A Study of Aetiological Factors at Critical Periods of Development in Autistic Children

Ninety-seven children were diagnosed as suffering from infantile autism according to the nine points of the British Working Party and the World Health Organization classification of Mental Disorders in Childhood. Data on these cases were analyzed in terms of aetiology as known, social class of parents, year of onset, its relationship to the presence of an organic cerebral defect, and outcome in terms of the present educational placement of the child. Findings suggested that infantile autism was a disorder with a multiple aetiology and the causes, both organic and environmental, were interrelated. It was postulated that the most consistent effect present in the early backgrounds of these children was a history of sensory deprivation at a critical period of development.