People with ASD often have problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests. People with ASD may also have different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention. It is important to note that some people without ASD might also have some of these symptoms.
Answer: Every individual is different. However, there are primary characteristics that are associated with ASD. The primary characteristics are 1) poorly developed social skills, 2) difficulty with expressive and receptive communication, and 3) the presence of restrictive and repetitive behaviors.
brain functions. There are two main areas that are affected when an individual has ASD: ● social-communication skills, and ● restricted and repetitive behaviors. Individuals who have been diagnosed with ASD may have difficulty communicating with others, making friends and relating to other people.
Autistic people may act in a different way to other people
find it hard to understand how other people think or feel. find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable. get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events. take longer to understand information.
What is high-functioning autism? There are three levels within ASD and what is considered “high-functioning” would fall in the level one category. High-functioning autism means that a person is able to read, write, speak, and handle daily tasks, such as eating and getting dressed independently.
A child with level 1 autism may understand and speak in complete sentences, but have difficulty engaging in back-and-forth conversation. Children with ASD level 1 experience some inflexibility of behavior, like difficulty switching between tasks, staying organized, and planning.
Students with autism may have difficulties with comprehension, casual conversation skills, and understanding the subtleties of language (e.g. jokes, sarcasm, idioms, clichés). Students with autism may engage in repetitive body movements, such as rocking back and forth or flapping their hands.
The specialist may observe the child give the child a structured test, ask the parents or caregivers questions, or ask them to fill out questionnaires. The results of this formal evaluation highlight your child's strengths and challenges and can inform whether they meet criteria for a developmental diagnosis.
It is possible to be mildly autistic. However, people who are diagnosed with autism generally have traits that interfere with their ability to lead a normal life.
Schriber et al[55] investigated personality differences between ASD adults and neurotypical control adults using self-reports of the Big Five personality traits. Individuals with ASD were more neurotic, and less extraverted, agreeable, conscientious and open to experience, than neurotypical controls.
There are other brain disorders that mimic autism symptoms, like ADHD and anxiety disorders, including selective mutism. Autism can be misdiagnosed as another disorder with some shared symptoms.
Although the exact cause of autism is still unknown, there is evidence to suggest that genetics play a significant role. Since autism is less prevalent in females, autism was always thought to be passed down from the mother. However, research suggests that autism genes are usually inherited from the father.
Autism is very distinct from ADHD, but the core symptoms of ADHD-Combined type, i.e., attention deficit, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, would appear to also be features of autism. ASD and ADHD are neurobiological disorders characterized by similar underlying neuropsychological “deficits”.
Some children show ASD symptoms within the first 12 months of life. In others, symptoms may not show up until 24 months of age or later. Some children with ASD gain new skills and meet developmental milestones until around 18 to 24 months of age, and then they stop gaining new skills or lose the skills they once had.
About stimming and autism
Stimming might include: hand and finger mannerisms – for example, finger-flicking and hand-flapping. unusual body movements – for example, rocking back and forth while sitting or standing. posturing – for example, holding hands or fingers out at an angle or arching the back while sitting.
Autistic children and teenagers experience a range of emotions, but they might need support to recognise, understand and manage their emotions. For example, your autistic child might feel all negative or unpleasant emotions as anger. Or they might not recognise when they're excited.
The Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) is a list of questions about a child's behaviors. The ABC was published in 1980 (Krug et al., 1980) and is part of a broader tool, the Autism Screening Instrument for Educational Planning (ASIEP) (Krug et al., 1978).
Strategies to consider include distraction, diversion, helping the person use calming strategies such as fiddle toys or listening to music, removing any potential triggers, and staying calm yourself.
These children are often notably awkward, and they find nonverbal interaction especially complicated, specifically in situations involving eye contact, sensory sensitivity, spatial awareness, and interpersonal communications.
ASD Level 1 – Level 1 ASD is currently the lowest classification.