Social Interaction

• Social interactions with other people, both physical (such as hugging or holding) and verbal (such as having a conversation).
• Children with ASDs do not interact with other people the way most children do, or they may not be interested in other people at all.
• Children with ASDs may not make eye contact and may just want to be alone.
• They may have trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings.
• A child with an ASD may not like to be held or cuddled and may not form the usual attachments or bonds to other people.

Communication

• Communication, both verbal (spoken) and nonverbal (unspoken)
• About 40% of children with ASDs do not talk at all. Other children have echolalia, which is when they repeat back something that was said to them.
• Or a child may repeat a television ad he heard sometime in the past.
• Children with ASDs may not understand gestures such as waving goodbye. They may say “I” when them mean “you” or vice versa.
• Their voices may sound flat and it may seem like they cannot control how loudly or softly they talk.
• Children with ASDs may stand too close to the people they are talking to, or may stick with one topic of conversation for too long.

Why do children with autism have so much trouble communicating?

• Effective communication is more than just sending and receiving messages.
• It requires that one person, either the sender or the receiver of the message, interact with the other person.
• Actually, in order for the interaction to be successful, the other person must reciprocate in some way.

A child will communicate when:

• He is able to attend to what is being said.
• He is able to understand what is said.
• He experiences the responsiveness of others to his attempts at communication.
• He has reason to communicate.
• He is motivated.
• Look for reason why he might or might not communicate.
• Learn to recognize that children with autism do not communicate in the same way as their peers.

Contributed by Clarissa Willis, Ph.D.  Dr. Willis has worked for the past 20 years on behalf of children with autism spectrum disorder and their families. She is the author of five books including the award-winning titles Teaching Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Inclusive Literacy Lessons for Early Childhood. Her articles on child development and early childhood special education have been published both nationally and internationally. Formerly an Associate Professor of Special Education and the Associate Director of the Center of Excellence in Early Childhood Learning and Development at East Tennessee State University, she currently works as an early childhood consultant and frequent speaker at national and international conferences. Dr. Willis lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

What is autism?

Autism is a complex biological disorder that generally lasts throughout a person’s life. It is called a developmental disability because it starts before age three, in the developmental period, and causes delays and problems with many different ways in which a person develops or grows.

Words that describe autism:

• Puzzle
• Enigma
• Patterns
• Spectrum
• Life altering

What is a spectrum disorder?

Autism is considered to be a spectrum disorder because the characteristics range in severity and in type. They can be mild such as in the case of some children with Asperger’s Syndrome or quite severe.

Types of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Autism
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS)
• Asperger’s Syndrome
• Rett’s Syndrome
• Childhood Degenerative Disorder

Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS)

• Diagnosis used when there is a severe and pervasive impairment in the development of reciprocal social interactions or verbal/non-verbal communication skills.
• May occur with stereotyped behaviors, interests and activities are present but do not meet the DSM-IV criteria.

 Asperger’s Syndrome

• Children present classic autistic behaviors but later become verbal and can socialize
• Lack of empathy
• Inappropriate one-sided interaction
• Intense absorption with items or routines
• Cognitive, self-help and adaptive behaviors develop somewhat normally.

Rett’s Syndrome

• Girls only
• Head-growth decelerations
• Loss of previously acquired behaviors
• Hand-wringing
• Eating jags
• Severe-progressive dementia

 What autism is not!

• Curable
• Preventable
• Life-threatening
• Contagious
• Caused by over-reactive parents
• More common in one race
• A disease

Contributed by Clarissa Willis, Ph.D.  Dr. Willis has worked for the past 20 years on behalf of children with autism spectrum disorder and their families. She is the author of five books including the award-winning titles Teaching Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Inclusive Literacy Lessons for Early Childhood. Her articles on child development and early childhood special education have been published both nationally and internationally. Formerly an Associate Professor of Special Education and the Associate Director of the Center of Excellence in Early Childhood Learning and Development at East Tennessee State University, she currently works as an early childhood consultant and frequent speaker at national and international conferences. Dr. Willis lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.