Exceptional Children and Disability Information
Autism
Causes
- General article including causes: It has been over 50 years since Dr. Leo Kanner, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, wrote the first paper applying the term 'autism' to a group of children who were self-absorbed and who had severe social, communication, and behavioral problems. This paper provides a general overview of the complexity of this developmental disability by summarizing many of the major topics in autism.
- Excellent overview of various theories of autism: Some experts believe there are bio-chemical reasons for autism; others suspect that it is a psychiatric disorder. Some believe that a combination of the wrong foods and too many antibiotics and environmental toxins can damage the colon and lead to physical and behavioral problems, including autism.
- General article including causes from the National Institute of Mental Health: All these disorders are characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills, social interactions, and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior.
- Search for autism’s roots: A marked rise in the number of people diagnosed with autism sparked controversy over the safety of certain vaccines. As the furore dies down, Kathleen Wong talks to researchers seeking the real causes of this unsettling condition.
- Excellent overview: everything you ever wanted to know about Autism.
- Genetics and autism: The first thing Dr. Cook wanted to clarify about genetics is that, finding genetic evidence of autism does not mean that that person's fate is sealed.
- Theories and causes: There is no theory of the cause of autism which everyone has found convincing. There may be multiple causes. Thus we will review some of the proposed causes.
