better accounted for by Rett’s
Disorder or Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
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