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A Comparative Study of Infantile Autism and Specific Developmental Receptive Language Disorder

I. The Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Lawrence Bartak ,
Michael Rutter  and
Antony Cox
Lawrence Bartak
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF
Michael Rutter
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF
Antony Cox
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF
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Extract

There is now extensive evidence that autistic children manifest a specific cognitive defect involving language impairment (Rutter, 1974). The presence of such a deficit is demonstrated by the pattern of clinical findings (Rutter, 1968; Rutter, Bartak and Newman, 1971), the long term course of the disorder (Rutter, 1970), and the results of systematic experimental studies (Hermelin and O'Connor, 1970). Nevertheless, basic questions remain concerning the meaning of this deficit for theories on the nature and causation of infantile autism. First, what are the boundaries of the cognitive deficit and in particular does it extend outside language? Second, does it constitute the primary handicap which gives rise to other symptoms? Thirdly, if it does, does the cognitive deficit lead directly to the behavioural syndrome or must there be an interaction with a particular set of environmental or other circumstances for the syndrome to develop?

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 126 , Issue 2 , February 1975 , pp. 127 - 145
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1975 

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