Infantil autisme: Børn med sociale, kommunikative og kognitive udviklingsforstyrrelser

Trillingsgaard, A.: Infantile autism. Children with social, communication and cognitive developmental disturbances. Nordisk Psykologi, 1987, 39 (4), 268–288. This paper attempts to summarize the changes in our understanding of infantile autism, from 1943 when the term first appeared, to the present day. Originally, infantile autism was thought to be caused by a disturbed mother-child relationship. In the seventies a change in focus occurred and among researchers today there is a widespread consensus, that the condition, which causes severe developmental disturbances, is organic in origin. A review of some of the research which led to this change in view is presented. The review is based partly on comparative studies of autistic, retarded and dysphasic children and partly on a number of studies of the social, cognitive and communication difficulties they experience.