Definition
Autism spectrum conditions are lifelong neurodevelopmental conditions that are characterized by often striking difficulties in social communication and repetitive and rigid patterns of behavior (American Psychiatric Association APA 2000). Current estimates indicate that 1 in every 100 children is on the autism spectrum, meaning that all schools and colleges are likely to include pupils who lie somewhere on the autism spectrum.
Characteristics
Although autism is now considered a highly heritable disorder of neural development (Levy et al. 2009), specific genes, and the ways that these genes interact with the environment, are not yet fully understood (Frith 2003). The diagnosis of autism therefore relies on a constellation of behavioral symptoms, which can vary substantially from individual to individual. This variability includes marked differences in the degree of language skills: some individuals do not use oral language to communicate, while others use grammatically...
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Cowan, R., Pellicano, L. (2014). Autism, Special Needs, and Mathematics Learning. In: Lerman, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4978-8_19
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