The Autistic Child

An examination of challenging behaviors in autistic disorder versus pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified: Significant differences and gender effects

“…This difficulty was considered to be present very early in life and could perhaps even be the earliest sign noted, as a symptom of it could be observed at only a few months of age. Generally, an infant will display an anticipatory posture prior to being picked up followed by positioning adjustments to better accommodate the person holding him (Eveloff, 1960;Kanner, 1943Kanner, , 1944. However, this was not the case with the children Kanner and others encountered.…”

“…Instead, these children could be described as having severe deficits in socialization to the point of completely ignoring external persons and situations whenever possible. In some cases the extreme nature of this isolation was so profound that those involved questioned whether the child was in fact deaf (Eveloff, 1960;Kanner, 1943). Furthermore, the children preoccupied themselves with a fascination with objects that was clearly more prominent than any interest in social interaction (Kanner, 1943(Kanner, , 1944(Kanner, , 1971.…”

“…Tantrum behavior was often witnessed as a response to disruption of the preservation of sameness. Additionally, accounts included descriptions of physical aggression, self-injurious behavior, property destruction, and disrobing (Eveloff, 1960;Kanner, 1971).…”

Sensory theory in autism makes sense: A brief review of the past and present research

“…Based on their clinical observations, Bergman and Escalona 3 put forward a sensory hypothesis to explain the development of autism: autistic children start life with a higher degree of sensory sensitivity, which makes them acquire defensive strategies to protect themselves from overload, which, in turn, results in developmental distortions that are reflected in autistic conditions. Eveloff 4 described severe perceptual difficulties encountered by children with autism. Creak 5 included unusual sensory perceptual experiences in the list of core symptoms of autism.…”

A Multinational Study Examining the Cross Cultural Differences in Social Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Comparison between the United Kingdom and the United States of America

“…Examples of a lack of positive social skills include the absence of emotional and social reciprocity, lack of appropriate eye contact, the absence of joint attention, and the failure to share their interests with others (Dawson and Murias 2009). The desire to play in isolation, a disinterest in others, and atypical facial expressions and body postures could be considered examples of negative social skills (Dawson and Sterling 2008;Eveloff 1960).…”