What are the most common deficits of autism?

Learn about: What are the most common deficits of autism? from Sarah Clifford Scheflen, MS, CCC-SLP,...
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What are the most common deficits of autism?

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The common deficits in people with Autism. I want you to remember that there is a spectrum, so you might not have all of these deficits, you might have some of them. But speech and language is a big one. A child might have difficulty with receptive and expressive language. They also might have pronoun confusion. Children might refer to themselves in the third person, so instead of "I," they might say, "Sarah." They have difficulty with social communication, so they lack that theory of mind, which is perspective taking, and often have trouble forming friendships. They have difficulty with reciprocal conversations, so asking questions to learn about your interests. They might jump from topic to topic, and have difficulty sustaining a topic. They also have difficulty with behaviors. They might be very rigid. They get stuck in routines. Children with Autism might -- One time, I went to a child's house, and I could tell he had Autism because he kept pacing up and down the street. He would stop at the same point and then come back. He would just do that over and over again. You see a lot of those ritualistic behaviors.

Learn about: What are the most common deficits of autism? from Sarah Clifford Scheflen, MS, CCC-SLP,...

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Sarah Clifford Scheflen, MS, CCC-SLP

Speech Language Pathologist

Sarah Cilfford Scheflen, MS, CCC-SLP is a pediatric clinical speech–language pathologist who specializes in working with children with autism and other developmental disorders. She works exclusively with children, primarily between the ages of 12 months to eight years.

Sarah is the founder of Scheflen Speech–Language Pathology, Inc., her private practice in Santa Monica, California, as well as the co-founder (together with autism advocate Jenny McCarthy) of Teach2Talk, LLC, a producer of quality educational products including video–modeling DVDs that teach children a variety of skills including appropriate behavior, social skills, play and language. 

She is also the senior speech–language pathologist on staff at an intensive partial–hospitalization program for autism located at a major public research university located in Los Angeles, California, where Sarah has provided therapy to hundreds of children with autism spectrum disorders and conducted research into various treatment modalities. 

Sarah is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer, and her research focuses on teaching play, social skills and language to children through video modeling.

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Transcription: 
The common deficits in people with Autism. I want you to remember that there is a spectrum, so you might not have all of these deficits, you might have some of them. But speech and language is a big one. A child might have difficulty with receptive and expressive language. They also might have pronoun confusion. Children might refer to themselves in the third person, so instead of "I," they might say, "Sarah." They have difficulty with social communication, so they lack that theory of mind, which is perspective taking, and often have trouble forming friendships. They have difficulty with reciprocal conversations, so asking questions to learn about your interests. They might jump from topic to topic, and have difficulty sustaining a topic. They also have difficulty with behaviors. They might be very rigid. They get stuck in routines. Children with Autism might -- One time, I went to a child's house, and I could tell he had Autism because he kept pacing up and down the street. He would stop at the same point and then come back. He would just do that over and over again. You see a lot of those ritualistic behaviors.