Students on the Autism Spectrum - Challenges they Face with Communication

The rate of diagnosis of kids with ASD is growing, some now say 1 in 88 children born has a form of autism.  Whatever, the numbers, we as educators are faced with helping these students succeed in our classrooms.  In order to help them succeed, one thing we need to understand is their communication challenges.

Students with ASD typically face challenges when communicating with others though the degree of their difficulty varies.  Often a student with ASD develops speech differently and more slowly; kids with autism may be more interested in sounds in the environment (like a ticking clock) than people speaking.  They typically do not imitate in the same way that other kids do - for instance they may not imitate at all OR they may imitate an entire sentence though they may say it without understanding it.  There are often delayed with speech especially if they do not echo language or remain non-verbal. 

In terms of older students, some with mild autism may have extensive vocabulary.  Though even with these high-functioning ASD kids, they typically have difficulty with social communication as reading body language and facial cues is an essential part to understanding nuance and context.

Therefore, regardless of how high or low-functioning an ASD kid is with speech almost all can use some training and assistance with communicating with others.  As a teacher, it is imperative to see where they are with their communication skills and help them to develop them further.

Source: http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Autism-Corner/How-Autism-Affects-Communication.aspx

Also, below is a list of specific challenges that kids with Autism face with social communication:

• People with what appears to be perfectly grammatical speech
• Absence of any desire to communicate
• Echolalic and repetitive speech
• Expression of needs only
• Makes factual comments, often irrelevant to the social situation
• Talks incessantly regardless of response by others
• Literal interpretation
• Referring to self in third person impairment of imagination
• Difficulty in understanding that other people see things from a different point of view
• Inflexibility in the application of both written and unwritten rules that govern social behaviour
• Repetitive enacting of roles without understanding purpose
• Difficulties in generalising concepts
• Literal understanding of language
• Difficulties in distinguishing between ‘pretend’ and reality
• Lack of empathy for others.
• Impairment of creative imaginative concepts

Social relationships

• People with autism have difficulties forming relationships; they often appear aloof and indifferent to other people.
• Many people with Asperger Syndrome want to be sociable, but may lack the social skills to interact in a conventional way. They find it hard to understand non-verbal signals, including facial expressions, which make it difficult for them to form and maintain social relationships with people who are unaware of their needs.
• Difficulty understanding the ‘rules of society’ and identifying what is expected behavior in different situations.

Source: http://www.brookdalecare.co.uk/what-is-autism