10.5: Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Page ID
- 178863
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Students with ASD exhibit a wide range of characteristics. However, students with ASD often exhibit problems with social communication and interaction and exhibit restricted or repetitive behaviors. Examples of problems with social communication and interaction include the following.
- Inability to make or keep eye contact
- Decreased facial recognition
- Limited ability to share interests or achievements
- Difficulty initiating social interactions or maintaining friendships
Deviations in language development may also contribute to problems with social communication. For example, some students with ASD may have limited speech or may not speak. In addition, some students may display characteristics such as echolalia, the repetition of words and phrases said to them. Echolalia may be immediate or delayed, where the child repeats a previously heard word or phrase hours, days, or weeks later. Other less prevalent language characteristics are palilalia, when a student repeats their own words; echopraxia, the repetition of others’ gestures and movements; and the use of neologisms (i.e., made-up words). Students with ASD may also use inappropriate pronouns or sentences that are less complex than those used by their peers without ASD (Smiley et al., 2022).
Examples of restricted or repetitive behaviors include the need for a routine, engaging in repetitive motor movements (e.g., rocking back and forth, hand flapping, hand wringing), repetitive play (e.g., repeatedly spinning the wheels on a truck), an unusual attachment to particular objects or toys, and obsession with particular topic areas (e.g., baseball statistics) or interests (e.g., dinosaurs). Deficits in executive functioning—the skills that enable individuals to plan, focus attention, and remember—may also contribute to these types of behaviors.
Students with ASD may also display characteristics related to sensory and motor functions, such as an abnormal response to sensory stimuli, including response to sound, smell, taste, tactile input, or visual stimuli; reduced sensitivity to pain, heat, or cold; and abnormal eating and sleeping behaviors. For example, a student with ASD may be overresponsive or underresponsive to loud noises or hypersensitive to smells in the environment.
Students with ASD may also experience developmental delays as well as co-occurring disorders such as learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and emotional or behavioral disorders (e.g., depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders). Some students may also experience health disorders such as seizure disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, 2022; Smiley et al., 2022).
Finally, it is important to note that students with ASD may also have significant strengths. For example, it is generally accepted that students with ASD have strong visual processing skills (Smiley et al., 2022). Educators and clinicians must remember that students with ASD may exhibit a wide range of characteristics that require individualized instruction and intervention.
Smiley, L. R., Richards, S.B., & Taylor, R. (2022). Exceptional students: Preparing teachers for the 21st century (4th ed.). McGraw Hill.
Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (2022). About autism. https://autisticadvocacy.org/about-asan/about-autism/