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Autism and related behaviours
Author(s) -
GILLBERG C.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of intellectual disability research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1365-2788
pISSN - 0964-2633
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2788.1993.tb00879.x
Subject(s) - autism , empathy , psychology , genetic syndromes , developmental disorder , population , developmental psychology , asperger syndrome , clinical psychology , psychiatry , medicine , pediatrics , environmental health
Childhood autism is conceptualized as a behavioural syndrome with several different aetiologies. Its prevalence is estimated at about one in every thousand children born. The male:female ratio is considerably higher than in the general population, but possibly not as high as 3–4:1 (as has been suggested for almost 50 years in the literature). A number of specific medical conditions are associated with autism and a comprehensive medical work‐up is required in all cases with pervasive autistic symptomatology. Genetic factors contribute to the development of autism in some cases. Recent neurobiological and psychological studies contribute to a concept of the autistic syndrome as but one of several different syndromes characterized by impaired empathy skills.