Research in infantile autism: a strategy and its results

Three major causation theories of infantile autism were tested during 12 years of research: (i) "nurture," (ii) "nature," and (iii) "nature-nurture" interaction. Data from major studies are presented showing strong support for the nature causation theory. Aut parents, in comparison to two control groups (normal and nonpsychotic abnormal), were appropriately stimulating and warmly relating to their Aut infants. Aut parents had no greater amounts of psychopathology than control parents. Aut children had: (i) more signs of neurobiological pathology than normal children; (ii) a high preponderance (94%) of IQ's in mentally retarded ranges; (iii) central language disorders which precluded development of normal verbal abstraction ability and creative speech; (iv) visual-motor disorders akin to a dyspraxis interfering with normal acquisition of "body language". With a greatly reduced capacity for acquiring both verbal and nonverbal communication skills, the ability of Aut Children to use other humans as helpful interpreters of the environment was also seriously curtailed. Not finding other humans useful in such interpretation, the phenomenon of social withdrawal was the logical end product in Aut Child.