Autism, its Physiological & Behavioral Abnormalities

The purpose of this paper is to discuss autism, its physiological and behavioral abnormalities, the difficulties in assessment and testing of autistic children, and teaching methods used on this condition.

An autistic child is largely unable to make contact with its environment. Aloofness is generally the result of this condition. The child does not respond well to external stimulation. For example, when the autistic child is picked up and cradled, the child does not cuddle or adapt himself to the other person. Many times, there is an insistence on "sameness" and an aversion to new things. This inflexibility of personality is frequently defined by temper tantrums or even rages. In autistic infants, the onset of walking and especially talking is frequently delayed. While many medical studies indicate a genetic basis for this illness, emotional factors have also been brought into play, particularly since the mothers of very young autistic children have been described as emotionally cool and aloof. Of course, this may be a reaction to the state of the child and the description may be invalid (Eredman, 1987, p. 485). What is known for certain however, is that autism is the most severe of the developmental disorders that affect children. In order to diagnose autism in a child, he (or she) must have a diagnosable case before the age of thirty-six months. There must be a lack of responsiveness to others, major deficiency of language (including no speech at all, delayed

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ge skills are long delayed. While these kids sometimes love reading nonfiction and speak like human computers, they cannot put their own thoughts into words and they cannot answer a telephone. They cannot reach for the hand of their parents, or even acknowledge that the parent is nearby. Others are sometimes perfect students and are very quiet, never interrupting the teacher or arguing, never running down the halls of the school and never pushing ahead in line. They complete worksheets perfectly, read orally without a flaw, know all their numbers and spelling words and quietly entertain themselves when they finish their work. Unfortunately, they also never participate in class discussions, never ask questions, and never look the teacher in the eye. They avoid reading comprehension activities, they prefer to be with things rather than with people and play alongside their peers but never with them. They also respond easily to questions concerning facts but not to those questions needing interpretation. Autistic children's intelligence often overshadows their deficiencies. Their isolation, shyness and immaturity are often ascribed in schools to their "personality type" (Coppola, 1987, pp. 33-34). Another problem in diagn

Category: Psychology - A