What is ASD? Autism is a developmental disorder that affects how an individual perceives the world. It is associated with profound problems of speech, behaviour and social relationships. High-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger’s Syndrome (AS)

HFA ? or AS ? Social skills Severely delayed Restricted interests Thing-based (trains) Fact-based (train schedules) Language Delayed speech; few words; regression; echolalia Advanced vocab; speak early; odd speech; literal; poor pragmatics IQ scores (>70) Nonverbal skills > verbal skills Verbal skills > nonverbal skills Motor abilities Often typical in early life Clumsy; poor coordination Gender ratio 4 males to 1 female 10-15 males to 1 female Genetics Highly heritable Even highly heritable Prognosis Better than in children with both autism & Intellectual disability Educational outcomes better than those with HFA

Characteristics Stereotyped behaviours Obsessed about a certain topic or object Repetitive actions or movements Fixate on parts of an object Communication deficits No speech Delayed speech Echoalia Social interaction deficits Little or no eye contact Unemotional facial expressions No interactive dialogue Repetitive action – flapping hands Fixate on parts of object – spinning wheel of toy car Echolalia – idiosyncratic or repetitive speech

Strengths Good attention to detail Deep narrow interests Islets of ability Splinter skills (often memorize and have obsessive pre-occupations with trivia and obscure information) Talented skills (more highly developed and specialized skill such as working out difficult calculations mentally) Prodigious skills (rarest and remarkable – e.g. capability to play an entire concerto on the piano after listening it only once)

Some Useful Tips… Keeping predictability/ orderliness/ sameness Seating arrangement (e.g. front middle seat) Incorporate visual learning modes