What is Autism?
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the term that health professionals use when talking about
autism. The word “spectrum” refers to the wide range of symptoms and severity of the disorder,
including high functioning autism. The Mayo Clinic provides an excellent description of the
behavioral problems that are typical of autism:
“A child or adult with autism spectrum disorder may have problems with social interaction and
communication skills, including any of these signs:
• Fails to respond to his or her name or appears not to hear you at times
• Resists cuddling and holding, and seems to prefer playing alone, retreating into his or her own world
• Has poor eye contact and lacks facial expressions
• Doesn’t speak or has delayed speech, or loses previous ability to say words or sentences
• Can’t start a conversation or keep one going, or only starts one to make requests or label items
• Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm and may use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
• Repeats words or phrases verbatim, but doesn’t understand how to use them
• Doesn’t appear to understand simple questions or directions
• Doesn’t express emotions or feelings and appears unaware of the feelings of others
• Doesn’t point at or bring objects to share interest
• Inappropriately approaches a social interaction by being passive, aggressive, or disruptive
• Has difficulty recognizing nonverbal cues, such as interpreting other people’s facial expressions, body postures, or tone of voice”
— (Source of information: The Mayo Clinic)
“A child or adult with autism spectrum disorder may have limited, repetitive patterns of
behavior, interests, or activities, including any of these signs:
• Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning, or hand flapping
• Performs activities that could cause self-harm, such as biting or head-banging
• Develops specific routines or rituals and becomes disturbed at the slightest change
• Has problems with coordination or has odd movement patterns, such as clumsiness or walking on toes, and has odd, stiff or exaggerated body language
• Is fascinated by details of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, but doesn’t understand the overall purpose or function of the object
• Is unusually sensitive to light, sound or touch, yet may be indifferent to pain or temperature
• Doesn’t engage in imitative or make-believe play
• Fixates on an object or activity with abnormal intensity of focus
• Has specific food preferences, such as eating only a few foods, or refusing foods with certain texture”
— (Source of information: The Mayo Clinic)
The Cleveland Clinic describes some of the behavioral issues that are common in older children
with autism:
• “Has trouble understanding what others mean; for example, they might not recognize sarcasm
• Doesn’t initiate social interactions
• Has difficulty mixing spoken words and body language
• Has a hard time building relationships with peers
• Gets along more easily with younger children or grown-ups
• Has difficulty seeing something from someone else’s point of view
• Doesn’t understand certain social rules such as greetings or personal space
• Repeats certain words from books, movies, or TV shows
• Strongly prefers familiar routines or patterns of behavior
• Has intense or highly focused interests, such as certain topics or collections”
— (Source of information: The Cleveland Clinic)
