Autism or Attachment?

In my exciting new role working as an inclusion teacher for the early years I will at times be asked to contribute towards a diagnosis of autism of a young child.  

Something I found whilst working as an SEN teacher was that some children seemed to experience a high level of attachment issues that were often attributed to their diagnosis of autism.  However, I have always thought they were quite different issues despite the subtleties in differences in behaviours.   

So just recently, and very helpfully given my increased input into the assessment procedure, I came across a great piece of work called the ‘Coventry Grid 2’.  Developed by a team of speech and language therapists this piece of work depicts different areas of development, such as social communication, and how a child might behave if they have attachment difficulties or (typically presenting) autism.  

So for example when looking at the behaviour of 'repetitive language' the Coventry Grid 2 gives examples of how this might be presented by children with typically presenting autism – echolalia, ‘favoured’ words chosen for the way the sound or the shape the mouth forms when you say them rather than for functional or social communication; and then how repetitive language might look with children with typically presenting attachment disorder – use of familiar words to relieve anxiety in stressful situations or playing with language like a younger child might do. The Coventry Grid 2 really helps me to think deeper about the context of the behaviour and what it is I am actually seeing.  

When you think about it, it makes sense that young people with autism also present behaviours consistent with attachment issues as they don’t get the amazing oxytocin hormone feedback from very early social interaction that other children do and so understanding how to respond to caregivers can become challenging.  However, it is really important to identify the differences between the two so that we as practioners can ensure we develop strategies and interventions that truly meet the needs of the child.  So check out this handy grid at http://drawingtheidealself.co.uk/drawingtheidealself/Downloads_files/Coventry%20Grid%20Version%202%20-%20Jan%202015.pdf  and have a look at some of the children you work with, I would love to hear how it has impacted your practice!