Autism Types
From LoveToKnow Autism
There's generally little awareness of the different autism types among those who have never personally been in contact with someone afflicted with pervasive developmental disorders. In truth, there's quite a range, from the severely handicapped that will never live independently or hold a job to the almost undetectable, seemingly normal person who gets by through hard work and extra effort.
Main Autism Types
One difficulty with discussing autism types is that there is a bit of overlap between "labels". The difference between a high-functioning autism, Aspergers syndrome, and sensory integration dysfunction can be difficult to discern without diving deep into the clinical definitions. With this in mind, let's look at the main types of pervasive developmental disorders.
Low-Functioning Autism
As the name implies, the low-functioning autism is a more severe case of the condition. The symptoms of autism are profound on the low functioning end of the spectrum and in regressive autism. Severe deficits in communication skills, poor social skills, and stereotyped repetitive movements are among the most noticeable traits.
Some schools of thought put the main emphasis on the inability to communicate understanding, setting an IQ of 80 as the threshold between low-functioning and high-functioning autism. Others use a three-step scale, with low-functioning, medium-functioning and high-functioning, which is also based primarily on IQ scores.
As a parent or legal guardian, however, this is largely academic and it is important to remember that your child understands more than he may be able to communicate. What matters is how severely your child is affected and what you can do to support him or her. Thus, take these definitions with a grain of salt and focus on the important matters while leaving the hair-splitting to others.
High-Functioning Autism
The high-functioning autistic child may have delayed or non-functional language skills, compromised social development, or lack the ability to "role play" with toys and do other imaginative play neurotypical children do. Still, they have an IQ in the normal range and may display none of the compulsive or self-destructive behavior often seen in low-functioning autism.
Aspergers Syndrome
A closely related but generally lighter version of the spectrum is Aspergers syndrome. Named after Hans Asperger, a pioneering researcher in the field, this condition does not clinically require delays in one of the three areas mentioned under high-functioning (delayed language skills, social skills or imaginative play). Since there is little or no cognitive or language delay, the main Asperger characteristics are lack of social competence, limited ability for intimacy, poor emotional self-awareness and sometimes the ability to focus uncannily well on an object or a topic.
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
In addition to the classifications above, there is the view that behavior is better classified along a more open spectrum. The spectrum primarily covers autism, Aspergers syndrome and PDD (pervasive developmental disorder), which is considered a catch-all for autistic behavior when no common labels quite apply. Again, this is more of an academic issue -- if you have a child with symptoms of autism, your focus is most likely on the practical steps you can take to help your child rather than debate autism types and their classification.
Sensory Integration Disorder
Finally, you may come across mentions of sensory integration disorder (SID). This is a neurological issue where the person can't quite process the data gathered by the five senses. Sensory processing is a serious issue for many individuals who have pervasive developmental disorders.
It is important to note that SID is not an autistic disorder, but a distinct diagnosis itself. It is not unusual to have elements of SID present in people on the autism spectrum, making it a good-to-know term when trying to penetrate the confusing terminology surrounding the classification of various autism types and treatments.
More on Autism
There are more terms you'll want to learn when tackling the Autism issue. Retts syndrome, Kanner's syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD) are but a few of the related labels you'll see bandied about by the medical establishment. In any case, the fact that you're doing research and working on a plan to support your child is a very important step in the right direction.
Learn More
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