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Glossary of Terms,
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Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)
The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) is the instrument considered to be the current gold standard for diagnosing ASD and, along with information from parents, should be incorporated into a child's evaluation. Although a diagnosis of ASD is not necessary to get intervention, in some states the differences in the services provided to children with and without a diagnosis of ASD can be huge. Once a child has had a diagnostic evaluation and is determined eligible for services, additional assessments may be completed to better understand the child's strengths and needs in order to plan intervention goals and strategies.
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ASD Video Glossary.
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Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autism is an umbrella term for a wide spectrum of disorders referred to as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) or Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The terms PDD and ASD are used interchangeably. They are a group of neurobiological disorders that affect a child's ability to interact, communicate, relate, play, imagine, and learn. These disorders not only affect how the brain develops and works, but may also be related to immunological, gastrointestinal, and metabolic problems. Signs and symptoms are seen in early childhood. The term spectrum is important to understanding autism because of the wide range of intensity, symptoms and behaviors, types of disorders, and considerable individual variation. Children with ASD may have a striking lack of interest and ability to interact, limited ability to communicate, and show repetitive behaviors and distress over changes, as in the case of many with classic autism, or Autistic Disorder. On the other end of the spectrum are children with a high-functioning form of autism who may have unusual social, language, and play skills, as in Asperger Syndrome. The autism spectrum consists of the following disorders: Autistic Disorder or Classic Autism, Rett's Disorder or Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger's Disorder or Asperger Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).
Also known as:
Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD).
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Babbling
Typically by six to nine months, a child begins to vocalize repeated consonant-vowel combinations, like "ba ba ba," "da da da," called babbling. As vocal development continues, babbling sounds take on the characteristics of adult speech even though the child may not have specific meanings in mind. Babbling precedes real speech, and is necessary in the process of learning to talk.
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Body Postures
Body postures or movements and positioning
of the body are nonverbal ways of conveying information or
expressing emotions without the use of words.
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to link to this term in the ASD Video Glossary (view 3 - 6).
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Communication
Communication is the use of nonverbal (eye
gaze, facial expression, body posture, gestures) and verbal
(speech or spoken language) behavior to share ideas, exchange
information, and regulate interactions.
Click here
to link to this term in the ASD Video Glossary (view all video
clips throughout the Communication section).
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Compulsions
Compulsions are deliberate repetitive
behaviors that follow specific rules, such as pertaining to
cleaning, checking, or counting. In young children, restricted
patterns of interest may be an early sign of compulsions.
Related terms:
Restricted Patterns of
Interest, Obsessions
See: Repetitive Behaviors and Restricted Interests
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Developmental
Milestones
Developmental milestones are markers or
guideposts that enable parents and professionals to monitor a
baby's learning, behavior, and development. Developmental
milestones consist of skills or behaviors that most children can
do by a certain age. While each child develops differently, some
differences may indicate a slight delay and others may be a red
flag or warning sign for greater concern.
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ASD
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Diagnosis
Since there is no biological way of
confirming a diagnosis of ASD at this point in time, diagnosis
should be based on the observation of the behavioral features
using the DSM-IV-TR® framework. The Autism Diagnostic
Observation Schedule (ADOS) is the instrument considered to be
the current gold standard for observing features of ASD and
should be used in making a diagnosis, along with information
from parents. A diagnosis should include information about the
child's developmental and medical history, current activities,
and behaviors, and is often done by an inter- or
multi-disciplinary team of professionals from several different
specialties. Often, this will include at least one physician,
such as a neurologist, psychiatrist, or developmental
pediatrician; a psychologist specializing in child development;
a speech-language pathologist; an occupational and/or physical
therapist; a social worker; and special educator. Although a
diagnosis of ASD is not necessary to get intervention, in some
states the differences in the services provided to children with
and without a diagnosis of ASD can be huge. Once a child has had
a diagnostic evaluation and is determined eligible for services,
additional assessments may be completed to better understand the
child's strengths and needs in order to plan intervention goals
and strategies.
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ASD
Video Glossary.
