Other children with ASD may read very early and show intense interest in certain subjects and want to read everything they can on that topic. Whether your child has mild or severe ASD, making reading a fun activity can help your child's learning and social skills.
Do all children with autism have reading difficulties? No! Many become voracious readers. But a recent study showed that children with ASD from ages 3 to 10 were more likely to be in the lowest possible performance bracket for phonemic awareness, which is the foundational skill for good reading.
Many students with autism spectrum disorder demonstrate difficulties in reading comprehension. These difficulties may be attributed to deficits in Theory of Mind, Weak Central Coherence, and Executive Functioning.
Science fiction and fantasy are often of great interest to autistic people. Depending on their interest levels and abilities, people on the spectrum may learn every detail of a particular "universe," write their own stories, watch and rewatch movies, read comics, attend conventions, or even make their own costumes.
Challenges for Families of Autistic People
A child with ASD can be challenging—they may be restless; have trouble sleeping, eating or speaking; experience seizures; or have meltdowns born of frustration or overstimulation. Expectations for a “normal” life may need to be adjusted.
Your child might get upset if too much is happening around them, if they find a particular noise overwhelming, or if the light is too bright. Autistic children can get frustrated if they're expected to do something they don't have the skills for, like getting dressed independently.
Sometimes, environmental factors can cause sensitivity to a child diagnosed with autism, such as light and sounds that can be very distracting and uncomfortable. These can cause the child to become temporarily hyperactive or disruptive.
They show other signs of autism, such as withdrawal and isolation, avoidance of eye contact, and are adverse to giving or receiving affection. They are often overly sensitive to sounds or other forms of sensory overload. They too read early; way ahead of expected schedule.
Difficulties with paying attention
Some autistic children can find it difficult to pay attention to and focus on things that don't interest them. This includes activities that involve shared attention, like reading a book with a carer, doing a puzzle, or even walking safely across the road.
If you have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and prefer talking to people online, you are not alone. A new study from Leiden University in the Netherlands finds that people with ASD prefer computer-mediated communication—talking to people via email, instant message, or text.
For people on the autism spectrum, the world is a bewildering place. With oversensitive sensory systems, they battle to process the maelstrom of information flowing into their brains. Often the result is sensory overload, leading to signature behaviours such as tantrums, anxiety and social withdrawal.
When Does Autism Get Easier? A new study found that around 30% of young autistic children have less severe symptoms at age 6 than they did at age 3. Interestingly, some children lose their autism diagnoses entirely.
Change in severity of autism symptoms and optimal outcome
One key finding was that children's symptom severity can change with age. In fact, children can improve and get better. "We found that nearly 30% of young children have less severe autism symptoms at age 6 than they did at age 3.
The behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often appear early in development. Many children show symptoms of autism by 12 months to 18 months of age or earlier.
Abstract Some children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) exhibit low mental age (Low-MA), defined here as cognitive functioning below 12 months.
According to the Center for Disease Control, children that are identified on the autism spectrum are one in 44. It is also stated that boys are four times more likely to have an autism diagnosis than girls. The average age of diagnosis in girls is four years old, in comparison to a little over three years old for boys.
Emotional development: autistic children and teenagers
For example, your autistic child might feel all negative or unpleasant emotions as anger. Or they might not recognise when they're excited. Or they might label all emotions that are hard to describe as 'being bored'.
Although your son's reaction sounds more severe than most, many people with autism struggle with a range of fears, phobias and worries. These can range from a debilitating fear of, say, spiders or the dark to chronic anxiety about making mistakes or being late.
Kids with autism experience “deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to the absence of interest in peers (DSM-5).”
Children with autism are often unaware of their behaviors and struggle with reading the body language of others. Yelling at a child with autism can cause chronic levels of stress in the child and is not helpful in working towards a solution or strategy for change.