Autistic Behavior: Etiology and Evaluation

First described by Kanner (1943), autism is a behavioral syndrome, present from early life and defined by deficient social interaction, language and communication difficulties, and bizarre restricted or repetitive behavior patterns. At one time thought by some to be psychodynamically determined, it is now clear that the majority of autistic behaviors represent an observable manifestation of physiological dysfunction of one or more as yet undetermined brain systems (Lainhart, & Piven, 1995). In addition to characteristic features, many autistic persons display a variety of signs such as attention deficits, mental retardation, and seizures that are not specific to autism and hint at the high rate of comorbidity among the pervasive developmental disorders and other psychological/medical conditions. Variations in symptomology and in prognosis among autistic persons depend on both the severity and the extent of the underlying brain dysfunction, as well as the level of adaptive functioning.