Autism spectrum disorder and speech delay with use of compensation v.s. without

[Chrysanthemum]

Autism is considered a "Pervasive Development Disorder."

Lack of social instinct is seen across the spectrum. By itself, it is PDD in its simplest form; ASD1. If the person is physically healthy, other traits may fail to develop in a timely fashion like speech, cognition, executive function or, in the case of my children, globally.

Severity levels are based on total need. Somebody who has failed to develop speech, but is nearly age-appropriate in every other way might be ASD1. Somebody who has a high IQ but little to no executive function might be more ASD2. Usually, ASD3 is affected more globally. (ASD2/3 severity is due to more severe co-morbid conditions.)

[NT] Executive Function Development​

(When "executive function" is tested, it returns an NT age-related score.)

Thank you for your explanation.

 

[Darwin]

Thank you for sharing.

I see your point that different children with ASD may require different amounts of support throughout their lives. But then the severity levels are somewhat confusing to me especially level 1 v.s. level 2 or level 2 v.s. level 3 and also because there are now 2 criterions (from what I have read in the past there were 3 for Autistic Disorder and 2 for Asperger's, there was also PDD-NOS that I think was considered an ASD) that need to be met for ASD and the level of support needed in each one may differ. I am not a professional but I still am not convinced that it is really possible to predict a young child's level of social skills in the future (assuming no unexpected accidents etc) but even if 2 children develop the same level of social skills one may take longer to do so and/or require more support to do so (though what is meant by "social skills" may also be important like I feel that it is actually possible for someone with ASD and less developed spoken (or written) language to have somewhat better social skills than someone with ASD and more developed spoken (or written) language), though I gave a hypothetical 3 year old not a 5 year old as an example and I read that ASD could definitely be diagnosed from age 2 (which to me sounds very young to assign a "severity level"). Though at the end of the day to me it's not so much what the severity level that was assigned that is important but more that people are given the appropriate amount and type of support that they need.

ASD-1 individuals find it hard to initiate interactions and adhere to rituals. They need minimal support in both aspects. I have researched it, and it seems they just exist together. Apparently, it cannot happen that someone has an ASD-3 type of the social aspect impairment with an ASD-1 type of the restrictive and repetitive behavior category impairment. They are related to each other.

The social impairment does not include language difficulties. In fact, it is written in DSM V that specialists should specify if the person has language difficulties. It is not one of the main criteria that define ASD according to DSM V. But non-verbal as well as verbal languages are taken into account, not only the verbal language. For example, someone who finds it difficult to make friends but is able to handle normal conversations is Level 1. Another one who looks away during a normal conversation is Level 2 although both of them might be fluent.