Abstract
This paper presents a literature review on the effects of autism in early childhood development. Autism is a brain development disorder that has extremely debilitating effects on communicative and social development. Children suffering from autism exhibit different development patterns from their peers and develop at a much lower pace. They face considerable difficulties in understanding the feelings of others, as well as in interacting. These challenges can have adverse impacts on how they learn and develop. The symptoms of autism are varied and heterogeneous but involve repetitive behaviors, deficits in social relatedness and the presence of limited interests. The cause of autism is still unknown. Therefore, it cannot be treated or prevented.
How Autism Affects Cognitive-Behavioral Development
Studies on the intellectual capabilities of autistic children have shown that autistic children tend to have specific profiles of cognitive limitations with notable strengths. They have difficulties understanding what other people are thinking, which affect how they learn and develop. This is mainly because they follow a different pattern of development compared to other children and quite often develop at a lower rate (Duchan & Patel, 2012). Eldevik, Hastings and Hughes et al. (2009) found that the most common cognitive weakness exhibited by autistic children is the inability to use their thoughts and feelings to predict other people’s intentions, as well as the problem of controlling and regulating their behaviors. This occurs with the other problem of aptitude for detecting small details or objects (commonly called limited central coherence).
Duchan and Patel (2012) and Rogers (2008) found children with autism to exhibit positive changes in cognitive abilities as a result of a change of environment and time. These studies attest that not all autistic children exhibit similar cognitive strengths and weaknesses over a course of time. Instead, the profiles of cognitive skills for these children varied as shown by executive functions and the theory of mind. The fact that autistic children’s cognitive and social skills have been found to improve over time is not only encouraging but also stress the importance of understanding the breadth of cognitive challenges that these children face. Therefore, a key area of study in future is whether there are approaches that can be implemented to facilitate progress in the children’s social and cognitive development.
Numerous studies have shown that it is common for autistic children to experience difficulties in regulating behaviors, which results in verbal outbursts, crying and self-injurious tendencies even without reasonable cause (Duchan & Patel, 2012). Children with autism prefer familiar environments and consistent routines, and, therefore, react adversely to changes in their familiar environments. As Rogers (2008) reports, it is not uncommon for autistic children to show higher-than-usual levels of stimulatory behaviors, aggression, extensive withdraw when overwhelmed and self-injury. However, as the child gets used to the new environment and receives training, they gradually learn to control such behaviors and manage difficult changes in different ways.
One of the most common effects of autism on the child’s behavioral-cognitive development is the manifestation of repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. This characteristic trait sometimes manifests in the children developing a preference or becoming obsessed with specific topics that can be as diverse as the individual child can. Restricted interest and repetitive behaviors are often activities or objects that appear calming to the autistic children and can help them reduce anxiety. Because autistic children have high levels of anxiety, any activity or object that reduces it is highly preferred. Taking the children way or stopping them from the repetitive behaviors increases anxiety and often results in behavior meltdown (Duchan & Patel, 2012).
Studies have shown that any attempt to deny complete access to the objects of obsession can trigger instant behavioral outbursts. A more effective and productive way is to capitalize on the autistic child’s obsession in a meaningful way. For instance, an autistic child with an obsession for paper ripping can be taught paper mache during art lessons. It is also an effective strategy to schedule free time when the child is allowed to engage in the observed obsessive behaviors. Where necessary, it is advisable to replace unsafe obsessions with ones that are safer but which provide the same level of anxiety relief and calmness (Eldevik, Hastings & Hughes et al., 2009).
Given the significance of social input for normal brain functioning and development, it has been hypothesized that any slight changes in the processing capabilities assigned to social cues in children with autism might be related to the social experiences necessary for cognitive development. This is especially true in early childhood because this stage is associated with rapid cognitive development. Therefore, this process would affect numerous domains of cognitive development in autistic children. For instance, language impairment as noted by Duchan and Patel (2012) could be a secondary consequence of autistic symptoms. If young children with autism do not get adequate input that supports their efficient specialization and organization of the brain, it might ultimately result in the child having severe cognitive dysfunction. Many of the above cognitive manifestations of autism ebb through childhood. However, less is known about the trajectory of cognitive behaviors that these children will take when they become adults (Stephan, 2008).
Effects of Autism on Social Development
Typically, early childhood is a period of intense social development. It is during this period that children learn different social skills, which enable them to develop a strong liking for other people and appreciate the environment. In contrast, autistic children have poorly developed social skills. They hardly show meaningful interests in people. They may appear incapable of recognizing familiar faces or engaging in routine human interactions. Even after several years of interactions, the majority of autistic children seem indifferent to other people including family members, often lacking eye contact. Some autistic children below the age of five may appear calm but can cry too often because they fail to seek parental ministration (Eldevik, Hastings and Hughes et al., 2009).
A study by Rogers (2008) found that autistic children experience higher rates of social alienation during school age years. In response to this challenge or perhaps because the new social environment does not meet their needs, may autistic children report inventing imaginary worlds, friends, and social circles to compensate for the missing real ones. Making friendships in real life and maintaining them proves to be a difficult task for the autistics. They may prefer to be alone, and will passively accept cuddling and hugs with minimal reciprocating. In extreme cases, they may reject these attention-seeking social advances altogether. Later on, they learn to seek attention or comfort from others or respond to parents’ display of affection and anger in typical ways. Research studies suggest that although children with autism can be attached to their parents like normal children, they express their attachments in difficult and unique ways (Duchan & Patel, 2012).
