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Mental Health and ASD

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Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Introduction

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous disorder recognized by deficits in social communication and interaction, in addition to restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests (American Psychiatric Association 2013). ASD is also heterogeneous in terms of which symptom emerges when and when the complete symptom pattern required for a diagnoses become evident. This leads to substantially difficulties in clinical detection and treatment planning. Research show that there is great variability in terms of etiology, behaviors, core symptoms, cognitive skills, adaptive skills, language and communication, the onset of diagnosis and core symptom patterns (Zwaigenbaum et al. 2015). For some, ASD symptoms required for a diagnosis may first become evident when social demands exceeds the capabilities of the individual (Ozonoff et al. 2015). Additionally, symptoms of ASD may manifest differently depending on other factors, such as the child’s cognitive abilities and verbal...

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Correspondence to Roald A. Øien .

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Øien, R.A., Nordahl-Hansen, A., Schjølberg, S. (2019). Mental Health and ASD. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102050-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102050-1

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