Autistic Spectrum Disorders are neurodevelopmental conditions which require a medical diagnosis. Students with Austic Spectrum Conditions may have other overlapping neurodevelopmental conditions and looking at unique profiles is key.
The Diagnostic Statistic Manual 5 (DSMV) outlines Autistic Spectrum Disorder as being.
Criteria A
Persistent deficits in social communication and social nteraction across contexts, manifested by all three of the following:
- Deficits in social-emotionl reciprocity i.e. difficulties with a balance of interaction.
Students may be introverted (alone but not lonely) or intrusive and intense.
- Deficits in non-verbal communicative behaviours used for social interaction.
Students have difficulty reading social cues and face and body language.
- Deficits in developing, understanding and maintaining friendships
Students may have problems making friends and keeping friends.
Criteria B
Restricted repetitive patterns of behaviours, interests or activities as manifested by two of the following:
- Stereotyped or repetititive motor movements, use of objects or speech.
This may include to walking, flapping or rocking
-insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines or ritualised patterns of non-verbal behaviour , or excessive resistance to change
This can often be a sign of anxiety
- highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus.
- hyper or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment
Students are often able to suppress agitation or anxiety at home but release their anxiety once they get home.
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