Autism Spectrum Disorder Case Study

Tommy R. is a 6-year-old boy and a kindergarten student in a K-8 combined elementary and junior high school in the San Jose greater metropolitan area. There has been a meeting requested by his educational team and parents to talk about his behavior in school and cognitive abilities in the classroom. School staff have been receiving complaints from Tommy’s teacher and classroom staff about not following direction and non-compliance. Tommy also struggles with completing some classroom tasks as well.

Diagnosing children with any disorder is difficult, due to the fact that development occurs rapidly in the first years of a child’s life in social, emotional, and cognitive areas (Barlow & Durand, 2012). A child’s development can be influenced in many ways, such as socioeconomically or by how emotionally supportive the parent is (Combs-Orme, Orme, & Lefmann, 2013). Diagnosing children with specific disorders proves to be more difficult considering the overlap of symptoms that occurs between the conditions (Phetrasuwan, Miles, Mesibov, & Robinson, 2009). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a category of disorders that characterizes those with severe impairments in social

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by the early-onset inability to engage in social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behavior. It is commonly known to be a developmental disorder. Genetics, in conjunction with developmentally early environmental factors, play a key role in the causation of autism. Studies show that autism is more prevalent in males than females, although there is not much difference in individuals with intellectual disability. Because atypical development is now being recognized early in toddlers, children are now frequently diagnosed at the age of 2 years and last into adulthood, although symptoms may improve over time. A wide range of health care providers are the first professionals to

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was introduced in 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association as a disorder comprising four previous mental health disorders: autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive-developmental disorder, and Asperger syndrome (Autism Speaks, 2017). As a whole, ASD presents with specific symptoms such as social and communication challenges, restrictive or repetitive behavior, and unique strengths and differences. The diagnosis of ASD is graded on a spectrum of different levels from low functioning to high functioning. On the high functioning end of the spectrum, a child may display some deflections from social gatherings and sensory sensitivity but excel with motor and cognitive skills. However, on

Hollander, E., Soorya, L., Chaplin, W., Anagnostou, E., Taylor, B. P., Ferretti, C.J., Wasserman, S., Swanson, & E., Settipani, C. (2012, March). A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of fluoxetine for repetitive behaviors and global severity in adult autism spectrum disorders. Am J Psychiatry, 169(3), 292-299.

The diagnosis of Autism is often times delayed, and may happen due to the fear of an incorrect diagnosis. Autism has many defining features which can include: impaired socialization, impaired verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. Many believe that early intervention can improve outcomes for children with Autism. There are many components one must look at when diagnosing and identifying Autism. “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children be screened for developmental delays and disabilities during regular well-child doctor visits at 9 month, 18 months, and 24 or 30 months” (www.cdc.gov).

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to other people (About Autism, 2015). It is identified by impairments in social interaction, communication and the presence of repetitive and restricted behavior interests (Robins, 2013). ASD can be identified at a young age through a variety of different characteristics that can be a red flag to parents to bring the child to get assessed as soon as possible. It is very important that we are socially aware about this particular issue. It is imperative as a society that we are sensitive to the needs of autistic individuals with communication difficulties. When society is sensitive to the needs and aware of the impairments

This disorder was first recognized and named by Leo Kanner, a celebrated psychiatrist and physician, in 1943 (Sauner, 1990). It is distinguished by interrupted development; extreme or no response to stimuli; difficulties with speech, language and cognitive capacity; and problems relating to people, events or objects “[all signs that appear] before the age of 3” (Heward, 2003, p. 489). Of these, the most notable are serious deficiencies in verbal and non-verbal communication as well as social interaction.

People with autism require multiple referrals and interventions. The complete list of appropriate referrals includes:

Françis is a four year-old boy. When he was a baby, he almost never stopped crying and rarely found comfort in his parents’ arms. His parents reported that he had been slow to reach age appropriate milestones (e.g., speaking his first words by 12 months and using at least two word phrases by 15 months) but they had always assumed that he was just shy or a late-bloomer. Instead, Françis seemed to take little interest in talking and preferred to be in his own world. When he did speak, the words he used often did not have the same meanings that he meant them to, making the listener have to figure out exactly what Françis wanted. When others would talk it became apparent that he seemed to rarely listen to what they were saying. He refused to look at family members, family friends, children his own age, and especially strangers in the eyes; if someone initiated eye contact, he would immediately look away.

in order to get him dressed in the morning. When crossing a street Tommy’s hand needs to be tightly held are he will dart out into the street.

The challenge and possible cause for the variable treatment effects may be due to the broad inclusion of children based on their presence or absence of the disorder (i.e. autism) versus carefully crafting treatment approaches for the different levels of abilities in the children with the same diagnosis.

Correlated to the growth models, a few children had incomplete records of their growth measures. Reasons for these mistakes could be an incomplete measurement schedule or a missing reply from some mothers.

I became increasingly interested in Autism since I had the opportunity to work alongside kids with Autism this summer. Seeing how their minds worked and how they processed information was astounding to me. Ever since this experience, I have fallen in love with children with Autism and I am always thriving to learn more about them. With this being said, I am looking to do my research on a child with Autism. I will be looking into the question how does Autism affect language development in children? Under this broad topic I will be specifically looking into why their pragmatic language is impaired. To find my information I will interview my child’s parents. I will do my own observations both in the home

A total of 119 children took part in Mayo, Chelbowski, Fein, and Eigsti’s (2013) study, 75 children (63%) with Autistic Disorder (AD), and 44 (37%) children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). The participants were primarily male (83.2%) and White (82.4%), and ranged from 45 to 72 months of age at the time of evaluation (Mayo, Chlebowski, Fein, and Eigsti, 2013). An ASD screening study was conducted by using the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), an autism-specific screening tool that uses parent reports. Children between 16 and 30 months of age were screened using M-CHAT. A comprehensive developmental evaluation and follow up evaluation were offered 2