Signs of Autism in Infants

'Theories of autism have undergone many changes since it was originally defined by Kanner as an affective disorder caused by deficient parental interaction. Debates about emotional or organic origins determined subsequent plans of management. Each decade has brought its own contribution to understanding the condition. Since then autism has been identified as a developmental impairment due to a variety of causes which may include genetic, neurological, infectious, metabolic, immunologic and environmental factors, all contributing to atypical brain development, which in turn leads to the autistic child's 'deficient experience of intersubjectivity', as Peter Hobson has defined it. Neonatal research reveals that innate capacities for sociability, self-regulation, thought and language are activated through intensely bi-directional emotional interactions with others, within critical periods. Neonatal research also confirms that even genetic endowment is modified or inhibited by the specific emotional climate of the family environment into which each baby is born. Although the prevention of autism still lies in the future, this book offers hope of alleviating distress through psychodynamic therapeutic work with the family to enhance intersubjective communication and foster the growth potential of the infant. This book brings hope where despair has prevailed. It offers the prospect of early detection of prodromal signs of autism and the possibility of effective therapeutic mitigation of the parents' unbearable predicament of perpetually failing to engage a seemingly unresponsive infant.' - Professor Joan Raphael-Leff, from the Foreword 'This is a very interesting book which will be of value to health professionals, early years' practitioners and other professionals working with young children whose development is a cause for concern.'- Mary Mountstephen, SEN Magazine