Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder usually diagnosed by the
age of three. National Institute of health describes autism as
affecting essential human behaviors such as social interaction, the
ability to communicate ideas and feelings, imagination, and the
establishment of relationships with others. Autism is a spectrum
disorder; therefore, features may run from very mild to very severe.
It is a biological disorder of brain development. An individual with
autism may have difficulties in the following areas:
♦Low motivation
♦ Limited reinforcement repertoire
♦Short attention span and easily being distracted
♦Difficulty understanding abstract concepts
♦Poor differentiation of relevant and irrelevant stimuli
♦Learn relatively slow
♦Difficulty comprehending abstract concepts
♦Difficulty learning by observation
♦Self-stimulatory behavior that interferes with learning
♦Difficulty learning in small/large groups
♦Sensory/motor impairments
♦Lack of communication skills & receptive/expressive language ability
From the Diagnostic and Statistical manual, Fourth Edition,
Made Easy, James Morrison (1995), pp. 511-512.
Autism
The patient fulfills a total of at least six criteria from the following
three lists, distributed as indicated:
■Impaired Social Interaction (at least two)
□Markedly deficient regulation of social interaction through multiple
nonverbal behaviors, such as eye contact, facial expression, body
posture, and gestures
□Lack of peer relationships that are appropriate to developmental
level
□Absence of seeking to share achievements, interest, or pleasure
with others
□Absence of social or emotional reciprocity
■Impaired Communication (at least one)
□Delayed or absent development of spoken language, for which the
patient doesn’t try to compensate with gestures
□In patients who can speak, notable deficiency in the ability to begin
or sustain a conversation
□Language that is repetitive, stereotyped, or idiosyncratic
□Appropriate to developmental stage, absence of social imitative
play or spontaneous, make-believe play
■Activities, behaviors, and interests that are repetitive, restricted,
and stereotyped (at least one)
□Abnormal (in focus or intensity) preoccupation with interests that
are restricted and stereotyped (such as spinning)
□Rigid performance of routines or rituals that don’t appear to have a
function
□Repetitive, stereotyped motor mannerisms (such as hand flapping)
□Persistent absorption with parts of objects
*Before age three, the patient shows delayed or abnormal
functioning in one or more of these areas: Social interaction,
language used in social communication, imaginative or symbolic play.
▫These symptoms are not better explained by childhood
Disintegrative Disorder or Rett’s Disorder
Asperger's Syndrome
From the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:
DSM IV
(I) Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at
least two of the following:
(A) marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors
such as eye to eye gaze, facial expression, body posture, and
gestures to regulate social interaction
(B) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to
developmental level
(C) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interest or
achievements with other people, (e.g.. by a lack of showing,
bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
(D) lack of social or emotional reciprocity
(II) Restricted repetitive & stereotyped patterns of behavior,
interests and activities, as manifested by at least one of the
following:
(A) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and
restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or
focus
(B) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional
routines or rituals
(C) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g. hand or
finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)
(D) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects
(III) The disturbance causes clinically significant impairments
in social, occupational, or other important areas of
functioning.
(IV) There is no clinically significant general delay in language (E.G.
single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by
age 3 years)
(V) There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or
in the development of age-appropriate self help skills, adaptive
behavior (other than in social interaction) and curiosity about the
environment in childhood.
(VI) Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive
Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia."
age of three. National Institute of health describes autism as
affecting essential human behaviors such as social interaction, the
ability to communicate ideas and feelings, imagination, and the
establishment of relationships with others. Autism is a spectrum
disorder; therefore, features may run from very mild to very severe.
It is a biological disorder of brain development. An individual with
autism may have difficulties in the following areas:
♦Low motivation
♦ Limited reinforcement repertoire
♦Short attention span and easily being distracted
♦Difficulty understanding abstract concepts
♦Poor differentiation of relevant and irrelevant stimuli
♦Learn relatively slow
♦Difficulty comprehending abstract concepts
♦Difficulty learning by observation
♦Self-stimulatory behavior that interferes with learning
♦Difficulty learning in small/large groups
♦Sensory/motor impairments
♦Lack of communication skills & receptive/expressive language ability
From the Diagnostic and Statistical manual, Fourth Edition,
Made Easy, James Morrison (1995), pp. 511-512.
Autism
The patient fulfills a total of at least six criteria from the following
three lists, distributed as indicated:
■Impaired Social Interaction (at least two)
□Markedly deficient regulation of social interaction through multiple
nonverbal behaviors, such as eye contact, facial expression, body
posture, and gestures
□Lack of peer relationships that are appropriate to developmental
level
□Absence of seeking to share achievements, interest, or pleasure
with others
□Absence of social or emotional reciprocity
■Impaired Communication (at least one)
□Delayed or absent development of spoken language, for which the
patient doesn’t try to compensate with gestures
□In patients who can speak, notable deficiency in the ability to begin
or sustain a conversation
□Language that is repetitive, stereotyped, or idiosyncratic
□Appropriate to developmental stage, absence of social imitative
play or spontaneous, make-believe play
■Activities, behaviors, and interests that are repetitive, restricted,
and stereotyped (at least one)
□Abnormal (in focus or intensity) preoccupation with interests that
are restricted and stereotyped (such as spinning)
□Rigid performance of routines or rituals that don’t appear to have a
function
□Repetitive, stereotyped motor mannerisms (such as hand flapping)
□Persistent absorption with parts of objects
*Before age three, the patient shows delayed or abnormal
functioning in one or more of these areas: Social interaction,
language used in social communication, imaginative or symbolic play.
▫These symptoms are not better explained by childhood
Disintegrative Disorder or Rett’s Disorder
Asperger's Syndrome
From the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:
DSM IV
(I) Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at
least two of the following:
(A) marked impairments in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors
such as eye to eye gaze, facial expression, body posture, and
gestures to regulate social interaction
(B) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to
developmental level
(C) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interest or
achievements with other people, (e.g.. by a lack of showing,
bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
(D) lack of social or emotional reciprocity
(II) Restricted repetitive & stereotyped patterns of behavior,
interests and activities, as manifested by at least one of the
following:
(A) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and
restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or
focus
(B) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional
routines or rituals
(C) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g. hand or
finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)
(D) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects
(III) The disturbance causes clinically significant impairments
in social, occupational, or other important areas of
functioning.
(IV) There is no clinically significant general delay in language (E.G.
single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by
age 3 years)
(V) There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or
in the development of age-appropriate self help skills, adaptive
behavior (other than in social interaction) and curiosity about the
environment in childhood.
(VI) Criteria are not met for another specific Pervasive
Developmental Disorder or Schizophrenia."
What is Autism
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