Auditory Issues In Children With Asperger's Syndrome

Diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome can be a challenge. An interview with a clinician must be conducted, including the family of the person being diagnosed. Also, an observation is conducted in two different social settings (i.e.: school and home) (Stoddart, 2009). The criterion to be diagnosed is straight forward. First, there must be a severe impairment in social interaction. For example, no eye to eye contact, posture, does not develop peer relationships, and not bringing up interests to other people (Stoddart, 2009). Second, there must be stereotyped behaviors. For example, not being able to adhere to a random routine or change of plans, hand flapping, and playing with parts of objects, not the object itself. Thirdly, the impairments cause strain on social, and other areas of functioning. Fourth, the child had no delay in speech. This is the difference between a child with autism and Asperger’s. Children with Asperger’s have no delay in speech and usually are advanced in this area. Lastly, the child has no cognitive delay. For example, self-help abilities, and adapting behaviors. Usually these children have very high IQs (Stoddart, 2009). The major criterion is the social impairment. Asperger’s Syndrome is very focused around social behaviors. These children do not socially interact,

There is evidence provided within this proposal that includes sensory integration being an important contributor to ASD children sensory stimulus to self regulate and improve the children’s acting out behaviors, like aggression

Besides the poor communication skills and resulting in awkward social behavior of Asperger’s Syndrome, there are also the physical aspects. People with Asperger’s Syndrome have a heightened sensitivity to loud noises, lights, or even certain colors. For example, they may not be able to wear certain kinds of materials because the fabric will irritate the skin. Often, they have strong taste buds and are sensitive to different textures. Additionally, they may have a rigid walk or an odd posture. Likewise, motor coordination is usually lacking making simple tasks such as handwriting, opening a jar, or catching a ball a struggle. The lack of motor skills makes it difficult to play team

Problems with social skills include difficulty interacting with others, are often awkward in social situations, and have difficulty starting and maintaining a conversation. Individuals with Asperger’s syndrome may develop odd, repetitive movements, such as hand twitching or finger twisting. They might also develop unusual rituals, such as getting dressed in a specific order, and are resistant to change the ritual. Some communication difficulties people with Asperger's syndrome may exhibit are, not being able to make eye contact when speaking with someone, trouble using facial expressions and gestures, and understanding body language. They also have a tendency to misunderstand language in context and are very literal in their use of language. Individuals could express limited range of interests; they could develop an almost obsessive interest in a few areas, such as weather, topics in school, or sports. Many individuals with Asperger's syndrome are exceedingly gifted or skilled in a particular area, such as history or science. The coordination of individuals with Asperger's syndrome may seem clumsy or awkward.

Many individuals with an autistic spectrum condition experience sensory difficulties so they may have a heightened sensory awareness so are not able to function in the same way as someone without the condition. Sensory overload is a common complaint of people with ASD and can lead to an inability to function if the noise is too loud or the light is too bright etc.

In the article, “How to Speak Asperger’s,” by Fran Goldfarb and Guthrie Devine, the authors contend that learning to communicate with people with Asperger’s Syndrome is an important skill. The authors introduce the article by providing a narrative about Goldfarb’s son. The point of her narrative is that communication is misunderstood with people with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). The author, Fran Goldfarb, explains how her son misunderstands communication with his teachers, and how punishment is ineffective, because of his Asperger’s. The authors start by explaining why communication is very complex. To begin with, people with AS struggle with communication, because of their lack of social cues. They tend to miss irony, humor, and they take everything literally. That’s why people with AS don’t understand communication and everything is a struggle for them.

The effects of autism on communication are extremely varied. Most individuals do not have any trouble with pronunciation. The problems lie in using language effectively. Common problems are lack of eye contact, poor attention, being able to point objects to others, and difficulty with the 'give and take' in normal conversation. Some individuals sometimes use language in unusual ways, retaining features of earlier

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, about two to three children out of every 1,000 are born with a detectable level of hearing impairment in the United States. Without hearing, children miss out on the acoustic correlates of the physical world, such as car horns and footsteps. Children are also limited in their exposure to patterned complexities in music and spoken word. These hard of hearing and deaf students grow and develop in unique ways compared to their hearing peers because of the stimulus they do not have. Researchers have focused on how communication methods for hard of hearing and deaf children affect their development in the physical, social-emotional, cognitive and communicative

Sound – Some pupils may be sensitive to sounds, for example a child on the autistic spectrum who is disturbed by loud or unusual noises. It is not always possible for such noises to be avoided, but teaching assistants need to be aware of the effect that they can have on pupils (Burnham, 2007).

Mastering social skills and interaction is a challenge for children living with autism. Autistic children often do not play with other children. Part of this is noticed during the early developmental stages of childhood. Autistic children are often referred as off in a world of their own, unaware of people or events around them. Children with autism have difficulties in verbal and with non-verbal communication, social interactions and leisure activities. Autistic children have sensory disorders that affect how they interact with objects and people around them. They possibly will experience sensitivities in the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. “Many children with autism have unusual sensitivities to sounds, sights, touch, taste and smells. High-pitched intermittent sounds, such as fire alarm or school bells, may be painful to these children. Scratchy fabrics and clothing tags may also be intolerable, and some children have visual sensitivities to the flickering of fluorescent lights (autism-society).” The lack of social skills can create behaviors in autistic children.

Children with APD will have difficulties learning in a regular education classroom due to various factors. Loud noises cause the sounds being heard to sound distorted or like nonsensable words, therefore a distraction-free environment is imperative. This many rest in having the teacher and the child wear an electronic mike which will send the teachers speech straight to the child’s ear, bypassing surrounding noises. Additionally, the attention span for

The prognosis for the individual with ASD is dependent on the severity of the disorder. In Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of ASD, the symptoms of shyness and impaired social interaction are present. However, in more

For the ASD trait of Aspergers Syndrome, they tend to have a hard time socially interacting with others. They display inappropriate behaviors and have hard times reading gestures or facial expressions of other people. Sometimes their gestures and facial expressions do not communicate with what they are thinking and feeling. Along with this trait, “Aspies are more likely to have a hard time reading people, because of the sensory problem since their senses are most of the time heightened” (The National Center for Learning Disabilities). Aspies feel increase irritation from the sounds/ tones in people's voices, and the texture of foods or certain fabric on clothing can be very overwhelming for people with Aspergers Syndrome. According to Dr. Tim

In addition to motor impairments, individuals with ASD often have difficulties with how they respond to sensory information, or specific types of stimuli. This can include a hyper- sensitivity to touch, sound, light, and even smell (Autism Speaks). Individuals with ASD can demonstrate an extreme sensitivity to sensory input and can become confused, anxious, irritable, and fidgety when exposed to certain types of sensory input (Tomchek & Dunn, 2007).

When control over sound is possible, be sure to not play more than one sound at a time. In many autistics who have an