How does ASD impact...
Cognitive development and learning?
Social and emotional development?
Language and communication?
Physical development?
Impacts of autism spectrum disorder on cognitive development and learning:
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Impacts of ASD on social and emotional development: Children with ASD often struggle with emotions. Research has shown a difference between usual development and that of children with ASD in their ability to: · recognise and interpret facial expressions and body language, · understand and control their own emotions, · empathise. Previously on this page, joint attention was discussed. Joint attention difficulties also have social implications. Children with ASD find shared attention difficult, not tending to point out interesting things to other people or respond likewise. It is currently theorised that it is the problems with development of social skills and communication that are the cause of many behavioural issues. That is, it is possibly not the opposite progression of having problems with behaviour and language which then cause social interaction problems. People with ASD have underdeveloped or absent skills in areas crucial to social interaction. They may: · struggle to read and understand another person’s emotions or behaviour, · not respond to another person’s distress, · have difficulty interpreting their own emotions, · find it hard to read social cues, · have difficulty in understanding non-literal speech (e.g. sarcasm, puns), · have trouble dealing with social problems, such as disagreeing. There are a number of ways children can be supported to learn social skills. Some are listed below: · reading together and naming emotions, · respond to a child’s emotion, name the emotion, exaggerating your own emotional response, · encourage interaction and eye contact with you, · role play, · social stories, · cue cards, · watching dramas on TV, · specially developed DVDs (e.g. The Transporters, Mindreading) · social skills training programs, · social groups for people with ASD, · self-management techniques. Impacts of ASD on language and communication: Language and communication are skills so important to social interaction, and people with ASD show deficits in many areas. Infants with autism do not tend to learn words in a word explosion like typically developing babies do. Lack of eye contact, difficulty in turn taking, poor attention and difficulty in joint attention are contributors. Joint attention (discussed above) is fundamental for developing communication and language skills. For example, if a mother is pointing to a picture of a train but the child in not engaging and attention is elsewhere, it is more difficult to learn the association between word, picture and concept. Some children have a large vocabulary, but have trouble with pitch, rhythm or tone. A child may be able to speak, but not understand life experiences or fails to read meaning into everyday situations. Another may have trouble processing what is said to them. A child may have difficulty initiating and maintaining conversation. Some children exhibit echolalia, where they repeat something they have heard over and over, or can repeat a long phrase but show no comprehension. Some children remain mute for several years, or all of their lives. They can learn to communicate other ways. See Augmentative and Alternative Communication. ASD is known as a spectrum for good reason. There are many variants to how autism impacts upon an individual’s language and communication. Impacts of ASD on physical development: Physical development is often affected in children with autism. This has been linked to problems in the lower brain, impacting upon balance, coordination, and muscle tone. Usually both gross and fine motor skills are affected. Children with ASD often exhibit hypotonia, or low muscle tone. Control of tightening or loosening muscles according to circumstances may also be misjudged, affecting coordination. Fine motor skills such as writing may be affected. A lack of awareness of where their body is in relation to other people or objects, and inability to adjust to gravity, often interferes with gross motor movements and makes them slow or unpredictable. Click here to find out the impact of ASD on the family. |