4.8: Autism
- Page ID
- 228271
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Image Source: Past, Present, and Future Impact of SEED. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). CDC.gov.
Fig. 4.8. Chart that describes the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) - about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in preschool age children, inlcuding risk factors and what signs to look for.
Exploring Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- CDC’s Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) helps us learn more about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), risk factors, and developmental characteristics.
- SEED has now been expanded to learn more about the health, functioning, and needs of children with ASD and other developmental disabilities as they mature.
Autism spectrum disorder is probably the most misunderstood and puzzling of the neurodevelopmental disorders. Children with this disorder show signs of significant disturbances in three main areas:
- deficits in social interaction
- inability to make or keep eye contact
- decreased facial recognition
- limited ability to share interests or achievements
- difficulty initiating social interactions or maintaining friendships
- may turn away when spoken to
- may prefer to play alone
- deficits in communication
- delayed language development
- no speech
- limited speech
- saying “yes” or “no” when replying to questions or statements that require additional elaboration
- making up words (neologisms)
- echolalia - the repetition of words and phrases, echoing the speaker
- palilalia - a child repeats their own words
- echopraxia - the repetition of others’ gestures and movements
- inability to reciprocate others comments
- oversimplified speech patterns for their age
- repetitive behaviors (stimming)
- rocking back and forth
- hand flapping or wringing
- twirling or jumping
- pacing back and forth
- repetitively dropping an object then picking it up
- twirling or pulling hair
- humming or tapping
- sorting objects
- sensory sensitivities/hypersensitivities
- heat or cold
- scratchy clothing
- loud noises and sound
- smells, tastes, textures
- visual stimuli - bright or flickering lights
- special interests
- obsessively intrigued by a specific topic or interest (dinosaurs, maps, animals)
- fixated by a single object or toy
- obsession with a specific topic
- distressed with any changes to routines, routes, organization, etc.
Deficits in executive functioning skills that enable planning, focusing attention, and remembering may contribute to these types of behaviors.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004)
In 1990, the IDEA included autism as a disability category but did not define it. They referred to autism as a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Definition
The APA in th4 DSM-IV abd DSM V significantly changed the diagnosis of autism and related disorders over time. The examples below represent some of the characteristics of children with autism as manifested currently or by history, but are not exhaustive lists.
- Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts.
- deficits in social–emotional reciprocity
- abnormal social approach
- failure of normal back-and-forth conversation
- reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect
- failure to initiate or respond to social interactions
- deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from
- poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication
- abnormalities in eye contact and body language
- deficits in understanding
- use of gestures
- total lack of facial expressions
- nonverbal communication.
- deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships
- difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts
- difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends
- absences of interest in peers
- deficits in social–emotional reciprocity
- Restrictive, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.
- stereotyped or repetitive motor movements
- use of objects - lining up toys or flipping objects
- simple motor stereotypes - stimming, hand flapping
- use of speech - echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases
- insistence on sameness and ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior
- inflexible adherence to routines
- extreme distress at small changes
- difficulties with transitions
- rigid thinking patterns
- greeting rituals
- need to take the same route to school or some other place
- need to eat the same food every day
- highly restricted, fixed interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus
- strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects
- excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests
- hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment
- apparent indifference to pain/temperature
- adverse response to specific sounds or textures
- excessive smelling or touching of objects,
- visual fascination with lights or movement
- stereotyped or repetitive motor movements
Image Source: Katherine McFarland. "Ten Tips to Help Children With Autism in Your Preschool." Learning Links.
Fig. 4.8. Visual charts that a child can point to describe their activities or feelings.
Inclusive Strategies in the Classroom
- Accommodate executive function challenges
- break tasks down into small and easy steps
- teach instructions with a song
- use picture checklists
- Provide low sensory areas
- weighted blankets
- soft toys
- noise reducing headphones
- Create nonverbal opportunities for communication
- use emotion regulation visuals to help children with calming down strategies
- encourage children to draw how they are feeling
- Behavior supports
- use and model a calm low key tone of voice do de-escalate emotions
- maintain the child's dignity to help the child feel more secure and trust in their carers
- incorporate the child’s own thoughts and ideas into any plans,
- prevent other children from teasing or goading the child into reacting
- don’t label the child’s behavior as naughty or bad
- separate the child from the challenging behaviors
- respect the child’s privacy by being careful how you discuss the child’s behaviour in front of others
- give support strategies time to work
Sources
- Autism. Cincinnati Children's.
- McFarland. Katherine."Ten Tips to Help Children With Autism in Your Preschool." Learning Links. © Learning Links 2025
- Past, Present, and Future Impact of SEED. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). CDC.gov.
- Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Diana Zaleski (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)) .