Autism Symptoms

Autism is a disorder without a biological marker. And so it is diagnosed using common symptoms and characteristics. There is a purpose behind all behavior. To understand the behavior of students with autism, we need to know how these students experience their worlds.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is associated with a number of other issues and difficulties, such as sensory difficulties and Fragile-X Syndrome.
Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder

Early autism symptoms include:

• Lack of eye contact

• Lack of joint attention (e.g. engaging with another person)

• Lack of reciprocal conversation

• Atypical sensory/motor processing

Early developmental delays lead to a number of deficits that are not evident in early life, many related to processing difficulties. Observable signs of autism are indicators of deeper issues, most often related to the processing deficits found in most autistic children -- autism processing study -- or integration skills covered in more detail below, such as:

• Impaired Theory of Mind

• Sensory differences

• Weak central coherence

• Executive dysfunction

• Difficulty processing non-verbal communication

• Poor auditory processing

• Areas of intense interest

• Fear, anxiety, and depression

Impaired Theory of Mind
Children with autism have difficulty imagining someone not knowing what they know. It is a challenge for some individuals with autism to understand that other people have ideas, feelings, and thoughts that are different from theirs. This is also referred to as “mind blindness.” Some of the behaviors that arise from Theory of Mind deficits are:
• Makes comments that seem rude
• Misinterprets the intentions of others, is easily taken advantage of
• Less inclined to “people pleasing” behaviors, for a teacher or parent

Sensory Differences
Students with autism may be over-sensitive or under-sensitive to all sensory stimuli; auditory, visual, vestibular, smell, taste, and tactile. They may seek out or avoid stimuli in any of these areas, leading to these autism symptoms:
• Will only eat a narrow list of foods
• Avoids the playground or gym
• Refuses to go outside in very warm or very cold weather
• Loves to jump, swing, or spin

Weak Central Coherence
Weak central coherence refers the inability to get the “big picture.” Individuals with autism may be gifted at perceiving details but often do not “see the forest for the trees.” This trait may be connected to the student’s inability to apply a skill learned in one setting to a different setting. The signs of autism that stem from weak central coherence are:
• The inability to summarize information or get the main idea of text
• Inability to distinguish minor problems from major problems

Executive Dysfunction
Executive function impacts goal-oriented behavior, organizing assignments and personal belongings, planning multi-step projects, maintaining attention, and controlling impulses. Signs of autism from executive dysfunction might be:
• Failure to bring the necessary materials to class
• Inability to plan for the completion of assignments
• Difficulty focusing attention on instruction
• Not seeing how doing a task contributes to a larger goal

Difficulty Processing Non-Verbal Communication
Because of the early lack of inclination to attend to social information, children with autism may fail to learn how to “read” non-verbal communication. They may fail to see when another person is angry, bored, or frustrated by deciphering body language. This deficit may be displayed by:
• Failure to “repair” communication break-down when another person has been offended
• Continuing to talk on topic of interest when the other person is no longer interested

Auditory Processing Disorders
Students with autism tend to miss "prosody," the music of language, the up and downs in tone, volume and emphasis that are used to communicate meaning. Autistic children tend to take language very literally and so miss innuendo, sarcasm, metaphors and idioms. They also have trouble focusing on and processing language. Some behaviors resulting from auditory processing disorder are:
• Inability to engage in class
• Difficulty following directions
• Reading difficulties; decoding, comprehension or interest in reading

Areas of Intense Interest
Children with autism might have common fascinations (trains, dinosaurs, or Sponge Bob) or unique interests (odometers or sprinkler heads). They are often quite narrowly focused (large ships that sank or the subway system of Boston). Frequently, they can be used as rewards, springboards for learning new material, or an opportunity to excel in a field of study.

Fear, Anxiety, and Depression
Researchers suggest that fear is the main emotion of individuals with autism. Individuals with autism are at increased risk for depression (Tantam, 1991). They may exhibit poor concentration, and thoughts and/or comments about suicide. Not only is depression more common in students on the spectrum, their means of dealing with it, such as talking it out with another person or asking for help, are more limited. This fear, anxiety, and depression may be exhibited by:
• Low frustration tolerance
• Rage reactions or “meltdowns”
• Difficulty coping with changes in the environment

This is not a complete list. These autism symptoms and behaviors are characteristics, not choices. They are brain-based differences that affect many areas of functioning. Symptoms of autism are the tip of the iceberg. They are indicators of an underside, a range of underlying characteristics. And so parents should be vigilant in observing symptoms where autism is suspected. Many autism behaviors can be improved by strengthening processing skills using an autism program like Fast ForWord.

While these students face many obstacles, they also have many amazing abilities. Many of the advances we enjoy in our modern society are attributable to individuals who, diagnosed or not, were somewhere on the spectrum. As we gain more understanding and work together, we will be able to appreciate these remarkable children and young adults and nurture their potential.