Autism Presentation Slides

Autism

Mariah Silveyra-Diaz

SPHS 4715

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism can can co-occur with impairments in semantics, grammar, morphology but pragmatics is the primary area affected.

Two core features:

• Persistant deficits in social communication and interaction
• Restricted/repetitive behaviors/interests (RRBs)

Social Communication & Interaction

Autism affects all 3:

Social-emotional reciprocity

Nonverbal communicate behaviors

Understanding/developing/mantaining relationships

Reciprocity

"Abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions." -DSM 5

Can look like:

• No interest in social interactions
• Limited interactions with others; difficulty mantaining back-and-forth
• Does very well when talking about their preferred interest, but struggles otherwise

Nonverbal Communication

This can include

• Not using gestures at all
• Can talk and use gestures, but has difficulties in doing them at the same time
• Doesn't understand when other people gesture
• No use of facial expressions
• Exaggerated facial expressions

Poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expression and nonverbal communication.

-DSM 5

How Autism affects relationships

• No interest in other people, would rather be left alone
• Does not approach peers on the playground, but will allow other to approach them
• Has difficulty understanding how to adjust their behavior in various situations
• Struggles making and keeping friends

"Difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers."-DSM 5

Can look like:

• Hand flapping
• Rocking
• Following a certain routine every day
• An intense interest and knowing all about it
• Covering ears to noises that don't bother others

RRBs

2 of 4:

1. Stereotyped or repetitive movements, use of objects, or speech
2. Insistence on sameness
3. Highly restricted interests abnormal in intensity or focus
4. Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory stimuli

How does Autism affect Language Development?

Pragmatics is the primary area affected

Prosody, pitch is affected in speech

Tends to be uneven: spurts, plateaus, and regression

Echolalia

Tend to be literal, have difficulty with imprecise/figurative language

Prevalance

1 in 36

Related fators:

• Be male
• Have an autistic or otherwise neurodivergent family member
• Have another genetic or chromosoal disorder

children in the US have Autism

Doing our part

As future SLPs, we will encounter and work with autistic people. It's important to see autism as part of who they are and part of what makes them special. Each autistic individual is different and has a different set of needs and wants. It's important to advocate and meet the needs of this population to make a difference in their lives.

THANK YOU