Expert: James Michael Roan - 1/29/2006

Question
My 4 year old was diagnosed with Autism shortly after she turned three. My biggest question is that I don't know if she is high or low functioning. We were just told Autism. She is generally a happy child. She is withdrawn, perferring to be and play alone. But she can also, when wanted, be very loving. She goes into "laughing" fits, where she just laughs at nothing. She doesn't speak, although she does sporadicly say words. She isn't usually violent, but when upset or when she feels threatened, she will attack. She has almost stopped with the self inflicting harm, with the occasional head banging and fit throwing. She attends school and recieves speech therapy 3 times a week and Occupational therapy once a week. Is there a way that I can tell if she is high or low functioning, or is that a diagnosis that comes as she gets older?

Answer
Hi Jennifer;

High functioning autism is defined by an IQ over 70. I agree with Dr. Tony Attwood in that if a child receives intensive early intervention in terms of SLP, OT, play and social cognition, then they tend to move toward the high functioning end of the autism spectrum. The greatest variable affecting IQ is the amount of quality interaction between the child and family. Play lots of peek-a-boo and "I'm going to get you!" kinds of games as you can. Read Stanley Greenspan's Floortime Model. There is solid research supporting his methodologies for establishing joint attention between you and the child. Joint attention is the secret to developing social thinking in your child.

Kind Regards,
James