Prevention of absenteeism and school failure in students with ASD: Improving the transition from primary to secondary school

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interactions, as well as the presence of limited, repetitive and stereotypical patterns of behavior, interests and activities. Although all people with autism have deficits in social interactions and stereotypical behavior, there are huge variations in the severity of these symptoms. That is why the term autism spectrum disorder is used, which should indicate the variability of symptoms and heterogeneity of individuals with this disorder. Earlier classification systems of the World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association used the term "pervasive developmental disorders", and this group of disorders, in addition to autism, included disintegrative childhood disorder, Rett syndrome, Asperger's syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified. Today, it is known that Rett syndrome is a rare neurological, genetic disorder, which has only superficial similarities to autism, which is why they are no longer classified in the same category of disorders as autism. All other pervasive developmental disorders are classified into a unique category of autism spectrum disorders. 

Autism spectrum disorder occurs in early childhood. In some children, the symptoms of autism, although not quite specific, can manifest in the first year of life. In the case of regressive or secondary autism, the first symptoms appear after a phase of typical or seemingly typical development. It happens that, in children with milder forms of autism, some symptoms are not noticeable at first, until the social demands placed on them become large enough. Also, there are people with high-functioning autism who try to mask their symptoms, which makes their recognition difficult in adolescence and adulthood. In the text that follows, we will describe the symptoms of autism in the field of social communication and stereotypical patterns of behavior. It should be noted that none of these symptoms are specific to autism alone, and that not all people with autism will have each of these symptoms.