Autism Spectrum Disorder

About ASD

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 59 children in the United States today.

Autism spectrum disorder can be an “invisible” condition. Children with mild-moderate ASD are often diagnosed after early childhood because symptoms may not become prominent until demands exceed a child’s abilities. Diagnosis may be delayed because children learn strategies from their environment to compensate for the skills they lack. Additionally, children with ASD are often misdiagnosed with ADHD at an early age. As a result, they miss out on opportunities for early intervention.

Older children with mild-moderate autism spectrum disorder may:

  • Demonstrate anxiety (generalized anxiety, social anxiety, unusual fears, separation anxiety, seemingly “bizarre thoughts”, can’t seem to get their mind off something)

  • Seem to struggle with making new friends or maintaining relationships (they may avoid new peers or seem overly interested in new children)

  • Connections with animals

  • Feel overwhelmed in social situations

  • Only talk about their own interests and/or monopolize a conversation

    • Have unusual or restricted interests

    • Have interests that are not age appropriate

  • Have “no filter” (say socially inappropriate phrases or jokes)

  • Have trouble understanding the perspective of another person

  • Take expressions or jokes literally

  • Be overly controlling or bossy with other children

  • Be disorganized or put low effort into school work, general lack of organization

  • Have sporadic or consistent behavior problems

  • Have trouble adjusting their behavior to suit different contexts/situations

  • Demonstrate poor eye contact or poorly integrated eye contact

  • Complain things are “too loud” or have other sensory sensitivities

  • Refrain from sharing their feelings or not speak up about a problem

  • Difficulty with transitions

Common Challenges

 

Classic signs of autism spectrum disorder are often seen in younger children, but older children may still demonstrate the following:

Children and adults with autism have difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication. For example, they may not understand or appropriately use:

  • Spoken language

  • Gestures

  • Eye contact

  • Facial expressions

  • Tone of voice

  • Expressions not meant to be taken literally

  • Recognizing emotions and intentions in others

  • Recognizing one’s own emotions

  • Expressing emotions

  • Seeking emotional comfort from others

  • Feeling overwhelmed in social situations

  • Taking turns in conversation

  • Gauging personal space (appropriate distance between people)

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Restricted and repetitive behaviors vary greatly across the autism spectrum. They can include:

  • Repetitive body movements (e.g. rocking, flapping, spinning, running back and forth)

  • Repetitive motions with objects (e.g. spinning wheels, shaking sticks, flipping levers)

  • Staring at lights or spinning objects

  • Ritualistic behaviors (e.g. lining up objects, repeatedly touching objects in a set order)

  • Narrow or extreme interests in specific topics

  • Need for unvarying routine/resistance to change (e.g. same daily schedule, meal menu, clothes, route to school)

    Source: autismspeaks.org

 

Therapy Options

Children with ASD can make great progress with therapy and most are involved in multiple treatments such as Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), speech therapy, and/or occupational therapy. We may refer your child for these services to help support their progress. Many children benefit from a comprehensive, collaborative treatment approach. However, not all children need additional services.

 

Why Play?

Play. It’s just what kids do. Children play at home, at school, and many other places. Play is where a child’s imagination comes alive, how they process experiences, and how they interact with other people. For children with ASD, issues with social communication and restricted/repetitive behaviors often inhibit developmentally productive play. Given the importance of play, a great amount of intervention research aimed at teaching children with ASD target play and social behaviors has been conducted.


Age Appropriate Developmental Skills

Teaching appropriate play skills to young children with autism at an early age may enhance children’s acquisition of age-appropriate developmental skills, build positive relationships with peers, and enable children to demonstrate desirable behaviors (van Berckelaer- Onnes, 2003).


Improvements in Social Interaction

Research demonstrates that improvements in play can facilitate social interaction, language skills, and decrease the self-stimulatory behaviour of children with autism (Baker, 2000; Stahmer, 1995; Thorp et al., 1995)

Improved Behavior

Studies on teaching play skills indicate that children with autism responded well to direct play intervention in the structured environment. Improvements in play skills also increased positive social interactions and decreased inappropriate behavior as collateral effects. (Dauphinet al., 2004; Hine & Wolery, 2006)

In addition to play skills, play based interventions can be used to help promote:

  • Emotional regulation

  • Social skills and functioning

  • Connection and relationship

    Development