Behavioral aspects of infantile autism: an ethological description

Abstract

Eighteen children classified in four diagnostic groups — Infantile Autism, Full Syndrome Present (IA), Infantile Autism, Residual State (IA-R), Hyperkinetic Syndrome (HYPER), and Mental Retardation (MR) — were mutually compared on the basis of their behavior in a free child-adult interaction. An ethological analysis of 80 behavioral elements was performed, aiming at describing this interaction in detail. The analysis demonstrated that the autistic children with full syndrome present stayed closer to the adult and that they were more inclined to decrease the interpersonal distance than the children in the three other groups. Moreover, this group was often engaged in bodily contact with the adult. However, their facial orientation towards the adult was poorly developed, in fact they usually turned away their faces. Visual attention to the adult and manipulated objects was relatively low. Hand and head gestures were rare, but facial expressions occurred very frequently. Speech was seriously impaired, but probably counterbalanced by nonarticulated sounds. Finally, the adult seemed to have modified her behavior on a par with the child she was interacting with. From a behavioral point of view the autistic group with full syndrome present was clearly distinguishable from the three comparison groups, including the group with residual state autism.