Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurological spectrum disorder which can occur to varying degrees and affect all levels of mental.
Abilities from those with severe and profound learning difficulties to those of above average intelligence.
The defining characteristics of ASD are deficits in the area of -
Abilities from those with severe and profound learning difficulties to those of above average intelligence.
The defining characteristics of ASD are deficits in the area of -
a) Communication
b) Language
c) Social interaction and play skills.
In School of the Holy Spirit the percentage of children on our roll with a diagnosis of ASD is currently 86%.
No two children with ASD experience the world or react to it in the same way, but some common characteristics included -
- Difficulty in using verbal and non-verbal communication.
- Lack of or poor eye contact.
- Poorly developed social skills and inappropriate play skills.
- Over or under sensitivity to sound, touch, smell, taste and sight.
- Repetitive and sometimes obsessive behaviours such as spinning items, collecting objects, unchangeable routines.
- Repetitive behaviours to stimulate the senses such as flicking, humming, rocking.
- Difficulty with unstructured situations, unfamiliar events or locations, or a change in routine.
- Uneven skill development. Some skills are normal or superior for their age, while others show significant delay.
- Particular interests pursued to extremes, such as trains, timetables, and computers.
- Failure to realise the effects of their behaviour on other people. Lack of empathy.
- Sluggish or delayed information processing.