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Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR®)
DSM-IV-TR® or Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, is a
handbook used widely by medical professionals in diagnosing and
categorizing mental and developmental disorders. It is published
by the American Psychiatric Association and lists the criteria,
or characteristics, of many disorders. The Fourth edition of the
DSM was published in 1994 with text revisions that were
completed in 2000. The DSM-IV-TR uses the term Pervasive
Developmental Disorders (PDD), also referred to as Autism
Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in other sources, as the umbrella term
that includes 5 disorders: Autistic Disorder, Rett's Disorder,
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, and PDD-Not
Otherwise Specified. According to the DSMIV-TR, an ASD diagnosis
is given if a child has impairments (defined as problems that
limit development or participation in everyday activities) in
social interaction, impairments in communication, and restricted
interests and/or repetitive behaviors. It is important to
understand that while some children may show many or most of
these features, other children will show only some of these
features. The DSM is expected to be updated with a fifth edition
to be published in 2011. (Adapted from American Psychiatric
Association, 2000)
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ASD
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Echolalia
Echolalia is the repetition of words,
phrases, intonation, or sounds of the speech of others. Children
with ASD often display echolalia in the process of learning to
talk. Immediate echolalia is the exact repetition of someone
else's speech, immediately or soon after the child hears it.
Delayed echolalia may occur several minutes, hours, days, or
even weeks or years after the original speech was heard.
Echolalia is sometimes referred to as "movie talk" because the
child can remember and repeat chunks of speech like repeating a
movie script. Echolalia was once thought to be non-functional,
but is now understood to often serve a communicative or
regulatory purpose for the child.
Also known as: "Movie talk",
Scripting
Related term: Repetitive use of language
Click here to link to this term in the
ASD
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Emotional Regulation
Emotional regulation is a child's ability to
notice and respond to internal and external sensory input, and
then adjust his emotions and behavior to the demands of his
surroundings. Emotional regulation includes the body's
involuntary reactions (heart rate, respiratory rate, etc.) to
events or perceptions, as well as voluntary responses. Voluntary
responses may be behaviors that the child does to soothe, or
excite himself, such as spinning the wheel of a toy car, rubbing
a smooth surface, rocking, or hand flapping. This may also
include the use of communication to get help modulating emotion,
such as reaching to request comfort when afraid. Many children
with ASD have difficulties with emotional regulation and often
have abnormal or inappropriate responses to the ordinary demands
of their surroundings. They may also have problems adjusting to
change, and transitioning from one activity to another,
responding with strong negative emotions, tantrums, stereotyped,
or even self-injurious behaviors.
Related terms: Seeking Comfort,
Distress, Tantrum,
Self Injury
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ASD
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Engaging in Interaction with Adults
and Peers
Engaging in interaction with adults and
peers refers to a child's interest in being with and interacting
with adults or other children by looking at them, smiling, and
communicating in verbal and nonverbal ways. A typical 6 month
old will relate to her parent with joy, smiling often while
playing with her caregiver. A typical 12 month old will show
more interest in the parent or caregiver, than in objects and
toys. With experience in childcare settings, a typical child
will show an interest in other children, and respond to, and
initiate offers for interaction with peers. A child with ASD may
show more interest in objects and toys than engaging in
interaction with people.
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ASD
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Expressive Language
Expressive language is the use of verbal
behavior, or speech, to communicate thoughts, ideas, and
feelings with others. Language involves learning many levels of
rules - combining sounds to make words, using ordinary meanings
of words, combining words into sentences, and using words and
sentences in following the rules of conversation. Expressive
language is the ability to produce or say words and sentences.
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ASD
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Eye Gaze
Eye gaze is looking at the face of others to
check and see what they are looking at and to signal interest in
interacting. It is a nonverbal behavior used to convey or
exchange information or express emotions without the use of
words.
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ASD
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Facial Expressions
Facial expressions are movements of the face
used to express emotion and to communicate with others. They are
nonverbal behaviors used to convey or exchange information or
express emotions without the use of words.
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ASD
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Functional Play
Functional play is when a child uses objects
for their appropriate or usual purpose, like rolling a toy car
or ball, stirring with a spoon, or brushing a doll's hair with a
brush.
