Brookes Publishing | Test Your Autism Knowledge Quiz

Test Your Autism Knowledge!

Every parent who has a child with autism and every professional whose work involves people with autism needs a thorough understanding of its complexities. Test yourself, and see how many of the following questions you can answer correctly.

1. An autism spectrum disorder that predominantly affects females is:

a. Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
b. Rett syndrome
c. Kabuki syndrome
d. Down syndrome

2. Recent neurological research has found variances between individuals with and without autism in this part of the brain:

a. Hypothalamus
b. Cerebellum
c. Medulla oblongata
d. Amygdala

3. Individuals with autism can also be diagnosed with:

a. attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
b. Down syndrome
c. severe mental retardation
d. all of the above
e. none of the above

4. This acronym stands for an autism intervention method that involves using picture symbols to initiate communication with partners:

a. PECS
b. TEACCH
c. PRT
d. ABA

5. This mercury-containing preservative, once used in vaccines, has been suspected as a possible cause of autism:

a. toluene
b. tryptophan
c. thimerosal
d. tamoxifen

6. BCBA stands for:

a. Board of California Behavior Analysts
b. Behavior-Consequence-Behavior-Analog
c. Blurred Consequence/Blurred Antecedent
d. Board Certified Behavior Analyst

7. Asperger syndrome is similar to autism, except that:

a. individuals with Asperger’s are also generally diagnosed with mental retardation

b. individuals with Asperger’s do not generally have communication deficits

c. individuals with Asperger’s are predominantly female

d. individuals with Asperger’s generally exhibit a tendency toward stereotyped behavior

8. Which alternative therapy has been shown to effectively increase communication skills and is recommended by the National Academy of Sciences?

a. music therapy
b. anti-gluten therapy
c. anti-yeast therapy
d. all of the above
e. none of the above

9. This piece of federal legislation was the first to recognize autism as a disability with respect to eligibility for special education:

a. Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
b. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990
c. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997
d. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004

10. A major objective of functional behavior assessment (FBA) is:

a. to learn how best to promote new behavior that serves the same function as the current behavior, but is socially acceptable and responsible

b. to determine how a child’s chronological and mental ages match up through a series of academically and socially challenging questions

c. to reduce challenging behaviors by evaluating, changing, and implementing strategies such as ecologic events, predictors, teaching, and consequences

d. to locate the individual with autism on a continuum of other individuals, based upon the diagnostic severity of the disorder