Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

4-25-2025

Keywords

aggression, anxiety, Autism Spectrum Disorder, challenging behavior, intellectual impairment, neurodevelopmental disorder, social communication, social interaction

Disciplines

Developmental Psychology

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by pervasive deficits in social communication and interaction, alongside patterns of restricted, repetitive, stereotyped behaviors and interests (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The causes, as well as neurobiological and genetic bases for ASD is still unknown, yet there is developing research in these areas.  Although diagnosis does not necessarily need to be made in early childhood, it is important to establish a developmental history consistent with such symptoms, in order to distinguish such deficits from those associated with trauma or other adverse impacts later in life. Beyond the main diagnostic criteria, there is significant diversity in the symptom presentations that are demonstrated by people with ASD, including overall symptom severity, levels of receptive and expressive language skills, intellectual ability, and related deficits (Evans et al, 2018). ASD may occur with or without either intellectual impairment, and/or functional language deficits. ASD also commonly co-occurs with other psychiatric diagnoses, including anxiety and depression. Further, ASD can also present with challenging behaviors such as aggression and self-injury, especially in those with intellectual impairment and language deficits.  It has been well established that ASD is diagnosed more often in males than in females, with recent estimates suggesting that ASD is 4.3 times as prevalent among boys as among girls (Maenner et al., 2016). Despite the fact that this is well known, there is considerable uncertainty about the nature of this sex/gender discrepancy, although it has become widely accepted that males and females with ASD present differently.

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