Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Editor's preface
- PART I INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES
- PART II DISORDERS OF HIGHER FUNCTION
- 13 Congenital disorders of cerebral cortical development
- 14 The aging brain: morphology, imaging and function
- 15 Neurodegenerative diseases
- 16 Aging and dementia: principles, evaluation and diagnosis
- 17 Alzheimer's Disease
- 18 Dementia with Lewy bodies
- 19 Frontotemporal dementia
- 20 Consciousness and its disorders
- 21 Mechanisms of memory and amnestic syndromes
- 22 Acquired disorders of language
- 23 Neglect
- 24 Brain death
- 25 Disorders of mood
- 26 Schizophrenia
- 27 Obsessive–compulsive disorder
- 28 Autism and autistic spectrum disorders
- 29 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: spectrum and mechanisms
- 30 The neurobiology of drug addition
- PART III DISORDERS OF MOTOR CONTROL
- PART IV DISORDERS OF THE SPECIAL SENSES
- PART V DISORDERS OF SPINE AND SPINAL CORD
- PART VI DISORDERS OF BODY FUNCTION
- PART VII HEADACHE AND PAIN
- PART VIII NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS
- PART IX EPILEPSY
- PART X CEREBROVASCULAR DISORDERS
- PART XI NEOPLASTIC DISORDERS
- PART XII AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS
- PART XIII DISORDERS OF MYELIN
- PART XIV INFECTIONS
- PART XV TRAUMA AND TOXIC DISORDERS
- PART XVI DEGENERATIVE DISORDERS
- PART XVII NEUROLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF SYSTEMIC CONDITIONS
- Complete two-volume index
- Plate Section
28 - Autism and autistic spectrum disorders
from PART II - DISORDERS OF HIGHER FUNCTION
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2016
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Editor's preface
- PART I INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES
- PART II DISORDERS OF HIGHER FUNCTION
- 13 Congenital disorders of cerebral cortical development
- 14 The aging brain: morphology, imaging and function
- 15 Neurodegenerative diseases
- 16 Aging and dementia: principles, evaluation and diagnosis
- 17 Alzheimer's Disease
- 18 Dementia with Lewy bodies
- 19 Frontotemporal dementia
- 20 Consciousness and its disorders
- 21 Mechanisms of memory and amnestic syndromes
- 22 Acquired disorders of language
- 23 Neglect
- 24 Brain death
- 25 Disorders of mood
- 26 Schizophrenia
- 27 Obsessive–compulsive disorder
- 28 Autism and autistic spectrum disorders
- 29 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: spectrum and mechanisms
- 30 The neurobiology of drug addition
- PART III DISORDERS OF MOTOR CONTROL
- PART IV DISORDERS OF THE SPECIAL SENSES
- PART V DISORDERS OF SPINE AND SPINAL CORD
- PART VI DISORDERS OF BODY FUNCTION
- PART VII HEADACHE AND PAIN
- PART VIII NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS
- PART IX EPILEPSY
- PART X CEREBROVASCULAR DISORDERS
- PART XI NEOPLASTIC DISORDERS
- PART XII AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS
- PART XIII DISORDERS OF MYELIN
- PART XIV INFECTIONS
- PART XV TRAUMA AND TOXIC DISORDERS
- PART XVI DEGENERATIVE DISORDERS
- PART XVII NEUROLOGICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF SYSTEMIC CONDITIONS
- Complete two-volume index
- Plate Section
Summary
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the early (before 3 years of age, if not earlier) presentation of deficits in social abilities (and in all abilities that depend upon social abilities) and language (delays and/or inappropriate use) and by repetitive behaviours or apparent obsessions. Approximately 70% of individuals with autism are mentally retarded, and nearly 50% of cases never develop useful speech. These disturbances are lifelong, although they may be modified by education, by circumstances, and perhaps by maturation. Autism is surprisingly common, with an incidence of approximately 1/1000. Although first described in 1943 by Kanner (1943) and in 1944 by Asperger (1944), it came under far more intense scrutiny and saw greater public awareness beginning in the 1970s. Milder forms have been recognized, other conditions (such as the general categories of ‘developmental language delays’ and ‘mental retardation’) are now being appreciated as frequently harbouring the diagnosis of autism, and individuals with autism are being more publicly visible, and even in some cases speaking out on their own behalf (e.g. Grandin & Scariano, 1996).
Nevertheless, autism is a confusing condition to many health care professionals. The term ‘autism’ is confusing partly because its characteristic deficits, in social abilities, communication and language use, and in the flexibility and spontaneity of behaviour, are all domains that are often difficult to assess without a detailed history from good observers, and in which a wide range of normalcy (in development tempo or degree of achievement) is generally allowed. The diagnosis of autism is also confusing to many because the term does not really apply to a single condition or even to a spectrum of severity along a single dimension of disease features. Instead, it describes a set of multidimensional clinical entities that differ in both their specific pattern of features and in the severity of each feature. The term can be used to characterize an award-winning mathematician(Baron-Cohen et al., 1999) as well as a mute, severely retarded child who spins in a corner by himself all day long. Whether such cases have a unifying neurobiologic basis is not yet known. Therefore, the diagnosis of autism is still based on an imperfect phenomenology, not on neurobiology.
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- Diseases of the Nervous SystemClinical Neuroscience and Therapeutic Principles, pp. 406 - 421Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2002