Class notes
PHYA 418 Autism Spectrum Notes
- Course
- PHYA 418
- Institution
- Duquesne University
This is a comprehensive and detailed note Autism Spectrum disorder for PHYA 418. *Essential Study Material!!
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Autism Spectrum Disorder:● According to the CDC, about 1 in 44 children has been diagnosed with autism
spectrum disorder (2016)
● M>F
Neurodevelopmental Disorders:
● Group of conditions that manifest early in development
● Characterized by developmental deficits:
○ Impairments in personal, social, academic or occupational functioning
■ Specific limitations: learning or control of executive functions
(mental skills: working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control)
■ Global impairments: social skills or intelligence
Autism Spectrum Disorder:
● Autism is typically evident during the second year of life
○ Earlier diagnosis may be made in severe cases
● Approximately 1/3 of children meeting the DSM 5 criteria for ASD also exhibit
Intellectual Disability (ID)
○ ID is formerly known as mental retardation
● Prior to the DSM-V criteria, Autism was categorized into five different disorders:
○ Autistic Disorder
○ Asperger’s Disorder
○ Childhood Disintegrative Disorders
○ Rett Syndrome
○ Pervasive Developmental Disorder NOS
● Children with repetitive behaviors such as hand-flipping, toe-walking or odd play
are often diagnosed at younger ages.
● DSM Diagnostic Criteria:
○ 1. Social communication
○ 2. Social interaction
-across multiple contexts
○ **Aberrant language development and usage is no longer considered a
core feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder. It is now considered an
associated feature.
● DSM-V Criteria:
○ Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity
■ 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
, ■ Abnormal eye contact and body language
■ Lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication
○ Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships
■ Difficulty making friends
■ Absence of interest in peers
● Severity of autism is based on social communication impairments and restricted,
repetitive patterns of behavior (Must meet at least two of the following:)
○ Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements
○ Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized
patterns of verbal or nonverbal behaviors
○ Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus
○ Hyper- or hypo reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory
aspects of the environment
● Key Factors:
○ Increasing over the past two decades
○ Possible genetic connection
○ Increased serotonin levels
○ EEG abnormalities and possible seizure disorder
○ Can be caused from prenatal (maternal age) or perinatal (hypoxia)
complications
● Diagnosis and Clinical Features:
○ Core Symptoms
■ Persistent deficits in social communication and interaction
● No smile, less frequent and poor eye contact, extreme
anxiety when routines are interrupted, awkward social
behavior, lack of conventional conversation, difficulty
developing empathy, limited verbal reasoning
■ Restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior
● Ritualistic and compulsive behavior, change leads to fear,
panic and temper tantrum, activities of play are more rigid,
repetitive and monotonous
■ Physical characteristics
● At first glance no abnormalities, may not show dominate
handedness and remain ambidextrous late into childhood
and may have abnormal fingerprints
○ Associated Behaviors
■ Disturbance in language development such as delay, rhythm, or
echolalia
■ Intellectual Disability
■ Irritability with aggression, temper tantrums and self injury
■ Instability of mood of affect
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