Intelligence and Autism
•  Around three-quarters of people with an ASD have a learning disability.
•  Some people with Asperger's syndrome may have normal or high intelligence, but struggle with social skills.
•  Outstanding abilities with maths, music or drawing are uncommon.

Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have three main types of problems, regarding their:
•  Communication
•  Social Development
•  Interests & Behaviour (Social Imagination)

COMMUNICATION:

•  Children with ASDs may not develop the usual speech or non-verbal skills (eg. pointing) of other same-aged children.
•  They may also have trouble with understanding meaning in spoken or written language.
•  Children with severe autism may never speak at all, but may be helped to communicate in several other ways
   (eg. signing or using picture symbols).

These communication problems may show up as:
•  not babbling or pointing by the age of one;
•  not responding to their name;
•  not learning two words by the age of two;
•  unusual use of language and difficulty starting or keeping up conversations in older children;
•  repeating words they have heard over and over again.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT:

Children with an ASD may have difficulty in making friends and getting on well with their peers.

They may:
•  seem very independent as toddlers and aloof when they get older;
•  have poor eye contact;
•  not seek affection in the usual way and resist being cuddled or kissed;
•  be unable to play with other children and have difficulty making friends;
•  seem to be "in a world of their own";
•  not understand other people's thoughts and emotions;
•  find it difficult to accept simple social rules, which can cause problems at school.

Children with an ASD can be affectionate, but may not be able to respond to another person's need for affection.

BEHAVIOUR & INTERESTS:

Children with an ASD may show very little or no interest in play that involves pretending. Instead they may be overly interested in repetitive activities, such as lining up their toys or watching the washing machine drum rotate.

Children with an ASD may also:
•  learn to sit up or walk later than most children;
•  be oversensitive to noise or to touch (for instance, finding the vacuum cleaner or hairdryer deafening);
•  have odd mannerisms such as rocking back and forth, hand flapping, walking on tip toes or head banging;
•  be clumsy and struggle with physical activity.

Older children and adolescents may develop obsessions, such as an excessive interest in timetables or lists, and in storing up trivial facts.