Advanced Information

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which includes autism and aspergers syndrome, is a neuro-biological disorder that affects:

The way a person communicates
Socialises with others
Processes information from his/her senses
Adapts to his/her environment.

THE INTRICACY OF AUTISM

A person with ASD is affected severely in each of these areas - and of course the impact is multiple. Every kind of impairment in ASD has links with every other impairment in the syndrome. They all overflow and pervade each other and it is often difficult to pinpoint which deficit is the cause of a behaviour. In addition, the impact ASD has on a person and the way it is coped with will vary hugely according to that individual's personality.

There is often much confusion because each person with ASD displays that ASD so differently. But ASD is just like any other life event - everybody handles it in his own way. Some will cope better than others; some will react to it with anger, some with distress, some with fear, and some will accept it more passively. Some will be more prepared to work at overcoming their problems than others.

Young boys laughing

Individual temperament has a large part to play. Obviously, as a result of these interconnecting factors, ASD can have quite profound and complicated impact on even the most apparently simple and everyday activities. Each minor change, different activity, set of instructions, social exchange, etc. can bombard the individual with new information. The person finds it difficult to make sense of the surroundings, process the information and understand what is required from him, all of which - not surprisingly - is very stressful.

The magnitude of the problem becomes more obvious when it is recognised that every activity the person with ASD is involved in, is affected like this. The majority of people with autism have or have had problems with many of the basic, commonplace activities such as sleeping, eating, dressing, toileting, going shopping, getting their hair cut, visiting, having a medical or dental check.

VARIATIONS IN INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONING

To complicate the picture still further, the person's level of intellectual function can significantly affect the way in which these problems are presented. The person with average or above average I.Q. may be able to function fairly appropriately in familiar situations with known activities. They may also be able to function extremely well in very specific areas. This often causes people to feel they are much more capable than they actually are.

Students with ASD in a regular school, who are able to cope with academic learning in early primary school, are generally slower to be identified as having any problem at all, let alone one as profound as ASD. However, ASD is as devastating for these children - if not more so - as it is for any person with ASD.

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

As far as teachers are concerned, many of these problems have particular implications for the academic and personal achievement of a student with ASD. Success for the teacher, student with ASD and his peers is most likely to occur if the staff is aware that the student with ASD has difficulty with:

Following directions
Organising, sequencing and changing routines
Not having established routines
Generalisation and concept development
Focusing on relevant information, aspects, attributes and characteristics
Staying on task and/or paying attention to anything outside their particular area of interest
Appropriate social interactions
Appropriate communication
Judgement, reasoning and expectations all with autism.