Chapter 2. Diagnosis. Diagnostic
Characteristics of ASD
Why does Diagnosis matter? - answer Prognosis, Access to Services, Early Intensive
Behavioral Intervention, Special Education, Family support services,
Physical/Language/Occupational Therapy, Research, Families
DSM-5 - answer Two major characteristics of autism spectrum disorder are expressed
in DSM-5 (A. impairments in social communication and social interaction; B. restricted
behavior, interests, & activities). There is recognition that the impairments are present in
early childhood and that they limit daily functioning
Social Communication Skills: DSM5 - answer Socialization and communication deficits
are combined into one set of symptoms. All three symptoms required:
1.Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity
2.Deficits in nonverbal communication during social interactions
3.Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships
Deficits in Social Reciprocity - answer Problems ranging from
abnormal social approach and
failure of normal back and forth conversation through
reduced sharing of interests and emotions to
total lack of initiation of social interaction
Social Interactions - answerThe problems may be more qualitative than quantitative.
Do not make eye contact and smile at their mothers like children without ASD, Do
recognize the difference between their mothers and strangers.
Deficits in Nonverbal Communication - answerDifficulty properly estimating social
distance, gestures, or eye contact. This is problematic and usually apparent by the age
of 12 months. Lack appropriate facial expressions or tone of voice (prosody)
Difficulty in Creating or Maintaining Relationships - answerThe two previous symptom
clusters (problems with social reciprocity and nonverbal communication) obviously can
contribute to the inability to create new relationships or maintain current ones.
Range - no interest to an interest but an inability or difficulty
Restricted & Repetitive Behaviors and Interests: DSM-5 - answerTwo major
characteristics of autism spectrum disorder are expressed in DSM-5
A.impairments in social communication and social interaction
B.restricted behavior, interests, & activities
, Restricted and Repetitive Patterns of Behavior, Interests, or Activities - answerThe
autistic child desires to live in a static world, a world in which no change is tolerated.
The status quo must be maintained at all cost. Only the child himself may sometimes
take it upon himself to modify existing combinations. But no one else may do so without
arousing unhappiness and anger. It is remarkable the extent to which children will go to
assure the preservation of sameness. Most conspicuous in this respect were his
stereotypic movements. He would suddenly start to beat rhythmically on his thighs,
bang loudly on the table, hit the wall, hit another person or jump around the room.
DSM-V Criteria for ASD: Restricted Behavior, Interests, or Activities -
answer1.Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech
2.Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of
verbal or nonverbal behavior
3.Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus
4.Hypo-and-hyper sensory reactivity or interests
Positive Fixations - answerThe ability to focus on a topic for long periods of time can
also be positive. Research on the cognitive skills of people with ASD (usually on the
more advanced end of the spectrum) suggests that they may outperform persons
without ASD on some visiospatial skills, perhaps to maintain attention on local
information.
Hypo-and-hyper sensory reactivity or interests: - answerUnusual responses to sensory
input including the apparent absence of usual responses, or hyper-responsiveness to
things such as loud noises, textures, smells, lights, etc., or unusual interest in sensory
aspects of the environment
Sensory Issues - answerSome individuals have fixations or aversions to certain smells
and food textures that seems to contribute to their unusual and picky eating habits.
What Motivates these Behaviors? - answerResearchers looked at motivators for
children with ASD and ID and compared them to children with ID only.
Used version of the Motivation Assessment Scale (Durand & Crimmins, 1988).
Anxiety - ASD and ID
Sensory - ID only
Change over time - answerLooked at "self-stimulatory" behaviors (rocking and hand
flapping), Assessed functions, and Escape from unpleasant situations. Abnormal motor
behaviors and responses to sensory stimulation seem to diminish with age while
routines and resistance to change do not.
Major Changes in DSM-V: No more subtypes of ASD - answerNo longer any categories
for distinct subtypes of ASD; removed Rett's Disorder & collapsed remaining 4
diagnoses into one
Separate diagnoses were not consistently applied across different clinics
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