HEIRS autism

Glossary of Developmental/Behavioral Terms Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Autism – A developmental disorder that physically presents itself in early childhood that inhibits social skills, communication, and intelligence.  Is almost always jointed with other comorbid issues both physical, developmental and behavioral in nature.

• Autism Spectrum Disorder – A broad term used in encompass high and low level functioning of the various forms of Autism in conjunction with comorbid conditions.

• Asperger Syndrome – “AS”.  A Pervasive Developmental Disorder, which is similar to Autism, without a significant language delay, usually in conjunction with other Developmental/Behavioral disorders.

• High Functioning Autism – “HFA”.  See Definition of Asperger Syndrome

• Pervasive Developmental Disorder – “PPD”.  An impairment that prohibits the development of social skills.

• General Anxiety Disorder – “GAD”.  An uncontrollable worrying about everyday things or things outside one’s ability to control.

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – “OCD”.  Unwanted recurring thoughts and/or rituals carried out to check behavior and/or relieve the obsessive thought(s).

• Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder – “OCPD”.  Characterized by the inability to relax schedule or cope with change

• Dispraxia – Patient encounters severe difficulty in performing gross motor skills.  Most commonly presents itself in the areas of balance while walking and or running giving the suffered an “odd” way of walking.

• Dysgraphia – Patient encounters severe difficulty in performing fine motor skills.  Most commonly presents itself during writing exercises (misshapen, poorly spaced handwriting, and frequent misspellings).

• Cognitive Therapy – “Cognitive therapy or cognitive behavior therapy is a kind of psychotherapy used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, phobias, and other forms of mental disorder. It involves recognizing distorted thinking and learning to replace it with more realistic substitute ideas.”[i]

• Oppositional Defiant Disorder – “ODD”.  Characterized by defiant, disobedient, etc. behavior towards those perceived as being in authority.

• Mind-Blindness – The mind is unable to judge body language and facial expressions exhibited by others.

• Sensory Integration Dysfunction – “Sensory Integration Dysfunction is a neurological disorder causing some people to have difficulties in integrating information coming in from each of their five senses. Sensory integration disorders span a wide range of neurological conditions, including autism spectrum disorders, dyslexia, pervasive developmental disorder, multiple sclerosis and speech delays, among many others.”[ii]

• Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – “ADHD”.  This disorder commonly presents itself with the patient having poor concentration and being easily distracted resulting in impulsiveness that usually manifests itself in hyperactivity and inappropriate outbursts.

[i] Definition obtained from Wikipedia, the Free Online Encycelopedia.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_therapy

[ii] Definition obtained from Wikipedia, the Free Online Encycelopedia.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_Integration_Dysfunction