Welcome to my blog, Exceptionalities in the Classroom. I hope this is a useful resource for teachers and parents alike. I have amassed a collection of resources that I find to be valuable in helping me understand and accommodate all my students in the classroom. Please refer to the list of exceptionalities on the side bar to the right for a complete list of resources.

Thursday 27 October 2011

Autism Spectrum Disorders


Autism Disorder & Asperger's Disorder: They are categorized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as pervasive developmental disorders.  Autism was recognized in 1970?? Asperger's is a relatively new diagnostic disorder as it was not recognized on its own (separate from autism) until 1994. 

The difference between autism and Asperger’s is that autism includes language and cognitive delays while Asperger’s does not. To be formally diagnosed with Asperger’s a child needs to display impairment in social interactions and unusual patterns of behaviors along with NO significant delay in language or cognitive development; whereas children with autism will show a delay in language and cognitive development.  Both affect social and cognitive functioning thus presenting varying challenges for the elementary classroom. 

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