Skip to main content
Book cover

Diagnosis and Assessment in Autism pp 91–110Cite as

The Continuum of Autistic Characteristics

  • Chapter

Part of the Current Issues in Autism book series (CIAM)

Abstract

As a result of the accumulation of findings from biologic, psychological, and clinical research, views of the etiology and nature of childhood autism have evolved and changed since Kanner (1943) published his first description of the syndrome that bears his name. However, disagreements continue concerning the clinical criteria for diagnosis, and the boundaries between autism and other conditions in which there are impairments of skills and abnormalities of behavior.

Keywords

  • Developmental Disorder
  • Autistic Child
  • Pervasive Developmental Disorder
  • Social Impairment
  • Psychological Function

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4899-0792-9_7
  • Chapter length: 20 pages
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
eBook
USD   109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • ISBN: 978-1-4899-0792-9
  • Instant PDF download
  • Readable on all devices
  • Own it forever
  • Exclusive offer for individuals only
  • Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout
Softcover Book
USD   149.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (3rd ed., 1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (3rd ed. rev., 1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asperger, H. (1944). Die autistischen psychopathen im kindersalter. Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, 117, 76–136.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Attwood, A. (1984). The gestures of autistic children. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baltaxe, C. A. M. (1977). Pragmatic deficits in the language of autistic adolescents. Journal of Paediatric Psychology, 2, 176–80.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (1985). Social cognition and pretend play in autism. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A. M., & Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind”? Cognition, 21, 37–46.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A. M., & Frith, U. (1986). Mechanical, behavioural and intentional understanding of picture stories in autistic children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 4, 113–25.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Bartak, L., Rutter, M., & Cox, A. (1975). A comparative study of infantile autism and specific developmental receptive language disorder. I. The children. British Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 127–45.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bartak, L., Rutter, M., & Cox, A. (1977). A comparative study of infantile autism and specific developmental speech disorders. III. Discriminant function analysis. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 6, 297–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bender, L. (1947). Childhood schizophrenia: A clinical study of 100 schizophrenic children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 17, 40–56.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bender, L. (1961). The brain and child behaviour, Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 531–47.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Blank, M., Gessner, M., & Esposito, A. (1979). Language without communication: a case study. Journal of Child Language, 6, 329–52.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boucher, J. (1981). Memory for recent events in autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 11, 293–302.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bremerton, I., McNew, S., & Beeghley-Smith, M. (1981). Early person knowledge as expressed in gestural and verbal communication: When do infants acquire a “theory of mind”? In M. E. Lamb & L. R. Sherrod (Eds.), Infant social cognition. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullowa, M. (Ed.) (1979). Before speech: the beginning of interpersonal communication. London: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chess, S. (1971). Autism in children with congenital rubella. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 1, 33–47.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chess, S. (1977). Follow-up report on autism in congenital rubella. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 7, 69–81.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chess, S., Korn, S. J., & Fernandez, P. B. (1971). Psychiatric disorders of children with congenital rubella. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, M. & Gillberg, C. (1985). The biology of the autistic syndromes. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cromer, R. F. (1981). Developmental language disorders: Cognitive processes, semantics pragmatics, phonology, and syntax. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 11(1), 57–73.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Damasio, A. R., & Maurer, E. G. (1978). A neurological model for childhood autism. Archives of Neurology, 35, 777–86.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DeMyer, M. (1976). Motor, perceptual-motor and intellectual disabilities of autistic children. In L. Wing (Ed.), Early childhood autism (2nd ed.). Oxford: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMyer, M. (1979). Parents and children in autism, Washington, D. C.: Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denckla, M. (1983). The neuro-psychology of social-emotional learning disabilities. Archives of Neurology, 40, 461–3.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Despert, J. C. (1938). Schizophrenia in children. Psychiatric Quarterly, 12, 366–71.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Earl, C. J. C. (1943). The primitive catatonic psychosis of idiocy. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 14, 230–53.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Fay, W., & Schuier, A. L. (1980). Emerging language in autistic children. Baltimore: University Park Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fein, D., Pennington, B., Markowitz, P., Braverman, M., & Waterhouse, L. (1986). Toward a neuropsychological model of autism: Are the social deficits primary? Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 25, 198–212.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fein, D., Skoff, B., & Mirsky, A. F. (1981). Clinical correlates of brain-stem dysfunction in autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 11, 303–15.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fein, D., Waterhouse, L., Lucci, D., & Snyder, D. (1985). Cognitive subtypes in developmentally disabled children; a pilot study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 15, 77–96.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Folstein, S., & Rutter, M. (1977). Infantile autism: A genetic study of 21 twin pairs. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 18, 297–322.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frith, U. (1982). Psychological abnormalities in early childhood psychoses. In J. K. Wing & L. Wing (Eds.), Handbook of psychiatry (Vol. 3). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frith, U., & Snowling, M. (1983). Reading for meaning and reading for sound in autistic and dyslexic children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 1, 329–42.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gillberg, C. (1983). Identical triplets with infantile autism and the Fragile X syndrome. British Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 256–60.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goldfarb, W. (1974). Growth and change of schizophrenic children. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould, J. (1982). Social communication and imagination in children with cognitive and language impairments. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould, J. (1986). The Lowe & Costello Symbolic Play Test in socially impaired children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder, 16, 199–213.

