Autism and Types of Assessments
Christine Clark
San Joaquin Teachers College
Autism and Types of Assessments
Teachers College of San Joaquin
The diagnosis of Autism is often times delayed, and may happen due to the fear of an incorrect diagnosis. Autism has many defining features which can include: impaired socialization, impaired verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. Many believe that early intervention can improve outcomes for children with Autism. There are many components one must look at when diagnosing and identifying Autism. “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children be screened for developmental delays and disabilities during regular well-child doctor visits at 9 month, 18 months, and 24 or 30 months” (www.cdc.gov).
There are specific diagnostic procedures for Autism. It is typical to see many different types of assessment that coincide with the diagnostic criteria. These come in the form of speech and language, cognitive, adaptive behavioral
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Some typical areas of assessment include: “receptive language; expressive language, including sound and word production and the frequency and function of verbal (vocalizations/verbalizations) and nonverbal (e.g., gestures) communication; literacy skills; social communication use of gaze, joint attention, initiation of communication, social reciprocity and the range of communicative functions, sharing affect, play behaviors, use of gestures; conversational skills, including topic management (initiating, maintaining, and terminating relevant, shared topics); turn-taking; providing appropriate amounts of information in conversational contexts; speech prosody”(www.asha.org). Some examples of assessments are: Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development, The Nonspeech Test for Receptive/Expressive Language, and Assessing Semantic Skills through Everyday
1 in 68 people in the US have autism, this includes 1 in 189 girls and 1 in 42 boys. Autism is a difference in perception; technically it’s a developmental disorder that is the result of a difference in brain chemicals. Scientists don’t know what causes autism or why it’s stayed in the human gene pool for so long. People with autism could have a wide variety of symptoms, but some of the most common characteristics are fixations on things they like, reliance on routines,and lack of social skills. Autism can be formally diagnosed at ages as young as 3. There is no medical test to diagnose autism, rather a trained professional in the psychology field will perform a developmental screening and a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation. When a child is diagnosed with autism, therapy is strongly recommended. The earlier treatment starts the better because certain aspects of the disorder can be lessened through therapy. Therapy helps the mind and the body, certain therapies can help rebuild your brain, so to speak.
Autism is most commonly described as a developmental disability that is diagnosed over a broad spectrum of impairment and identifiers; and within the first three to five years of life. The number of cases of ASD have steadily grown over the past several decades and can be seen in 1 in every 88 births (Ogletree, Morrow-Odom, &
The diagnostic criteria requires that symptoms of autism be apparent before the age of three, but it is roughly around that age that a child can be given an autism disorder diagnosis. In order to receive a diagnosis for autism the child must meet several criteria listed in the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. At least two qualitative impairment in social interactions such as: failure to develop peer relationships, lack of social or emotional reciprocity, impairment in the use of non verbal behaviors (facial expressions, body posture, eye to eye gaze) and lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests or achievements with other people. They must also show at least one of the qualitative impairments in communication, such as: stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language, delayed or
The first three years of a child’s life is the most important and central time for the brain’s development. Autism is a disorder that can be diagnosed during the infant or toddler stage. Children can be diagnosed with autism by having different impairments such as social interaction, pattern of behavior, eye contact and speech impairment. Having the child being diagnosed with ASD can change a parent’s life view. Parents can learn different things in order to help their child. Parents will be provided by health providers different treatment, different placement in education and knowing about the different risk factor to make a difference for their autistic child now and in the future.
Whether a diagnosis of autism, or diagnosis of another disability is to be made, interventions can be developed to add the child 's “tool belt” on their waist of life. Research shows that the early intervention can highly impact the likelihood of success (Krader, 2014). The American Academy of pediatric tells us that the diagnosis procedure should start in children between 18 and 24 months. With the essential screening process, recommendations can be used to begin intervention and start the help that the child needs. As we have seen through research, not all children receive testing that proves equality (Krader, 2014).
