It Might Not Be Autism

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Elisha Eveleigh Clipson, Ph.D.
Child Psychologist, Lindner Center of HOPE
Assistant Professor – Clinical, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience

 

 

Parents bring their children for psychological testing to answer the same question: How do I best help my child navigate through life? Increased autism awareness has led to a greater sense of identity and connectedness among many members of the autism community. There have been opportunities to highlight the strengths of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. With increased autism awareness, more parents notice symptoms and wonder if the diagnosis applies to their child.

I spend much of my professional time determining whether a child meets the criteria for autism. Part of the process is ruling out other explanations, and possibly ruling out autism. Sometimes families are upset when their child does not meet the criteria for autism.

Recently, a teen without ASD symptoms reported she was upset I did not “give her the diagnosis of autism” because she knew she had it. I deeply wanted this teen to better understand her experience, but she was not sufficiently trained to provide an accurate diagnosis.

Psychologists aim for accurate diagnosis. This informs the answer to the question of how to best help a child navigate through life. It is worth educating parents on what other issues have overlapping symptoms with autism.

When it is Autism

Individuals with ASD have differences in social communication and social interaction. Part two of the diagnosis has to do with restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.

On the communication side, we see significant difficulty in the following areas:

  1. Social-emotional reciprocity.
    1. This may include trouble with back-and-forth conversations or failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.
  2. Nonverbal communication used for social interaction.
    1. For example, trouble understanding or using nonverbal gestures, lack of facial expressions or avoiding eye contact.
  3. Developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships.
    1. For instance, trouble sharing in imaginative play, making friends or a seeming absence of interest in peers.

Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior might include:

  1. Repetitive motor movements or speech. Classic examples include repetitive phrases and unusually repetitive lining up of toys.
  2. Some children with autism have inflexible routines, unusual greeting rituals, or distress with small changes.
  3. The experience of abnormally restricted, fixated interests or preoccupations may be present.
  4. Many children with autism have differences in sensitivity to sensory input. This may include indifference to pain, excessive smelling of objects or visual fascination with the movement of an object.

 

What else could it be?

Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder

This involves persistent trouble with the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication. Symptoms include difficulty with:

  • Greeting others and sharing information.
  • Changing communication to match the context, e.g. communicating differently with a teacher than a peer.
  • Knowing how to use nonverbal signals to regulate social interactions.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

  • Children with ADHD experience more sensory processing issues than other children. They may be more sensitive to sounds or smell.
  • They may have difficulty taking turns or picking up on social cues.
  • May become distracted and disengage in the middle of a conversation.
  • Some children with ADHD can become, “hyper-focused” on an interesting task.

Anxiety Disorders and OCD

  • Individuals with anxiety disorders may avoid social situations.
  • Anxiety can make a person feel less comfortable with eye contact.
  • Some children refuse to talk outside of the home.
  • Rigid patterns of behavior and thinking are possible.

Sensory processing difficulty

Individuals with a range of developmental and psychological experiences have sensory processing difficulty. This is more commonly experienced with mood disorders, anxiety or ADHD. It is also more prevalent in children with Intellectual Disability or Global Developmental Delay.

Behavioral concerns

  • Not all children with autism have behavior problems. In fact, many do not.
  • Children with behavioral concerns may have trouble understanding and regulating their emotions.
  • Some children with speech and communication delays exhibit behavior problems when unable to express themselves.

Depression

  • The range of facial expression or tone of voice may be more neutral.
  • A person may become socially withdrawn.

“Overcontrolled” personal traits

Some of my colleagues at LCOH provide Radically Open DBT. This is for people who experience a spectrum of problems that result in being “overcontrolled.”

  • May exhibit less emotional expression, saying, “I’m fine” when they are not.
  • Show a limited range of facial expressions.
  • Their lives may be rigid, and rule governed.
  • May seem aloof or distant in relationships. For instance, they might avoid sharing personal information.

 

Having Autism does not exclude a person from also experiencing the conditions described above. Yet, meeting the criteria for one or more of these conditions does not mean a person has autism. Providing an accurate diagnosis honors the experience of people with ASD and other conditions. It empowers families to best support their children throughout the lifespan.