Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability. Children and adults with ASD have difficulty with social communication/interaction and exhibit restrictive and/or repetitive patterns of behavior. There is a wide range of ability among people with ASD. Some people with ASD are gifted and others need significant levels of support to ensure their health and well-being. While great strides are being made, there is no known cause, or a known singular effective treatment for ASD.
People with ASD have challenges in the areas of social communication/interaction and restricted/repetitive behaviors. A few examples:
Social Communication/ Interaction
Difficulty establishing or maintaining back-and forth conversations and interactions
Inability to initiate an interaction
Problems with shared attention or sharing of emotions and interests with others
Abnormal eye contact, posture, facial expressions, tone of voice and gestures, as well as an inability to understand these
Lack of interest in other people
Difficulties in pretend play
Engaging in age appropriate social activities
Problems adjusting to different social expectations.
Restrictive/Repetitive Behavior
Stereotyped or repetitive speech, motor movements or use of objects
Excessive adherence to routines
Ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior
Excessive resistance to change
Highly restricted interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus
Hyper or hypo reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment
No two people with autism are the same. There is no single behavior that is always present in every individual with ASD.