Autism The Needs of Children and Families Free Essay Example, 3750 words

7). Severe autism, Asperger Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), also known as atypical autism, are three developmental disabilities that make up the spectrum (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 2008). Characteristics As discussed earlier, severe autism is a part of a spectrum in that this autistic child may exhibit these types of characteristics, at a certain level, while another might have a different set of characteristics at another degree. Furthermore, the impairments that autism presents may have different effects on different children (The National Autistic Society 2008a). In order to distinguish between the three different disorders belonging to ASD, the triad of impairments must be discussed, as this is the primary standard wherein diagnoses are most often based. However, it must be noted that there are other characteristics of autism other than the three that will be discussed. They are: sensory processing problems (eg. hypersensitive and hyposensitive); motor dysfunctions (eg. clumsiness); arousal/activation problems (high emotional reactivity, hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity); repetitive, restricted and stereotyped interests, activities and behaviors; and behavior problems (eg. n on-compliance and aggression) (Whitman and Kingsley 2004, p. We will write a custom essay sample on Autism: The Needs of Children and Families or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now 52). These are but a few of the specific characteristics of autism that are not included in the triad of impairments—things that parents and families with autistic children and adults should also watch out for. The Triad of Impairments The triad of impairments is the three primary areas most affected by autism. These are verbal and non-verbal communication, reciprocal social interaction and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests and activities or more generally known as social communication, social interaction and social imagination, respectively (The National Autistic Society 2008b). Social Communication Those within the autistic spectrum disorders usually cannot communicate effectively using verbal and non-verbal communication. Examples of common speech problems of autistic individuals are: (1) echolalia or just repeating what the other person is saying; (2) repeating specific phrases that they have associated with a particular action or request, failing to integrate the use of correct pronouns, for instance, saying â€Å"Do you want milk? † instead of â€Å"I want milk; † and (3) Missing necessary articles that link words to form coherent sentences, for example, saying â€Å"want drink milk† instead of â€Å"I want to drink milk† (Gillson, 1999).