Co-existence of disorders--including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, tic disorder, developmental coordination disorder, and autism spectrum disorder--and sharing of symptoms across disorders (sometimes referred to as comorbidity) is the rule rather than the exception in child psychiatry and developmental…

A 4 1/2 year old autistic-like child participated in a sign language training program using nine words, each with a corresponding toy and play activity. For each word the teacher held up the appropriate toy and said, or under the sign condition said and signed, the corresponding word. The S learned to sign, but the introduction of sign training…

To provide a differentiated characterization of autistic children's logical deficits, a non-verbal, microanalytic method designed for infants and young children was used. Subjects were 12 autistic children ranging in age from 5 to 7 years and a control group of 12 normal children ranging in age from 23 to 30 months. Subjects were given two…

The affective relationship between six male and one female preschool-aged autistic children and their parents was studied by employing a method enabling systematic analysis of parent/child interaction. Children ranged in age from 3 years, 7 months to 6 years, 4 months. Through use of the Bank Interaction Coding System (BICS), behaviorial sequences…

The problem of "stages" in the development of artistic ability is addressed by reviewing the cases of a gifted autistic child, Nadia, who drew realistically at a very young age, and of a normal child, Eytan, who rapidly taught himself the principles of isometric perspective and of foreshortening. A review of scholarly opinion about…

Longitudinal studies of mother-child interactions for the third trimester of pregnancy to age 4 are described. The effort is aimed at analyzing early childhood data to determine stability of mother-infant interaction, correlations among mothers' character as defined by adaptive and maladaptive defenses, major conflicts, sense of reality, and…

The Behavior Observation Scale (BOS) was administered to 53 autistic children, 35 mentally retarded children matched for MA, and 33 normal children (all 2 to 5 years old) in an attempt to quantify autistic behavior. Ss were observed 3 days for 3 minutes through a one way mirror in a playroom setting where occurrence of 67 behaviors on the BOS was…

Procedures used during a 5-week assessment phase of a simultaneous communication program for five severely dysfunctional nonverbal children (5-9 years old) are described, and techniques for assessing autistic children are discussed. Indications from measuring the gestural communication of 5 dysfunctional Ss following communication training include…

This paper describes the use of drama with severely socially challenged children, especially children with autistic spectrum disorders. This approach stresses the importance of early make-believe and the use of drama to help children explore social narratives from the inside and thus improve social competence. (Contains references.) (DB)

A life-course perspective of the diagnostic histories of 75 autistic individuals (ages 4-25) was obtained through the use of parent surveys and a review of their charts. The study was made to understand better how children who presented with uneven or unusual behavioral development are identified as developmentally multihandicapped. Areas examined…

Data on 36 autistic, 30 mentally retarded (MR), and 22 normal children (23-65 months old) was collected to develop a method of objective behavioral assessment for diagnosing autism and documenting symptom changes over time. Ss were observed and rated on the Behavior Observation Scale, an instrument which contains 67 objectively defined behaviors…

The effect of "temperament" in a school-like environment was evaluated for 30 children with mental retardation, 30 children with autism, and 30 typical children (all groups with a mean mental age of 23 to 24 months). Five-minute videotapes of each child attempting to complete a puzzle were viewed and scored by raters on the University of…

This study attempted to systematically explore the range of variation in social response in 17 subjects (ages 5 to 15) with infantile autism. To collect observational data on social initiations, social responses, social monitoring with eye contact, and responses to specific types of social events, subjects were observed during free play in their…

An overview of some of the recent developments in experimental research on early infantile autism considers related issues such as language impairments, cognitive and affective deficits, nonverbal communication, social behavior, and therapeutic interventions. Research indicates that difficulty with abstract use of language and with pragmatic…

The development of and relationship between early language, symbolic play, sensorimotor skills, and social development were examined in a longitudinal study conducted in Japan with two young autistic males who were observed from the approximate ages of 2 to 4 years in clinic, day care, and home settings. One child acquired speech; the other did…