Early Infantile Autism in Fraternal Twins
1962; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 7; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1177/070674376200700409
ISSN0008-4824
Autores Tópico(s)Child Development and Digital Technology
ResumoA review of the literature concerning “early infantile autism” revealed that very few cases of this syndrome have been reported in twins. For example, such a distinction was not made in Kallman's large scale study of childhood schizophrenia in twins. This case report concerns a set of fraternal female twins who are presented as typical examples of “early infantile autism”. A pregnancy marked by an early threatened abortion was followed by a normal labor and delivery without complications. Early development was normal but before their second birthday they began a gradual withdrawal and loss of most of the speech they had developed. Their subsequent development is traced to their eighth year. The lack of appreciable change in their condition despite vigorous therapeutic efforts is noted. These included placement in a special nursery school, foster home care and psychiatric attention. The latest approach to their difficulty consisting of admission to a children's psychiatric hospital for observation and assessment of their condition is described in some detail. The findings on general physical and neurological examination are described. They were within normal limits aside from a mildly diffusely abnormal E.E.G. in one of the twins. Kanner's clinical picture of autism is related to the symptoms in these children and the close correspondence noted. Continuing, the difficulties in applying psychometric testing to the children is described and the findings concerning the parents are listed. Finally, a picture of the children's behaviour during their stay in hospital, together with a brief description of the methods used to make a tentative analysis of their behaviour, is presented.
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