CPA for Week #2: The Characteristics of ASD

Instructions:
1. Create or find a sketch, diagram or image that helps explain and define each
characteristic
2. Find at least one example of this characteristic from an actual individual with ASD. What
does the characteristic look like in real life? Check online websites or blogs for info.
3. Add two characteristics for each category that you come across in your readings

Characteristic Sketch, diagram or image Example

Social
Marked lack of awareness Students with ASD typically
of the existence or feelings experience significant difficulty
of others relating to others. A student
may acknowledge someones
presence in order to have a
need met and subsequently
ignore the person. The student
might demonstrate this
apparent aloofness

Atypical seeking of comfort

at times of distress They often experience difficulty
managing changes to their
environment or routines. They
may have strong emotional
reactions to seemingly
insignificant objects or
situations, perhaps because
they associate them with a
previous unpleasant
experience.
Atypical imitation Students with ASD usually do
not learn effectively through
imitation and require direct
instruction. They may lack the
motor planning and
coordination needed to imitate
multi-step motor routines,
Unusual social play Students with ASD typically
experience difficulty with social
and play skills. When they do
play, their play is usually routine
and repetitive in comparison to
the spontaneous, creative, and
evolving play of their peers. If
students with ASD are not able
to play with other children
when they are young, they
might not develop the skills
necessary to interact with
others when they are older.
Some students with ASD may
appear aloof by playing next to
other children but not sharing in
or taking turns playing with
other children (parallel play).

Limited ability to form

friendships with peers Students with ASD tend not to
spontaneously seek interaction
with peers.

Add 1 here
Difficulties relating to peers and
others in a positive and
reciprocal manner

Add 1 here
Difficulties adjusting to meet
changing social demands in
different contexts

Communication
Difficulty with interpreting,
understanding or using
non-verbal communication
Difficulties with speech
Significant difficulties in
intonation and voice
control
Echolalic speech
Repetitive and
idiosyncratic speech
patterns
Shared focus, eye contact can
be difficult as well as proximal
issues and body language.
motor speech difficulties
resulting in problems with
consonant and syllable
structure impacting production
also enunciation of words may
be overemphasized
Students with ASD often
speak too loudly because
they have difficulty
understanding when their
voice is too loud.
The rhythm of their speech
can also sound odd.
Echolalic speech is immediate
or delayed literal repetition of
the speech of others. Appears
to be non meaningful to the
listener but normally serves as
communication method. May
be triggered by emotion or
environment.
using associational speech,
memorized words, or phrases
that the student tries to fit into
a particular situation because
he or she cannot phrase
language more conventionally
Restricted vocabulary
Student vocabulary is
dominated by nouns and factual
information, difficulties in social
functions.
Difficulty with language
comprehension Students have a difficult time
following verbal cues or
instructions, information
processing takes a bit longer
and they have a hard time with
literal and abstract comments.
Tendency to perseverate
on a topic continually discusses one topic
and has difficulty changing
topics

Difficulty with the social

use of language Students have a difficult time
(pragmatics) using social acceptable
language, they have a difficult
time differentiating what is the
acceptable form of
communication in certain
instances or environments.

Add 1 here
inappropriate interrupting

Add 1 here
difficulty using non-verbal cues
(e.g., facial expression or eye
gaze of others)

Behaviour
Restricted repertoire of
activities
Stereotyped and repetitive
body movements
Persistent preoccupation
with parts of objects or
attachment to unusual
objects
Markedly restricted range
of interests or a narrow
preoccupation with one
interest
Difficulties with Motivation
Students with ASD are often
more oriented to objects than
to people, and yet many have a
very small repertoire of
activities they can enjoy doing
with the objects or materials
that they like.
Students with ASD may show
stereotyped behaviours which
compete with purposeful tasks
or activities. The desire to
perform these movements
often seems strongly internally
motivated.
Students with ASD often
develop preoccupations with
particular objects, sounds,
colours, or textures that go well
beyond the stage of a simple
interest. The internal
motivation behind these
preoccupations and
attachments can be very strong.
Most students with ASD show
an intense interest in a narrow
range of objects, activities, or
people. In higher-functioning
students, these interests often
become preferred
conversational topics that
dominate social interaction with
others.
Students with ASD are typically
motivated by highly individual
preferences and interests.
Internal motivators, such as the
need to fit in with peer groups,
share experiences, or receive
recognition from others, i.e.,
the teacher, may not be
meaningful. Some students with
ASD may not find external
 rewards (or reinforcers)
motivating.
Need to follow routines in
precise detail Most students with ASD,
however, need to maintain
highly consistent routines in
order to function with any
success. Students with ASD
usually perform tasks exactly as
they are taught.

Marked distress over

changes in the Seemingly minor changes may
environment provoke strong reactions.
Change that might go unnoticed
or be welcomed by a typically
developing student might lead
to distress or a tantrum in a
student with ASD.
Add 1 here
Child may become distressed if
seats or tables are changed.
Add 1 here Child may become distressed if
center hours of operation are
changed to different times.