Autism Language Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurological disorder that impacts a person’s ability to communicate and form relationships. It is one of the fastest growing developmental disorders in the US. The diagnosis for autism is rising 10-17% each year with an estimated 2 million people diagnosed with the disorder. People who fall under the spectrum have pervasive deficits in social communications and social interactions across multiple contexts. They have repetitive and restrictive patterns of behaviors, activities or interest. The DSM-5 diagnoses this disorder under two different criteria’s: Social communications and social interaction deficits and repetitive behaviors. To meet the criteria an individual must demonstrate all of these

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be portrayed toward critical impairments in social interaction. It also includes restricted repeated behaviors, interests and activities. (Mayo Clinic staff, 2014)

Many of us have heard about Autism, also knows as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Some have a family member, a friend, or know someone who has ASD. Increasingly it is becoming a more common disability. “Autism is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the U.S” (Autism Speaks). Autism has no respect for gender, race, social class and or ethnicity. “Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that involves abnormal development and function of the brain.” (Autism Center of Excellence) People who have autism have a lot of difficulties with social skills, communication and also will develop behavior issues. These behavior problems of an individual with autism can vary at times and can go from mild to severe. According to the Autism Science Foundation it says,” Many people with the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) also have unusual ways of learning, paying attention, and reacting to different sensations. The thinking and learning abilities of people with ASD can vary—from gifted to severely challenged.” The causes and symptoms, as well as the diagnosis, and the treatments of autism vary.

Autism is a developmental disability that significantly affect a person's verbal and nonverbal communication, social interaction, and educational performance. This developmental disability affects the brain, communication and interaction with others. People with this disability often have trouble relating and forming relationships with other people. Autism occurs very early on in the development of the brain. The most obvious signs can be found at the ages of two or three years old.

My personal experience working with individuals with autism have shown me a deterioration in their social interaction and in verbal and non-verbal communication behaviors. Dole & Iland (2005) cited the US Individual Disability Education Act that “classifies a child with autism when the child has significant disability in verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction that affects the child’s performance educationally”. Mostly, people who are diagnosed with autism have proof of echolalia, which is a speech pattern that affects their social interaction with others. By definition, echolalia is a repetition or echoing of verbal words made by individual. According to Prizant (1983), more than 70% of individuals with autism show

The Verbal Behaviour (VB) approach is to teach all the skills including, most importantly, language skills, to the children with autism and related disorder (Barbera & Rasmussen, 2007, p.19).He stated that verbal behaviour is a functional analysis of language that is simply the behaviour that is affected by antecedents and consequences in the same ways as nonverbal behaviour (A-B-C), the same 3-terms Contingency. In his studies in the year 1957, he identified and described various Verbal Operants, or the units of analysis and separate response categories. As also he identified speaker and listener skills as a separate repertoires and stated that both must be taught individually. He also stated that

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder that affects a person’s social interaction and communication. This disorder is mainly characterized by having difficulty with social interaction, communication, and having restricted behaviors. Difficulty with social interaction means someone will struggle to communicate their feelings/emotions, understand how others feel or think, develop peer relationships, and understand nonverbal behaviors (eye gaze, facial expressions, etc). Difficulty with communication will vary among the individual. Some individuals will develop expressive language, while others will not. The speech of those that do develop expressive language will often be repetitive, rote, and lack

Per the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), autism spectrum disorder or autism is defined as a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction. It is characterized by difficulty communicating, forming relationships with people, using language correctly and comprehending abstract concepts. It has the presence of restricted, repetitive behaviors. Many challenges exist in the use of

According to Simmons et al. (2009), autism is classified as a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction, social communication, and an unusually restricted range of behaviors and interests. Along with behavioral and social impairments, a diagnosis of autism also requires a clinically significant delay in language development before the age of three. Asperger Syndrome has similar signs and symptoms to autism without the language delay. Together with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), these disorders form the category of Autism Spectrum Disorders (Simmons et al., 2009). Because the signs and symptoms of ASDs are almost entirely behavioral, a variety of tests, interviews, and direct or indirect observations are used in different combinations based on age and/or language level to receive the most reliable diagnosis. Although there is controversy regarding the increased prevalence of ASDs, it is obvious that there is higher regard for understanding the nature of these disorders, causing an increase of research related to this field of study. It is to be noted, however, that there are a handful of general issues to be addressed when running experiments with afflicted individuals. These issues include: which part of the autism spectrum to target, how to convey instructions and maintain attention in severely affected individuals, difficulty recruiting volunteers due to social reticence, and a change of

One in every eighty-eight children in the United States is born with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (“What Is Autism?”). ASD is a neurological disorder of the brain that affects how a person behaves, social interactions, and how they think and learn. Several different therapies exist for ASD; Equine Assisted Therapies being the most beneficial for children with ASD. There are two different types of Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT), physical and psychological. Although critics say that traditional therapies and medications should be used for ASD, alternative therapies such as Equine Assisted Therapy should be used and covered by insurance companies because of the unique benefits it provides. Equine Assisted Therapy provides positive results because it is multi-sensory and the patient becomes more in touch with their feelings.

Statistical evidences. ASD’s gender proportion suggests that the autism is sex-linked, and the statistical evidence convincingly shows that genetic factors are playing key role in the prevalence of ASD. To begin with, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the relationship between the number of autistic boys and girls. The statistical evidence shows that boys are more inclined to become autistic than girls. CDC states that 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls were identified as having ASD. This observation shows that ASD is likely a sex-linked inheritance. Sex-liked inheritance is defined as a pattern of inheritance characteristic of genes located on the sex chromosomes of organisms having a chromosomal mechanism for sex determination (Sadava et al., 2014). If the ASD was sex-linked inheritance, the ratio between male and female exhibiting the phenotype would result in 3 to 1 under the normal curve. The ratio between boy and girl is approximately 5 to 1, which shows that there is a strong association between sex-linked inheritance and ASD. For this reason, it is reasonable to conclude that ASD is primarily influenced by the genetic factor, which is prenatal.

The following language scales, dependent on each child’s individual age, were used over the course of the study:

Children who have pragmatic language impairments often have difficulty with language comprehension, telling stories and participating in conversations. This typically leads to further problems fitting in with their peers, making friends and being successful within a classroom. There has been a lot of research regarding effective treatments for improving social skills for students with autism. “One barrier to drawing conclusions about optimal treatments for children with autism is the use of highly varied dependent measures in the treatment literature” (Cunningham, 2012, p.1). The study conducted by Cunningham focuses on reviewing previous studies on this topic and addressing variables important in the development and the measures taken within those studies. The studies used assessed social interaction skills in young children with autism through a focus on various related literatures.

People with Autism are presented with difficulties with social interactions, in particular, establishing and maintaining relationships. There is a lack of responsiveness to non-verbal forms of communications, like facial expressions, physical gestures and eye contact. Often, they are unable to fully express needs due to being unable to interpret and understand others needs. These lack of social interactions effect their ability to share others interests and activities, which gives the appearance that they are socially distant. The cause of their inability to understand non-verbal forms of communication which causes them to become withdrawn socially; is due to a delay in speech.

Do social interactions between children and parental involvement help foster language development in six-year-old autistic children? I feel that this topic is very important because autism now affects one in 88 children, autism is the fastest growing serious developmental disability in the U.S, boys are five times more likely to get it than girls, and only 58% of students with autism finish high school. Not just that but there is still no information found on what are the causes of autism (Autism Speaks, 2013). I will use research that demonstrates that parental involvement and social interactions does help foster language development in six-year old autistic children.