During their checkup at 9 months old doctors will begin monitoring for developmental delays that may be observable. In order to medically diagnosis, tests for vision, hearing, neurological, and genetic mutations are performed to centralize the possible cause. Some observable symptoms associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder include children avoiding eye contact and not directly looking at objects. Many have repetitive tendencies consisting of either actions or words. Autism Spectrum Disorder patients will not develop adaptations including social skills or the ability to acclimate to change. Although components of Autism Spectrum Disorder are still being discovered researchers still have a vast amount of knowledge already to build from
Autism is a mental disorder, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts. (Classroom-Assessment-Theory-into-Practice, 2012) One in 88 children are diagnosed with autism and the symptoms are usually noticed between the ages of 18 months and 5 years. Typically, autism affects individuals in 5 key areas: Communication (verbal and non-verbal), Social skills, Behaviors, Learning, and Medical issues. Because this disorder has a dramatic impact on a child 's ability to learn, it is imperative that teachers understand the conditions surrounding autism and know how to accommodate these students. (Classroom-Assessment-Theory-into-Practice, 2012) Teachers can understand more about a student with ASD and how to accommodate the student by doing different assessments. Assessments are an extremely important part of special education. Teachers need to make sure that the assessments given to their students is correct in everyway possible. It should be correct in what they are testing, meaning what the teacher or specialist want to know from the assessment, is the information that the assessment is giving the students correct, on how the assessment works, and all assessments must have validity and reliability. Assessments often include various tests, both standardized or criterion-referenced, but testing is not the only
Many people believe that autism is its own disorder that children are diagnosed with. However, autism is actually a term used for a wide range of disorders. Autism 's clinical name is Autism Spectrum Disorder. The term spectrum is used because of the range of symptoms, intensity, and behaviors autism effects. There are also many different types of autism. There is "classic" autism which is associated with being non-verbal and anti-social. Another form of autism is Asperger Syndrome which is associated by having peculiar social skills and play. Other types of autism include Autistic Disorder, Asperger Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Rett Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. The first signs that a child many have autism are usually noticed between the ages of fifteen and eighteen months when a loss of skills or delays in development are noticed. Prenatal stress may be a leading cause of autism. Yet, there are no true known cures. Autism is characterized by back-and-forth gestures, sounds, attention, play, and conversation. Temper tantrums that are uncontrollable are also a sign of autism. Lastly, a child may use pictures or signing to be understood. All of these symptoms are a key to diagnosing a child with autism. The earlier a child is diagnosed, the better the prognosis for this child. While there isn’t a cure for autism, there are ways to make sure children with autism have the best developmental outcome. This is possible through early
Are you concerned that your child may suffer an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)? Science studies now suggest prevalence rates at a minimum of one in 100. These statistics suggest that 3% of the population is affected (Yates & Couteur, 2013). This article autism, defines provides some of the characteristics to look for in a 5-12 year old, how to obtain assistance, who may be involved in the intervention process, and a treatment technique that focuses specifically on the area of social cognition.
Autism is a developmental disorder that results in a set of abnormal behavior. Evidence shows that early intervention improves long-term infant. This can be a help and support for parents in caring for their child. According to experts the detection of autism is still later than ideal. Visitors doctors and nurses who specialize in child health are in a key position to observe in children those characteristics that could suggest autism.
“Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) formerly known as just Autism, is a disorder that affects about 1 in 68 children here in the United States.” (Facts about ASD) This is a pretty high prevalence and the number is continuing to rise. “Autism is a developmental disability that can cause significant impairments in behavioral, communication, and social aspects of everyday life.”(Facts about ASD). The intellectual functioning of individuals with ASD is among one of the biggest of all disabilities. The range can occur from moderate intellectual disabilities all the way up to super genius levels. However, most students function at average intelligence in all academic areas except for reading and math. The reason the name switch form Autism to ASD occurred is that now according to the DSM-V Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) are now disabilities that fall into the spectrum that is ASD. Diagnosis of Autism can be determined at age 2 with high reliability, but is not often discovered until the individual reaches school age and begins to fall behind their peers. It is critical that a parent goes and gets their child screened for developmental disabilities at the doctor at least every 9 months during their few first years of life, so that if they do have a disability early intervention strategies can be employed. ASD occurs in every racial and ethnic group,
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by the early-onset inability to engage in social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behavior. It is commonly known to be a developmental disorder. Genetics, in conjunction with developmentally early environmental factors, play a key role in the causation of autism. Studies show that autism is more prevalent in males than females, although there is not much difference in individuals with intellectual disability. Because atypical development is now being recognized early in toddlers, children are now frequently diagnosed at the age of 2 years and last into adulthood, although symptoms may improve over time. A wide range of health care providers are the first professionals to
Diagnosis. The earliest indicators of autism are impairments of verbal and nonverbal communication. A child with autism will have difficulties responding to their name, smiling and making eye contact, babbling or cooing by twelve months, and using single or two word phrases by twenty-four months (NIMH, n.d.). A proper diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is a two part process. The child is first given a general screening to check for developmental issues. If the child is not making satisfactory developmental progress according to his or her age group, the child would be referred for additional screening. At this stage, the child will need to be screened to check for specific symptoms of autism. The screening can be based solely on the parent’s observation of the
The three steps in diagnose autism in some cases, you can diagnose at the age of 14 months, the better to improve the diagnosis of the situation of children and evaluated immediately to determine whether autism or not, and if they become united communicates doctor speak to your child's nursery or school to see if they if they have knowledge of his state of health or not, because patients with autism It needs to teach
Autism had many different names and age when it occurs depends on the multiple symptoms. Before they were all combined into one, they were grouped as autistic disorder, pervasive development disorder, Asperger syndrome, and childhood disintegrative disorder. Most people do not realize that some people affected by ASD surpass in visual skills, art, math, and music. Most signs of autism or symptoms start to occur between the age of two and three (Autism Speaks ).