Autism - Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of neurodevelopment disorders characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and repetitive patterns of behavior. These signs usually begin before a child is three years old. Some parents report the change as being sudden, and that their children start to reject people, act strangely, and lose language and social skills they had previously acquired. In other cases there is a plateau of progress so that the difference between the child with autism and other children the same age becomes more noticeable. It is important to note that not all signs of autism appear in all autistic children. The degrees in which they appear may vary as well. But in its mildest forms, autism is more like a personality difference linked to difficulties in understanding social conventions. - Most children improve as they mature to adulthood, but social and communication difficulties may persist. The lack of demonstrated empathy is possibly the most dysfunctional aspect of Asperger syndrome. Individuals with AS experience difficulties in basic elements of social interaction. People with Asperger syndrome often display behavior, interests, and activities that are restricted and repetitive and are sometimes abnormally intense or focused. Although individuals with Asperger syndrome acquire language skills without significant general delay and their speech typically lacks significant abnormalities. - Males are four times more likely to have ASD than females.
Are we underestimating the abilities of autistic children? Standardized assessments present a host of difficulties. When testing children with ASD, it may be difficult or impossible to adhere to the administration guidelines and still elicit the student’s best performance. Tests that are highly dependent on language comprehension, for example, may be biased against students with ASD.
- The hallmark feature of ASD is