There is such a range of ability and disability on the autism spectrum that we could not hope to condense it all into a single page. Instead, we want to focus on common problems that we address at the Communication & Learning Clinic.
No two children are alike, whether they follow a typical developmental path or have been diagnosed with autism. At the Communication & Learning Clinic, we follow basic principles that result in successful treatment and long-term changes in behavior. Successful methods of treatment are based on the assumption that people with autism are people first. They have likes and dislikes, even if their repertoire of likes may be few and their list of dislikes may be many. Individuals with autism want to be able to make choices and be able to control what happens to them.
The speech-language pathologists at the Communication & Learning Clinic work toward a win-win situation where our expertise in treating communication disorders is combined with the personal preferences of the individual and the lifestyle of the family.
The social aspect of communication is often the first area of concern for parents. As a baby, an individual with autism may not be comforted by cuddling or other close contact. Social communication deficits fall on a broad spectrum. Some individuals have a total lack of interest in other people. Others, known as "high-functioning" may be able to function almost normally in daily situations but have an inability to "read" social situations or interpret teachers' or employers' implicit directions.
There are many learning challenges that face an individual with autism. Systematically teaching details and individual steps will lead to the greatest success. Things that may be obvious to others, may not be obvious to someone with an autism spectrum disorder. A person who requires this level of training also needs to be taught to integrate the details and steps into an organized whole. A child may know information the night before the test and can explain it in detail to others. But when the teacher words the questions differently on the test, the child does not recognize the same information in a different form.
You may find that some characteristics of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) apply to a child with autism. The words "attention deficit" generally trigger mental pictures of children who are extremely active and unable to pay attention for long periods of time. However, there are different types of attention deficits, some of which may co-exist with a diagnosis of autism. A person with autism may not pay attention at all unless it is something within his or her small inventory of interests. A child with a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome may have difficulty staying on task because the task reminds him of something else which reminds him of something else and on and on until he cannot remember what the original task was. Another form of attention problem is one in which the person pays attention to everything and is unable to filter out extraneous sights, sounds or information. These attention problems wreak havoc on schedules, homework and everyday routines.
Individuals with an autism spectrum disorder may have difficulties with upper and lower motor coordination. This may be observed in an awkward gait or uncoordinated movements during physical activities such as sports or during recess. Fine motor coordination difficulties in individuals with high-functioning autism include difficulty with handwriting. Treatment of coordination problems may require consultation with other professionals including physical and occupational therapists.
For more information about resources on autism contact the Indiana Resource Center for Autism
