Multiple Choice
1. What percentage of individuals with autism spectrum disorders is considered to be
“autistic savants”?
A) 1%
B) 5%
C) 10%
D) 25%
2. Whose work first described the symptoms that characterize autism?
A) Bernard Rimland
B) Leo Kanner
C) Bruno Bettelheim
D) Ole Ivar Lovaas
3.Leo Kanner differentiated autism from schizophrenia in all except which one of the following
areas:
A) Extreme aloneness from the very beginning of life
B) Powerful desire for aloneness and sameness
C) Obsessive-compulsive behavior
D) An attachment to objects
4. Which is not included in the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for autism?
A) Impairment in social interaction
B) Intellectual disability
C) Stereotyped and repetitive behaviors
D) Impairment in communication
5. Current research suggests that the origin of autism spectrum disorders is related to
A) Biological factors
B) Psychological factors
C) Behavioral conditioning
D) Parent-child interaction
6. An individual with “theory of mind” deficits is likely to have difficulty
A) Learning academic content
B) Following a multiple-step routine
C) Understanding the perspective of others
D) Listening to verbal directions
7. Which one of the following treatments is validated by research?
A) Hormone injections
B) Dietary treatments
C) Picture exchange communication system
D) Auditory integration training
8. What is the function of a VOCA device?
A) Produce synthesized speech
B) Assess an individual’s job preferences
C) Stimulate an individual’s vocal chords
D) Display pictures for communication
9. Which is not considered a characteristic of individuals with Asperger syndrome?
A) Poor motor skills
B) Inflexibility
C) Social awkwardness
D) Severe delays in language development
10. Which researcher used applied behavior analysis to treat children with autism?
A) Ole Ivar Lovaas
B) Bernard Rimland
C) Leo Kanner
D) Loretta Bender
11. Which disorder did early researchers associate with autism?
A) Manic depression
B) Fragile X syndrome
C) Schizophrenia
D) Tourette syndrome
12. The “parroting” of the speech of others is referred to as
A) Perseveration
B) Echolalia
C) Mimicking
D) Stereotypy
13. Research on intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorders indicates
substantial support for the use of
A) Dietary therapies
B) Behavioral treatment
C) Music therapy
D) Play therapy
14. At what age does IDEA require the school to assist families with planning for transition?
A) 5
B) 12
C) 16
D) 18
15. A social story
A) Is presented immediately following a problem behavior
B) Uses a peer as the main character of the story
C) Is presented prior to the target situation
D) Must use text accompanied by pictures
16. Approximately 33.7% of students with autism spectrum disorders are served in
A) General education settings
B) Special schools
C) Self-contained classrooms
D) Residential facilities
17. What is not a characteristic of the TEACCH intervention model?
A) Predictability
B) Organization of the physical environment
C) Visually structured activities
D) Social rehearsal
18. When are individualized family service plans typically developed for children with
autism spectrum disorders?
A) During their transition to postsecondary settings
B) During the onset of early intervention services
C) During the transition from preschool to kindergarten settings
D) Following the occurrence of a change in the family unit
19. Which one of the following is not a characteristic of assessment for students with autism
spectrum disorders?
A) The use of multiple assessment instruments
B) Diagnostic processes are administered by a team of professionals
C) Direct observations
D) A focus on measures of cognitive functioning
20. Early psychogenic theories of autism
A) Emphasized deviant maternal characteristics
B) Emphasized a genetic origin
C) Emphasized behavioral conditioning
D) Are prevalent today
21. Which of the following is an example of repetitive motor movements?
A) Echolalia
B) Inflexibility
C) Preoccupation with unusual objects
D) Greeting rituals
22. How many hours of weekly intervention are recommended for young children with
autism spectrum disorders?
A) 10 hours
B) 15 hours
C) 25 hours
D) 40 hours
23. Who was one of the first behavioral psychologists to propose that autism was
environmentally determined?
