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Development of Social Avoidance in Autistic Children

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Book cover The Behavior of Human Infants

Part of the book series: Ettore Majorana International Science Series ((SYLI))

Abstract

Numerous difficulties face anyone trying to study the early development of autistic children. The main ones are as follows:-

  • Delay in diagnosis. Although early infantile autism has its onset before a child is about 2½ years old, it is rarely diagnosed then. From the time parents first feel concerned about their child, they often have to wait a further one or more years until a diagnosis is made. Ornitz et al (1977) found that 50% of the families they interviewed were concerned about their child by the time it was 14 months, but that the median age of referral for diagnosis was 46 months, a delay of over 2½ years. Thus by the time the child is diagnosed, not only is the early history inevitably in the past, but if asked to recall early behaviour and events, the parent has to remember much further back.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paediatrics Department, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England

    John Richer

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  1. John Richer
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Alberto Oliverio

  2. Regional Hospital-Siena, Siena, Italy

    Michele Zappella

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© 1983 Plenum Press, New York

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Richer, J. (1983). Development of Social Avoidance in Autistic Children. In: Oliverio, A., Zappella, M. (eds) The Behavior of Human Infants. Ettore Majorana International Science Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3784-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3784-3_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-3786-7

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