[Combined treatment of autism]

In this detailed case report we describe the inpatient treatment of an eight-year-old boy with infantile autism. A multiple modality approach was used that included holding therapy as recommended by Prekop (1983), educational therapy and lithium treatment. The aim of holding was two-fold: to achieve interpersonal contact with the child and to improve his ability to concentrate on learning tasks. The educational therapy also served to increase his attention span and, later to initiate language acquisition. Lithium treatment resulted in better control of behavior and in improvement of mood.