A) C. B. Fester
B) Loretta Bender
C) Bruno Bettelheim
D) Bernard Rimland
24. Who set forth nine points as evidence of the biological origins of autism?
A) Ole Ivar Lovaas
B) Bruno Bettelheim
C) Sigmund Freud
D) Bernard Rimland
25. Which one of the following is not considered a repetitive and restrictive behavior?
A) Nonfunctional rituals
B) Preoccupation with the parts of objects
C) Screaming to access an adult’s attention
D) Limited patterns of interest
26. Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders should be wary of interventions:
A) Claiming to cure individuals of autism
B) Supported by research
C) That are low cost
D) Suggested by related service providers
27. Impairments in the social interactions of individuals with autism spectrum disorders do
not include
A) Decreased ability to use multiple nonverbal cues
B) Failure to establish developmentally appropriate peer relationships
C) A lack of seeking to share enjoyment with others
D) The inability to develop preferences for interaction with specific individuals
28. Which one of the following is not a type of sentence used in writing social stories?
A) Descriptive
B) Interpretive
C) Perspective
D) Directive
29. Which one of the following medical and psychiatric conditions is not associated with
autism spectrum disorders?
A) Obsessive-compulsive disorder
B) Anxiety disorders
C) Obesity
D) Sleep disorders
30. Which of the following factors has contributed to the perceptions that people with autism
spectrum disorders have special abilities?
A) The way that individuals with autism spectrum disorders have been portrayed in
movies
B) Researchers have made claims concerning the special abilities of people with
autism spectrum disorders
C) Large percentages of people with autism spectrum disorders have exhibited special
abilities
D) People with autism spectrum disorders tend to score highly on measures of
cognitive ability
31. All of the following are common misconceptions about individuals with autism spectrum
disorders except
A) They learn to communicate with sign language
B) They are unable to give or receive affection
C) They have overly aggressive tendencies
D) They possess special abilities
32. What is thought to be the prevalence of individuals with autism spectrum disorder and
related development disorders in the United States?
A) 2.5 million people
B) 8.5 million people
C) 1.5 million people
D) 4.5 million people
33. What does autistic mean?
A) Unable to form affective relationships
B) Having intellectual disabilities
C) To escape from reality
D) To be locked into isolation
34. When was autism spectrum disorder described as a separate clinical category?
A) 1943
B) 1980
C) 1966
D) 1977
35. “Bad mothering” is associated with which theory for causes of autism?
A) Environmental theory
B) Psychogenic theory
C) Organic theory
D) Behavioral theory
36. Which one of the following suggests that autism may be neurological in nature?
A) Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
B) Obsessive-compulsive disorder
C) Schizophrenia
D) Seizure disorders
37. All of the following are examples of repetitive and restrictive behavior except
A) Cleanliness
B) Eating only certain foods
C) Repeated body movements
D) Rigidity about routines
38. Uneven skill development may be the cause for a common myth that, inside each autistic
child, there is a(n)
A) Genius
B) Self-injurious tendency
C) Aggressive attitude
D) None of the above
39. Although no one instructional approach is effective with all students with autism
spectrum disorders, an emphasis on developing ________________ and appropriate
social skills is characteristic of most approaches.
A) Moral developmental skills
B) Environmental safety abilities
C) Functional communication abilities
D) Adaptive living skills
40. All of the following are characteristics of early intervention services except
A) Health insurance services
B) Parent counseling and training
C) Occupational therapy
D) Assistive technology and services
41. A supervised, structured setting that provides job training in specific job skills is an
example of which type of employment option?
A) Army training
B) Job coach
C) Supported employment
D) Sheltered workshops
42. Effective programs for students with autism spectrum disorders are early, intensive, and
_______________.
A) Multidisciplinary
B) Affordable
C) Inclusive
D) Academic
43. As recently as 2009, the reported prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in children ages
3 to 17 was 1 in 110. A more recent estimate suggests that one in every _____ children at
age 8 is identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
A) 70
B) 88
C) 1,000
D) 100
44. Autism is a complex ___________________disorder of development.
A) Neurobiological
B) Behavioral
C) Psychological
D) Genetic
45. Special education programs with more___________________ are associated with better
outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorders.
A) Staff
B) Sensory integration strategies
C) Structure
D) Opportunities for inclusion
46. Many effective programs use principles of ____________________________.
A) Sensory integration
B) Constructivism
C) Psychogenics
D) Applied behavior analysis
47. A thin layer of gray matter on the surface of the cerebral hemispheres responsible for the
higher mental functions, general movement, perception, and behavioral reactions is
A) Cerebral cortex
B) Brainstem
C) Amygdala
D) Basal ganglia
48. The part of the brain responsible for emotional responses is
A) Cerebral cortex
B) Brainstem
C) Basal ganglia
D) Amygdala
49. __________ was the first behavioral psychologist to propose that autism was
environmentally determined.
A) Bender
B) Lovaas
C) Fester
D) Kanner