Differential Diagnosis Of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Although cases of autism can, in retrospect, be identified before Kanner's 1943 classic report (also see Donvan and Zucker 2016), it was Kanner's genius to put together the core features that we continue to associate with autism; autistic aloneness and restricted interests/difficulties with change. This description was straightforward and atheoretical and has stood the test of time even as we debate the boundaries of autism today. The early years following Kanner's initial presentation were plagued by a lack of consistency in diagnosis and several mistaken beliefs about autism, e.g., associations with childhood schizophrenia and inappropriate parenting. This changed dramatically in the 1970s as three lines of evidence helped establish the validity of autism as a diagnostic concept: These included: 1) the awareness that autism was a brain-based disorder associated with high rates of epilepsy with peaks of onset in early childhood and adolescence, 2) the first twin studies of autism made it clear that there was a very strong genetic component of autism with high concordance in MZ twins, and 3) children with autism responded best to structured teaching rather than unstructured psychotherapy (see Jackson and Volkmar, 2019 for a discussion)--

• | Author: Katherine K. M. Stavropoulos|James C. McPartland
• | Publisher: Oxford University Press
• | Publication Date: Aug 23, 2022
• | Number of Pages: 248 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 0197516882
• | ISBN-13: 9780197516881