What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

It is a neurological developmental disability that includes classic autism, asperger’s disorders and pervasive developmental disorders. Autism is a disorder of brain processing.  The person with autism has a difficult time relating to peers or being in social situations.  They tend to have difficulty understanding the social cues.  They aren’t able to understand facial expressions or the meaning behind the expression.  Body language and non-verbal communication is like a foreign language to the person with autism disorders.  Their communication may be verbal or primarily non-verbal, however, regardless of how verbal a person is, they still tend to have expressive communication difficulties.  They may have the vocabulary, but rarely do they express themselves in a way that is understandable to the general public.  The person with autism usually has a restricted interest that goes very deep.  They will be very narrowly focused on this one area and will want to learn study and talk about only that interest.  For example, if the area is dinosaurs, the person most likely will know every type of dinosaur, the years in existence, their habits, feeding patterns, etc.  They will not be interested in anything else.  They also tend to not realize that their interest is not shared by everyone around them.  That is the lack of social understanding.

Autism begins in early childhood.  It is usually noticeable prior to the child beginning school.  Asperger’s disorder is a form of autism that may be less noticeable in the very early years but becomes apparent as the child enters school.  Asperger’s is not a mild form of autism but rather a verbal form.  Asperger’s disordered people tend to have a high vocabulary, and are often gifted learners.  However, they still have all the processing, communication, and social problems as well as the restrictive and repetitive patterns of behavior and interest.

Typically it is the behaviors of the autistic child that are problematic.  Their behaviors are most likely a result of problems they are having processing the world.  They are extremely sensitive to light, sound, smell, taste and touch which causes them to react strongly to their environment.  They have problems with understanding what the world wants them to do and have more difficulty in trying to express to the world what they need or want.  It is likely that the child with autism spectrum disorders will need extra help in the school and may require an individual education plan.   

If you have a child that you suspect has an autism spectrum disorder, you will want to have them clinically evaluated.  The best way to help a child with autism is to become educated about this disorder.  The more you learn and understand, the more you will be able to help your child.