Autism Spectrum Disorder Case Study

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has two main core criteria, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (DSM-5). The first of the two criteria is ‘Persistent Deficits in Social Communication and Interaction across Multiple Contexts’ under which there are three categories. The first being deficits in social emotional reciprocity which may include atypical social approach and failure of the back and forth exchange of normal conversation. In addition, there may be a failure to respond or initiate social interaction as well as reduced emotions, interest or effect sharing. In the scenario ‘Ben loves Trains’ it is indicated that Ben is content to play alone for hours, he doesn’t interact with his sister in

Ben doesn’t have any interest in interacting with any of his family members, it is noted, “In fact, he completely ignores his sister.” (Perry & Condillac, 2003) He doesn’t use facial expressions or gestures such as pointing out his train to his sister, to communicate with others. Ben rarely looks at people even when they are trying to talk to him or when they try to get his attention and he rarely smiles. The third category is comprised of deficits in developing, maintaining and understanding relationships which includes difficulty adjusting one’s behaviour to social context, lack of interest in peers, and difficulties in making friends or sharing in imaginative play. Ben’s big sister tries to play with him but he rebuffs any of her attempts, or others, he ignores those around him, preferring to play by himself. Ben doesn’t pretend to make his train crash or go on train tracks nor does he make train sounds or use his imagination as to where the train is going or what it is

The first category is stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech, which can include lining up toys, flipping objects, hand flapping, echolalia, and use of idiosyncratic phrases. Ben frequently rubs his train against his chin or waves it in front of his eyes as he carries it around, and while playing he always lines up his toy train cars in the same way each time thus demonstrating the behaviours. Frequently people with ASD will line up objects according to size or even colour, time and time again. The second category indicates an excessive insistence on sameness, inflexible routines, or ritualize patterns of behavior verbal or nonverbal. This category can include extreme distress at any small changes, difficulties with transitions, and rigid thinking patterns and greetings. In the description of Ben in the case example, it states, “He gets very upset if anyone rearranges his trains” (Perry & Condillac, 2003) showing agitation at small changes and inflexibility, he wants things to remain the same. When I worked in an autism primary class some students had difficulty transitioning. One student had difficulty with transitions and if he was doing math and had to switch to science, he might have a tantrum because he had to transition to a different subject. It was