Autism
The Davis Autism Approach® enables the autistic person to interact more effectively with the world.
Autism is more correctly known as autistic spectrum disorder(ASD). A person recognised as having an autistic spectrum disorder is likely to have problems in three areas:
- social interaction,
- communication,
- behaviours and interests.
However not all autistic people will display the same difficulties or to the same extent. They will often exhibit symptoms of other disorders which may lead to innaccurate diagnoses. The psychiatrists' manual that outlines the specific behaviours and problems associated with ASD is currently being refined to enable more accurate diagnoses (DSM V).
Particular challenges arise in identifying those who have Aspergers or are High Functioning Autistics (HFA) because often they have average or above average intelligence and do not appear to have obvious communication problems, 70% of all autistics fall into this category. Sometimes they are labelled as ADD, ADHD or OCD rather than ASD.
The features that commonly unite all people on the ASD spectrum are limitations in their ability to interact with other human beings in an effective and appropriate way and may show unusual patterns of development in childhood.
What is the Davis Autism Approach®?
The Davis Autism Approach addresses the three problem areas so that autistics can make more sense of the world around them. The highly structured and carefully sequenced activities, that may take several months to complete, develop the knowledge and understanding that will allow the autistic to participate in life more fully.
Summary of the three phases:
The Davis Autism Approach leads the autistic person through three developmental phases.
- individuation
- identity development
- social integration
