Parent's Quick Start Guide to Autism

Noelle Balsamo, James W. Forgan

• Editore: Routledge
• Anno: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000594812
• Edizione: 1
• Argomento: Pedagogía
• Categoria: Educación inclusiva

Parent's Quick Start Guide to Autism provides parents and caregivers with an immediate overview of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and steps they can take to support and encourage their child.

Each chapter is packed with detailed and helpful information, covering what to do at home and at school, how to avoid common mistakes, and how (and when) to seek professional help. Summary and resource sections at the end of each chapter give quick guidance to busy readers. Topics include occupational therapy, applied behavior analysis (ABA), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), interventions, and more.

Offering straightforward, easy to understand, and evidence-based information, this book is a go-to resource for caregivers parenting a child with autism.

1
Autism

DOI: 10.4324/9781003285953-2

Autism Explained

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), autism for short, is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that shows up in difficulty with social communication and social interaction along with restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or actions. Common autism characteristics include but are not limited to:

• Poor, inconsistent, or unusual eye contact
• Delayed speech and/or difficulty communicating wants and needs
• Immediate or delayed “echoing” of what was heard
• Difficulty engaging in two-way conversations
• Difficulty starting or maintaining play with others
• Difficulty taking turns
• Difficulty understanding others’ feelings or facial expressions
• Difficulty using or understanding gestures (e.g., pointing)
• Sensory sensitivities (e.g., avoiding or seeking)
• Repetitive auditory (e.g., nonfunctional sounds) and/or motor behaviors (e.g., rocking, hand flapping, spinning objects)
• Having an unusual fixation on a specific topic (e.g., trains, horses, Pokémon, dinosaurs, certain numbers or letters, anime, etc.)
• Difficulty adjusting to change in routines
• Difficulty with transitions, especially from preferred activities to less preferred ones
• Difficulty following multi-step directions
• Might not consistently respond to name
• Problem behaviors (e.g., aggression towards self or others, frequent tantrums, frequent noncompliance during routine tasks)

Diagnosing Autism

We assume by you reading this book that your child has an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, henceforth referred to as autism. If not, it’s important to get a reliable diagnosis. Many parents receive what is called a “medical diagnosis” that comes from an experienced:

• Psychiatrist
• Psychologist/school psychologist
• Neurologist
• Developmental pediatrician

You want to work with a professional or team of professionals who uses a thorough diagnostic approach involving interaction with your child and discussion with you and others who know your child well. Most professionals diagnose using a combination of interviewing, rating scales, direct observation, and testing with your child.

The American Psychiatric Association publishes the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2013, DSM-5), which holds the complete diagnostic criteria for ASD. There you will see that autism is diagnosed based on common characteristics seen across two specific areas: Social Communication and Restrictive and Repetitive Behaviors (examples of each are provided in the list in the section above called “Autism Explained”). A child must show characteristics in both areas to be reliably diagnosed.

In general, five criteria should be met to diagnose autism. First, the child must demonstrate persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across settings. Second, the child must display restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, currently or by history. Third, the child’s symptoms must have been present in the early developmental period. Fourth, there must be evidence of clinically significant impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning. Fifth, the symptoms must not be caused by another mental or physical condition.

The DSM-5 also describes a child’s autism diagnosis by the level of support they are likely to need. These levels are:

• Requiring support (mild)
• Requiring substantial support (moderate)
• Requiring very substantial support (severe)

Some parents learn their child has autism through the public school system’s evaluation process and this is considered an “educational eligibility” for services rather than a true autism diagnosis. Schools are not in the business of diagnosing children with disorders but rather providing what is called a “free appropriate public education” for any child with a disability. Thus, if the school staff tell you your child meets eligibility for services under the category of autism, that simply provides school services. You might still need a “medical diagnosis” of autism from a medical professional to receive services, such as private speech or applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapies, from providers on your health insurance plan.

What the Research Reports

Autism is a lifelong disorder that can be diagnosed as early as two years old (Lord, 1995). Catherine Lord studied thirty two-year-old children for possible autism and found that young children can be reliably diagnosed. She posed the question, “What are autistic children like at two years of age?” and afterwards answered it. They differed from other children in having a lack of initiative in seeking visual attention, a lack of response to voice, difficulty understanding gesture, unusual use of others’ bodies, unusual hand and finger mannerisms, and unusual sensory behaviors. She reported, “Deficits in two areas, directing others’ attention and attention to voice were the clearest discriminators of autism in these young children on an individual as well as group basis” (p. 1380).

Pediatricians often begin screening children for autism warning signs as early as one year of age, beginning with a family history to determine if any family members, especially a sibling, has been diagnosed with autism. Johnson and Myers (2007) summarized that,

Some of the very early signs reported by several investigators include extremes of temperament and behavior (ranging from marked irritability to alarming passivity); poor eye contact; poor response to others’ voices, especially to one’s name being called; poor attempts at interactive play; more interest in looking at objects than people; delayed pointing to request or share; decreased to-and-fro babbling and jargoning; and lack of warm, joyful, reciprocating expressions.

(p. 1195)

Early intervention is key to your child’s success. Kamal Smith, a parent of a son and an autism advocate, explained,

Seek early intervention. It is one of the most critical steps that a...