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ASD
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Gestures
Gestures are hand and head movements, used
to signal to someone else, such as a give, reach, wave, point,
or head shake. They are nonverbal behaviors used to convey or
exchange information or express emotions without the use of
words.
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ASD
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Healthy Development
Healthy (or typical) development describes
the physical, mental, and social development of a child who is
acquiring or achieving skills according to the expected time
frame.
See: Typical Development
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ASD
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Hyperresponsiveness
Hyperresponsiveness is abnormal sensitivity
or over reactivity to sensory input. This is the state of
feeling overwhelmed by what most people would consider common or
ordinary stimuli of sound, sight, taste, touch, or smell. Many
children with ASD are over reactive to ordinary sensory input
and may exhibit sensory defensiveness which involves a strong
negative response to their overload, such as screaming at the
sound of a telephone. Tactile defensiveness is a specific
sensory defensiveness that is a strong negative response to
touch.
Also known as:
Over Reactivity to Sensory
Input
Related terms: Sensory Defensiveness,
Tactile Defensiveness
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ASD
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Hyporesponsiveness
Hyporesponsiveness is abnormal insensitivity
or under reactivity to sensory input, in which the brain fails
to register incoming stimuli appropriately so the child does not
respond to the sensory stimulation. A child who appears as if
deaf, but whose hearing has tested as normal, is under reactive.
A child who is under reactive to sensory input may have a high
tolerance to pain, may be sensory-seeking, craving sensations,
and may act aggressively, or clumsily.
Also known as:
Under Reactivity to Sensory
Input
Related terms: Sensory Seeking
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ASD
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Idiosyncratic Language
Idiosyncratic language refers to language
with private meanings or meaning that only makes sense to those
familiar with the situation where the phrase originated.
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ASD
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Insistence on Sameness
Insistence on sameness refers to a rigid
adherence to a routine or activity carried out in a specific
way, which then becomes a ritual or nonfunctional routine.
Children with ASD may insist on sameness and may react with
distress or tantrums to even small changes or disruptions in
routines. Sometimes such reactions are so big they are described
as catastrophic. A child's response of insistence on sameness
may reflect difficulty with change in activities or routines or
being able to predict what happens next, and therefore, may be a
coping mechanism. Young children with ASD may also show some
repetitive movements with objects, such as lining things up,
collecting objects, or clutching similar small toys.
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ASD
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Joint Attention
Children seek to share attention with others
spontaneously during the first year of life. Joint or shared
attention is first accomplished by the caregiver looking at what
the infant is looking at. Infants learn early to seek joint
attention spontaneously by shifting gaze between an object of
interest and another person and back to the object (also called
3-point gaze), following the gaze or point of others, and using
gestures to draw others' attention to objects (e.g. holding out
and showing an object or pointing to an object), either by
pointing to it or by eye gaze. This desire to share attention on
objects builds to sharing enjoyment by looking at others while
smiling when enjoying an activity, drawing others attention to
things that are interesting, and checking to see if others
notice an achievement (e.g., after building a tower of blocks,
looking up and clapping and smiling to share the achievement).
Ultimately, children learn to talk and use language to share
enjoyment, interests, and achievements and later to share ideas
and experiences. Impairment in joint attention is a core deficit
of ASD.
Also known as: Shared Attention, 3-Point
Gaze
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ASD
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Make-Believe Play
Make-believe play is where children pretend
to do things and to be something or someone else. This kind of
play typically develops between the ages of 2 and 3 years.
Also known as: Symbolic Play
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"Movie Talk"
Echolalia, sometimes referred to as "movie
talk", is the repetition of words, phrases, intonation, or
sounds of the speech of others, sometimes taken from movies, but
also sometimes taken from other sources such as favorite books
or something someone else has said. Children with ASD often
display "movie talk" in the process of learning to talk.
See: Echolalia
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Nonfunctional Routines
Nonfunctional routines are specified,
sequential, and apparently purposeless repeated actions or
behaviors that a child engages in, such as always lining up toys
in a certain order each time instead of playing with them.
Children with ASD may follow routines that appear to be
senseless, but may have significance to the child.
