Autism 101

Autism 101

Prepared by K. Woodhouse, Autism Coordinator Office of Special
Houston ISD Education Services

History of Autism
Autism was first described in literature by Leo
Kanner in 1943.
He called the syndrome “early infantile
autism.”
Autism was also often misdiagnosed as
childhood schizophrenia.
Early psychologists hypothesized that children
became autistic due to “cold and unnurturing”
mothers. This theory was proven false in
1979.
Prepared by K. Woodhouse, Autism Coordinator Office of Special Education
Houston ISD Services

Facts on Autism – What We
Know So Far
Autism:

is a lifelong disability.
is characterized by severe problems in 3
main areas: communication, behavior and
social skills.
is classified as a developmental disability.
occurs mostly in males. The ratio is about
4:1.

Know So Far
Autism:

occurs in approximately 1 out of 250 births,
and has a 10-17% annual growth rate.
typically manifests around the ages of 18
months to 3 years.
is found throughout the world in families of
all racial, ethnic and social backgrounds.


Know So Far
There is no cure, but lots of research is
currently being done.
There are lots of treatments, and from
researched based evidence, educational
treatment is the most effective.
Autism remains throughout the individual’s
lifetime, although with proper intervention
symptoms can lesson.


Common Characteristics of
Autism – Social Skills
Deficits or differences in social skills are
common with individuals with autism. They
may exhibit the following:

Lack of awareness of the existence or feelings
of others.
Severe impairment in the ability to relate to
others.
Aloof and distant from others.
Appears not to listen when spoken to.

Autism – Social Skills
(Continued)
Fails to produce appropriate facial
expressions to specific occasions.
Avoids eye contact.
Difficulty with changes in environment and
routine.
Does not seek opportunities to interact with
others.
Unwillingness and/or inability to engage in
cooperative play.

Autism – Communication Skills
Deficits or differences in communication skills
are common with individuals with autism.
They may exhibit the following:

Difficulties in using and understanding both
verbal and non-verbal language.
Failure to initiate or sustain conversational
interchange.
Abnormalities in the pitch, stress, rate, rhythm,
and intonation of speech.

Autism – Communication Skills
(Continued)
Poor receptive and expressive skills.
May echo words (echolalic speech).
May use screaming, crying, tantrums,
aggression, or self-abuse as ways to
communicate.
Repeating words or phrases in place of
normal, responsive language.


Autism – Behavior Skills
Deficits or differences in behavior skills are
common with individuals with autism. They
may exhibit the following:

Unusual and repetitive movements of the body
that interfere with the ability to attend to tasks
or activities, such as hand flapping, finger
flicking, rocking, hand clapping, grimacing or
eye gazing.

Autism – Behavior Skills
(Continued)

Marked distress over changes in seemingly
trivial aspects of the environment.
Laughing, crying, or showing distress for
reasons not apparent to others.
Unreasonable insistence on following
routines in precise detail.


Other Common Characteristics
of Autism
Unresponsive to normal teaching methods.
Acts as deaf.
Apparent over- or under-sensitivity to pain.
No fear of real danger.
Uneven gross and fine motor skills.
May not want to cuddle or be cuddled.
Inappropriate attachment to objects.
Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme
under-activity.

Early Symptoms – Birth to 18
Months
Feeding problems, such as poor nursing ability.
Apathetic and unresponsive – showing little or
no desire to be held or cuddled.
Constant crying or unusual absence of crying.
Disinterested in people and surroundings.
Repetitive movements, such as hand shaking,
prolonged rocking and spinning, head banging.
Sleeping problems.
Insistence on being left alone.

Early Symptoms – 18 Months
to 3 Years

Difficulties in toilet training.
Odd eating habits and preferences.
Late speech, no speech, or loss of
previously acquired speech.
Sleeping problems, such as requiring only a
few hours of sleep each night.


Early Symptoms – Other
Indications
Does not have anticipatory response to be
picked up.
Seems to “tune out” a lot.
Prolonged tantrums.
Doesn’t play appropriately with toys.
Seems to have a good memory.
Fails to respond to the affection of others.


Early Symptoms – Other
Indications
May use an adult’s hand like a tool for
accomplishing tasks.
Does not spontaneously imitate the play of
other children.
Tendency to spend inordinate amounts of time
doing nothing or pursuing ritualistic behaviors.
Difficulty with changes in environment and
routine.
Does not seek opportunities for interaction with
others.

Treatments and Educational
Strategies
Autism is not a disease. There is not a single
treatment such as a drug or therapy program
that will work for all individuals with autism.
Treatment often comes in the form of
individualized plans designed to meet all areas
of need.
Meeting the challenges of autism is better
described as educational rather than treatment.
No single program or service will fill the needs
of everyone with autism. Strategies to help a
person with autism should be part of a
comprehensive plan.
Prepared by K. Woodhouse, Autism Coordinator
Houston ISD
Office of Special Education
Services

Best Educational Practices for
Children with Autism
Educational practices should focus on the
following:
Communication skills
Behavior
Functional academics
Self-help skills
Gross and fine motor skills
Social and leisure skills
Vocational and independence
Structure, routine and organization

References

Autism Society of America (www.autism-
society.org)
Center for Autism and Related
Disabilities/CARD (http://card-
usf.fmhi.usf.edu)
Lamar Consolidated Independent School
District – Autism 101 (www.lcisd.org)


Autism 101

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