[Autistic disorders]

Autism is a syndrome that consists of disturbances in social interactions, communication and imagination, and its first-choice of therapy is education. Of special interest is the period of the onset and early diagnosis of autism, and its relation to the period of intervention. In retrospective studies from questionnaire and home videotape analysis, it has been reported that autistic children display significantly less social interaction, joint attention behavior and communicative behavior compared to typical children, before 12 to 18 months of age. Although there is less evidence of a marked reduction in autistic symptomatology, early intervention studies have been found to have positive effects with significant improvements being reported in social behavior, self care, and academic skill. However, early interventions are controversial. We discuss early diagnosis and interventions in children with autism in this paper.