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ASD
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Nonverbal Behaviors
Nonverbal behaviors are those things people
do to convey or exchange information or express emotions without
the use of words. These include eye gaze (looking at the face of
others to check and see what they are looking at and to signal
interest in interacting), facial expressions (movements of the
face used to express emotion and to communicate with others
nonverbally), body postures (movements and positioning of the
body in relation to others), and gestures (hand and head
movements to signal, such as a give, reach, wave, point, or head
shake). In the first year of life, children learn to coordinate
nonverbal behaviors to regulate social interaction so that they
can use their eyes, face, body, and hands together to interact.
At the same time, children learn to read or understand the
nonverbal behaviors of others. For example, they learn to follow
gaze and look where someone else is looking, understand if
others show with their face or tone of their voice that they are
happy, sad, or angry, or look at what someone is pointing at.
Before learning to talk, children can take turns with nonverbal
behaviors in back-and-forth interactions.
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ASD
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Obsessions
Obsessions are repetitive thoughts that are
persistent and intrusive. In young children, preoccupations with
specific kinds of objects or actions may be an early sign of
obsessions.
See:
Repetitive Behaviors and Restricted
Interests
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Over Reactivity to Sensory Input
Over reactivity to sensory input is abnormal
sensitivity or hyperresponsiveness. This is the state of feeling
overwhelmed by what most people would consider common or
ordinary stimuli of sound, sight, taste, touch, or smell. Many
children with ASD are over reactive to ordinary sensory input
and may exhibit sensory defensiveness - a strong negative
response to their overload, such as screaming at the sound of a
telephone.
Also known as:
Hyperresponsiveness
Related terms: Sensory Defensiveness, Tactile Defensiveness
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ASD
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Perseveration
The term perseveration refers to repeating
or "getting stuck" carrying out a behavior (e.g., putting in and
taking out a puzzle piece) when it is no longer appropriate.
Click here to link to this term in the
ASD
Video Glossary (view 1 - 2); and
click here.
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Perseverative Speech
Children with ASD who learn to talk usually
have repetitive use of language. Perseverative speech refers to
repeating the same phrase or word over and over or bringing up
the same topic repeatedly with a sense of "getting stuck" when
it is no longer appropriate.
Also known as:
Repetitive Use of Language
Click here to link to this term in the
ASD
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Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) is
an umbrella term for a wide spectrum of disorders referred to as
Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The terms PDD and ASD
are used interchangeably. They are a group of neurobiological
disorders that affect a child's ability to interact,
communicate, relate, play, imagine, and learn. These disorders
not only affect the development and function of the brain, but
may possibly be related to differences in the immunological,
gastrointestinal, and metabolic systems. Signs and symptoms are
seen in early childhood and are visible in differences in very
basic aspects of social interaction and communication, and in
restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. The term spectrum
is important to understanding autism because of the wide range
of intensity, symptoms and behaviors, types of disorders, and
considerable individual variation. Children with PDD may have a
striking lack of interest and ability to interact, limited
ability to communicate, and show repetitive behaviors and
distress over changes, as in the case of many with classic
autism, or Autistic Disorder. On the other end of the spectrum
are children with a high-functioning form of autism
characterized by idiosyncratic social, language, and play
skills, as in Asperger Syndrome. The autism spectrum consists of
the following disorders: Autistic Disorder or Classic Autism,
Rett's Disorder or Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative
Disorder, Asperger's Disorder or Asperger Syndrome, Pervasive
Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).
Also known as: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
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Pointing
Pointing is an important gesture of the
index finger used to request an object (called protoimperative
pointing) or to draw attention to an object to comment on it or
share interest in it (called protodeclarative pointing). The
ability to make pointing gestures typically develops by the age
of 12 months.
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Pragmatics
Pragmatics are social rules for using
functional spoken language in a meaningful context or
conversation. Challenges in pragmatics are a common feature of
spoken language difficulties in children with ASD.
See: Nonverbal Behaviors,
Social
Reciprocity, Joint Attention,
Expressive Language
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Preoccupation with Parts of Objects
A preoccupation with a part of an object is
a persistent unusual interest or fixation in one aspect of
something that is usually to the exclusion of interest in
people, or in using the object in social interactions or in a
functional way. Young children with an ASD may manipulate parts
of an object, such as spinning the wheel of a toy car, flicking
a handle, or opening and closing a door, rather than use the
whole object functionally or in pretend play. Like
preoccupations with restricted interests, preoccupations with
parts of objects can interfere with a child's normal activity or
social interaction, and can be related to anxiety.
