First described and named by Leo Kanner in 1944, the mysterious disability of autism is characterized by a peculiar emotional and intellectual detachment from other people and the common human world. In autistic children, an impaired capacity for communication and human relationships and a severely restricted range of activities and interests become evident before the age of three. Although the symptoms vary in nature and severity, language and the capacity for a normal social life are always seriously affected. Two to four out of 10,000 children are autistic; 75% of them are boys (Chase et al., 1993).The earliest signs may appear in the first months of life. Autistic infants often shrink from touch. Instead of cuddling when picked up, they may go limp or stiffen, and they do not cling to parents who return after an absence (de Benedetti, 1993). Normally, infants will smile at the sound of their mothers voice when they are two or three months of age. Later, in the first year, they begin to reach with their hands, carry on wordless conversations and eventually progress to syllables like ma and pa. Before the end of the first year they are pointing out objects to others attention and looking sad when someone else looks sad or anxious. Many autistic children never reach these stages or pass through them at a later age (Loesche, 1990). In infancy, the symptoms may be subtle and almost unnoticeable or optimistically disregarded by parents, but it is usually clear by age two or three that something is wrong (Baranek, 1999). Autistic infants have little interest in others or understanding of their needs and feelings. They do not maintain eye contact and seem barely able to distinguish their parents from strangers. They ignore other children and prefer repetitious, solitary play, such as staring at revolving objects. Their air of detachment and drive for solitude sometimes create the impression that they come from or live in a ...
