SPAU 4308 Exam 1 ASD UPDATED Exam
Questions and CORRECT Answers
What is the diagnostic criteria for Autism as per DSM V? How is it different from DSM-IV? -
CORRECT ANSWER - Significant changes to the autism category and diagnostic criteria
Decided to conceptualize and categorize autism as an all-inclusive spectrum disorder ranging
from mild to severe.
What is the diagnostic criteria for Autism as per DSM-IV? - CORRECT ANSWER -
Social Impairment Repetitive Behavior & Restricted Interest Language Level. DSM 4 had
communication deficits and language delay. DSM 5 has a language spectrum
What are the two core deficits (characteristics) in ASD? - CORRECT ANSWER - Deficits
in Social comm & interaction
Repetitive Behavior & Restricted Interest
strengths and weaknesses in language in children with ASD. - CORRECT ANSWER -
Lack of communication function in their language n "excellent rote memory"
"repeating an inordinate number of nursery rhyme, prayers, list of animals..."
"parrot-like repetitions of heard word combinations"
echolalia
"Literalness"
"Peculiar grammatical phenomenon": personal pronoun reversal
How has the language of severity changed over time? - CORRECT ANSWER - It has
become multi dimensional and specifies the type of support an individual needs.
Why are we shifting away from terms like "mild/moderate/severe/profound" or "high- or low-
functioning"? - CORRECT ANSWER - Its categorical and does not provide any
meaningful information on the type of support an individual needs
, What is the recommended way to describe severity? - CORRECT ANSWER - With or
without intellectual impairment
With or without language impairment
Associated w medical condition
Associated w other neurological disorder
What does the "spectrum" mean in Autism Spectrum Disorder? - CORRECT ANSWER -
Multi Dimensional
What is the prevalence of ASD? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1 in 44
What factors contribute to an increase in the prevalence of ASD around the world? (3 Factors) -
CORRECT ANSWER - 1. Changes in definition that broadened diagnostic boundaries
over time
2. Increase in community awareness and public health response
3. Increase in the identification of autism in previously under-diagnosed populations defined by
SES, geography, or race/ethnicity
How is autism different from social communication disorder? - CORRECT ANSWER -
SCD requires the absence of RRBs
What is the "Refrigerator Parenting" myth? - CORRECT ANSWER - Kanner suggests
autism may be related to a "genuine lack of maternal warmth" and that autistic children were
"left neatly in refrigerators which did not defrost."
What are some clinical implications that have come from the myth of refrigerator parenting? -
CORRECT ANSWER - Children were taken away from their parents and institutionalized.
For Myth #2 - Autistic children are unable to form attachment relationships, what does the
research say? - CORRECT ANSWER - Yes they can. "autistic and normal children did not
differ in the frequency or duration of gaze at mother's face". "In the one condition (face- to-face
interaction) during which affective expressions were coded, autistic and normal children also
Questions and CORRECT Answers
What is the diagnostic criteria for Autism as per DSM V? How is it different from DSM-IV? -
CORRECT ANSWER - Significant changes to the autism category and diagnostic criteria
Decided to conceptualize and categorize autism as an all-inclusive spectrum disorder ranging
from mild to severe.
What is the diagnostic criteria for Autism as per DSM-IV? - CORRECT ANSWER -
Social Impairment Repetitive Behavior & Restricted Interest Language Level. DSM 4 had
communication deficits and language delay. DSM 5 has a language spectrum
What are the two core deficits (characteristics) in ASD? - CORRECT ANSWER - Deficits
in Social comm & interaction
Repetitive Behavior & Restricted Interest
strengths and weaknesses in language in children with ASD. - CORRECT ANSWER -
Lack of communication function in their language n "excellent rote memory"
"repeating an inordinate number of nursery rhyme, prayers, list of animals..."
"parrot-like repetitions of heard word combinations"
echolalia
"Literalness"
"Peculiar grammatical phenomenon": personal pronoun reversal
How has the language of severity changed over time? - CORRECT ANSWER - It has
become multi dimensional and specifies the type of support an individual needs.
Why are we shifting away from terms like "mild/moderate/severe/profound" or "high- or low-
functioning"? - CORRECT ANSWER - Its categorical and does not provide any
meaningful information on the type of support an individual needs
, What is the recommended way to describe severity? - CORRECT ANSWER - With or
without intellectual impairment
With or without language impairment
Associated w medical condition
Associated w other neurological disorder
What does the "spectrum" mean in Autism Spectrum Disorder? - CORRECT ANSWER -
Multi Dimensional
What is the prevalence of ASD? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1 in 44
What factors contribute to an increase in the prevalence of ASD around the world? (3 Factors) -
CORRECT ANSWER - 1. Changes in definition that broadened diagnostic boundaries
over time
2. Increase in community awareness and public health response
3. Increase in the identification of autism in previously under-diagnosed populations defined by
SES, geography, or race/ethnicity
How is autism different from social communication disorder? - CORRECT ANSWER -
SCD requires the absence of RRBs
What is the "Refrigerator Parenting" myth? - CORRECT ANSWER - Kanner suggests
autism may be related to a "genuine lack of maternal warmth" and that autistic children were
"left neatly in refrigerators which did not defrost."
What are some clinical implications that have come from the myth of refrigerator parenting? -
CORRECT ANSWER - Children were taken away from their parents and institutionalized.
For Myth #2 - Autistic children are unable to form attachment relationships, what does the
research say? - CORRECT ANSWER - Yes they can. "autistic and normal children did not
differ in the frequency or duration of gaze at mother's face". "In the one condition (face- to-face
interaction) during which affective expressions were coded, autistic and normal children also