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ASD
Video Glossary.
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Pretend Play
Pretend play is when children use their
imagination to do things and to be something or someone else.
Click here to link to this term in the
ASD
Video Glossary.
See: Symbolic Play,
Make-Believe Play, and
Social-Imitative Play
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Prosody
Prosody is the rhythm and melody of spoken
language expressed through rate, pitch, stress, inflection, or
intonation. Children with ASD can range from having no
functional language (do not use words conventionally for
communication) to having very proficient vocabulary and sentence
structure. Usually, those who talk have odd intonation (flat,
monotonous, stiff, or "sing songy" without emphasis on the
important words), and those who do not yet talk make unusual
sounds.
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ASD
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Protodeclarative Pointing
Protodeclarative pointing is an important
gesture of the index finger used to draw someone's attention to
an object to comment on it or share interest in it.
See: Pointing
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Protoimperative Pointing
Protoimperative pointing is an important
gesture of the index finger used to request an object.
See: Pointing
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Receptive Language
Receptive language is the ability to
understand or comprehend words and sentences that others use.
Typically by 12 months a child begins to understand words and
will respond to his/her name and may be able to respond to
familiar words in context. By 18 to 20 months a child will be
able to identify familiar people by looking when named (e.g.,
Where's mommy?), give familiar objects when named (e.g., Where's
the ball?), and point to a few body parts (e.g., Where's your
nose? Where's your mouth?). Receptive language skills commonly
emerge a little ahead of expressive language skills, but it is
easy to overestimate what a child understands. Often young
children figure out the message by responding to nonverbal cues
(e.g., pointing gestures, or situational cues), and this may
make it appear like they understand the words.
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ASD
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Red Flags for ASD
Red flags for ASD are the early indicators
or warning signs for autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Click here to link to this term in the
ASD
Video Glossary. Red Flags for ASD also presented throughout
ASD
Video Glossary.
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Regulatory and Sensory Systems
The regulatory and sensory systems control a
child's ability to take in or "register" and respond to internal
sensory input (such as thoughts and feelings, heart rate, etc.),
and external stimuli (sights, sounds, tastes, smells, touch, and
balance), and then adjust his emotional and behavioral response
to those stimuli and the demands of his surroundings. Many
children with ASD have regulatory and sensory deficits, but
other children do as well, so the presence of this kind of
impairment is not part of the criteria for a diagnosis of an ASD.
Regulatory and sensory deficits are associated features that are
common in children with ASD, but not necessarily indicative of
the disorder.
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ASD
Video Glossary (view all video clips throughout the
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Repetitive Behaviors and Restricted
Interests
Repetitive behaviors and restricted
interests are common in children with ASD. Children with ASD may
appear to have odd or unusual behaviors such as a very strong
interest in a particular kind of object (e.g., lint, people's
hair) or parts of objects, or certain activities. They may have
repetitive and unusual movements with their body or with
objects, or repetitive thoughts about specific, unusual topics.
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ASD
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Repetitive
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Repetitive Motor Mannerisms
Repetitive motor mannerisms are stereotyped
or repetitive movements or posturing of the body. They include
mannerisms of the hands (such as handflapping, finger twisting
or flicking, rubbing, or wringing hands), body (such as rocking,
swaying, or pacing), and odd posturing (such as posturing of the
fingers, hands, or arms). These mannerisms may appear not to
have any meaning, or function, although they may have
significance for the child, such as providing sensory
stimulation (also referred to as self-stimulating behavior),
communicating to avoid demands, or requesting a desired object
or attention, or soothing when wary or anxious. These repetitive
mannerisms are common in children with ASD.
Also known as: Repetitive Movements of the
Body, Stereotyped Movements of the Body,
Self-Stimulating
Behaviors, "Stimming"
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ASD
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Repetitive Use of Language
Children with ASD who learn to talk usually
have repetitive use of language. Repetitive language is seen in
the use of echolalia, which is the repetition of words, phrases,
intonation, or sounds of the speech of others. Children with ASD
often display echolalia in the process of learning to talk.