A similar study by Eldevik, Hastings and Hughes et al., (2009) found that autistic children have difficulties in both their emotional and social relationships. These difficulties are manifested through low rates of social initiation and response to peers, parents, and other people. They also show limited non-verbal communication as evidenced by the lack of emotional expressions and gesturing. They also pay limited attentions to other people’s emotional displays than their non-autistic colleagues. One particular social deficit exhibited by autistic children, as reported by Stephan (2008) is the inability to develop joint attention skills. Joint attention refers to the tendency to use affect, sustained eye contact, and gestures for the sole purpose of sharing the experience with others. This tendency alienates autistic children and makes them less likely to participate in social activities.
Duchan and Patel (2012) conducted extensive studies on social effects of autism on children’s development. When he compared autistic children to those with developmental delays, he found that autistic children played in isolation quite often. For example, when these children were at recess, they spent most of their time in self-stimulatory activities rather than joining other children in play. Although they may make feeble attempts to interact with other children, they respond to contacts or initiate contacts less frequent than other children initiate. In cases where autistic children initiated social bids, their bids were accepted as much as those of other children were. This illustrates the importance of encouraging autistic children to take proactive roles in initiating social ties (Lintas & Persico, 2009).
According to Eldevik, Hastings and Hughes et al. (2009), although autism is easier to identify when the child reaches three years of age, many parents of these children easily sense that something is wrong even when the children are infants. At less than a year, an autistic child may have problems feeding, dislike being changed or bathed or take offense in any change in routine. They may be too rigid, making it difficult for the mothers to cuddle them. For example, the child may fail to anticipate being lifted, and, therefore, lie passively when the parent reaches for them instead of lifting their arms up in return. Gradually, parents become aware of the strangeness of these behaviors, although they may not be aware of the existence of autism as the underlying condition (Duchan & Patel, 2012).
Duchan and Patel (2012) reckon that impairment in cognitive and social interaction are among the earliest symptoms to develop. The most common of these symptoms is showing indifference to other people and staying aloof even towards one’s parents and close family members. Mature babies may fail to respond to their names being called out, and may show little facial expression except when extremely upset, happy or angry. Other children may be very passive but less resistant to social advances by others. Still, a few may show interests in engaging with peers and adults but in ways that come out as inappropriate or odd (Duchan & Patel, 2012).
Existing literature agree that autism causes children to be self absorbed and seem to exist in their own world where they cannot communicate successfully and interact with others (Rogers, 2008 and Stephan, 2008). According to Lintas and Persico (2009), children with autism may have considerable difficulties developing simple language skills and understanding what others say. They may also have difficulties using non-verbal communication cues such as facial expressions and gestures. However, not all autistic children will have language problems. Their ability to gain language skills will vary depending on their social and intellectual development. Some may be unable to speak completely while others may have rich vocabularies and be able to discuss specific topics in details.
Duchan and Patel (2012) studied patterns of language difficulties exhibited by autistic children. He found that although majority has difficulties using language effectively (especially when talking to other people) and that others have problems with the rhythms and meanings of words and sentences. They may also be unable to understand intricate body languages and the cultural nuances of vocal tones. As a result, their linguistic skills are characterized by repetitions and rigidity. When speaking, these children will say things which make little sense, have no meaning, or that seem misplaced contextually. For example, a child may recite alphabets repeatedly or may repeat words they have heard over and over. This condition is called echolia and may occur when someone speaks to the child. Another pattern is the use of high-pitched, robot-like or singsong voice in speech. All these are characteristic of poor language development (Rogers, 2008).
Although autistic children can speak, their conversations are typically characterized by narrow interest and exceptional abilities. Some may be able to deliver an in-depth monologue about an object or topic that holds their feelings and interest, even though they may not be able to sustain a two-way conversation about the topic. In rare cases, autistic children have been found to have exceptional music talents or advanced abilities to do mathematical calculations and counting. However, their uneven language development makes them incapable of communicating these abilities (Eldevik, Hastings, Hughes et al., 2009).
The above findings have been collaborated by Lintas and Persico (2009) who reports that autistic children develop commendable language skills. However, these skills are not to the average level of ability, and their progress is usually impaired. For instance, they may develop a rich vocabulary in a specific topic but fail to respond to the speeches of others. It is for this reason that autistic children are often mistakenly thought to have hearing problems. Although they may have good memories of newly learned information, they typically avoid eye contact, which makes them seem inattentive, rude or uninterested. This is especially the case for older children (6-8 years). Stephan (2008) observed that when these children reach middle childhood, their social impairment leads to difficulties in understanding what is happening around or what will happen. This creates a sense of insecurity and anxiety on a routine basis, which is often expressed through stress reducing behaviors such as rocking, flapping, punching, kicking and full-blown tantrums. Since autism is not a visible physical disability, the general public may be quick in condemning these behaviors as being odd.
References
Duchan, E. & Patel, D. R. (2012). Epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders. Pediatr. Clin. North Am, 59 (1): 27–4.
Eldevik, S., Hastings, R., Hughes, J. et al. (2009). Meta-Analysis of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention for Children With Autism. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 38 (3): 439–450.
Lintas, C. & Persico, A. M. (2009). Autistic phenotypes and genetic testing: state-of-the-art for the clinical geneticist. Journal of Medical Genetics, 46 (1): 1–8.
Rogers, S. (2008). Evidence-based comprehensive treatments for early autism. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol, 37(1): 8–38.
Stephan, D. A. (2008). Unraveling autism. American Journal of Human Genetics, 82 (1): 7–9
