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Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Adara Glenz

Composition 1

Professor Jack Hart

3 April 2019

Autism Spectrum Disorder

        Autism, also known as ASD, is a disability that affects an individual’s mental and physical abilities. This disability is called ‘autism spectrum disorder’ because there is a wide spectrum of severity of autism. One with autism can still be fully functioning and struggle with more minor issues, such as social interaction. Although, on the other end of the spectrum, autism can cause an individual to be non-verbal and to require daily care to live a quality life.

        Autism usually never affects the way someone physically looks, but can affect how one communicates, interact, behave, and learn. Doctors usually diagnose children with autism as early as age three, but in some instances, individuals are not diagnosed until later in life. The signs that one may have autism are extensive. A few of them that are more common are: no response to name by 12 months of age, avoiding eye contact, prefers to play alone, inappropriate facial expressions, delayed speech, and many more (“Signs and Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders.”). One may also experience echolalia, which is the action of repeating a word or phrase excessively (“Signs and Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders.”).

        As noted before, there is a wide range of severity that happens with autism. There are types that still allow the individual to function independently, and then there are types that require the individual to have assistance for their whole life. The three types of autism are Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Persuasive Developmental Disorder (“Autism”).  Autistic Disorder is more commonly known as childhood autism. According to the National Society of Autism, they describe Autistic Disorder as “A type of pervasive developmental disorder that is defined by: (a) the presence of abnormal or impaired development that is manifest before the age of three years, and (b) the characteristic type of abnormal functioning in all the three areas of psychopathology: reciprocal social interaction, communication, and restricted, stereotyped, repetitive behaviour. In addition to these specific diagnostic features, a range of other nonspecific problems are common, such as phobias, sleeping and eating disturbances, temper tantrums, and (self-directed) aggression” (“Autism”). Asperger’s Syndrome is another type of autism that still allows the individual to be functional but have some struggles when it comes to social skills. Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome usually have an above average intellectual abilities with specific interest in a single hobby (“Autism”). Finally, the last type of autism is Persuasive Developmental Disorder. The National Society of Autism describes Persuasive Developmental Disorder as “. . . there is abnormal and impaired development that is present only after age three years, and a lack of sufficient demonstrable abnormalities in one or two of the three areas of psychopathology required for the diagnosis of autism (namely, reciprocal social interactions, communication, and restricted, stereotyped, repetitive behaviour) in spite of characteristic abnormalities in the other area(s). Atypical autism arises most often in profoundly retarded individuals and in individuals with a severe specific developmental disorder of receptive language.” (“Autism”). 

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