Immediate echolalia is the exact repetition of someone else's
speech, immediately or soon after the child hears it. Delayed
echolalia may occur several minutes, hours, days, or even weeks
or years after the original speech was heard. Echolalia is
sometimes referred to as "movie talk" because the child can
remember and repeat chunks of speech like repeating a movie
script. Echolalia was once thought to be non-functional, but is
now understood to have a communicative or regulatory function
for the child. Repetitive use of language can also be seen in
stereotyped phrases that are used repetitively. Stereotyped or
stereotypy refers to an abnormal or excessive repetition of an
action or phrase over time. The term perseveration is a related
term and refers to an adaptive behavior that is repeated beyond
when it is needed and reflects getting stuck. Thus, the term
perseverative speech is also used to refer to repetitive
phrases. Children with ASD may have idiosyncratic use of
language, which refers to language with private meanings or
meaning that only makes sense to those familiar with the
situation where the phrase came from.
Related terms: Echolalia,
"Movie Talk"
Click here to link to this term in the
ASD
Video Glossary (view 1 - 2).
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Restricted Patterns of Interest
Restricted patterns of interest refer to a
limited range of interests that are intense in focus. This may
also be referred to as stereotyped or circumscribed patterns of
interests because of the rigidity and narrowness of these
interests. This may be particularly apparent in very verbally
fluent children with autism or Asperger Syndrome who often
become obsessed with a single topic for months or even years.
Restricted interests, obsessions, and compulsions can interfere
with a child's normal activity or social interaction, and can be
related to anxiety. In young children with ASD, similar
restricted patterns may be evident in repetitive movements with
objects. Rather than playing with toys in simple pretend play,
or using objects in appropriate ways, children with ASD line up
or stack toys or objects in the same way over and over again,
persistently knocking down and rolling objects, or wobbling or
spinning objects, and/or may show an intense focus and interest
in how these actions or objects look.
Also known as:
Stereotyped Patterns of
Interest
Related terms: Obsessions,
Compulsions
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ASD
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Rituals
Rituals are specific and seemingly
meaningless behaviors that a child performs repeatedly in
certain situations or circumstances, such as turning the lights
on and off several times when entering a room.
Related terms:
Repetitive Behaviors and
Restricted Interests, Obsessions
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ASD
Video Glossary (view 1 - 3).
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Screening
Screening is a quick and simple way to
monitor a child's typical development. The American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) recommends routine developmental screening and
surveillance of all children from birth through school age to
identify those at risk for atypical development. Screening tools
are brief measures (often in the form of a parent questionnaire)
that distinguish children who are at risk for developmental
delay or disorders, such as ASD, from those who are not.
Screening can be conducted by healthcare providers, clinicians,
educators, childcare providers, and parents. A screening should
be used on all children whether or not they are showing obvious
signs of developmental delay or disorders, in order to determine
whether the child should be evaluated for a specific diagnosis.
A screening is not a diagnosis but indicates a child's need for
further assessment and follow-up. A complete list of the most
accurate developmental and ASD screening tools can be found at
here.
Related terms: Screening Tools, Screening
Measures
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Scripting
Echolalia, sometimes referred to as
“scripting”, is the repetition of words, phrases, intonation, or
sounds of the speech of others, sometimes taken from movies, but
also sometimes taken from other sources such as favorite books
or something someone else has said. Children with ASD often
display “scripting” in the process of learning to talk.
See: Echolalia
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Self-Injurious Behavior
About 10% to 15% of individuals with ASD
engage in some form of self-injurious behavior (SIB), causing
self-inflicted bodily harm, such as bruises, redness, or cuts.
The most common forms of SIB include head banging, hitting the
face, biting the hand or arm, and excessive scratching or
rubbing. SIB can range from mild to severe, and can potentially
be life threatening. A child who engages in SIB may be seeking
attention, feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, seeking
self-stimulation, or may be hypersensitive to certain sounds.
SIB may be biologically or neurologically based.
