Characteristics of Communication

Children with disorders along the autistic spectrum have difficulty with verbal, nonverbal, and symbolic communication skills. In fact, for a child to be diagnosed Autistic, the current DSM-IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria require that they meet at least one of the following qualitative impairments in social interaction:

1. delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language (not accompanied by an attempt to compensatethrough alternative modes of communication such as gesutre or mime.)
2. in individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
3. stereotyped and repetitve use of lanuage or idiosyncratic language
4. lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imatative play appropriate to developmental level

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