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hermelin, B., & O’Connor, N. (1985). Logico-affective states and non-verbal language. In E. Schopler & G. Mesibov (Eds.), Communication problems in autism. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, R. P. (1986). The autistic child’s appraisal of expressions of emotion. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 27, 321–42.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Howlin, P., & Rutter, M. (1987). Treatment of autistic children. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulse, W. C. (1954). Dementia infantilis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, 119, 471–7.

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 27–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L. (1946). Irrelevant and metaphorical language in early childhood autism. American Journal of Psychiatry, 103, 242–6.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L. (1949). Problems of nosology and psychodynamics in early childhood autism. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 19, 416–26.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L., & Eisenberg, L. (1956). Early infantile autism 1943–1955. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 26, 55–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolvin, I. (1971). Studies in the childhood psychoses. I. Diagnostic criteria and classification. British Journal of Psychiatry, 118, 381–4.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kolvin, I., Ounsted, C., Humphrey, M., & McNay, A. (1971). II. The Phenomenology of Childhood psychoses. British Journal of Psychiatry, 118, 385–95.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lockyer, L., & Rutter, M. (1969). A five to fifteen year follow-up study of infantile psychosis. III. Psychological aspects. British Journal of Psychiatry, 115, 865–82.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C. (1984). The development of peer relations in children with autism. In F. J. Morrison, C. Lord, & D. P. Keating (Eds.), Advances in applied developmental psychology. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luria, A. R. (1969). The mind of a mnemonist. London: Jonathan Cape.

    Google Scholar 

  • McTear, M. F. (1985). Pragmatic disorders: A question of direction. British Journal of Disorders of Communication, 20, 119–27.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McTear, M. F. (1985). Pragmatic disorders: A case study of conversational disability. British Journal of Disorders of Communication, 20, 129–42.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mahler, M. S. (1952). On child psychoses and schizophrenia: autistic and symbiotic infantile psychoses. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 7, 286–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mergash, D. L., Szymanski, L., & Gerald, P. (1982). Infantile autism associated with fragile X syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 12, 295–301.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Newson, J., & Newson, E. (1975). Intersubjectivity and the transmission of culture: On the social origins of symbolic functioning. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 28, 437–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ornitz, E. M. (1974). The modulation of sensory input and motor input in autistic children. Journal of Autism & Childhood Schizophrenia, 4, 197–216.

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor, N., & Hermelin, B. (1984). Idiot savant calendrical calculators: Maths or memory? Psychological Medicine, 14, 801–6.

