Autism Spectrum Disorders: Social Skills and Development

Introduction

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away."
— Henry David Thoreau

Developmental psychology is predominantly the study of change over time. Various research designs can be utilized to aid in understanding processes of change across cognitive, physical, and social domains. As the number of school-age children diagnosed with autism continues to grow, professionals and parents should collaborate on concerns regarding overlooked developmental needs associated with the condition. To achieve a better understanding of contemporary theories and concepts, researchers compare and contrast cross-sectional and longitudinal designs as methodologies for investigating social skills in children with autism. According to Chang (2008), autism is a developmental disability that causes delays in academic and social interactions. This paper examines the details of autism and its effects on social and academic functioning.

Understanding Autism: Definition and Prevalence

Autism was once considered a hopeless cause. It affects approximately 3.4 out of every 1,000 children ages 3–10, causes many children to live unfulfilled lives, and creates disruptions within their families. Symptoms usually appear around the age of three, but in some cases can be detected as early as eighteen months. Parents typically notice something is different about their child's behavior. Autistic children develop at rates that differ from other children, and one of the most common signs is repetitive behavior. Even slight changes in routines or in the way objects are organized can be severely distressing to the child.

Autism spectrum disorder can be broken down into subgroups that share overlapping symptoms. Martin Kutscher, MD (2006), in the article "Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Sorting It Out," describes the five diagnoses within the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) framework, as defined in DSM-IV by the American Psychiatric Association. "Pervasive" indicates that the problems cut across multiple types of communication. The five disorders are:

The symptoms and the degree to which they affect each child vary widely, making autism difficult to diagnose. Childdevelopmentinfo.com (2010), in "Understanding Autism," notes, "The first signs of autism may also appear in children who had been developing normally. When an affectionate, babbling toddler suddenly becomes silent, withdrawn, violent, or self-abusive, something is wrong." Autistic children can exhibit all the characteristics of typical development and then change almost suddenly around the age of three.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA, as cited by the National Institute of Mental Health (2010) in "Autism Spectrum Disorders," reported the following prevalence data:

Data from an earlier report of the CDC's Atlanta-based program found the rate of autism spectrum disorder was 3.4 per 1,000 for children 3 to 10 years of age. Summarizing this and several other major studies on autism prevalence, CDC estimates that 2–6 per 1,000 (from 1 in 500 to 1 in 150) children have an ASD. The risk is 3–4 times higher in males than females. Compared to the prevalence of other childhood conditions, this rate is lower than the rate of intellectual disability (9.7 per 1,000 children), but higher than the rates for cerebral palsy (2.8 per 1,000 children), hearing loss (1.1 per 1,000 children), and vision impairment (0.9 per 1,000 children). The CDC notes that these studies do not provide a national estimate.

Autism rates are growing at an alarming rate around the world. Bellini, Akullian, and Hopf (2007), in "Increasing Social Engagement in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Using Video Self-Modeling," state: "The significant deficits in functioning can be taxing for school psychologists and other school personnel, who often are presented with limited time, resources, and training. Compounding matters are the number of students identified with ASD and its related disorders."

Core Challenges: Behavior, Communication, and Relationships

Three main areas of difficulty for autistic children are behavior, relationships, and communication. Regarding behavior, autistic children often fixate on one or two activities that bring them comfort. Attempts to stop these behaviors can lead to violent outbursts or tantrums. In the area of relationships, stimuli that other infants find enjoyable may not appeal to the autistic child. Autistic children often avoid physical affection because they cannot easily relay social cues to let others know when they want attention or when they prefer to be alone. Finally, communication may be significantly delayed. Autistic children may latch onto single words or phrases, repeating them constantly, while others develop their own ways of communicating or simply point to what they want.

The Medical University of South Carolina (2010) provides a further breakdown of common symptoms:

One autistic man has written several essays and speaks at numerous engagements in an effort to educate the world about autism from the inside. James Williams, a highly autistic young adult, wrote that people with autism often fail to understand the unspoken rules of socializing — or refuse to accept rules they regard as unimportant. In one essay, he outlined what he considers the principles of autistic interaction:

Parents must encourage autistic children to express themselves without feeling that the rules governing average social interactions must rigidly apply to them. These children need encouragement if they are to learn to interact successfully with their peers.

Conclusion

Advances in autism research are being made on a daily basis, but there is still a long way to go in understanding the condition. Behaviors have to be taught to autistic children in ways that are pleasant and that promote the child's interest in learning them. Autism is better understood as a neurological condition than a disease in the traditional sense, and continued study is needed to deepen our knowledge of the problem and explore what interventions or treatments might eventually be developed.