The New Jersey Special Education Code Defines Autism Essay

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,

Socialization deficits are a major source of impairment regardless of cognitive or language ability for individuals with ASD. Furthermore, social skill deficits do not remit with development. Indeed, impairment and distress may increase as children approach adolescence because the social milieu becomes more complex and the child becomes more aware of their social disability” (White, 2006, p. 1858) As Dr. White mentioned social deficiency is not a situation that goes away with age and can have lifelong effects if not addressed by an intervention to help the child to learn acceptable and expected social behavior. These social impairments manifest themselves in many varying ways and degrees such as “speech, linguistic conventions and interpersonal interaction.” (White, 2006, p. 1858) Problematic areas include impairments in turn-taking in conversation and the ability to understand other’s perspective, proper use of pitch and inflection in their speech, obsessively dwelling on certain topics, difficulty in expressing and understanding emotions, and difficulty with nonliteral language uses such as metaphor and sarcasm. These impairments make communication with others difficult and uncomfortable for the ASD child and can cause a cascading effect, causing them to withdrawal from social situation out of frustration with their inability and embarrassment, or cause peers to distance themselves from the ASD child because of this seemingly awkward behavior and

Aside from routines and rituals, another essential symptom in Asperger’s is poor or nonexistent social skills. People with Asperger’s syndrome have difficulty during conversation and are awkward when starting conversation ("What is Asperger's Syndrome?

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.

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.

Simple definition of Autism- a condition that begins in childhood and that causes problems in forming relationships and in communicating with other people. Full definition of ASD- a variable developmental disorder that appears by age 3. Is characterized by impairment of ability to form social relationships and communicate with others. Medical definition of ASD- is variable in expression but is diagnosed by impairment of the ability to form normal social relationships. Have impairment of the ability to communicate with others. Also have stereotyped behavior patterns with repetitive activities of restricted focus (“Merriam-Webster”).

Commentary: Overall, with behavior being affected from Asperger's a person’s life can be limited greatly. It is harder for this type of person to interact with others. 2. Concrete evidence/ Textual support: According to The National Autistic Society, “AS and Autistic children demonstrated a greater rate of anxiety and depression problems.

Asperger’s syndrome (sometimes referred to as ‘high-functioning autism’) is an autism spectrum disorder that impairs sociality. Exact symptoms tend to vary among individuals, but there are still many common ones affecting communication. Sufferers are limited in their social skills, often unknowingly making inappropriate social behaviors. This is especially evident during conversation, where an Aspergic person may break eye contact or keep conversations one-sided. They also struggle to express empathy and read nonverbal cues, and they may have trouble understanding nonliteral speech, such as sarcasm. Notably, those with Asperger’s syndrome tend to fixate on a single topic or field of study, giving them increased knowledge of that particular thing (“Asperger Syndrome - What Is Autism”).

Asperger’s Syndrome is described as an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), once known as Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD), and is characterized as a milder version of autism. Children with Asperger’s seem to adapt easier to social interactions as they get older, contrary to autism. Autism is a syndrome of extreme withdrawal and obsessive behavior. Asperger’s syndrome is similar to autism in a way that children experience difficulties with social interaction and communication. Also, children will have issues with concentration or coordination. Asperger’s and autism do have a lot of differences as well. One difference being the onset for autism is in infancy whereas in Asperger’s it is, at least, recognized later. Children with Asperger’s tend to have average or above average intelligence and seem

Asperger’s can have an impact on a child physically, cognitively, socially and psychologically. Although, there are minor physiological impacts on the person with Asperger’s they are still present. They include lack of eye contact, facial expressions, body posture and a physical awkwardness or clumsiness (Calero 2015). They also may have difficulty with fine and or gross motor skills. In regards to the cognitive impact, there hasn’t been much research done, but according to Marcus L. Thomeer’s research study, he found “there is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood” (Thomeer, 2012). Most children with AS have average or above average intelligence.

People with Asperger’s don’t take interest in their peers really. They also don’t like meeting new people and interacting with them. In the book Christopher talks about if a new teacher shows up he won’t talk to them at all. He will just sit back and observe them and watch what they do then once he knows they are safe then he will interact. He also lacks interacting with others and playing, he prefers to just be by himself most of the time or with his rat Toby. Also when Christopher and my friend talk to people they hardly make eye contact. They seem to always be looking down and hardly contributing to the

About 1.5% of people, mostly those of the male population, have a condition called Asperger Syndrome (AS) (Fessenden). Elijah Fessenden said, “It affects social interaction in daily life, but overall, it isn’t that noticeable.” Asperger syndrome affects the children’s or adult’s everyday life in many ways, including how they perform in school, how they speak, think, and move in social situations, and their relationships with other people.

Patients with ASD will most likely have some sort of impaired motor function. Additionally poor balance and coordination, unusual gait patterns, repetitive movements, abnormal muscle tone and reflexes, and lack of preparation phase during movements is often present. In pediatric patients, developmental delays can be seen early on with lack of interest in interactions and the inability to imitate or mimic parents. These developmental delays become increasingly slowed by age 2-3, and “toe walking” during gait can sometimes be seen. When speech begins to develop, a child might refer to themselves by name instead of using pronouns such as “I” or “me”. They have difficulty playing with other children and are often withdrawn from their peers due to the inability to communicate appropriately.4 These patients may also have difficulty with negotiating emotions, which can lead to interactions that are labeled as passive, aggressive, or reaching the point of disruptive. While communicating people with ASD may have a lack facial expression, have abnormal tone or quality to their voice, or difficulty holding a conversation. They might also repeat words or phrases, or have difficulty maintaining eye contact. Socially, people with ASD could have negative reactions to change; generally they

Not only do people with ASDs have problems communicating, they also have issues with social interactions. Children with ASDs tend to limit interactions and avoid eye contact. They are seen as disinterested and indifferent. While studies have shown that children with ASDs are attached to their parents, they cannot express this affection and attachment. They also cannot interpret social cues, such as frowning, smiling, or extending arms for a hug. To a person with an ASD, every expression means the same thing. They have difficulty seeing the world through another person's perspective, which significantly increases the disconnect between those with ASDs and those without (NIMH, pg 8-9).