Inclusive of Autistic Spectrum Disorders are Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), Pervasive Developmental Disorder not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), and Aspergers. Autism is sometimes associated with varying degrees of mental retardation, but it is not a diagnostic criteria for determining autism. In fact, children who are originally evaluated as functioning in the range of mild, moderate, or severe mental retardation may later go on to test in the range of normal intellectual functioning in subsequent years with intervention.

It is typical for children with autistic spectrum disorders to have scattered scores on a standardized test showing average or above average abilities on performance tasks and below average or significantly delayed scores compared to their peers on language items. Many of these children are indeed bright and enjoyable to work with, however the impairments in socialization, irrelevant of the child's special abilities, can make learning difficult for a child with an autistic spectrum disorder.

Therefore, teaching a child with an autistic spectrum disorder is extremely challenging. Children with autistic spectrum disorders have a specific learning disability that is best treated by focusing on their core deficits in socialization. If a child cannot become intrinsically motivated to become more social, he or she cannot adequately use their environment to communicate and become self learners. Furthermore, they will never adequately teach themselves how to deal with the many consequences of their decisions and actions as a member of a community. The program's focus is to teach children not only how to use language, but to direct the child's motivation and interest so they'll use their language to learn and participate as a member of a larger community.