Autism In Children

Autism spectrum disorders in children can cause several different symptoms within the child. Children who are diagnosed with ASD show a wide range of impairments in language ability, and intellectual functioning. Language can develop to different levels depending on the severity of the condition. In general terms a child with ASD will have difficulty understanding language communicated to them and in turn struggle to communicate, or shown a lack of interest to communicate. Communication can be a huge barrier, both with understanding what is being said and the ability to communicate with others. Early signs of ASD can be seen in a lack of enthusiasm for playing and communicating with others, possible language delay or repetitive behaviours in
A child can become fixated on a particular subject and be able to talk about it for a long period of time. The condition echolalia can be a symptom of several conditions such as ASD, aphasia or dementia, it is when a patient consistently repeats a word or phrase that they like. These children can often be labelled as non-verbal. The lack of an ability to remember words spoken recently to them is a common factor of ASD, the ability to understand the meaning can also be a problematic part of communication. The child would be assessed under the ICF framework to look at how the body structures in this case how the mental functions of language are effecting the child’s participation. One way of treating this condition can be through a direct approach. The child will be evaluated and the SLT will look at the areas for concern with regards to the child’s speech. With echolalia a common factor is the repetition on words. The therapy could target increasing the vocabulary by 20 words, with the hope that this could cause the child to recall the child’s use of syntax. (Law, Parkinson, Tamhne,
The Autism spectrum is varied and each child is affected differently. We can talk about the fact that in ‘many cases’ children will have some form of communication issue however with such a wide spectrum there will be many instances where this is not the case. In fact, there is no single effective way screening a child for ASD. It is known that communication difficulties are a fundamental issue of the condition so in this respect the Speech and Language therapist is an essential professional contact in identifying the condition. The ICF framework is there to look at the severity of conditions and look at ways in which the patient’s quality of life can be improved. From using this tool, the practitioner is able to communicate on a multi-disciplinary level which is essential with a condition like ASD; which has so many diverse