Autism And Intellectual Disabilities

In the United States the onset age for intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities is before turning eighteen years old (Odom, Horner, Snell & Blacher, 2009). In my searching’s, I found a 27 year old, Alex, who was diagnosed with Autism at the early age of three years old. According to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), an intellectual disability is a disability in which is characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual use and in adaptive behavior. Intellectual functioning is also referred to as intelligence, which means the general mental capacity, such as learning, reasoning, problem solving etc. Adaptive behavior is seen is the collection of conceptual, social, and practical

skills that are learned and performed by people in their everyday lives (AAIDD).
The skills that are considered to be conceptual are language skills, literacy, money, time, concepts of numbers and self-direction (Odom et al., 2009). Alex was having difficulty with most of these tasks. He says that he did not mumble his first words until the age of 5 and was only repeating lines from television shows. He considered himself to be a very isolated person who became so fixed with his routines that he was “petrified of any change or anything new”. Alex has multiple different disorders, known as comorbidity. Alex, on top of Autism, also suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as well as social anxiety.

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Alex felt that he had many sensory issues. He noted that he was not stimulated enough and often times got very bored which resulted in him lashing out or wandering
off. He was so set into his routines that one day a vey important person in his life, his caretaker was no longer able to take care of Alex. Alex felt as though his world was shattered, he could not eat and could not talk. However, he was able to get the proper support and resources that he needed to help him get back into the swing of things.
The Autism Spectrum is a neurodevelopmental disability, which is focused on the basis of early surfacing social, and communication impairments with vigorous and repetitive patterns of behavior and interest (Frith & Happe, 2005). Autism appears to have its roots in very early brain development (Manning, Charman and Pellicano 2015). There are delays or abnormal functioning in social interaction, language or play by the age of 3 (Lord, Cook, Leventhal, and Amaral 2009). ASD is a heterogeneous disorder meaning that no two children or adults with autism have exactly the same profile making each case quite different (Lord et al., 2009). The most obvious signs and symptoms of Autism usually appear between the ages of 2 and 3, while early intervention with proven behavioral therapies can improve outcomes while increasing awareness (Manning et al., 2015).
According the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition, Alex is effected by Autism. According to the diagnostic criteria for Autism one must have “deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approached and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of

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interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interaction”. They also must have “deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social
interaction, ranging, for example, from 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 facials expressions and nonverbal communications”. As stated in his story, Alex could not make simple sentences until the age of eight and would hardly leave the house making it hard to socially interact with others.
Section B of the DSM-5 shares with us more diagnostic criteria to those with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Section B states that there needs to be at least 2 of the symptoms present that are pictured in Section B, and I believe that Alex is suffering from two. The first one states “stereotyped or repetitive movements, use of objects, or speech; for example simple motor stereotypies, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia or idiosyncratic phrases”. Echolalia is the act of repetition without awareness. This section also includes that “instance on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior”. For example, an individual might experience extreme distress at any slight small change, and have difficulty with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, and the compelling notion of having to take the same route or eat the same food everyday. We read that Alex had “become so fixed in my routine that I was petrified of any change or anything new”. The DSM also states that symptoms to the Autism Spectrum Disorder must be present in the early developmental period, which it was definitely present in Alex’s case – being diagnosed at age 3.
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The Autism Spectrum Disorder affects over 3 million people in the United States and over tens of millions of individuals worldwide (Manning et al., 2015). In recent years
the government’s statistics propose that the likelihood of being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder have increased by 10%-17% in recent years (Manning et al., 2015).
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 68 American Children are seen to be on the spectrum. Autism affects an estimated 1 out of every 42 boys and 1 out of every 189 girls are diagnosed (CDC).
Parents first often become concerned with their child because they are not using words to communicate, even if their child may recite passages from videotapes or says the alphabet (Lord et al., 2009).

Though negative or nonexistent social interactions may not be immediately shown in early years, they gradually increase and become more prevalent as the child becomes more mobile and as other children become more socially interactive (Lord et al., 2009). Young children with Autism usually do not seek out others when they are happy, they tend to not show or point to objects of their interests, or call their parents by name (Odom et al., 2009). About 40% of individuals on the spectrum have “average” to “above average” intellectual abilities and often times have remarkable potential in visual skills, music and academic skills compared to social and interactive skills (Odom et al., 2009). About 25% of those living with ASD tend to be nonverbal but can learn to communicate using other means such as art, sign language and gestures (Manning at al.,

2015).
First and foremost, in 2015 we now know that there is no one cause for Autism, just like there is not one specific type of ASD (Manning et al., 2015). However, over the
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last 5 years or so scientists have identified a number of rare genetic changes or mutations that correlate with Autism, but a small number of these are enough to cause Autism by
themselves (Manning et al., 2015). Factors including parental age at the time of conception, maternal illness during pregnancy, and periods of oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain,
in combination with genetic risk factors can have an increased risk for the child to be affected by Autism (Lord et al., 2009; Manning et al., 2015).

Those living with Autism Spectrum Disorder have a very hard time dealing and adapting to changes. Signs of ASD, again, begin during early childhood and mainly last a lifetime. Individuals with Autism avoid eye contact, prefer not to be held, have trouble relating to people, repeat or even echo words or phrases, have trouble with playing “pretend” and often times those individuals have a very difficult time expressing their needs using typical words (Manning et al., 2015).

As far as treatment goes there are no specific drugs or medications that these individuals can take. These people with Autism are all affected by it in various ways that there is no one type of treatment. Everyone has their own tailored plan to help and address their needs. At a previous internship site of mine, which then became my job, at the Barry Price Center: ASCENT Program I worked with a group of high school graduates in Newton which all were being affected by an intellectual disabilities of developmental disabilities – which included Autism. While there we were not “treating” this individuals but we were helping them be the best they could be. ASCENT (Advocacy, Social Skills, Career Exploration, Networking and Transitions) is

an
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afternoon program that empowers young people with developmental disabilities to overcome barriers to post-secondary employment, independence and individual success.
Suffering from such disorder must be exhausting, honestly. Having these routines that are the exact same day in and day out, not being able to communicate, being a very isolated person etc must be the most frustrating thing in the entire world. I think it would change not only myself but also everyone around me. I think it would greatly affect my thoughts, feelings and behaviors to those around me. I would most likely but a very introverted and non-communicative person. I would be stuck in my thoughts of my routines and making sure I am not changing my routines in the slightest bit. I think that my entire world would then revolved around my Autism Spectrum Disorder but I do not think that would be my only label. These individuals are not just “Autistic”, they are funny, they are kind, they are set in their schedules and I think that it was makes them – them. The Autism does not define anyone.
It is imperative that when discussing disabilities we remember that we are indeed working with human beings. Their disability is secondary. Individuals are not just the disabled; they are people living with neurodevelopmental disabilities (Manning et al., 2015).