9781422280324

Autism and Other Developmental Disorders

dressing, eating, or otherwise taking care of themselves. Other people with developmental disabilities may have no trouble with daily life, but have difficulty in one particular area at school. That difficulty doesn’t stop them from succeeding or even excelling in other ways. No matter how severe or mild a kid’s developmental disabilities are, specialized therapies and training can help. There are three main categories of developmental disabilities: • intellectual disabilities • learning disabilities • autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A person with an intellectual disability has trouble learning, remembering, and understanding. He or she may struggle to master simple tasks, and score below average on tests meant to measure intelligence. At school, someone with an intellectual disability may spend most of the day in special education classes with a dedicated aide. Someone who has a learning disability struggles with one or more learning skills that are necessary to succeed at school. Kids with learning disabilities are just as intelligent as anyone else. They just may need extra time and tutoring to do the same schoolwork. ASD is arguably the most complex developmental disability, and it can look very different from individual to individual. An autistic person may be severely disabled and need to be in special education classes with a full-time aide. Another autistic person may have social challenges to overcome but excel in advanced classes. How well those with autism function depends on both the number of disabilities they have and the severity of each disability. It can be tough to generalize about such a diverse group of people with so many different levels of ability. But one thing holds true across the board. People with developmental disabilities often need support, aid, and understanding in order to live their lives to the fullest—just like people without developmental disabilities. Whether or not you have a developmental

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