Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), manifests by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction in multiple contexts. This can be:
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Deficits in social/emotional reciprocity
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Deficits in nonverbal communication behaviours
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Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships
Symptoms of autism can vary but may show up as a failure of normal back-and-forth conversation, abnormalities in eye contact, a lack of facial expressiveness, an absence of interest in peers, difficulty in sharing imaginative play or in making friends, and difficulty adjusting one’s behaviour to suit various social contexts.
ASD can also manifest as restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities, such as:
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Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements
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Use of objects, or speech
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Insistence on sameness, highly restricted
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Fixated interests
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Hyper or hypo-reactivity to sensory input
Intellectual Disability
An intellectual disability is identified by significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour. There are many different causes – it may be genetic, it may have been caused by an illness, or it may result from head trauma.
Management of an intellectual disability takes a lifetime. A psychologist can provide you with the support you need to help take care of your child. Asking for help and learning about your child’s disability, connecting with parents of other children with similar disabilities, learning to be patient – these are all ways you can help your child.
How We Help
We help children with ASD and intellectual disabilities by ensuring they get the assessment and support they need.