Journal of autism and childhood schizophrenia最新文献

A sample of 74 young autistic children was selected and defined by direct observation of specific behaviors and clinical assessment of the presence or absence of associated pathological conditions. Retrospective developmental data on these children and 38 age-matched normal children were gathered by means of a written inventory completed by the parents when the children were relatively young (mean age less than 4 years). The autistic children were reported to have had significant delays in the development of motor abilities, speech, communication, comprehension, and, to a lesser extent, perception during their 1st and 2nd years.

The parents of 15 autistic boys with a nonverbal IQ of at least 80 were compared with a matched group of parents of normal boys on the Goldstein-Scheerer Object Sorting Test and the Bannister-Fransella Grid Test of Thought Disorder. It was necessary to control for social class effects as abnormal scores on the thought disorder tests were more frequent in parents of manual social class. It was found that (a) there was a lack of agreement between the two tests of thought disorder, (b) the parents of autistic children showed thought disorder scores closely comparable to those of the parents of normals, and (c) there was no consistent association between thought disorder and anxiety. The methodological and substantive implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the results of previous investigations.

The historical background and early contributions of the Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital, the first psychiatric hospital for children in the United States, are described. The focus of this report is on the incorporation of the treatment modality of behavior modification into this traditional psychoanalytically oriented program. Beginning with exploratory studies in the mid-1960s, in recent years within the residential center there has been a separate Autistic Unit, in which the major treatment strategy is consistent application of behavior modification principles and programs. Changes that have occurred in the course of developing the behavior modification program are discussed to show some of the positive and negative aspects of introducing such a radical change into a traditional setting. Case studies are included to reveal both the failures and the successes that have been encountered in treating psychotic children with either psychotherapy or behavior therapy. Description of the current status of the program shows that treatment is comprehensive, including psychodynamic and behavioral approaches, medication when warranted, and special education. The role of parents in the program is now very different from that ascribed to them in traditional psychoanalytically guided treatment.

This paper describes the major components of a treatment program for severely behaviorally handicapped children. The program's goal is to help the children develop the necessary skills to function in regular classrooms or special education classes. The article presents descriptions of the procedures used in the Day School Learning and Treatment Center and the Parent Training Program at the Judevine Center for Autistic Children. Criteria for acceptance, assessment systems, training techniques, and methods for follow-up are outlined. Also, the paper delineates what are considered to have been five major trends in the development of the program.

The expressive and receptive use of three written words was taught to three mute autistic adolescents using a procedure based on Terrace's errorless discrimination model and Premack's language training with chimps. Expressive language was measured by the subject's selection of the appropriate word card from among the available alternatives when the corresponding object was presented. Receptive language was measured by the subject's selection of the appropriate object from among the available alternatives when the corresponding word card was presented. The sequence of the presentations and the order of placement of the available alternatives were randomized. The three subjects required 979, 1,791, and 1,644 trails, respectively, to master both the expressive and receptive use of the three words. The correct response rates for the three subjects over the entire training program were 92, 92, and 90%, respectively. It was concluded that, as concrete visual symbols, written words may provide a viable communication system for the mute autistic. The implications for treatment are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.

Children diagnosed as autistic were matched by age and sex with 74 control subjects and examined for presence of minor physical anomalies. Of the 16 anomalies scored, autistic children demonstrated a significant accumulation greater than the number exhibited by normal children. Three of the stigmata--low seating of ears, hypertelorism, and syndactylia--were expressed differentially in the two groups, and high palate as well as unusual cranial circumference were significantly high in both groups. Clusters of stigmata that might be associated with known chromosomal disorders could not be identified. The increased number of anomalies suggests that among autistic children such congenital markers indicate a deviant intrauterine experience.

Hand preference was tested in groups of between 40 and 50 autistic children and in sex-, age-, and ability-matched controls. Results were also compared with existing findings on normal children. Small differences occurred between the groups in the directions which would be predicted on the assumption that mental subnormality is associated with delayed development of normal patterns of handedness, and on the hypothesis that autistic children as a group will show a persistent slightly increased tendency to use the left hand. Parents of the autistic group were also assessed for handedness. Contrary to the prediction of slightly increased sinistrality in this group of subjects, some indication of increased dextrality occurred. Results were discussed in relation to possible genetic factors in the etiology of autism.