Also known as: Self Injury
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Self-Stimulating Behaviors or "Stimming"
Self-stimulating behaviors or "stimming" are
stereotyped or repetitive movements or posturing of the body.
They include mannerisms of the hands (such as handflapping,
finger twisting or flicking, rubbing, or wringing hands), body
(such as rocking, swaying, or pacing), and odd posturing (such
as posturing of the fingers, hands, or arms). Sometimes they
involve objects such as tossing string in the air or twisting
pieces of lint. These mannerisms may appear not to have any
meaning or function, although they may have significance for the
child, such as providing sensory stimulation (also referred to
as self-stimulating behavior), communicating to avoid demands,
or request a desired object or attention, or soothing when wary
or anxious. These repetitive mannerisms are common in children
with ASD.
Also known as:
Repetitive Motor Mannerisms,
Stereotyped Movements of the Body
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Sensory Defensiveness
Sensory defensiveness is an abnormal
reaction to ordinary sensory input. Children who are over
reactive may display strong negative emotions to stimuli.
See:
Hyperresponsiveness
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Sensory Input
Sensory input includes both internal (e.g.,
heart rate, temperature) and external (e.g., sights, sounds,
tastes, smells, touch, and balance) sensations. A child's
response to sensory input depends on his ability to regulate and
understand these stimuli and to adjust his emotions to the
demands of his surroundings.
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Sensory Stimulation
Children with ASD often have odd behaviors,
such as finger flicking and toewalking, which may be related to
anxiety, tactile defensiveness (aversion to touch), or may be
self-stimulatory. These mannerisms may appear not to have any
meaning, or function, although they may have significance for
the child, such as providing sensory stimulation (also referred
to as self-stimulating behavior -also called "stimming"),
communicating to avoid demands, or request a desired object or
attention, or soothing when wary or anxious. These repetitive
mannerisms are common in children with ASD. Many children with
ASD who have trouble responding to and regulating internal and
external stimuli are over reactive to ordinary sensory input,
and may exhibit sensory defensiveness, or engage in
self-stimulating behaviors to soothe or comfort themselves.
Also known as:
Self-Stimulating Behaviors, "Stimming"
Related terms: Hand Flapping, Toewalking
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Shared Attention
Children seek to share attention with others
spontaneously during the first year of life. Shared or joint
attention is first accomplished by the caregiver looking at what
the infant is looking at. Infants learn early to seek joint
attention spontaneously by shifting gaze between an object of
interest and another person and back to the object (also called
3-point gaze), following the gaze or point of others, and using
gestures to draw others' attention to objects (e.g. holding out
and showing an object or pointing to an object), either by
pointing to it or by eye gaze. This desire to share attention on
objects builds to sharing enjoyment by looking at others while
smiling when enjoying an activity, drawing others attention to
things that are interesting, and checking to see if others
notice an achievement (e.g., after building a tower of blocks,
looking up and clapping and smiling to share the achievement).
Ultimately, children learn to talk and use language to share
enjoyment, interests, and achievements and later to share ideas
and experiences. Impairment in joint attention is a core deficit
of ASD.
Also known as: Joint Attention, 3-Point Gaze
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Social-Imitative Play
Social-imitative play is pretending to act
out the actions of daily routines (e.g., stirring food or
brushing hair) or the actions of others (e.g., a parent talking
on the telephone) in the context of play. In typical development
by about 18 - 24 months a child should be engaging in simple
pretend play, like feeding a doll, or putting it to bed. This
forms the foundation for make believe play. The lack of
spontaneous social imitative or make-believe play appropriate to
a child's age or developmental level is one of the criteria for
a diagnosis of ASD. Children with ASD may become preoccupied
with the toy itself or parts of a toy or object (like spinning
the wheels on a car over and over) rather than engaging in
pretend play or social imitation.
Also known as: Pretend Play,
Make-Believe
Play, Symbolic Play
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Social Interaction
Social interaction is the use of nonverbal
or verbal behavior to engage in interaction with people. This
can involve eye gaze, speech, gestures, and facial expressions
used to initiate and respond to interactions with others.
