Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a type of developmental delay, which includes challenges such as mental retardation and cognitive disabilities. Children with ASD have marked delays in cognitive skills, speech, motor skills, and social skills. The diagnosis is based on significant delay, dissociation rate, and deviance from average norms. The reclassification to autism spectrum disorder more accurately reflects the range of severities involved in the different types of developmental delay and autistic disorders associated with those delays.
The connection between developmental delay and autism can be understood as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a category of neurological challenges that present as developmental delays. Other categories of developmental delay disorders can include challenges such as mental retardation and other cognitive disabilities, as well as autism. One person, therefore, would be absolutely correct in describing autism and related disorders as forms of developmental delay. Classical autism and similar ASDs, such as Asperger or Rett syndrome, are classified for research purposes as neurodevelopmental disorders. Neurodevelopment refers to the development of certain functions and systems within the brain as a child matures from infancy to adulthood.
Medical and treatment professionals, as well as parents and support groups, refer to the various types of developmental delay and autism disorders in different terms. Autism and similar disorders were classified in the 1990s under the heading of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). In the early 21st century, however, parents, some professionals and advocacy groups began to argue for classification changes. The reclassification to a title such as autism spectrum disorder, according to proponents of the change, more accurately reflected the range of severities involved in the different types of developmental delay and autistic disorders associated with those delays. Regardless of specific nomenclature, all forms of autism can be classified as a type of developmental delay.
Typically, a child who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder does not follow the same neurodevelopmental timeline as other children of the same age. Specifically, children diagnosed on the spectrum have marked delays in developing cognitive skills, a common connection between developmental delay and autism. For children with ASD, developmental delays occur primarily in the areas of speech and articulation, gross and fine motor skills, and social skills. Which ASD a child is diagnosed with depends on the specific developmental delays present, as well as the severity of those delays.
Determining the presence of developmental delay and autism spectrum disorder requires a professional to evaluate a child based on three key processes: significant delay, rate of dissociation, and deviance from average norms. In simple terms, the child must have some form of marked and evident delay in a key developmental area commonly associated with an autism spectrum diagnosis. Delays must be present in one neurological domain, while other areas of neurodevelopment appear within the normal range, a concept known as dissociation. Ultimately, the child’s development must demonstrate deviance, or failure to achieve normal developmental milestones, compared to other children of a similar age.
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