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Autism Spectrum Disorder ( Asd )

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Autism Spectrum Disorder
Dustin S. Staats
University of Central Oklahoma

“Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) formerly known as just Autism, is a disorder that affects about 1 in 68 children here in the United States.” (Facts about ASD) This is a pretty high prevalence and the number is continuing to rise. “Autism is a developmental disability that can cause significant impairments in behavioral, communication, and social aspects of everyday life.”(Facts about ASD). The intellectual functioning of individuals with ASD is among one of the biggest of all disabilities. The range can occur from moderate intellectual disabilities all the way up to super genius levels. However, most students function at average intelligence in all academic areas except for reading and math. The reason the name switch form Autism to ASD occurred is that now according to the DSM-V Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) are now disabilities that fall into the spectrum that is ASD. Diagnosis of Autism can be determined at age 2 with high reliability, but is not often discovered until the individual reaches school age and begins to fall behind their peers. It is critical that a parent goes and gets their child screened for developmental disabilities at the doctor at least every 9 months during their few first years of life, so that if they do have a disability early intervention strategies can be employed. ASD occurs in every racial and ethnic group,

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