Related terms: Social Communication, Social
Engagement, Social Reciprocity
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Social Reciprocity
Social reciprocity is the back-and-forth
flow of social interaction. The term reciprocity refers to how
the behavior of one person influences and is influenced by the
behavior of another person and vice versa. Social reciprocity is
the dance of social interaction and involves partners working
together on a common goal of successful interaction. Adjustments
are made by both partners until success is achieved. The skills
involved in social reciprocity in very young children begin with
showing interest in interacting with others and exchanging
smiles. This builds to being able to share conventional meanings
with words, and later topics, in conversation. Impairment in
social reciprocity may be seen in not taking an active role in
social games, preferring solitary activities, or using a
person's hand as a tool or a person as if they are mechanical
objects. This may lead to not noticing another person's distress
or lack of interest in the focus or topic of conversation.
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Spoken Language
Spoken language (also referred to as
expressive and receptive language) is the use of verbal
behavior, or speech, to communicate thoughts, ideas, and
feelings with others. Language involves learning many levels of
rules - combining sounds to make words, using conventional
meanings of words, combining words into sentences, and using
words and sentences in following the rules of conversation.
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Stereotyped Behaviors
Stereotyped behaviors refer to an abnormal
or excessive repetition of an action carried out in the same way
over time. This may include repetitive movements or posturing of
the body or repetitive movements with objects.
See: Repetitive
Behaviors and Restricted
Interests and Compulsions
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Stereotyped Language
Stereotyped or stereotypy refers to an
abnormal or excessive repetition of an action or phrase over
time.
Also known as: Stereotypy
Related terms: Repetitive Use of Language,
Repetitive Motor
Mannerisms
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Stereotyped Patterns of Interest
Stereotyped or restricted patterns of
interest refer to a pattern of preoccupation with a narrow range
of interests and activities.
See: Restricted Patterns of Interest
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Symbolic Play
Symbolic play is where children pretend to
do things and to be something or someone else. This kind of play
typically develops between the ages of 2 and 3 years.
Also known as: Make-Believe Play,
Pretend
Play
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Tactile Defensiveness
Many children with ASD are over reactive to
ordinary sensory input and may exhibit sensory defensiveness, a
strong negative response to a sensation that would not
ordinarily be upsetting, such as touching something sticky or
gooey or the feeling of soft foods in the mouth. Tactile
defensiveness is specific to being touched or touching something
or someone.
See: Hyperresponsiveness
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Tantrum
For most typically developing children, a
tantrum is an expression of intense, immediate frustration that
occurs most often at an age when a child is unable to express
his or her emotions due to inadequate verbal skills. However,
many children who have ASD are unable to communicate in a way
most typically developing children do. Instead, they may develop
inappropriate ways to communicate, through aggression,
self-injurious behavior (SIB), or tantrums. The tantrums may be
much more intense and more frequent than those of typically
developing children. Often, a tantrum may be due to a child
seeking attention, feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, or
hypersensitive to the environment, or the child may be trying to
escape from a difficult task, protesting against a change in
routine or schedule, or trying to regulate himself in a more
predictable way.
See: Emotional Regulation
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Typical Development
Typical (or healthy) development describes
the physical, mental, and social development of a child who is
acquiring or achieving skills according to the expected time
frame. A child who is developing in a healthy way pays attention
to the voices, faces, and actions of others, showing and sharing
pleasure during interactions, and engaging in verbal and
nonverbal back-and-forth communication.
Also known as: Healthy Development
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Under Reactivity to
Sensory Input
Under reactivity to sensory input is one
aspect of abnormal insensitivity to sensory input, or
hyporesponsiveness, in which a child does not respond to sensory
stimulation. A child who appears as if deaf, but whose hearing
has tested as normal, is under reactive. A child who is under
reactive to sensory input may have a high tolerance to pain, may
be clumsy, sensation-seeking, and may act aggressively.
Also known as: Hyporesponsiveness
Related term: Sensory Seeking
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Words
Words, as distinct from babbling, are speech
that is recognizable and has specific meaning. Typically by 15
months a child can use and understand at least three words, such
as "mama," "dada," "bottle," or "bye-bye", or other words for
things that are common to the child's environment. Even when a
child is able to say a few words, he/she continues to include
babbling consonant and vowel combinations in vocalizations.
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