developmental age

I was wondering when a person on the spectrum their  developmental age is described as lower than their chronological age, is this just because of them being on the spectrum or is this usually because of also having a learning or intellectual disability? 

Parents
  • It can be both. An autistic child with average or above average intelligence can have sensory difficulties in the classroom that may slow their development, as defined by tests. Autistic children without intellectual disability may have specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and dyscalculia, which may also have the same effect when  they are tested for reading age or mathematical proficiency.

    This is for school age children, for younger children a delay in speech or a regression in speech can be caused by autism, with the child later catching up and proving to have average or above average intelligence. 

    The majority of autistic people have average or above average intelligence, but the proportion of autistic people also having intellectual disability is higher than in the non-autistic population.

Reply
  • It can be both. An autistic child with average or above average intelligence can have sensory difficulties in the classroom that may slow their development, as defined by tests. Autistic children without intellectual disability may have specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia and dyscalculia, which may also have the same effect when  they are tested for reading age or mathematical proficiency.

    This is for school age children, for younger children a delay in speech or a regression in speech can be caused by autism, with the child later catching up and proving to have average or above average intelligence. 

    The majority of autistic people have average or above average intelligence, but the proportion of autistic people also having intellectual disability is higher than in the non-autistic population.

Children