Prosody in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Modern public policy has been working towards deinstitutionalization, advocating for the independence and mainstreaming of people with disabilities into society. This means that there is a greater amount of social integration of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities living and working in the community. However, interacting within a community can be challenging. People with intellectual disabilities develop intellectual functioning and adaptive skills at a slower rate. Adaptive skills are tools for day-to-day life and are a combination of the social, the practical, and the conceptual. Most people learn these things unhampered over time, but people with intellectual and developmental disabilities need to be taught everything step by step. There is a strong relationship between gaining adaptive functioning skills and becoming more independent at home or at work. While residential and vocational life are not equivalent, they are related, as they influence each other. Some of the rules that apply at work are also true at home. Gauging adaptive skills is useful in deciding the diagnosis of a person and his placement in terms of residency or vocation. Moving from highly supportive environment to an inclusive community should be the goal for burgeoning one's adaptive functioning. Development of adaptive skills could lead to less supports. One would be able to enjoy a greater independence in life. Naturally, this is very cost-effective, for the less supports one needs, the less costly one's living expenses are. Therefore, the development of a person's adaptive skills is wholly beneficial. People with adaptive skills enjoy greater freedom in their life. The Benefit of Adaptive Skills