Autism: A Very Short Introduction

What causes autism? Is it a genetic disorder, or due to some unknown environmental hazard? Are we facing an autism epidemic? What are the main symptoms, and how does it relate to Asperger syndrome? Everyone has heard of autism, but the disorder itself is little understood. It has captured the public imagination through films and novels portraying individuals with baffling combinations of disability and extraordinary talent, and yet the reality is more often that it places a heavy burden on sufferers and their families. This Very Short Introduction offers a clear statement on what is currently known about autism and Asperger syndrome. Explaining the vast array of different conditions that hide behind these two labels, and looking at symptoms from the full spectrum of autistic disorders, it explores the possible causes for the apparent rise in autism and also evaluates the links with neuroscience, psychology, brain development, genetics, and environmental causes including MMR and Thimerosal. This short, authoritative, and accessible book also explores the psychology behind social impairment and savantism, and throughout, sheds light on what it is like to live inside the mind of the sufferer.

[...]... on a trampoline for hours and was extremely adept at doing jigsaw puzzles At 10 years of age David had developed well physically, but emotionally remained very immature He had a beautiful face with delicate features Family life has always had to fit around David, not the other way round He was and still is extremely stubborn in his likes and dislikes At one stage he only ate yoghurt and refused all... individual behaviours I will therefore frequently use the familiar terms autism and autistic, as a reminder that there is central idea behind the spectrum Three cases Now we shall look at three cases closely based on real cases from different parts of the autism spectrum David has classic autism Gary has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with a diffuse and atypical picture, but such complex cases are actually... 1964, Bernard Rimland’s book on autism was a breath of fresh air It championed an approach that had already been adopted by scientists at a number of medical and psychological centres These scientists analysed cognitive abilities of autistic children, such as speech and language, perception and memory, in detail They found strengths as well as weaknesses, and this overturned two ideas: one, that autistic... calming environment and a highly structured and firm teaching style, tempered by kindness 23 The changing face of autism Apart from these professional mentors, I have always learned a great deal from parents of autistic children The earliest biographical account that I read was by Clara Claiborne Park It was a revelation Parents are the real heroes in the history of autism They made the difference for... the second year, it became abundantly clear to Patricia that other children of Sylvia’s age were a long way ahead in their development While Sylvia was physically progressing very well, mentally she seemed to stay very much as she had been as a baby Her interests in particular toys became even more intense and it was difficult to attract her attention away from them She never seemed to look at people She... now, I am still surprised at how many cases are high functioning and how many cases have only mild and moderate degrees of autism To see a child with classic autism has become the exception But I am reassured that such cases are still there, and that they have the same features as they did forty years ago However, autism is no longer a narrow category but has widened enormously to embrace a whole range... be a very obstinate child, and happy to play computer games for hours Referred to an educational psychologist by the school when problems with Gary seemed only to get worse, he was eventually seen at a clinic at age 12 The psychologist explained that Gary had a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, a category that includes autism, Asperger syndrome, and a few other rare conditions Actually Gary was diagnosed... critical even than the social interest that is already there in the first year This is worth dwelling on The healthy newborn infant, straight from birth, shows strong signs of social interest For instance, babies prefer to look at a face rather than at a pattern, and a real face rather than a scrambled face; they prefer direct eye contact to averted eyes They prefer to listen to speech rather than scrambled... autism I could not hear enough about her experience and her then very revolutionary ideas about the disorder Through her studies of a whole population of handicapped children she had realized that there are three critical impairments—the ‘triad’ of impairments in socialization, communication, and imagination—that hold over a whole spectrum of autistic disorders At the same time she became aware that... from the way they talk, and feels rebuffed when he tries to talk to others Edward is highly articulate, but he does not enjoy ordinary chitchat His ability to engage in a two-way conversation has improved since he has started systematically to gather information about 9 The autism spectrum In the case of David, the failure in social interaction can at first glance be described as a lack of social interest, . starting to find out about autism, is perplexed, but also intrigued. 1 Autism The enigma of autism When I first started to study autism as a young student. ix List of illustrations xi 1 The autism spectrum 1 2 The changing face of autism 20 3 A huge increase in cases 39 4 Autism as a neurodevelopmental disorder