The child may have a preference to remain alone at home or during recess at school.

The response may be as simple as pulling away from the hug or as distressing as self-injury.

Some children have an aversive response to a hug, handshake, or pat on the back.

Although a child may be able to communicate using language and understand basic requests, excessive language during instructions or questions may result in confusion or distress.

The child may have challenges understanding verbal communication (e.g., extensive instructions for an assignment).

The child may not understand cues of yawning or looking away as a lack of interest in the topic of conversation.

The child may have diﬃculty understanding nonverbal communication (e.g., eye-rolling suggesting negative response or thumbs-up as a sign of agreement).

For example, the child may be unable to recognize when another person is distressed because of a broken toy or dropped ice cream on the ﬂoor. Many educators and caregivers report children with ASD engaging in “movie talk” or “TV talk” which refers to the child verbally repeating scenes from a television show or preferred movie. Language that seems “scripted” or echoed from television, a movie, or previous interaction.Individuals with ASD may have diﬃculty understanding when to start or stop a conversation. Or, conversations may focus on a preferred topic of interest. The child may exhibit diﬃculty initiating or maintaining a conversation.This is often one of the earliest signs of ASD, as is a lack of responding to one’s name. The child may display poor or ﬂeeting eye contact.Social Communication Impairments may include the following: As such, parents, caregivers, and educators will recognize the wide range of strengths and challenges children with ASD exhibit.

The term “spectrum” can be deﬁned as a continuous sequence or range (Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, n.d.). This section describes autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in greater detail.

Dress up versus challenges