    PubMed  CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, R., & Cohen, D. J. (1984). Outcomes of severe disorders of language acquisition. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 14, 405–22.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, R., Cohen, D. J., & Caparulo, B. K. (1983). A longitudinal study of patients with severe developmental disorders of language learning. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 22, 525–34.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pawlby, S. (1977). Imitative interaction. In H. R. Schaffer (Ed.), Studies in mother-infant interaction New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapin, I., & Allen, D. A. Developmental language disorders: Nosologic considerations. In U. Kirk (Ed.), Neuropsychology of language, reading, and spelling. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricks, D. M. (1975). Vocal communication in pre-verbal normal and autistic children. In N. O’Connor (Ed.), Language, cognitive deficits and retardation. London: Butterworths.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricks, D. M. (1979). Making sense of experience to make sensible sounds. In M. Bullowa (Ed.), Before Speech: The beginning of interpersonal communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricks, D. M., & Wing, L. (1975). Language, communication, and the use of symbols in normal and autistic children. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 5, 191–221.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rourke, B. P., Young, G. C., Strang, J. D., & Russell, D. L. (1986). Adult outcomes of central processing deficiencies in childhood. In I. Grant, and K. M. Adams (Eds.), Neuropsychological assessment of neuropsychiatric disorders. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1966). Behavioural and cognitive characteristics. In J. K. Wing (Ed.), Early childhood autism. Oxford: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1970). Autistic children: Infancy to adulthood. Seminars in Psychiatry, 2, 435–50.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1972). Psychiatric causes of language retardation. In M. Rutter and J. A. M. Marten (Eds.), The child with delayed speech, London: Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sacks, O. (1985). The man who mistook his wife for a hat. London: Duckworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaffer, H. R. (1974). Early social behaviour and the study of reciprocity. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 27, 209–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaffer, H. R. (1979). Acquiring the concept of the dialogue. In M. H. Bornstein and W. Kessen (Eds.), Psychological development from infancy: image to intention. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaffer, H. R., Collis, G. M., & Parsons, G. (1977). Vocal interchange and visual regard in verbal and pre-verbal children. London: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schawlow, A. T., & Schawlow, A. L. (1985). Our son: the endless search for help. In M. P. Brady and P. L. Gunter (Eds.), Integrating moderately and severely handicapped learners. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schopler, E. (1985). Editorial: Convergence of learning disability, higher level autism and Asperger’s syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 15, 359–60.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Schopler, E., & Mesibov, G. B. (1985). Communication problems in autism. New York: Plenum.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Schopler, E., Reichler, R. J., & Lansing, M. (1979a). Individualized assessment and treatment for autistic and developmentally disabled children. Vol. 1. Psychoeducational profile. Baltimore: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schopler, E., Reichler, R. J., & Lansing, M. (1979b). Individualized assessment and treatment for autistic and developmentally disabled children. Vol. 2. Teaching strategies for parents and professionals. Baltimore: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seife, L. (1977). Nadia: A case of extraordinary drawing ability in an autistic child. London: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, A. (1985). Impairment of social interaction in autism and mental retardation: A 12 year follow up study. Paper given at the 7th World Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency. New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, A., & Wing, L. (1986). Cognitive impairments affecting social behaviour in autism. In E. Schopler & G. Mesibov (Eds.), Social behavior problems in autism. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, A., Holmes, N., & Wing, L. (1982). Prevalence of autism and related conditions in adults in a mental handicap hospital. Applied Research in Mental Retardation, 1982, 3, 303–17.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shantz, C. U. (1985). Social cognition. In J. H. Flavell and E. M. Markman (Eds.), Cognitive development: handbook of child psychology (Vol. 3). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitzer, R. (Chairman) (1985). Draft of DSM-III-Revised in development. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tager-Flusberg, H. (1981). Sentence comprehension in autistic children. Applied Psycholinguistics, 2, 5–24.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Trevarthen, C. (1974). Conversations with a two-month old. New Scientist, 62, 230–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weintraub, S., & Mesulam, M. M. Developmental learning disabilities of the right hemisphere. Archives of Neurology, 40, 463-8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L. (1980). Autistic children: A guide for parents. London: Constable.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L. (1981). Cognitive and social skills associated with outcome in childhood autism and related conditions. Paper given at the 25th Anniversary of the Children’s Clinic, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kyoto University Hospital. Kyoto.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L. (1981a). Language, social and cognitive impairments in autism and severe mental retardation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 11, 31–44.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L. (1981b). Asperger’s syndrome: A clinical account. Psychological Medicine, 11, 115–29.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L. (1982). Development of concepts, classification and relationship to mental retardation. In J. K. Wing & L. Wing (Eds.), Psychoses of uncertain aetiology: Handbook of psychiatry (Vol. 3). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L., & Gould, J. (1979). Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: Epidemiology and classification. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 9, 11–29.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L., Gould, J., Yeates, S. R., & Brierley, L. M. (1977). Symbolic play in severely mentally retarded and in autistic children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 18, 167–78.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wing, L., & Hayhurst, M. (1973). A study of mentally retarded adults in Camberwell. In D. J. Hall., N. C. Robertson, & R. J. Eason (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Psychiatric Case Registers, University of Aberdeen, March 1973. London: D.H.S.S. Statistical and Research Series No. 7, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolff, S., & Barlow, A. (1977). Schizoid personality in childhood: A comparative study of schizoid, autistic and normal children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 20, 29–46.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Wolff, S., & Chick, J. (1980). Schizoid personality in childhood: A controlled follow-up study. Psychological Medicine, 10, 85–100.

    PubMed  CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (1977). Manual of the international statistical classification of diseases, injuries and causes of death (9th rev. Vol. 1). Geneva: World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Social Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, London, SE5 8AF, England

    Lorna Wing

Authors
  1. Lorna Wing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division TEACCH, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7180, USA

    Eric Schopler & Gary B. Mesibov & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wing, L. (1988). The Continuum of Autistic Characteristics. In: Schopler, E., Mesibov, G.B. (eds) Diagnosis and Assessment in Autism. Current Issues in Autism. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0792-9_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0792-9_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0794-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0792-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive