A 6-year-old boy is observed to be peculiar by his teacher. Children attempt to play with him but his response is to either ignore them or get angry at their advances. This response in someone with autism might best be described as which of the following?

The child's lack of response, and then inappropriate response to the social advances of his peers might best be considered a symptom of impairment of social reciprocity. Social reciprocity involves the appropriate sensing and then interpretation of verbal and nonverbal social cues that guide our interactions. Three core deficits in Autism are: Qualitative impairments in communication Qualitative impairments in reciprocal social interaction Presence of stereotypic, restrictive, and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. Ref: Goldson E., Reynolds A. (2012). Chapter 3. Child Development & Behavior. In W.W. Hay, Jr., M.J. Levin, R.R. Deterding, J.J. Ross, J.M. Sondheimer (Eds), CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Pediatrics, 21e.