ASD EXAM COMPREHENSIVE QUESTIONS AND
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
◉ Risk Factors for ASD.
Answer: Genetics (~80% heritability), advanced paternal age (40+
years = 6x risk), maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy, and
environmental factors like lead, groundwater toxins, oxidative stress,
and brain inflammation.
◉ Signs of ASD: 9-12 Months.
Answer: Lack of response to name, lack of social smile, poor mutual
attention, limited gestures, poor imitation, poor eye contact, limited
affective range, extreme passivity, and poor visual orientation to
stimuli.
◉ Signs of ASD: 18 Months.
Answer: Lack of response to name, lack of shared joy, poor joint
attention, minimal pointing/gesturing, unusual prosody, lack of
appropriate gaze, lack of shared interests, and repetitive
body/object movements.
◉ Signs of ASD: 24 Months.
Answer: Lack of responsiveness, lack of shared enjoyment/facial
expressions, lack of pointing to shared interests, poor
, imitation/delayed speech, abnormal eye contact, over-/under-
reaction to sensory stimuli, and unusual visual/play interests.
◉ Early Warning Red Flags (NIH / Table 11-7).
Answer: No babbling/cooing by 12 months, no gestures
(pointing/waving) by 12 months, no single words by 16 months, no
two-word phrases by 24 months, or ANY loss of language/social
skills at any age.
◉ Interdisciplinary Team Members.
Answer: Administrator (funding/paperwork), Behavior consultant
(behavior plans), OT (sensory/fine motor), PT (gross motor),
Physician (health/meds), Psychologist (cognition/mental health),
Social worker (family history/support), SLP
(communication/social), Teacher (academics).
◉ Examples of Restricted, Repetitive Behaviors.
Answer: Self-stimulatory behaviors (hand flapping, twirling), lining
up toys, spinning wheels, motor perseveration, rigid adherence to
routines/routes, fascination with mechanical movement (ceiling
fans, light switches), obsessive interests (dinosaurs, weather maps),
and perimeter walking.
◉ Social & Communication Goals: Young Children.
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
◉ Risk Factors for ASD.
Answer: Genetics (~80% heritability), advanced paternal age (40+
years = 6x risk), maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy, and
environmental factors like lead, groundwater toxins, oxidative stress,
and brain inflammation.
◉ Signs of ASD: 9-12 Months.
Answer: Lack of response to name, lack of social smile, poor mutual
attention, limited gestures, poor imitation, poor eye contact, limited
affective range, extreme passivity, and poor visual orientation to
stimuli.
◉ Signs of ASD: 18 Months.
Answer: Lack of response to name, lack of shared joy, poor joint
attention, minimal pointing/gesturing, unusual prosody, lack of
appropriate gaze, lack of shared interests, and repetitive
body/object movements.
◉ Signs of ASD: 24 Months.
Answer: Lack of responsiveness, lack of shared enjoyment/facial
expressions, lack of pointing to shared interests, poor
, imitation/delayed speech, abnormal eye contact, over-/under-
reaction to sensory stimuli, and unusual visual/play interests.
◉ Early Warning Red Flags (NIH / Table 11-7).
Answer: No babbling/cooing by 12 months, no gestures
(pointing/waving) by 12 months, no single words by 16 months, no
two-word phrases by 24 months, or ANY loss of language/social
skills at any age.
◉ Interdisciplinary Team Members.
Answer: Administrator (funding/paperwork), Behavior consultant
(behavior plans), OT (sensory/fine motor), PT (gross motor),
Physician (health/meds), Psychologist (cognition/mental health),
Social worker (family history/support), SLP
(communication/social), Teacher (academics).
◉ Examples of Restricted, Repetitive Behaviors.
Answer: Self-stimulatory behaviors (hand flapping, twirling), lining
up toys, spinning wheels, motor perseveration, rigid adherence to
routines/routes, fascination with mechanical movement (ceiling
fans, light switches), obsessive interests (dinosaurs, weather maps),
and perimeter walking.
◉ Social & Communication Goals: Young Children.
